2008 e550 I am looking at purchasing - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

joegolden · #1 07-10-2020, 02:37 PM

OK I’ve had a bunch of old Mercedes over the years . They were mostly W123’s in W124s. I drive a 1995 E300 diesel that I have for sale now. I’m pretty sure I have a buyer coming this afternoon but that’s another story

My situation right now is my boss Picked up a 2008 e550 one owner from his next-door neighbor for $1500.. The next-door neighbor explain to him that it needed new air shocks in the front. He had replaced the rear ones about six months ago. The car is in unbelievable condition physically cosmetically ETC. It is triple black and has what looks to be most options. Panorama sunroof heated and cooled seats rear sunshades Nav So on and so forth. My boss is
asking me to help him with this car on fixing it up or sell like it is.

I jumped in the car today and got to drive it for an hour........Holy **** where have I been!?:p This car is phenomenal! The front shocks air up within a couple of minutes of starting the car. The key does not lock the car I forgot to check the switch. You can’t get in the trunk. And the panorama roof does not work nor do the power shades so they are open and it has a triple black car in Georgia. The threshold of hell is not hot enough.

My question is should I buy this car for myself? I know it needs a motor mount I can feel That and I can probably address the front shocks myself. I’m wanting to take a wild guess and just say the battery is probably dead in the key fob. I want to offer my boss $2500. I think he will take it. Do y’all think that sounds like a fair deal?

Thx joe

joegolden · #2 07-10-2020, 02:38 PM

I forgot to mention the car has 180 K miles and it has brand new tires all the way around did I say it was spotless and mint.

oldsinner111 · #3 07-10-2020, 03:10 PM

is that the 5.5 forced induction motor? If so woo,alot of upgrades to get over 900 horsepower
However get a star tool,as they need a reset from time to time

engatwork · #4 07-10-2020, 05:07 PM

Do some research Joe. I seem to remember something about balance shaft issues in them somewhere along those years - the 6 cyl and 8. It may have been resolved by 08.

joegolden · #5 07-10-2020, 05:11 PM

Well I bough it..Just got home with it. I gave him 2500 for it. It runs and drives really well the aromatic works really nice as well all the functions work. The front just sinks overnight Panorama sunroof is jacked up and the shades won’t close. Just found a little mold in the back floorboard so I guess it’s leaking as well. Car was recently serviced at a very good euro shop here in town. Power door locks are finicky. Can’t get in the trunk. I’ve got a change the fob battery. The car absolutely halls ass and has cold AC but I was still about to melt here in Georgia because it’s 94Degrees the car is triple black and the shades won’t close on the roof I literally could not touch the wood stairwell or the shifter. I had to get a towel from the shop to drive it home. We will see what happens in the coming days I will try and attach a photo but I always have crappy luck at that!

tjts1 · #6 07-10-2020, 10:32 PM

Hit the JY and find a set of coilovers from an E320 or E350. It's bolt on for the airmatic car and you'll never have to worry about it again. Swapping to coil overs on he 211 is dead easy.

Ferdman · #7 07-11-2020, 07:25 AM

Joe, a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) at a local MB dealer would have shown you exactly what repairs this E550 needs to make it right. From what I know the airmatic repairs are $1,200 - $1,500 per corner. The coil-over approach is worth considering, but the car will not perform the same … and it may take some computer re-programming for the car to assimilate the suspension modification.

engatwork · #8 07-11-2020, 09:36 AM

Arnott sells a kit to convert these cars to springs which, last time I looked, have worked successfully on cars for quite a few decades. Anyway in their kit they provide a plug in electronic device that prevents the airmatic fault code from coming on. I installed their springs on an 05 E class wagon (that I should have kept) and the only negative was the fact it was a little lower in the rear with the springs.

Hogweed · #9 07-11-2020, 12:43 PM

hard to go wrong at the price. even if you drive it for a while and something goes really wrong you can get most of the money back parting it out or find a better one and use this one for parts. a guy on marketplace has a set of new front air shocks for $450 and the coil over option is also a possibility.
Good score!

joegolden · #10 07-11-2020, 09:30 PM

Thanks guys ! the car is still aired up from driving it home yesterday so it’s holding air longer than 24 hours. I have a new problem though if somebody could please help

I put new batteries in the key Fob And the doors locked and unlocked perfectly. But when you press the trunk button nothing would happen. So I took the emergency key out and open the truck with the emergency key. The hazard started flashing for about five or 10 minutes and now I’m locked out of the car. The car will not respond to the key Fob. Luckily the batteries in the trunk so I have unhooked it let it sit and hooked it back up again ...same problem I now have an open trunk but a locked car I can’t get into. I would much rather not be able to get in the trunk of course but be able to get in the damn car. Should I close the trunk and try to unlock The car again? Thanks

joegolden · #11 07-12-2020, 08:57 AM

Feldman thanks for the suggestion. I will try anything at this point. I bought the car with leaky front air matic so I need to get it on Jack stands this morning. I just wanna drink coffee. Lol.

joegolden · #12 07-12-2020, 09:26 AM

So as I am Cracking lug nuts this morning..I noticed the fender liner is loose. I’ll go ahead and pull it back and look in there and someone has already pulled the alarm box. I double checked on the passenger side as well in case it was still located over there for US spec cars. No box.

I got back in the trunk.Noticed that someone had already been into the wiring harness that runs up the trunk hinge and down into the fuse box all the trim panels were loose even the fuse box is loose I found one white wire that has been disconnected from somewhere just laying loose. And I see where someone has used electrical tape to tape up a brown wire. So this looks like this has been an ongoing issue.

Can I call Mercedes-Benz service and them come out and unlock my car ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

joegolden · #13 07-12-2020, 10:46 AM

Well I ended up resorting to the crowbar and the coat hanger method. Now the Trunk mysteriously opens and closes on its own But the key fob doesn’t work anymore so I guess I’m just gonna have to leave it unlocked. As of this day July 12 at 9:40 AM Mercedes Benz E550 with the last three digits of the Vin being 342......Has been locked for the last damn time

jcyuhn · #14 07-12-2020, 11:03 AM

Nice car.

On w211 the wiring along the left side of the trunk lid tends to break from repeated opening and closing. You have to dive into the wiring harness and patch up any broken wires. This is frequently why the trunk won’t remote open. I think you’ve got more going on than that, but it’s a place to start.

You might try looking for information in the w211 forum over at mbworld. There’s a lot more action on the newer models than here at PP.

joegolden · #15 07-12-2020, 12:56 PM

Yes I just joined thank you! Yes I have discovered where the previous owner has already dove into the harness. And I found the broken brown wire that had already been taped up. I see a broken or come loose white wire but I do not know where its home is. The truck will now open using the handle on the exterior. Not sure how I really was of that? But the key Bob with brand new batteries is absolutely useless. It will not lock unlock open the truck or anything