My Mercedes W210 e55 AMG

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Hi Everyone

I've been reading PH for ages with great interest, but am a first-time poster so please be gentle with me...!

Just wanted to share some pics of my newish weekend toy - Mercedes's sadly unloved and under-appreciated but still fabulous w210 e55 AMG.

I know the oft-quoted issues with rust and build quality etc etc on these - but I managed to find this LHD one imported from Japan last year with sub-50k miles and not a speck of rust on it. Looks and drives pretty much like new - and boy what a machine it is!
I still can't believe how devastatingly quick (yet also very comfy and quiet) something nearly 20 years old is (this is a pre-facelift 1998 edition). Brings a smile to my face every time I start it up....

I've also been lucky enough to have it featured in both Modern Classics (the AMG cover feature a couple of months back) and Mercedes Enthusiast (June edition).

It's a third car and was in storage over the winter, so don't do many miles in it, but thus far it's not put a foot wrong (Had better touch wood quickly!).

Would love to hear from any other owners of their experiences. And would be great to know of any car meet-ups around Cambridge/ North-Essex way over the summer as well...

thanks for reading
Mike

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[Can't seem to orientate this image from my phone in portrait with Thumbsnap - anyone got any tips?]

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Cheers Rich. As I mentioned it was a Japanese import but judging by the front bumper it looks like an American spec, yes...Not sure how that happened.....I managed to get the Datacard for it from MB here in the UK and it mentions '498 Japan version'...?

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Nice, griffin dai! What are those wheels? Re running costs - yup this ain't meant to be a daily driver for sure!

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Yes, Chocolatefrog. Had a full covering of Dinitrol applied underneath whilst in storage - when they had it up on the ramp I couldn't believe how clean the underside was. Let's hope it stays like that!

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Thanks @mickyveloce. I see you're an AMG and an R129 SL owner - you lucky guy!

Yes I have been a member of the MB club in the past and found them very helpful, particularly when I had my old 560SEC.

The W211 AMG is a indeed thing of joy but the complexity (and attendant cost!) scares me somewhat, to be honest. I prefer good old-fashioned normally-aspirated coil-sprung grunt to supercharged air-suspended whizzery....

PS I thought LHD might be annoying, but for a weekend blast on open roads it makes no difference. Just so long as you avoid toll booths and multi-storey car parks...! Many other left-hooker drivers out there?

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Thanks for the kind comments, guys.

@Fattyfat: based on my experience and research to date, I'd say check out the import route if you're in the market for one of these. Japanese owners (for one) seem to be pretty fastidious...

And thanks for the link, @HybridAero- that AMG is just nuts!

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Absolutely agree, r129sl. Cracking - and massively underrated - cars let down criminally by short-sighted cost cutting back in the day.

The e55 is almost comically quick for something so big, it drives beautifully and the cabin is lovely, as you say. As good a place to sit as any Benz ever, I would argue.

Masses has been written on Benzes of that area- here and elsewhere- already, but it's an object lesson in how long it takes to build up a reputation for quality (about 100 years, give or take, in the case of MB: 1896 > 1996).

And then how quickly it's squandered - just 6 or 7 years if you count the worst of the cost-cutting between the mid-1990s and early Noughties. God knows how much Merc spent on warranty claims in that period. And then how long did it then take to rebuild trust in the brand after the corrosion issues became well-known? Another decade at least, probably...