Repair-It

So on the opposite end of the spectrum...a modded specimen. With some high miles. Though that 06 did have damage listed on its Carfax...

https://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/ ... 13949.html

It's an 03 and is missing the rear sun shade but has keyless go and possibly Logic7. Look at the way he even lists the options - I'm not the only one who is annoyed by this so these sellers must know to do it. Either that or they remember hunting themselves and just list preemptively. I wonder if it has TPMS. It's an 03 so no nav which makes me sad. It might actually be a good trade for Logic7 though....though I assume still no Distronic. Maybe that was rare. I'm sure it was an expensive option. It was like $2300 on the STS.

Also this is crazy - ANOTHER set of freshly powder coated wheels. It must be a thing before selling.

2003 E55 AMG (Merrick) - $8800

2003 mercedes benz e55 amg
condition: good
cylinders: 8 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 185000
paint color: silver
title status: clean
transmission: automatic
type: sedan
For Sale is my cherished Mercedes E55 AMG in brilliant silver with black leather interior and gray suede headliner also freshly refinished and powder coated black rims. The 5.5L V8 Kompressor sits at just over 185k miles as it has been my daily driver, but pulls strongly through the RPM range with no issues and the transmission shifts through all gears without a hitch. the car has been taken care of routinely with frequent oil changes/plugs/brakes and other basic maintenance, included will be records of service history in the past 6 years including all recalls done. The mechanical condition of the car is immaculate for its mileage. The exterior of the car is in great condition for its age and the interior is also good, The car has been tastefully modified cosmetically with a facelift E63 front bumper with carbon fiber lip, carbon mirrors and a carbon spoiler. Car has also has had some performance mods and makes roughly 100hp/tq over stock including Kleeman mid length headers and Kleeman ECU & TCU tune and a Renntech lower crank supercharger pulley. Overall the car has been an absolute joy and I am definitely sad to see it go but i am looking to move on to an E63s.

Options Included:
Keyless go (push start)
parking sensors
Harmon Kardon speakers
Heated and Cooled seats

Pros:
- Already modded to the point where I really wouldn't do anything else. Hope he upgraded the intercooler situation. And depending on how many miles have been put on it with these mods, they are "proven." This is going to be noticeably faster than a stock V2 with these mods.
- It's an 03 (which is a con) but by 185k shit would have been addressed.
- Might have Logic7
- Parking sensors (not a requirement but nice)
- Keyless Go (I would like this)
- E63 front fascia. Common and popular. Something I wouldn't need to do.

Cons:
- No nav but maybe a good trade for Keyless Go and Logic7, given the fact that old nav isn't great but I'd enjoy the Logic7 and Keyless daily.
- No rear sunshade. I can live without this I think.
- No Distronic. I would still like this but not sure how common it was.
- 185k is high...

Need better pics of interior.

So I wonder what a good price for this would be to make it a cool impulse buy. $7k?

Also, this might run like an 11.5 @ 120+ as it sits. That's pretty damn awesome.

kevm14 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 5:36 am Here's what Edmunds says were options on the 06:
Massaging Driver's Seat
Massaging Passenger Seat
Ventilated Front Seats
Adaptive Cruise Control
Front And Rear Parking Sensors
Power Activated Trunk
Leather And Wood Steering Wheel Trim
Wood Center Console Trim
Wood Dash Trim
Wood Door Trim
Power Rear Sunshade
Adaptive Headlights
Headlight Cleaners
Self-Leveling Headlights
Xenon High Intensity Discharge Headlights
Extended Sunroof
AM/FM/CD Changer Audio System
Satellite Radio System
Voice Activated Navigation System

So Edmunds may be my closest bet compared to an actual sales brochure, which I have looked at for 04-05. This seems to match though I did not do a one for one comparison. So that was an 06 and that implies that the Harman/Kardon was standard. Not sure why they guy said no. Here are the Edmunds options lists for the other years so I have it in one place.

2005 E55
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Massaging Driver's Seat
Massaging Passenger Seat
Ventilated Front Seats
Adaptive Cruise Control
Front And Rear Parking Sensors
Power Activated Trunk
Leather And Wood Steering Wheel Trim
Wood Center Console Trim
Wood Dash Trim
Wood Door Trim
Manual Side Sunshade
Power Rear Sunshade
Adaptive Headlights
Headlight Cleaners
Self-Leveling Headlights
Xenon High Intensity Discharge Headlights
Extended Sunroof
AM/FM/CD Changer Audio System
Satellite Radio System
Voice Activated Navigation System

Damn, maybe TPMS became standard on 06 judging by this. Now I regret not being able to look at that 06.

2004 E55
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Ventilated Front Seats
Adaptive Cruise Control
Front And Rear Parking Sensors
Power Activated Trunk
Leather And Wood Center Console Trim
Leather And Wood Dash Trim
Power Rear Sunshade
Adaptive Headlights
Self-Leveling Headlights
Xenon High Intensity Discharge Headlights
Solar Sunroof
AM/FM/CD Changer Audio System
Cellular Phone
Voice Activated Navigation System

Shorter list.

2003 E55
Ventilated Front Seats
Adaptive Cruise Control
Front And Rear Parking Sensors
Manual Side Sunshade
Power Rear Sunshade
Headlight Cleaners
Self-Leveling Headlights
Xenon High Intensity Discharge Headlights
AM/FM/Cassette/CD Changer Audio System
Cellular Phone

Even shorter list. I don't see the panoramic moonroof. I thought that was available back to 03. Man I really just need some brochures. I can't find 03 or 06 online.

I don't know about all this... So the plan would be to have a V2, this and an STS-V?

I thought the whole point of the Roadmaster was to get to do the whole LS swap, turbo, tuning thing.

This would be cheaper but what is the point of having the V2 that is performance w/handling (never driven, in the garage...), this which is slightly faster than the V2 but doesn't handle (parked outside, also not driven much), and an STS-V - daily driver.

I guess part of the confusion is having 2 cars you would really only drive in nice weather that aren't super different.

bill25 wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 11:56 am I don't know about all this... So the plan would be to have a V2, this and an STS-V?

Eh, probably not. Probably this, my STS as a daily for now, and my V1. V1->V2 at some point theoretically. Not sure what would be the daily after I'm done with the STS. Maybe an E55??

bill25 wrote: ↑Sun May 24, 2020 12:00 pm I thought the whole point of the Roadmaster was to get to do the whole LS swap, turbo, tuning thing.

This would be cheaper but what is the point of having the V2 that is performance w/handling (never driven, in the garage...), this which is slightly faster than the V2 but doesn't handle (parked outside, also not driven much), and an STS-V - daily driver.

I guess part of the confusion is having 2 cars you would really only drive in nice weather that aren't super different.

Yeah so E55 is basically a complete replacement for the Roadmaster and LS turbo thing. It also pretty much supersedes what the STS-V was capable of and was providing me. So...down the road potentially a daily that checks a lot of boxes. And I have a fun manual trans car for handling in the garage. Yes a V2 would theoretically solve all my problems I guess. But I can get the E55 now without doing anything and sell the Roadmaster at my leisure. I don't like the idea of pre-selling my V1, and I don't want to sell it under these economic conditions anyway. The Roadmaster is much cheaper and I'd hope less effected.

But yeah in some ways I could just divert all my money to a V2 but I still need a daily (and certainly a winter/bad weather vehicle). And the whole point of this was to upgrade my daily. Which is where the STS-V came from. And the E55 is pretty much better so here we are. But I realized the E55 isn't just better than the STS-V, it also does what the Roadmaster was supposed to do for me. It's not like I wouldn't have to work on it - but I don't think LS turbo + trans + whatever else in the is required in the Roadmaster is realistic for time or facility purposes. So rather than waste time and pretend, I guess it seems nice to get something pretty fast right now, or soon. And again it checks a lot of boxes.

And by the way I am under no delusion that the E55 is reliable in a Japanese car sense. It's reliable in a German car sense. And unfortunately, just about every high performance German engine is garbage or is known for having one or more SERIOUS issue. The E55 is considered "reliable" because it's an overbuilt SOHC V8 with a supercharger and a very stout trans. As such it doesn't really have any time bomb flaws, which differentiates it from, like I said, just about anything else German in the 500 hp range. And the car is quite nice. And they are cheap. And they are DIY friendly. This all sounds right to me.

One in Mass.

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item ... 516274251/

Ad is lacking but car seems nice from what I can see.

I also see keyless go.

kevm14 wrote: ↑Thu May 28, 2020 5:02 pm One in Mass.

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item ... 516274251/

Ad is lacking but car seems nice from what I can see.

I also see keyless go.

Bob got the VIN by using the plate method. So sneaky.

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. 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.