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weekend car.. 2003 e500?

2K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  G-FLo 
#1 · (Edited)
I'd like to buy an affordable / used luxury car that I can drive around on the weekends or just a few times a week.

03 Mercedes E 500- nice car !!!

I plan to keep it for under a year so depreciation doesn't hit me too hard on the resell...then maybe find something else.

my price range is under 25k. I don't mind if the car has 100k miles since I won't have it that long, plus most cars these days will last forever if taken care of.

is this a good way to get myself into many different cars, or would it be better to lease?
 
#2 ·
You can probably find a better car, I had an 04 320 same color and I loved it. But due to the higher mileage and it being the first year it was produced I would stay away from it. Also looks like its been in an accident. If you look at the front bumper the line up isn't perfect around and these cars come perfectly aligned. After an accident they are really hard to adjust back the same way, I know this from experience. Try to find an 05 or higher and you dont really have to worry about resale on these cars they keep their value.
 
#8 ·
Didn't realize I could pickup a v8 SL500 for such a price :)
 
#6 ·
We had an 03 E500, disastrous electronics particularly for a brand new car at the time. Never get a first model year of a body style in my opinion. Just as a suggestion, I'd recommend a GS350 (07+). I generally don't like Japanese cars but they're comfortable, bulletproof, and the chassis is WAY better than you'd expect, my only complaint being the NAV isn't great and the steering is probably 30-50% lighter than I'd like. I've put over 5000 miles on one and it's a great cruiser and DD, 28mpg too. Just throwing it out there Stance.
Best,
Spencer

Here's a good looking one...
 
#12 · (Edited)
^ Not sure where that comment came from.


I think I just want some cheap v8 power to have fun with. Luxury is nice and all, but I've never had anything above a 4 cylinder car. What I have now is very nice (2012 Elantra) for practical purposes, but its really power that I'm after, not so much the heated leather seats.

Throw on a catback exhaust, window tints, matt black car wrap (cost?) and new wheels. Only major problem is I never learned to drive stick, so if I get a muscle car I'll have to buy a shitty car to learn on, possibly destroying the transmission. If I buy European, I could settle on the automatic.
 
#13 ·
the color of that benz.... that's what EVERY 73yr old man drives down here.

if you want a fast/luxury/reliable/cheap car with a v8 get a 04-05 body style s4. I wanted one back in the day but I went the evo route which was a nightmare, twice.
 
#14 ·
A decent wrap job is 2500 minimum if you don't care about the door jams etc, 3500-5000 if you do. Have you considered a facelifted E90 335i sedan (09/10 for the N54 which is more fun IMO). It's a TT I6 and with a few grand in mods you're looking at around 425 crank hp. You might be able to find one with a warranty, but if not the only real trouble spot (the high pressure fuel pump) has a 10 year/100k mile warranty on it. You can find a nice one in the low 20's and a tune with an axleback exhaust will be plenty of fun.

The B6 S4 is a good suggestion as well, though I'd shy away from a high mileage car as they often have lots of deferred maintenance in my experience, but with any German car maintenance history is worth it's weight in gold if it's comprehensive!
 
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