Keep and mod the E55k or....
 

Buy something like this 2004 CL600....



Its the perfect color (Tektite FTW!), and has the right options!

I'd buy a warranty for it and make the switch. Seems like a fairly decent deal.

Great color! Go for it. Since you do most of your own work, who cares when it breaks down.

Make sure it's not on the original coils. Usually replaced around 60k miles.

If yolu like the engine and body style on this non - AMG coupe, then do it...
 

I think your father had the 12 cylinder version of this coupe (though an older vehicle if I remember correctly,) so if YES, then you should be familiar and comfortable with it.

The five liter and five point five liter mills DO make a nicely balanced engine for these.

It is a nice conservative color, the one ylu are thinking about.


I'd be a little cautious and nervous about buying a used Mercedes Benz off a Chevy dealer's lot such as where this one resides.

It could be either an auction car with no records or an owner who got a lemon and got rid of it and hated it so bad he swore he would never buy another ne and traded it in.

Thought maybe not. Maybe his circumstances or lifestyle changed and his automotive circumstances changed too. Redwood City is on the fringe of where a lot of Silicon Valley millionaires live.

And at 79k the mileage is just right for a car like this that is 8 years old. Maybe it was a go to work car.

But, and you do NOT want to hear this, I know that, but 2000-2008 is when Mercedes Benz quality control and build quality was totally in the toilet, and this one's a 2004. Yes - many from thoise years were ok, but many were NOT. I personally believe that it is a huge gamble to buy one.

But if you get bored, or it turns out to be a lemon, you can simply unload it and go to something else I guess.

In a case like this, get the VMI Carfax and books and records before you jump.

And if you DO, sell your E55 yourself privately FIRST. Like maybe on the forums you belong to.


You could use the $2100 extra gained by selling your old car yourself for a higher price to pay the tax title and doc fee - or whatever the approximately 10% extra that those things always cost, that you will need to pay over the actual purchase price if buying from some dealer...

As you are young, you might want to think about a loan, to build your credit; then pay it off early if you get sick of payments, so long is there is no pre payment penalty. If it was me, I would have all my financial ducks lined upFIRST before I went to that Chevy dealer in Redwood City though.

Or, (and I have done this in that area before) simply signed ANY loan papers they put in front of me, at the dealership, and then went and IMMEDIATELY and refinanced the car at my own credit union or lending institution within the 2-3 days you are allowed to do it (by law in California) - some hustling and scrambling is needed to be done, but when done --- would be totally worth it. (Unless the dealer itself can match or beat your rate --- then I would go with the dealer.)



Do NOT trade in the E55, the dealer will rape you on the trade in allowance they give you.


If you get this one, do NOT lower it. Promise?:D

Not to worry, the hydraulic suspension will lower itself soon enough..... The up side is that it will leak enough oil the undercarriage will never rust....

I don't get off being a nay sayer but I wouldn't let you give me that car. I wouldn't pay the taxes on it for it leak oil on my driveway.

V12- who makes one that is trouble free? You need your head examined to buy one unless you have enough money to buy four of them - new - and not worry about it.

Drove it - exactly as I expected.


Super clean, and it pulls like a mofo! Much different than the 55... The 55s power feels very raw - the power on the V12TT is very smooth.

Hmm....

My mechanic would not let me buy one of his customers SL600. He also said not to buy a V12 because his kids were out of college and he no longered needed the money. :P Iwrock's case might be different.

Hehehehe.


I do my own work, which would make one of these beasts more affordable.



Thinking of passing on this car - doesn't appear to have as quite of a clean bill oh health as originally thought.... :(


With that said, I am pricing out a warranty. :)

If you do buy the car:
Replace every hydraulic hose on the ABC suspension now before they fail and leave you stranded or cause you to grenade the tandem pump if you decide to drive with a broken hose.
Install new accumulators.
If the coil packs have not been replaced, go ahead and start looking for a set.
Replace the front upper idler pulley. It is plastic and will fail.
And the most important item.
Get an ECU/TCU tune from Speedriven. You will smile from ear to ear with an extra 110+hp for $1290. Speedriven also has there 800 hp kit on sale for $4995.
Speedriven V12 Kits - MBWorld.org Forums