This 2003 Mercedes-Benz ML55 AMG was sold new out of Castar Mercedes-Benz in Glendale, California where it remained until 2011 when it moved to Plano, Texas until 2025. Finished in Black Opal Metallic (189) over Black Exclusive Leather (561), power is provided by a 5.4-liter V8 driving all four wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. Equipment includes xenon headlamps, 18″ AMG wheels, factory AMG bodykit, power-adjustable heated front seats, cruise control, tilting/retractable power sunroof, Bose audio, and a lockable safe located beneath the front passenger seat. The most recent service conducted was valve cover gaskets and oil filter housing by the selling dealer with a new battery in 2024 and a fuel injection service in 2021. This ML55 AMG has 104k miles and is now offered by the selling dealer out of Darien, Wisconsin with a spare tire cover, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Texas title.
The truck is finished in Black Opal Metallic (189) and is equipped with an AMG body kit consisting of revised bumpers, side skirts, and wheel arch flares. Additional exterior features include fog lights, xenon headlamps with washers, a power sunroof, roof rails, and a factory exhaust with dual AMG-stamped outlets. The seller notes minor scuffing on the front bumper and a few marks on the passenger side door moulding. The Xenon headlights are both original and remain clear with no signs of oxidation. With registration in California and Texas, there is no rust on this W163.
Factory five-spoke 18″ AMG show rare chrome wheels that wear Nitto NT404 Extreme Force tires measuring 285/50 on all four corners with 2014 date codes rear and 2011 date codes front. Braking is provided by factory painted red calipers clamping discs at all four corners. The factory spare wheel and tire are located in the rear cargo space along with the cover. In 2016 at 101k miles, brake calipers were serviced, brake fluid flushed, and brake rotors were resurfaced. There is some pitting visible on the chrome wheels.
The cabin features seats upholstered in Black Exclusive leather (561) along with matching door panels and carpets. Burl walnut wood veneer accents the center console, doors, and steering wheel. Equipment includes power-adjustable heated front seats, driver’s seat memory, cruise control, air conditioning, Bose audio, and a lockable safe located beneath the front passenger seat. All front and rear headrests are included and the rear cargo area is equipped with the factory spare tire and cover. All electronics reportedly function as designed including A/C and heat. Included is a factory optioned navigation screen which includes all the controls to the CD player, radio, and other functions. Rear passengers have their own climate control panel. Minor wear can be seen on the buffalo hide leather side bolster on the driver seat.
The wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel frames white instrumentation consisting of an AMG-branded 160-mph speedometer, a 7k-rpm tachometer, and gauges for coolant temperature and fuel level. Digital readouts for outside temperature and time are located on each side. The digital odometer shows just over 104k miles with linear Carfax mileage pings throughout the car’s history.
The twin-spark 5.4-liter M113 V8 produced 342 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque when new. Power is sent to all four wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission. The most recent service in preparation for the sale includes valve cover gaskets and oil filter housing by the selling dealer with a new battery in 2024 and a fuel injection service in 2021. The selling dealer notes this is a zero rust truck.
The Carfax report lists 31 service history records and registration in California and Texas its whole life. This ML55 has 104k miles and is now offered by the selling dealer with a spare tire and cover, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Texas title.
The MB Market is a beacon for clean, no-issue ML55s. We’re here for it since we love these trucks. In reality, the ML55 AMG is incredibly uncommon with under 4,000 sold in the U.S. market and allegedly 150 for 2003. While the W163 is a capable off-road vehicle, the highway manners on the ML55 is spectacular. It has immense inertia and a ton of power delivered via the 5.4 liter M113 AMG tuned engine. This Black Opal example with chrome wheels is an absurdly cool spec. With most of them silver, it’s always great to see one in a color as wonderful as this. With ML55s having kept more of their value over lesser M113 and M112 variations, they tend to be kept in better shape as they were always enthusiast owned. The AMG models are still desirable today with their cult following. This is a great one to buy if you’re hunting for a W163.
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26 Comments
Great buy, sorry I logged in late for this one. Enjoy it!
@GenevaMotorCars Very excited, thank you!
Nice! What a great buy.
Congratulations to @AMGguy. We will be in touch shortly. Thanks everyone!
This will be SOLD today! Bid to own!
$11,000 bid placed by @AMGguy
Here we go! You will be hard pressed to find another 2002/03 with lower miles like this. Don't pass this one up! Good luck everyone!!!
Just over 10 minutes to go! Please make sure your screen is refreshed and do not wait until the last second to bid! Good luck everyone!
@zoccierampqt. We have not experienced that, and it could have been related to the relay/ sensors that we have since replaced
$10,750 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
$10,500 bid placed by @EddieColatorti
From my experience from driving this car from Wisconsin to Atlanta, I do recall the Check Engine Light, BAS ESP light and fuel gauge would intermittently come on / not work, and seems related to the car sometimes not fully initialize, Spencer would be great if you can comment if that was fixed as well. In fact, when I picked up the car is was running, but the issue happened as soon as I stopped - about 60 miles out for gas.
$9,750 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
$9,500 bid placed by @EddieColatorti
$9,000 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
$8,750 bid placed by @McMeigs
@ruben1986. You pay taxes in your home state unless you reside in Wisconsin. I collect taxes for in state residents only.
Do I pay the taxes to you or the state of registration?
Who pays the taxes? Me or the seller?
For those considering bidding, I recently purchased an ML55 from the seller (my 3rd ML55) and I couldn't be happier with the experience. It was received as described and Spencer et team ensured it was top notch all around.
$8,500 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
$8,250 bid placed by @EddieColatorti
$7,805 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
@Mbb79184. No hitch on this one but one can easily be added!
$7,555 bid placed by @Mbb79184
@jnasty. All issues pertaining to the “buyback” are resolved. There are no known issues with the vehicle however it is a 22 year old car and things still may pop up. This is a public forum and I am not going to go on and on about another party. Please understand there are any things that went into us taking the car back and it was not single-sided. At the end of the day this is a very nice and super rare 03 ML55. It runs and drives great and I would drive it myself cross country etc.
@GenevaMotorCars - thank you. But can you give a very clear and direct answer to this please? are you stating 1) all the known issues related to the buyback have been 100% solved and 2) NO new/reamining issues or unresolved services/issue exist?" Thank you.
$7,000 bid placed by @Chiphil1019
Does this have a tow hitch under the rear bumper cover?
@Jnasty. As you can see from the photos there is a fog light bezel surround on this one and it is not missing. We also painted the fender flares as you can also see from the photos. I would be happy to do another full inspection for the buyer post sale. That is not a problem!
@GenevaMotorCars @zoccierampqt - the last auction also noted these items "The right fog light surround is missing, and peeling paint on the right side fender flares as well as scratches in the rear bumper cover" yet this auction does not. Were they addressed?
can we see some photos of the undercarriage?
$6,555 bid placed by @Mbb79184
@GenevaMotorCars - given the buy back, are you stating 1) all the known issues related to the buyback have been 100% solved and 2) NO new/reamining issues or unresolved services/issue exist? The car has had a full PPI buy you? Would you be willing to - even if it's your own techs - do a PPI level examination of the car and put it in writing in the photos/files?
@Zoccierampqt. Hope all is well Zach! With that being said, a couple of things to clarify. We did not misrepresent anything. The valve cover gaskets and oil cooler were replaced and done improperly by a tech that no long works here. The oil was coming from them. They have since been replaced by a certified Mercedes tech. The amplifier and lights were related to a relay and is rectified. There was nothing wrong with the transmission cooler hose. We had replaced the plug for the transmission, which is a $19 part and extremely common on these. The AC worked and as you stated didn't work as well after a while. It is a used car and I cannot predict what may happen in the future. I can saw it was an outside temp sensor that was causing the AC not to kick on which was replaced. I do regret that you had this experience, however I would like to state there was a lot of factors not mentioned here. Hope you found what you were looking for. Thank you
Nice to see my ML55 here. I owned this car and purchased it from Geneva Motorcars early last year, by winning it on the other auction site that starts with 'B' -- while I agree, that some really nice people to work with and made the process a good experience, in my experience this car was miss-represented. There were a lot of issues, with oil leaks from front and rear seals, leaks from transmission cooler hose, computer issues, such that the car and no lights would engage, amplifier did not work, hence no sound from music system, AC after some time was no longer cold and etc. Spencer and his team did recognize that the mechanic who worked on the car did not do the work assigned to him and after 6+ months of back and forth, Spencer finally agreed to buy the car back and issued a refund to me. So, while, great people, please ask your questions and inspect the car before signing paper work, as you could be in the same situation that the mechanic who worked on it, may have not addressed all the issues.
I just recently purchased an ML55 from this same seller and had a great experience—highly recommend for anyone considering one of these special machines. This example looks fantastic, especially in this color. If owning two ML55s made any sense at all, I’d be bidding—trust me, the temptation is real! Joelle and Spencer at Geneva Motorcars were a pleasure to work with. They made the entire process super easy, including coordinating shipping. It’s clear they have a real passion for these ML55s, and I’m sure this one will make its next owner very happy.
$6,000 bid placed by @Ingedryice
Also, can you confirm every button, feature, function operates as originally intended. Thank you
On 9/2015 it failed emissions, but I don't see where it passed after that date.
$5,750 bid placed by @EddieColatorti
$5,500 bid placed by @Mbb79184
$1,880 bid placed by @anomadtoo
$1,630 bid placed by @Mbb79184