NEW TOY! 10k E55 AMG
Discussion
Five years ago I purchased my first Mercedes, a six month old 6k mile W211 E320 CDI Sport. The first thing I did was have Mercedes Coventry install the Brabus D6 remap and was very pleased over all! Probably the best all rounder I've owned. 130k miles later it's still going strong as my daily drive.
A few months ago however, whilst trawling Autotrader and PH classifieds for my next weekend car, it came to my attention that W211 E55 AMG's were now changing hands for less than 10k!
I should say, that in the five years between buying my first mercedes, I've owned and driven a vast array of performance and luxury vehicles, Bentley's, Jag XK-RS's, Porsche 997's, Lamborghini's, Fezzas, BMW M6's... (It's been a good five years)... Always though, the W211 E-Class has been the one I couldn't part with, so, a couple of weeks ago I found myself looking at sub 10k E55 AMG's, and then lusting after one, and then buying one, and then falling in love with it's endless atomic power, and then feeling my heart sink as the engine spluttered to a stop a day after owning it...and so AMG ownership begins!
First off, the bad stuff. The engine died the day after I got it home. After replacing all the spark plugs (there's a lot of them!) to no avail, STAR revealed that it was an ignition coil problem, this was replaced an the fault dissapeared. The next thing I noticed was an annoying buzz from the brake pedal. Having read up, this is a common complaint among pre facelift W211 owners, it's basically the SBC brake pump not being insulated very well, but easily remedied apparently, I'll see how annoying it becomes before I hand over any more money to fix it. The only other ever so slightly annoying thing, is a squeak from the supercharger when pulling away. Again, some internet trawling showed this was another common complaint, personally, I don't think it's that bad. Lots of people on MB forums have replaced belts, clutches even entire superchargers to try to get rid of it, others opt for the "stop squeak" spray option. Personally I'm going for the turn the stereo up approach. All in all, for a high performance car, with zillions of electronics, I'm amazed at how fault free it is for a ten year old car with 89k on the clock!
So, the good stuff.
Well....it's awe inspiringly quick in a straight line. We timed it (in a controlled safe environment) from 62-160mph took 24 seconds! Having owned an E60 BMW M6, I can also report that the difference in power delivery makes the merc feel a lot lot faster whether it is or not. The power's always there, in a much more useable range. Corners are, well, entertaining to be kind. Having owned a Porsche 911, and having driven quite a few well sorted Porsches, I've long established that going round corners fast is impressive, but nowhere near as fun as going round them sideways with smoke pouring off the rears. It suits my tastes though, I'll happily watch RS4's competently deal with roundabouts sans drama and then hurtle past them at a gazillion miles per hour. One thing I will say, is in the M6 I could never really feel the difference in the suspension stiffness settings, in the E55 I definitely can, at least between the softest and the hardest anyway. The raising front suspension is quite nice on a geeky level, but frankly the ground clearance is good enough that I don't see when you'd ever need it.
Handling and power dealt with, more practical things like fuel consumption come to mind. 10mpg is the lowest I've seen, 24mpg is the best I've achieved, and it tends to average around 17mpg when driving normally, with the odd squirt of throttle. I'm ok with that. The M6 used to get 8mpg, the best I saw out of the 997 was an impressive 32mpg, but from a big heavy supercharged 5.4L V8 I think it's actually a bit better than I expected, although, the fact that it's a 5 speed means that lowest revs in top gear sees you traveling at around 55mph, not ideal for motorway economy driving. The diesels 7 speed box is pretty brilliant in that department.
The gearbox itself feels pretty crisp. I did the reset (turn key on, press throttle, turn key off, rub belly tap head, release throttle) and to be honest I couldn't feel the difference. The paddles work well, and I like how in D-S it'll hold the gear when you're mid corner. I used to have a 2005 XKR and I hated the way it'd drop all the revs on the approach to a corner.
Overall, I'm really happy with it. I'm amazed by the fact that it's half the price of a W211 E63, and yet is pretty much the same car! The stats are close as makes no difference, the looks are actually more subtle and tasteful in my opinion, and it's got all the toys that my 2008 facelift W211 diesel has. Also, if you're a complete lunatic and you decide it's not fast enough, the fact that it's supercharged makes it infinitely more tune-able than the NA 6.2 motor. You'd have to be mad in my opinion though.
The coil pack stuff hasn't spoiled it either, if I'd bought an M5 I'd probably of spent the same on Vanos, and if I'd bought an RS6 I'd of probably had to have the suspension sorted. If you are going to buy one though, check the radiator for cracks/leaks as this is the only other really significant problem they had and it can be costly to fix.
All in all, a 4.7 second car, that can get 24mpg, and is arguably one of the most comfortable luxurious cars on the road, for 10k, is an absolute winner in my book. I'd reccommend it to anyone in the market for a big quick practical car that does most stuff, better than most stuff.
I'll be thrashing it round the Isle of Man next month, new tyres and brakes fairly soon then!
A few months ago however, whilst trawling Autotrader and PH classifieds for my next weekend car, it came to my attention that W211 E55 AMG's were now changing hands for less than 10k!
I should say, that in the five years between buying my first mercedes, I've owned and driven a vast array of performance and luxury vehicles, Bentley's, Jag XK-RS's, Porsche 997's, Lamborghini's, Fezzas, BMW M6's... (It's been a good five years)... Always though, the W211 E-Class has been the one I couldn't part with, so, a couple of weeks ago I found myself looking at sub 10k E55 AMG's, and then lusting after one, and then buying one, and then falling in love with it's endless atomic power, and then feeling my heart sink as the engine spluttered to a stop a day after owning it...and so AMG ownership begins!
First off, the bad stuff. The engine died the day after I got it home. After replacing all the spark plugs (there's a lot of them!) to no avail, STAR revealed that it was an ignition coil problem, this was replaced an the fault dissapeared. The next thing I noticed was an annoying buzz from the brake pedal. Having read up, this is a common complaint among pre facelift W211 owners, it's basically the SBC brake pump not being insulated very well, but easily remedied apparently, I'll see how annoying it becomes before I hand over any more money to fix it. The only other ever so slightly annoying thing, is a squeak from the supercharger when pulling away. Again, some internet trawling showed this was another common complaint, personally, I don't think it's that bad. Lots of people on MB forums have replaced belts, clutches even entire superchargers to try to get rid of it, others opt for the "stop squeak" spray option. Personally I'm going for the turn the stereo up approach. All in all, for a high performance car, with zillions of electronics, I'm amazed at how fault free it is for a ten year old car with 89k on the clock!
So, the good stuff.
Well....it's awe inspiringly quick in a straight line. We timed it (in a controlled safe environment) from 62-160mph took 24 seconds! Having owned an E60 BMW M6, I can also report that the difference in power delivery makes the merc feel a lot lot faster whether it is or not. The power's always there, in a much more useable range. Corners are, well, entertaining to be kind. Having owned a Porsche 911, and having driven quite a few well sorted Porsches, I've long established that going round corners fast is impressive, but nowhere near as fun as going round them sideways with smoke pouring off the rears. It suits my tastes though, I'll happily watch RS4's competently deal with roundabouts sans drama and then hurtle past them at a gazillion miles per hour. One thing I will say, is in the M6 I could never really feel the difference in the suspension stiffness settings, in the E55 I definitely can, at least between the softest and the hardest anyway. The raising front suspension is quite nice on a geeky level, but frankly the ground clearance is good enough that I don't see when you'd ever need it.
Handling and power dealt with, more practical things like fuel consumption come to mind. 10mpg is the lowest I've seen, 24mpg is the best I've achieved, and it tends to average around 17mpg when driving normally, with the odd squirt of throttle. I'm ok with that. The M6 used to get 8mpg, the best I saw out of the 997 was an impressive 32mpg, but from a big heavy supercharged 5.4L V8 I think it's actually a bit better than I expected, although, the fact that it's a 5 speed means that lowest revs in top gear sees you traveling at around 55mph, not ideal for motorway economy driving. The diesels 7 speed box is pretty brilliant in that department.
The gearbox itself feels pretty crisp. I did the reset (turn key on, press throttle, turn key off, rub belly tap head, release throttle) and to be honest I couldn't feel the difference. The paddles work well, and I like how in D-S it'll hold the gear when you're mid corner. I used to have a 2005 XKR and I hated the way it'd drop all the revs on the approach to a corner.
Overall, I'm really happy with it. I'm amazed by the fact that it's half the price of a W211 E63, and yet is pretty much the same car! The stats are close as makes no difference, the looks are actually more subtle and tasteful in my opinion, and it's got all the toys that my 2008 facelift W211 diesel has. Also, if you're a complete lunatic and you decide it's not fast enough, the fact that it's supercharged makes it infinitely more tune-able than the NA 6.2 motor. You'd have to be mad in my opinion though.
The coil pack stuff hasn't spoiled it either, if I'd bought an M5 I'd probably of spent the same on Vanos, and if I'd bought an RS6 I'd of probably had to have the suspension sorted. If you are going to buy one though, check the radiator for cracks/leaks as this is the only other really significant problem they had and it can be costly to fix.
All in all, a 4.7 second car, that can get 24mpg, and is arguably one of the most comfortable luxurious cars on the road, for 10k, is an absolute winner in my book. I'd reccommend it to anyone in the market for a big quick practical car that does most stuff, better than most stuff.
I'll be thrashing it round the Isle of Man next month, new tyres and brakes fairly soon then!
Enjoyed reading that! Fantastic choice of car too, AMG Mercs always impress me when I step into such a large car and then get thrown back into the seat with huge force! (Never driven one but been a passenger in quite a few)
Got any pics by any chance?
It still surprises me how reasonably priced large Mercs, Beemers and Jags are now..
Got any pics by any chance?
It still surprises me how reasonably priced large Mercs, Beemers and Jags are now..
I own a W210 E55,had the car 7 years and have done over 50k enjoyable miles in it.I only bought the car in the first place to do the modball rally across europe but the car proved so good that I have kept it.Apart from regular oil and filter changes the car has been faultless and still performs like when it was new.I would love to buy a newer W211 E55 but having had a few run ins with these my own car is,nt far behind as far a performance goes, as mine is a lot lighter.Good luck with your E55 and I hope you have as much fun with it as ive had with mine.
Fully agree and when you do get bored or numb to the power there is so much more to be unleashed. Getting to 600 bhp is relatively easy it does get a little harder after that, I am hoping on my first sub 3 sec 0-60 run this year as well as a 10 sec quarter and hit >195 mph at Bruntingthorpe and still take my dogs in the back to the park!
I've had my E55 AMG for about 15 months now & like the OP, I think it's a bargain of a car. The only problems I've had with mine is the pump for the suspension failing (quite common, I was told) and the upper & lower front suspension ball joints knocking and needing replacing. Mine's been tweaked by a previous owner to 530BHP and so it seems to struggle to do better than 22mpg under any circumstances. Worst was 4mpg when I took it round Donnington to finish off a set of tyres. It set fire to the brakes & had to retire from the field of battle, but it was keeping up with GT3s on the straights 
A brief update. I mentioned the initial ignition problems but at the time I didn't have the bill for the work. To give you an idea, Two coil packs and replacing all the spark plugs solved the miss-fire. It took my local garage two hours to diagnose and fix, and cost £640.
On friday I drove the car from Coventry to Sheffield, the M1 was closed for two hours due to a massive pile up (nothing to do with me!) it struck me while we were sat there watching a DVD in absolute comfort just how well it did the boring stuff. Anyway, the car didn't skip a beat, the engine temperature rose quiet a bit while sat stationary, but every V8 I've owned runs fairly hot unless it's getting some cool air.
Having had a bit more time to inspect the car, the only place it shows it's ten year age is on the headlights. They're slightly faded and discoloured. Easily solved with some replacements, I'll probably fit the whiter sidelight bulbs found on the face-lift W211 if it's possible as it takes years off the car. Obviously this is a non essential expense, all told, after the coil pack and spark plug's were replaced, I've a fully functioning absolutely brilliant E55 AMG for £10,640 and I'm already falling in love with it. It's just the engine. Each time you put your foot down and the horizon charges at you and you lift off with a massive smile on your face, your immediately compelled to do it again!
The power's plenty for me, so despite the tune-ability of the supercharged lump, I'll be leaving it alone. I plan to swap the alloys for the AMG V 14 or 16 spoke, and see if it's possible to get some wider rubber on the rear corners.
Here's a quick snap I took last week. Thanks for the comments, I'll keep you informed if anything goes catastrophically wrong, costs etc! Fingers crossed though, seems like the bargain of the century!
On friday I drove the car from Coventry to Sheffield, the M1 was closed for two hours due to a massive pile up (nothing to do with me!) it struck me while we were sat there watching a DVD in absolute comfort just how well it did the boring stuff. Anyway, the car didn't skip a beat, the engine temperature rose quiet a bit while sat stationary, but every V8 I've owned runs fairly hot unless it's getting some cool air.
Having had a bit more time to inspect the car, the only place it shows it's ten year age is on the headlights. They're slightly faded and discoloured. Easily solved with some replacements, I'll probably fit the whiter sidelight bulbs found on the face-lift W211 if it's possible as it takes years off the car. Obviously this is a non essential expense, all told, after the coil pack and spark plug's were replaced, I've a fully functioning absolutely brilliant E55 AMG for £10,640 and I'm already falling in love with it. It's just the engine. Each time you put your foot down and the horizon charges at you and you lift off with a massive smile on your face, your immediately compelled to do it again!
The power's plenty for me, so despite the tune-ability of the supercharged lump, I'll be leaving it alone. I plan to swap the alloys for the AMG V 14 or 16 spoke, and see if it's possible to get some wider rubber on the rear corners.
Here's a quick snap I took last week. Thanks for the comments, I'll keep you informed if anything goes catastrophically wrong, costs etc! Fingers crossed though, seems like the bargain of the century!
Hi Tom
I tried the LED sidelight bulb trick on my '04 car & it didn't turn out well. They either fail to come on at all, or they flash on & off (tried 2 different ones I had lying about). I suspect there's a resistor in the circuit somewhere but I couldn't see it when I had a quick look. Let us know if you manage to find it!
I tried the LED sidelight bulb trick on my '04 car & it didn't turn out well. They either fail to come on at all, or they flash on & off (tried 2 different ones I had lying about). I suspect there's a resistor in the circuit somewhere but I couldn't see it when I had a quick look. Let us know if you manage to find it!
We have an 09 E320 CDI estate with the LED sidelights and an 06 CLS with ordinary bulbs. I had replaced the latter after they failed with Bosch ones from Halfords, which gave a very yellow light. I recently replaced one failed bulb with one from Mercedes - it uses a blue glass - and it is virtually as white as the E class's LED sidelights. I replaced the other bulb to match.
Tom Clarke said:
Having had a bit more time to inspect the car, the only place it shows it's ten year age is on the headlights. They're slightly faded and discoloured. Easily solved with some replacements,
But more cheaply solved with some cutting compound, wet-and-dry paper and a rotary polisher. Mine came up like new with less than an hours work. (a 2001 130,000 mile W210 E-class).Honestly, give it a try. If you're throwing them away otherwise, there's nothing to lose.
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