E55 AMG - talk me down

I really want one of these. In specifics, this one looks nice. Don't mind one with some mods since mods are big money for these cars and I would be modding it anyway.

Would be a 2nd car and take the place of my supercharged C5 Corvette.

http://rockford.craigslist.org/cto/5249973399.html

Don't mind working on it or expensive parts. Talk me down.

Because who ever put those wheels and those stupid chrome letter on the inside of the cabin is still smart enough to try and sell it.

It has white gages so don't by it.. . . ..

Who am I kidding. Those are fantastic cars. Let your inner Jeremy Clarkson out for a while and have some fun.

You do know "talk me down" is really not what we do around here, right?

I would however pass on that car. I would look for one that is adult owned and dealer serviced. That looks to have been a rich kids car.

Too pedestrian if you're not put off on the consequences of ownership. I think you're ready for a modded maserati.

Talk me up then?

Do eet! You know you want to!

great idea, but that sounds like alot of money for that.

Rule of thumb don't buy a high end luxury car with mods. Especially cheap aftermarket wheels. The people who do that don't have the money to maintain it. $3000 CCWs? Sure.. If its a Porsche. :p

Sure get one! Just.. not that one.

I say go for it. But this is coming from a guy that just bought a 2005 C55 AMG.

I am also in the camp of yes to the concept (if it pushes your buttons) but no to this one. The ad rubs me wrong. "Very Fast" in the title and the mods and the sparse ad doesn't say responsible owner with high maintenance and documented history. You can tell when a real caring enthusiast writes an ad. I recently saw about 1000 words for a stock Escalade, but when he detailed the type and compound of the brake pads, the flavor of oil, and the detailing schedule, you get a high confidence that it's legit. If you have an AMG Mercedes, don't you want to show it's been fawned over and ready to provide reliable service to the next owner?

If by "talk you down" you mean "enable", sure I'll talk you down. Testdrive one. They do NOT go down the road like a two ton Tessie, they handle their weight amazingly well. The brakes work and they go round corners better than they have any right to. Throw enough tire and suspension at it and it will stop and turn, seems like. What is truly amazing is how well the loud pedal works, and how comparatively non-sucky the trans is. Locking tq converter helps. As a lifelong manual trans, light is best, small displacement big boost type, I was prepared to be disappointed but just wasn't, and went shopping right after I drove one and I will part with it when they pry it from my cold dead hands.. Find an 06 if you can. The brake pedal feel is improved and the I think, IIRC, that issue with the radiator leaking coolant into the trans was addressed. Get one with as complete a service history as you can get your mitts on. Get one where the PO replaced the brake controller, and if you can get one that has already had the fuel tank replacement done, that will save you some hassle. Mine leaked. Apparently this has turned into a pretty big issue. Any (maybe just E class? Not sure but it applies to all E55) merc younger than 15 years or 150 k miles is a warranty fix, not limited to orig owner, but it took a couple weeks to get my car back and some owners have reported multi-month waits. And that is a loooong time to drive a penalty box once you've gotten hooked on AMG crack. Which is what these things are. It's the iron fist in the velvet glove, civilized musclecar thing they do so so well... I've seen good stock ones for 15k so keep shopping. I way overspent that mark but mine had the 100k Brabus K8 thing done to it so I don't care even a tiny bit! 4door supercar for used subaru money, why the hell not? Reliability-wise, it is doing just fine as a dailydriver. Almost no babysitting has been needed. So start shopping. Post pix when you find it.

PS those wheels... Eeeeewwwwwww

Because it's not a wagon?

Do it (not that one)!

"I have about $7,000 in it."

Not sure what this means? Either he got a smoking deal or he changed the oil once?

And the stance does not do it for me.

Staging the car in the lawn with the low profiles and dropped stance was a bad idea.

Overall, this looks like it belongs to someone that I would not want to make happy by leaving them with a large bunch of my $$$$.

A question about the tag: Does Germany not have a law that states that if a vehicle is modifed to a certain point it has to be re-branded with the "new" manufacturers tag? I know that Mercedes bought AMG, but as a buyer, I want to see AMG on the tag not "Chrysler"

I am a fan, and look forward to your long term reports.

Kinda in the same boat as the others, I'd be a bit skeptical of the mods. Also hate those wheels and the amount of tire on them.

Clean retail on NADA is $16k and the mods are not helping the value. I definitely would not pay $20k for that one.

What sort of air suspension does the guy have on it? Those are usually a PITA.

I am actually a fan of the wheel/tyre combo on it, but I am often accused of having bad taste.

The mods increase the value - to me - because I would be doing the same thing, and sweet mother of boost, AMG mods are expensive.

The only other attraction to me is that this gentleman will trade me for my Corvette, which I am sick of and would really have to part out to get close to what I want to sell it for cash money.

That being said I appreciate all the feedback. Ive never driven one so worst case I suppose I should go test toast this one or similar.

why not get a cheaper one that just needs a new strut?

edit: just realized i never added the CL link to this post

He's willing to trade an E55 AMG for a C5 (albeit supercharged) vette? Hmmm. I see your point of view where you're kinda trading up, but I'm having trouble with his point of view. Not meaning to offend as I like C5 vettes and drove one for a few years, but they are very different cars that both go very fast. You potentially have more to lose so look that car over very closely.

Edit: I think I'm picky about wheels and I like those. I'm just wary of the narcissist that puts their name in chrome MB letters on the wood trim dashboard.

Kleemann is a company that makes Mercedes parts.

Pass on this one, but keep looking. To me, unless it's posted on a reputable site like this one or another enthusiast site, mods devalue any car because I know that I'm probably going to have to berkeley with it to undue whatever the PO did. I've also learned the hard way that any time an ad states how much has been invested, it generally means that the car isn't worth nearly as much and the seller's just trying to recoup some of him losses.

I owned the previous gen w210 E55, if item wouldn't have had a warranty it would have broke me. I wouldn't walk away from another one though; especially how devalued they are.

I owned the previous gen w126 at the same time and would buy it for sheer luxury and solidity every time.