[graymarket500SEL]

Glad you caught it before the annoying noise became an expensive problem!

I also picked up my car for a song, and I've enjoyed it in its stock form. Even though mine was a german gray market vehicle, it had the ugly US headlights installed and I've converted it back to Euro headlamps. It still has the euro bumpers so the only other "little touch" I've added was to install a german front license plate.
I've enjoyed driving this car in stock form - and aside from a new exhaust system installed when my old cats fell apart, I think that the cosmetics of a stock car stand up to time better than my car's flashier body-kitted lowered aftermarket wheel counterparts.