Called the guy. 60 years old. Nice MA accent.
He bought the car in 2014 from GA, as the Carfax says. Apparently the hood and front bumper were repainted in a metallic but that was not supposed to be. So he had his body shop repaint back to the correct black with no metallic. There are some scrapes at the bottom of the front bumper but it sounds like the paint is nice. EXCEPT - he said there is some slight sun fading on the roof. I'm not real excited about that, and the car will live in my driveway. That's the south for you. But he also said it's not that noticeable. MAYBE it can actually be buffed if the clear coat still has any thickness. This is one of the few flaws the car seems to have, at least after we spoke for 27 minutes.
He has done some work himself (personally) and also had a shop do some work. Things that I recall:
- Brakes, and I think rotors. Fairly recent.
- Tires may have 10k on them. They sound like summer Continentals. He actually laughed when I asked if they were the DWS all season. He reiterated that this is a SUMMER car. Well I mean it's fast but it can't be driven in the snow with some all seasons? Anyway I get it.
- SBC pump. He ate this because his failed 2 months before the previous 10 year warranty was extended. I didn't tell him it is now a 25 year warranty. I am certain he would have mentioned it. So that's an advantage for me.
- He did the exhaust manifolds. I guess they cracked? Maybe this is a thing. He got a good used set (I think) and installed them himself in 4 hours on the garage floor. He also did plugs. I was shocked how simple it sounded. He was, too.
- Front end rebuild. I think maybe just steering but maybe more. He had a guy do this. I guess this is good. He said the car drives excellent, super tight. He actually went on to point out how amazing the handling is. I think he mentioned "on ramps" so it passes the "she hangs on pretty good" test.
The car has TPMS but the wheels have no sensors. I guess you get a message but then it goes away. Maybe the light only comes on when there is actual low pressure, rather than just no sensors found. I'd add these eventually so I'm glad the car is equipped with it. It seems to have basically everything except Distronic and the panoramic roof. Has keyless go, power trunk, cooled seats, possibly the Dynamic seats (didn't ask, don't care). Everything works. I should have asked about audio functionality but it said it had the H/K system so that must be Logic7. Maybe half the speakers are blown. There are no lights on the dash.
Oh, I guess the car has a tune from the previous owner. Euro something? He claims 500+. But no pulley so I don't know about that. With no other mods I almost wish it was just stock. He said something about at lower speeds sometimes the transmission seems confused. Could be tuning, could be normal, could be...something. Who knows. But it sounds like the thing is amazing under wide open throttle so that typically is a good indicator of basic powertrain health.
I asked about the headlights. It sounds like they could use another polishing but I saw the pics - they are serviceable at this time.
Screenshot_20200529-172316.png
We had a bunch of other discussion. I mentioned I have a CTS-V. I dunno, I like to establish myself. Plus, I mentioned I haven't driven one before so I think I responded with that so he doesn't think I have no idea what a performance car feels like. He said some 16 year old kid was over the other day driving it. Well that's an automatic $1000 off. Anyway it sounded like he's had some tire kickers and people talking about some bottom of market garbage in Michigan. We got back to the CTS-V and was like "what year." And then he said "405hp?" Hey I give him credit for remembering the LS6 thing. 400 even. But then he went on to make sure I understood how much faster the E55 is. I laughed and was like "yes, I know." And it is.
Now he did confirm that $11k is the asking. This is good news because I was convinced he would be asking more. $11k I think is a Facebook mandated listing value. And there was no info in the ad. But he even used the term "wiggle room" so it may be that I could snag this for $10k as I wanted. So southern car, possibly $10k, local. Things are lining up at least. He did NOT say "before you drive out here, car is $11k firm" or something like that. It does seem like there is wiggle room. This is good news.
I did randomly ask about the supercharger replacement which blew my cover on getting the VIN. He's like...how do you know that. I said I ran a history report. There are ways, publicly available ways. He didn't dwell on it.
I asked about weekend availability. He's wide open. Haha. It sounds like the car mostly sits and he just wants to sell though as is typical, he would "kick himself." Yeah whatever. It's a business transaction. He has an 09 S-class in the driveway apparently so whether this is COVID19 related or he just wants to free up funds for whatever, I'm not too worried about it.
I think the tune is from these guys:
https://www.eurocharged.com/ecutuning/k ... tuning/e55
https://www.eurocharged.com/ecutuning/k ... e-software
Tuning Type: Stage 1
Stock HP: 469
Stock TQ: 512
Tuned HP: 512
Tuned TQ: 563
Performance Numbers:
The manufacturers rating for this engine is 469HP and 512LB-FT of torque.
The Eurocharged rating for the ECU upgrade is 512HP and 563LB-FT of torque.
Description:
Performance ECU software precisely engineered for your engine. Countless hours were invested into the development of this ECU software and all OEM safety maps remain intact to ensure the highest level of protection. Our most popular features include better throttle response, faster acceleration, removed top speed limiter and an overall better driving experience.
My guess is that the new numbers are back calculated from stock - unless they really are saying 43 hp over stock. But if the car is really like 493 stock as has been reported, then most of the difference is just from under-rating. Whatever.
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