W211 E55 AMG - A perfect storm

[cornershop]

These have the ZF 6HP24 gearbox but i wouldn’t trust any old school auto to survive a Santa Pod thrashing.

[Ph1listine]

Caddyshack said:

It will be the super charger cooling pump that makes it go in to limp mode. My one did exactly that and the Merc mechanics said most of them fail.

Thanks for diagnosis! Was indeed that, looks like it was running the original pump. 100 quid pump and 40 min labour and it's running much better now, no nore limp mode and pulls harder when than when not in limp mode.

[J4CKO]

TheAngryDog said:

J4CKO said:

TheAngryDog said:

J4CKO said:

TheAngryDog said:

The SBC pump can usually be reset once. After that it is a new pump time.

I avoided cars with the SBC system, all the 55's models have it, think it was 2006 and after that lost it.

You missed out.

Nah, I had eight grand, so wasnt in AMG territory anyway, I should have qualified, I avoided CLS/E 500 models pre facelift as they had the older engine plus SBC, the 5.5 gets you another 80 odd bhp, gets a better gearbox, loses the SBC and power wise was the nearest to a 55 you get without it being a 55.

What you dont get is the supercharged power delivery and thuggish nature, the 500 was plenty fast but perhaps lacking in attitude in comparison, very quiet.

if anyone is missing modern Sat nav and DAB, look on ebay for w211 android head unit, fits intot he original slot and updates an aging command system.

I gave less than £8k for mine when I bought it in 2017.

I paid seven grand in 2015 for the CLS 500, there just werent any AMG models about at anything like that price at the time, the one I bought was a well looked after two owner (husband and wife) example, was my first foray into Merc/barge so was a bit more comfortable with it as well. Did come close to getting one a couple of years later but bottled it as job was looking dicey and wasnt the right time. ended up getting made redundant and bought the M135i.

Might go back, loved the CLS but think would need to be a well fettled E55 now.

Never forgot my youngest getting dropped off by his mates mum in a black CLS 55 prob 14 years ago, was sat int he house and was like WTF is that ! she had just got it and had been terrifying herself, replaced it with a Bentley Continental cabrio after a year or two and said she missed the Merc.

[Teepot]

What a motor - so good!

I just wish they did these in Palladium Silver at the time! At least I don’t think they did?

Still, proper weapon!

[Ph1listine]

Bright Halo said:

I remember taking one of these for a test drive back in the day.
I had a E39 M5 at the time and the E55 was far quicker in a straight line. Considering it’s weight it was also surprisingly good in the twisties.
You would have to be driving in a very aggressive manor unsuitable for normal road driving to find it’s limitations.

Funnily enough I happened upon this review the other day in an old Evo mag. They concluded the M5 is still the better all rounder but the acceleration stats for the E55 were in a league above, with the same roll-on performance as a 996 Turbo. Most impressive is the E55's 100-120 mph time of 3.9 seconds, compared with the C5 RS6 Avant's 6.9 seconds, guess that's the downside of 4WD drivetrain loss and less cubic capacity. RS6's off the line performance was remarkable to be fair and for an N/A the M5 put in a sterling effort.










Would still love to experience an E39 M5. Any owners on here wanting a go in an E55 give me a shout!

[J4CKO]

Teepot said:

What a motor - so good!

I just wish they did these in Palladium Silver at the time! At least I don’t think they did?

Still, proper weapon!

Wasnt ever W211 some shade of silver ?

Be interesting to see how my M135i compares to an E55, ok its got a tuning box but would the E55 feel massively quicker as cant imagine 0-100 mph is much different.

Not that why it would be why I want one, after a taste of Merc V8, the BMW six, even with turbos feels like a diet version in comparison.

[Ph1listine]

J4CKO said:

Wasnt ever W211 some shade of silver ?

Be interesting to see how my M135i compares to an E55, ok its got a tuning box but would the E55 feel massively quicker as cant imagine 0-100 mph is much different.

Not that why it would be why I want one, after a taste of Merc V8, the BMW six, even with turbos feels like a diet version in comparison.

I nearly bought an M135i but was scared about engine bearing failures. Was then going to get an M140 but couldn't stretch and decided on the Merc to trade awful fuel economy for less/no depreciation.

Given the 1er is 300-400 kg lighter I reckon a lightly breathed on M135i would stick with the E55 well into 3 figures.

[M-oeamh]

These are awesome cars, ive owned mine for 7 years and has been great, I’ve had mine lpg converted (cost 4k) and sadly have to sell as need a seven seater 😕. Just advertised on autotrader and will be sad to see it go, mine is one of the best out there and the only car that can do 100 miles on £12 and yet do 0-60 in low 4 seconds. Check my car out on autotrader

[Ph1listine]

M-oeamh said:

These are awesome cars, ive owned mine for 7 years and has been great, I’ve had mine lpg converted (cost 4k) and sadly have to sell as need a seven seater ??. Just advertised on autotrader and will be sad to see it go, mine is one of the best out there and the only car that can do 100 miles on £12 and yet do 0-60 in low 4 seconds. Check my car out on autotrader

That's got to make it the best all rounder in the world. Has it had map and pulley?

[M-oeamh]

It’s had the pulley and has been mapped. Pulls like a train

[Ph1listine]

M-oeamh said:

It’s had the pulley and has been mapped. Pulls like a train

Can imagine! Look at how this 530 bhp E55 3-up stays with a Gallardo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtyHhVejonQ

[J4CKO]

Ph1listine said:

J4CKO said:

Wasnt ever W211 some shade of silver ?

Be interesting to see how my M135i compares to an E55, ok its got a tuning box but would the E55 feel massively quicker as cant imagine 0-100 mph is much different.

Not that why it would be why I want one, after a taste of Merc V8, the BMW six, even with turbos feels like a diet version in comparison.

I nearly bought an M135i but was scared about engine bearing failures. Was then going to get an M140 but couldn't stretch and decided on the Merc to trade awful fuel economy for less/no depreciation.

Given the 1er is 300-400 kg lighter I reckon a lightly breathed on M135i would stick with the E55 well into 3 figures.

Loving the logic, nearly new BMW vs ten year older supercharged Merc with air suspension

But I sort of agree, I think these cars are, if you do you homework and can do stuff yourself, not that bad/expensive to own relative of course to the performance. have heard a few N55 engined cars have had rod bearing problems but doesnt seem to be that prevalent, thinkits mainly on track where they suffer oil starvation, mines only done 18k so should be ok for a bit. I was the same when I bought mine, couldn't quite stretch to an M140i.

My experience of the M135i is it will do decent economy figures on a run, over 40 is possible but round town and on my commute its under 20 mpg, but I may be the problem in that equation....

The depreciation thing is spot on, buy one of these right and you shouldn't lose much/anything, I bought my CLS right at 7k but struggled to move it on after two years and ended up taking 5k, had one guy come to look at it who was too fat to fit in it easily, another guy said he expected it to be faster (having just accelerated to over 100 mph, not sure what he expected ?) but a PHer bought it, they are still listed for more than I sold mine for two years ago, I think all these cars are difficult to shift. Maybe AMG's are easier to sell but when I was looking I saw a lot hanging round for months, but better to get a well fettled one and pay a bit more than some of the crap I saw with Landsail tyres on and numerous faults.

I did manage to do two years in a 350Z and sell it for what I bought it for.

[Paul S4]

That looks a really cool Merc...much nicer proportioned than the modern designs.
It sounds like a cliche, but I always think Mercs look 'right' in silver !

De-badge it and most people would not even notice it...apart from those tailpipes.

Yours will surely appreciate over time if looked after.

[Ph1listine]

Paul S4 said:

That looks a really cool Merc...much nicer proportioned than the modern designs.
It sounds like a cliche, but I always think Mercs look 'right' in silver !

De-badge it and most people would not even notice it...apart from those tailpipes.

Yours will surely appreciate over time if looked after.

Funnily enough I've not had a single person goad me on for a race. I have been tailgated a couple of times but then they seem to back off when they notice the 4 exhausts? Or maybe they are trying to race but it looks like they aren't? I find myself driving this thing more sensibly than my old Saabs and Clio, which is either down to the fact that fuel just gets deleted when you floor it or that it's just so cosseting.

I will look after her for sure, in March I will get (along with MOT), full service and fresh supercharger oil. Would be fantastic if it went in the same direction as the E46 M3 in terms of values.

A summary of last night's 'endeavours'

Edited by Ph1listine on Tuesday 31st December 08:45

[RossOCD]

I've had my estate for 6 months now (second estate I've owned). I dont think there is anything else that does what an E55 estate does at any price?

Use mine every day, go to work in it, pick the kids up from school in it, family holidays, tip runs, there isnt much the E55 doesnt do well. 7 seats, near 500bhp, serious comfort, Ok it handles like a wardrobe around twisties but has that thrust like power and noise that still makes me laugh like a child. Also own a 986 Boxster S, 9 times out of 10 I pick the keys to the 55.



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|https://thumbsnap.com/wwEJepTc[/url]

[RhysH]

Ross;

Love it!! I would love to get one of those, but the wife would kill me as my "toy" is supposed to be the M3 in the garage only. But now have a massive soft spot for these since my "cheap" car E320cdi and have fallen for it somewhat.

However as I use my for work mileage the fuel cost would kill me lol.

[RossOCD]

I had an e320cdi estate, fan blooming tastic cars. Bought mine really cheap, drove to France and back fully loaded and never gave me any trouble. To be fair the E320 does 90% of what the 55 does at a fraction of the cost but I just love the noise when I put my foot down. This one has LPG too which is a big 65p a litre bonus!

[Ph1listine]

RossOCD said:

I had an e320cdi estate, fan blooming tastic cars. Bought mine really cheap, drove to France and back fully loaded and never gave me any trouble. To be fair the E320 does 90% of what the 55 does at a fraction of the cost but I just love the noise when I put my foot down. This one has LPG too which is a big 65p a litre bonus!

That look amazing! So clean, what kind of mileage is it on? So, how much is a tank of LPG and how many litres is it? How many miles does that get you with normal driving?

Is it normally around £4k for an LPG conversion?

[RossOCD]

Hi

It's done 161k miles believe it or not! Low owner car that has been VERY well maintained its whole life. They seem to wear their miles better than E60 M5s and RS6s of the same age. I have had a few E39 M5s too - brilliant brilliant cars but no estates, no 7 seats, all manual. E55 engine is a masterpiece IMO.
LPG tanks small so as not to interfere with 7 seater - takes about £25 to fill. Does about 120 miles on stop start short journeys, had 170 miles out of a tank on a run. I dont think a conversion is that much but there are negatives, there arent that many LPG stations around so I have to go slightly out of my way to get it & it's not quite as good on LPG especially when pushing on. Better to switch back to Super for more spirited drives!

[Ph1listine]

RossOCD said:

Hi

It's done 161k miles believe it or not! Low owner car that has been VERY well maintained its whole life. They seem to wear their miles better than E60 M5s and RS6s of the same age. I have had a few E39 M5s too - brilliant brilliant cars but no estates, no 7 seats, all manual. E55 engine is a masterpiece IMO.
LPG tanks small so as not to interfere with 7 seater - takes about £25 to fill. Does about 120 miles on stop start short journeys, had 170 miles out of a tank on a run. I dont think a conversion is that much but there are negatives, there arent that many LPG stations around so I have to go slightly out of my way to get it & it's not quite as good on LPG especially when pushing on. Better to switch back to Super for more spirited drives!

On balance do you reckon the E55 is the best buy? I reckon it is, E60 - engine issues, RS6 - gearbox, E39 - rust, not to say the E55 doesn't have common faults but it seems very well screwed together.

The geek in me would love to know what your estate weighs on a weighbridge! Mine was 1920kg with 2/3 tank of fuel and panoramic roof.