I've been looking at the 03 and 04 e55, but I've heard a few people say that the kinks weren't really worked out until 2005. Is this true? Can anyone speak from experience? An 03 e55 with 50k on it for $24k is a hell of a lot of car...

 

It is a lot of car but 2003 was the first model year.
If something breaks, you're not paying to fix a $24k car, you're paying to fix an AMG Mercedes. Repair costs (when needed) will be high.

The 2004 had fewer kinks.

 

Ive always been told to stay away from 2003 also. I have a buddy with an 03 and he's never had problems, so its pretty much hit or miss. If I were you, id look into the service history of the car before buying.

 

I had a 2004. Towards 45k miles my air suspension started to give out on me, and i knew eventually it was going to give out on me. Additionally my alternator was going because the car would almost pulsate. Though i never had any of the issues taken care of under my extended warranty i just opted to trade it in.

Also after market warranties do not cover recalls and i know my 04 had a feul pump recall that was not covered under this after market warranty because it was a recall and my original warranty had expired. I would not reccomend getting a late 03 or 04 unless its a steal and your covered under some warranty.

My bro in law had an older s55 and once his warranty was up the car would not go in gear and costs thousands to fix!

-Ozz

 

Avoid the 03's for sure. I agree with what the other people said, 05+ is when they worked out the kinks. If you plan to 10k+ miles a year prepare to set aside $2k for maintenance for these cars.