RE: Mercedes E55 AMG: PH Used Buying Guide

[Krikkit]

AC43 said:

cornershop said:

There was reference earlier to e55 parts being made of ‘unobtainium’ - are parts quite scarce?

Surprising for Merc, usually pretty good in parts supply

No not really. The (front) brakes are bespoke and the engine has a s/c bolted on. It rides on Airmatic but so do other E's. They have different wheels, bumper covers and sill covers but all the rest is standard 200,000 mile a year E Class.

They share the occassional propensity to much the gearbox along with other E's. Same for leaking Air, failing SBC pumps and so on. They all much through front ball joints and sometimes engine mounts.

The only problem unique to them that I'm aware of is leaking intercooler pumps.

God, now that I've written that down I'm kicking myself for never buying one. It's certainly by far the most sensible way of getting behind a 55k.

The bigger bills tend to sit with SL55's where if you are unlucky you can enjoy fuel tank baffle failure, ABC suspension failure, leaking boot seals and fried ECU's amongst other things. Big bills to sort those things out because of all the labour. You can still get all the parts, though.

The trickiest thing to fix in my experience is the airmatic, as the pipes run around under the car and the reservoirs for the rear are nestled in the rear subframe which is tricky for access.

[Al Duderino]

I've had a 2005 E55 AMG for pushing 5 years and it is a brilliant car. I live in Jersey and so curtailed by the max 40mph speed limit but all I can say is that a car of this age with this amount of power and torque that makes this sort of noise is fun at 5mph, let alone 155.

Mine is 100% standard including the exhaust, meaning it's reasonably quiet when cruising but sounds lovely when revved. Taken it for a few long (2,500 miles +) driving holidays in Europe and nothing I have ever driven - newer or more expensive - is better on a long run (fuel economy aside - 23mpg average on long runs).

They are such good value and such great fun it is untrue IF you can live with (a) potentially expensive fixes when something goes wrong (50k miles car, I had to have a suspension strut replaced - previous owner had left it hanging for a long time and the rubber perished - and a new fuel pump, including parts those two jobs cost £1,500 in total - although as people have mentioned things like brakes are cheaper than you would think, plus we have a brilliant indie here to do work) and (b) massively out of date infotainment tech, but for old farts like me most of my music is on CDs so not a real issue...

I would 100% recommend one to anyone, we call it The Beast and puts a smile on your face every time you start it up, which is a lot for a car that is essentially a boyced-up Frankfurt taxi.

I paid £15k when mind had 25k miles, compared to what else you can get for that it's a no-brainer.

[Rufalike]

I have been lucky enough to own a full set of m5’s up to the e60 and some Alpinas , a Mercedes e500 ( the Porsche one) and an e55 and am not sure I would agree with the e39 m5 being “ the better car”.

I felt that they were all different and answering different questions . I could see fun arguing which did better at those questions especially as given the low prices for these things there is no need to have a saloon that takes the kids etc as you can have a sportscar as well. For me I look at how they therefore rate as fun daily drivers which may give a different answer to the weekend 911 alternative that they can also be looked at .

Fastest in a straight line ? E55 easily followed by my Alpina b 10 Biturbo

Most fun down a twisty road? The Alpina b9 I had followed by e34 m5 on Hartge suspension ( and I must be the only person in the world that found the e28 m5 a bit lacking in torque and a bit dull🙈 and in a slightly shameful dervish type way preferred the e28 m535 auto I had at the time too with Alpina wheels and a habit of going massively sideways from walking pace upwards and often without warning but somehow perfect power size fun daily user)
The e39 m5 to me was a great thing but like all these cars a bit big and fat and doesn’t really do what a sports car does

E500 was the one I miss and I actually kept it locked up in a heated garage as it was too nice to use. I should have driven that daily and at that it was definitely a special thing which just got under your skin despite the litany of comments about it being slow or soft or auto.

Which leaves the e55 estate I now have.

I have got out of a cosseting newish low miles s class daily driver changed it for a cheap leggy e55 estate and am now addicted to the noise feel sound and general daily humour of it . Maybe the e39 was better on a twisty but then without wishing to sound like a total dick I d take out my 911 hot rod

(I will say as an aside w221 s class S350blutec probably the best car in the world at the free with cornflakes prices they command but that is another story! )

[AC43]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Fair enough. The "AMG tax" is quite annoying. I used to experience that when replacing the front discs on my C43's.

[saracen22]

Wow! The car featured here is my actual car! I've owned it for about 10 years.
This car was a Mercedes press car and featured on Top Gear. I also have several magazines with it featured in when it was new.

Lovely cars but expensive to maintain. It has done 80k miles, but drives like the day I purchased it.

Great to see it here, as I've never seen some of these pictures.