Mercedes Benz C32 AMG
Discussion
After a brief dalliance with a C32 AMG back in 2005, owning one has always been on my list. I've kept a semi interest since, and the numbers for sale have gradually dwindled, whilst prices have not increased. To me, this seems a good time to buy, so after a couple of weeks of looking, one came up about an hours drive away, advertised as a rust free example but with a misfire present.
The owner had bought it a number of years previously and had sunk quite a bit of money into it, even purchasing expensive modifications that he never fitted due to the engine issue. It had been decatted, and a new TCU with an AMG map fitted. Whilst trying to get it fixed, new plugs, leads and and injectors had been fitted, but to no avail, and he had decided to draw a line and get rid. Interestingly, it had not been plugged into Mercedes Star diagnostics. The car was very keenly priced, so I bought it and paid extra for the mods. This was in December 2021.
I drove it back home and booked it in with my local specialist HA Locke. I know Albert and Andrew already and whilst they don't run the most spick and span operation, they are exceptionally well experienced with Mercedes of 20 years and older.
The car was plugged in, and an issue with cylinder 3 diagnosed. Albert assured me it was a faulty injector, and someone had 'fitted s
t ones'. So a new genuine one went in, and hey presto.
I barely drove the car for a couple of months due to poor weather and being busy with other stuff, until my friends decided we were well overdue for a road trip. I was slightly nervous of taking the car, having only driven it a total of about 150 miles by this point. But this is Pistonheads, right
I drove from my hometown with guys local to me, accompanied with a Macan Turbo, BMW E36 M3 Evo, Mazda MX5 turbo, 996 C4S and and Audi RS3. We headed up to Telford services, meeting up with some more mates with an Audi TT, RS4 Cab and a 996 C4 - destination Ponderosa Cafe to meet everyone else, comprising 991 GTS Targa, RS4 Avant and BMW M4 CS.
Journey up there went really well. My car left the E36 M3 standing on the motorway, hilarious considering the driver is my best mate of 30 years and he paid 3x for his car than I paid for mine. Whilst the cars are similar BHP, mine has a significant torque advantage due to the S/C.
We drove around Snowdonia, Evo triangle etc, with an overnight in Bala.
The next day, we had a quite a lengthy route planned, but some of the guys wanted to head home for various reasons, so we cut it short, and this is when I had a little problem. Up a fking high, fking narrow mountain pass !! My gearbox lost all drive, so we towed it to the top behind the Macan. I switched it off, let it sit for 10 mins, fired it up again, and drive engaged.
Unfortunately, it was only temporary, so I basically coasted in neutral all the way back to sea level, coming to rest outside a little old lady's house. Of course there's no phone signal anywhere, so I had to knock on her door and she lent me her phone to call for breakdown. Describing to the AA our location was utter carnage despite spelling lots of Welsh words, so we towed the car for 20 mins or so to a road that actually had a number.
After a couple of hours, the car was recovered, and I jumped in one of the other cars, heading home later that day.
The car materialised after a few days later due to a pony express type recovery via a few hotel car parks, and was engaging drive and reverse, albeit sporadically. I took it to my neighbours unit only a few miles away, and he replaced the mechatronic unit (exchange from MB, fitted was actually not expensive).
I've now done another 5-600 miles in it, and all is well. It's booked into to MSL Performance in Brum in a few weeks time to have the bits fitted and a remap, so I will update when done !
The owner had bought it a number of years previously and had sunk quite a bit of money into it, even purchasing expensive modifications that he never fitted due to the engine issue. It had been decatted, and a new TCU with an AMG map fitted. Whilst trying to get it fixed, new plugs, leads and and injectors had been fitted, but to no avail, and he had decided to draw a line and get rid. Interestingly, it had not been plugged into Mercedes Star diagnostics. The car was very keenly priced, so I bought it and paid extra for the mods. This was in December 2021.
I drove it back home and booked it in with my local specialist HA Locke. I know Albert and Andrew already and whilst they don't run the most spick and span operation, they are exceptionally well experienced with Mercedes of 20 years and older.
The car was plugged in, and an issue with cylinder 3 diagnosed. Albert assured me it was a faulty injector, and someone had 'fitted s
t ones'. So a new genuine one went in, and hey presto.I barely drove the car for a couple of months due to poor weather and being busy with other stuff, until my friends decided we were well overdue for a road trip. I was slightly nervous of taking the car, having only driven it a total of about 150 miles by this point. But this is Pistonheads, right
I drove from my hometown with guys local to me, accompanied with a Macan Turbo, BMW E36 M3 Evo, Mazda MX5 turbo, 996 C4S and and Audi RS3. We headed up to Telford services, meeting up with some more mates with an Audi TT, RS4 Cab and a 996 C4 - destination Ponderosa Cafe to meet everyone else, comprising 991 GTS Targa, RS4 Avant and BMW M4 CS.
Journey up there went really well. My car left the E36 M3 standing on the motorway, hilarious considering the driver is my best mate of 30 years and he paid 3x for his car than I paid for mine. Whilst the cars are similar BHP, mine has a significant torque advantage due to the S/C.
We drove around Snowdonia, Evo triangle etc, with an overnight in Bala.
The next day, we had a quite a lengthy route planned, but some of the guys wanted to head home for various reasons, so we cut it short, and this is when I had a little problem. Up a f
king high, fking narrow mountain pass !! My gearbox lost all drive, so we towed it to the top behind the Macan. I switched it off, let it sit for 10 mins, fired it up again, and drive engaged. Unfortunately, it was only temporary, so I basically coasted in neutral all the way back to sea level, coming to rest outside a little old lady's house. Of course there's no phone signal anywhere, so I had to knock on her door and she lent me her phone to call for breakdown. Describing to the AA our location was utter carnage despite spelling lots of Welsh words, so we towed the car for 20 mins or so to a road that actually had a number.
After a couple of hours, the car was recovered, and I jumped in one of the other cars, heading home later that day.
The car materialised after a few days later due to a pony express type recovery via a few hotel car parks, and was engaging drive and reverse, albeit sporadically. I took it to my neighbours unit only a few miles away, and he replaced the mechatronic unit (exchange from MB, fitted was actually not expensive).
I've now done another 5-600 miles in it, and all is well. It's booked into to MSL Performance in Brum in a few weeks time to have the bits fitted and a remap, so I will update when done !
MickyveloceClassic said:
Like all pre-C63 C-class AMG, an understated, underrated car.
It was believed at the time they were made that MB deliberately under-reported the performance figures, so as not to distract attention away from the E55.
Autocar timed it at 4.6 for the (pretty meaningless) dash to 60, making it much swifter than anything comparable in 2003.
Rust is probably the biggest issue, and flakey bits of trim, but they’re a great car.
It's certainly quite quick in a straight line, but does require some work around the bendy bits. It was believed at the time they were made that MB deliberately under-reported the performance figures, so as not to distract attention away from the E55.
Autocar timed it at 4.6 for the (pretty meaningless) dash to 60, making it much swifter than anything comparable in 2003.
Rust is probably the biggest issue, and flakey bits of trim, but they’re a great car.
This one is rust free, which was the deciding factor to me buying it. C55's are galvanised, but I prefer that lovely S/C whine and the single pair of exhausts !
Limited100 said:
Interesting machine, are MSL doing the pulley? Be interesting to see before and after comparison dyno graphs.
These are considerably lighter than the E55 (1535 kg vs 1835 kg) so with the extra poke should be able to upset 55 Kompressors / N/A C63s.
MSL are fitting a Vtech pulley, larger heat exchanger, needswings pulley saver, johnston intercooler pump and new serpentine belt.These are considerably lighter than the E55 (1535 kg vs 1835 kg) so with the extra poke should be able to upset 55 Kompressors / N/A C63s.
Along with a remap and rolling road, I'm hoping for slightly north of 400 bhp, but it ideally needs SL55 AMG air intakes that pretty much fit straight on. Unfortunately they are hard to come by.
Had a right result last night, after looking for an SL55 AMG air intake set up, I found someone breaking one…… in my home town 
this never happens !!
So a trip across town to meet a Romanian chap called Ion and a quick viewing of the donor vehicle that gave up its intake system for a reasonable price.
I’m hoping to get it fitted before the trip to MSL at the end of the month.
this never happens !! So a trip across town to meet a Romanian chap called Ion and a quick viewing of the donor vehicle that gave up its intake system for a reasonable price.
I’m hoping to get it fitted before the trip to MSL at the end of the month.
ZX10R NIN said:
I'm guessing they're the 19's, you'll need 235/30/19's on the front to avoid catching the top of the suspension, nice work on the car they're properly underrated. 
Wheels are 18's.7.5 inch front, 8.5 inch rear. I'm anticipating 225/40 front and 255/35 rear tyres as that's whats on the rims at the moment. The wheels were most recently fitted to a CLK without issue so I'm reasonably confident all will be well.
Merc W203's will take 19's, but I don't like the look of them, and the pitfalls with spacers and potential suspension geometry issues, tyre wear etc Plus, I'm aiming for more of a subtle OEM look with the car.
Got the car back from Dartford Transmissions on Friday. Took a time for them to fix it, but the bits took a while and I asked them to get it MOT'd plus regass the AC. I took advantage of the one day lull in train strikes, and successfully made it to Dartford 4 trains later for a substantial wallet lightening.
2 miles into its first drive with a freshly rebuilt gearbox - stuck in Friday afternoon M25 traffic was quite daunting - but it got home 85 miles away just fine. I've now done 200 miles in it since then, and all is well.
Spent a little time yesterday removing the bonnet liner for some more supercharger whine and test fitting some 18" wheels.
Here's a before and after. I'll get the 18''s refurbished in the coming weeks.
SL55 intake system going on next week.
2 miles into its first drive with a freshly rebuilt gearbox - stuck in Friday afternoon M25 traffic was quite daunting - but it got home 85 miles away just fine. I've now done 200 miles in it since then, and all is well.
Spent a little time yesterday removing the bonnet liner for some more supercharger whine and test fitting some 18" wheels.
Here's a before and after. I'll get the 18''s refurbished in the coming weeks.
SL55 intake system going on next week.
I understand the wagons are quite rare. I hope the car you replaced it with is one that provides similar reliability and performance ! I would have loved one, but it would've entirely justified the sale of one of my other cars, which I can't bear to part with yet haha
I have a bunch of mods for the car, including a can of jet oil. Thank you for your kind offer
I have a bunch of mods for the car, including a can of jet oil. Thank you for your kind offer
IainWhy said:
i ran one of these in estate form for 10 year selling it only last year having covered about 50k in my ownership
Never broke down.
Dex 6 will transform the box, worth servicing the super charger (i still have some of the correct jet oil i think if you need it?) h and changing the charger belt is a very effective performance mod + greasing the idle bearing on the charger improves off boost ecconomy.
My old shed
Never broke down.
Dex 6 will transform the box, worth servicing the super charger (i still have some of the correct jet oil i think if you need it?) h and changing the charger belt is a very effective performance mod + greasing the idle bearing on the charger improves off boost ecconomy.
My old shed
I love the way the car looks so subtle - but, like you said - can show a clean pair of heels to a lot of cars that are certainly less so. It's quite a bit quicker than my friends' E36 M3 Evo as a C32 has a lot more torque. I was tempted to buy a C55, but prefer the single exhaust and tunability of a supercharger. To be completely honest, the wing badges are off mine, the 18's are more generic AMG wheels, and I'll be downbadging the bootlid. My rear tints are staying, just to compound the 'pizza delivery' C220 look.
Fuel economy is rubbish, and super unleaded too. Fortunately, I have a couple of sensible cars additionally, one with a fuel card.
Fuel economy is rubbish, and super unleaded too. Fortunately, I have a couple of sensible cars additionally, one with a fuel card.
TheFinners said:
A fine choice indeed! I bought mine last October at 134k miles. Just passed 139k and no notable issues so far, but looking at some of the bills in the history I'm (pretending to be) ready to face the worst!
Mine is one of the last on a 53 plate, so does have the same galvanised body that is on the later 55's. Little bit of rust around the rear arches, and I'm trying to drum up the bravery for a look under the arch liners. No rust mentioned in the MOT history so far, and subframes looked pretty tidy.
Performance is hilarious, gearbox aside it feels as quick as my Dad's M140i was. It certainly shocked a MK3 Focus RS on a stretch of motorway in a brief moment of sillyness!
Wonderful car on long journeys too, aside from the poor fuel economy (reasonably good for the type of car and age, but mid-high 20's in today's fuel prices is not ideal).
I really need to put a thread together for mine. Pic is from when I picked it up. Gangsta tints have since been removed!
Mine is one of the last on a 53 plate, so does have the same galvanised body that is on the later 55's. Little bit of rust around the rear arches, and I'm trying to drum up the bravery for a look under the arch liners. No rust mentioned in the MOT history so far, and subframes looked pretty tidy.
Performance is hilarious, gearbox aside it feels as quick as my Dad's M140i was. It certainly shocked a MK3 Focus RS on a stretch of motorway in a brief moment of sillyness!
Wonderful car on long journeys too, aside from the poor fuel economy (reasonably good for the type of car and age, but mid-high 20's in today's fuel prices is not ideal).
I really need to put a thread together for mine. Pic is from when I picked it up. Gangsta tints have since been removed!
Its been a while since I updated my thread, so here goes... however, not much to report. Here's a current photo with it on the CLK55/E55 wheels off the jacks and actually cleanish.
I also now have a new prop shaft bearing and donuts fitted at each end due to a vibration through the drivers seat.
Now done almost 2,000 miles since gearbox rebuild, and its running well.
A couple of small jobs up next, down badge the bootlid, machine polish one of the headlight lenses and get the pass side electric seat working. I'll probably then store it over winter and exhume my Audi A4 Avant as its substantially less likely to end up sliding around in wet weather being 4wd.
I also now have a new prop shaft bearing and donuts fitted at each end due to a vibration through the drivers seat.
Now done almost 2,000 miles since gearbox rebuild, and its running well.
A couple of small jobs up next, down badge the bootlid, machine polish one of the headlight lenses and get the pass side electric seat working. I'll probably then store it over winter and exhume my Audi A4 Avant as its substantially less likely to end up sliding around in wet weather being 4wd.
Small update - had new front suspension arms fitted today, and a new front wheel bearing.
The arms were an MOT advisory from earlier this year so were always part of the plan. MB genuine parts are Lemforder, so I just ordered from Euros. Them plus the bearing were £199 so I'm not overly upset by that.
Next up is a wheel alignment and then I think I'll park it up for a few months as I have an A4 Avant quattro that's been sat unused since Easter, so will be a winter switcheroo.
The arms were an MOT advisory from earlier this year so were always part of the plan. MB genuine parts are Lemforder, so I just ordered from Euros. Them plus the bearing were £199 so I'm not overly upset by that.
Next up is a wheel alignment and then I think I'll park it up for a few months as I have an A4 Avant quattro that's been sat unused since Easter, so will be a winter switcheroo.
Its been a good 6 months since I updated on here, mainly due to the car not being used much.
The car has been back to Dartford Transmissions as I experienced a vibration through the floor that I had looked at by a local garage. Their diagnosis was 'gearbox', which seemed unlikely as its 3,000 miles into a fully rebuild one. However, it was still under guarantee, so off it went to be checked.
One of the MOT advisories for last years' MOT was a rear subframe mount worn, which has got worse through the year, so it was in the back of my mind that this could have caused the vibration. Dartford Transmissions confirmed this was the case, and enlisted the next door neighbour Martyn Scott at Biddenham Motor Racing - a BMW M Power specialist - who have done many E46 boot floor repairs over the years. They dropped the subframe and replaced all the mountings with genuine MB parts. Dartford did a wheel alignment, road tested it, MOT'd it (just a rear tyre and a cloudy headlight advised).
Now the car is back, I've had the AC regassed, and I'm all good to go for the rest of the summer. There's a few minor details I'll sort along the way.
The car has been back to Dartford Transmissions as I experienced a vibration through the floor that I had looked at by a local garage. Their diagnosis was 'gearbox', which seemed unlikely as its 3,000 miles into a fully rebuild one. However, it was still under guarantee, so off it went to be checked.
One of the MOT advisories for last years' MOT was a rear subframe mount worn, which has got worse through the year, so it was in the back of my mind that this could have caused the vibration. Dartford Transmissions confirmed this was the case, and enlisted the next door neighbour Martyn Scott at Biddenham Motor Racing - a BMW M Power specialist - who have done many E46 boot floor repairs over the years. They dropped the subframe and replaced all the mountings with genuine MB parts. Dartford did a wheel alignment, road tested it, MOT'd it (just a rear tyre and a cloudy headlight advised).
Now the car is back, I've had the AC regassed, and I'm all good to go for the rest of the summer. There's a few minor details I'll sort along the way.
Thought I might get a final 2023 update in of my car, and its been circa 6 months since my last post.
I took it in to a local MB specialist a few weeks ago for a health check to see if there are any areas of impending doom to anticipate for the winter, and its all quite encouraging. Needs a pair of rear springs due to what I suspect are the originals showing corrosion, and ideally a couple of engine mountings. They also did an oil service with Mobil 1 and checked the quality of the rustproofing after the subframe mounts were previously replaced.
Rear springs from MB were £65 each, and £60 to fit the pair by a local mechanic, so they've just been done. Its booked in for the mounts and also the sunroof to be looked at in the New Year, as I think it needs adjustment (it tilts but doesn't slide).
I've also ordered a new supercharger gasket as I've found out that the underside of the supercharger contains a baffle, which quietens it. Obviously this is outrageous and needs removing as swiftly as possible.
I took it in to a local MB specialist a few weeks ago for a health check to see if there are any areas of impending doom to anticipate for the winter, and its all quite encouraging. Needs a pair of rear springs due to what I suspect are the originals showing corrosion, and ideally a couple of engine mountings. They also did an oil service with Mobil 1 and checked the quality of the rustproofing after the subframe mounts were previously replaced.
Rear springs from MB were £65 each, and £60 to fit the pair by a local mechanic, so they've just been done. Its booked in for the mounts and also the sunroof to be looked at in the New Year, as I think it needs adjustment (it tilts but doesn't slide).
I've also ordered a new supercharger gasket as I've found out that the underside of the supercharger contains a baffle, which quietens it. Obviously this is outrageous and needs removing as swiftly as possible.
TheDoggingFather said:
I thought these had all vanished years ago, great to see it still on the road. Have you done the mods yet?
I've been gradually prepping the car so its 100%. MSL in Brum have quoted me for the fitting and map, which I will probably book in for March/April next year. 
Various bits carried out to the car since my last post:
Sticking sunroof (would tilt, but not roll back), sorted with some special lubricant MB recommend, stuck boot lock sorted and minor vibration through the floor diagnosed.... the torque converter was borked. Vey annoying as the owner of the transmission specialist who rebuilt the gearbox assured me over email they would have replaced it. I would have expected it to last longer than the circa 5,000 miles its done since fitting.
I spoke to some motor trade friends to ask their opinions, as its over 18 months since the gearbox was rebuilt. General consensus was contact them and have a sensible conversation. Despite my attempts to do this - 3 times over a two week period, it fell on deaf ears. I'm quite surprised and disappointed as the boss is very active on numerous forums and they have a great reputation, hence why I took the car all the way to Dartford for the job.
The MB specialist who diagnosed the torque converter fault quoted me approx £2,200 to replace it - so I ordered a new unit from MB for £800 on an exchange basis, and a local garage fitted it along with a new battery for £400. Vibration now gone, and the kick down / power delivery is definitely slicker and smoother, especially low down.
They have picked up on some minor oil leaks that I will get looked at soon, and have the supercharger baffle removed at the same time now the new gaskets finally arrived from MB - 3 months on back order !
Also fitted a pair of Contis to the rear as they were getting low.
Sticking sunroof (would tilt, but not roll back), sorted with some special lubricant MB recommend, stuck boot lock sorted and minor vibration through the floor diagnosed.... the torque converter was borked. Vey annoying as the owner of the transmission specialist who rebuilt the gearbox assured me over email they would have replaced it. I would have expected it to last longer than the circa 5,000 miles its done since fitting.
I spoke to some motor trade friends to ask their opinions, as its over 18 months since the gearbox was rebuilt. General consensus was contact them and have a sensible conversation. Despite my attempts to do this - 3 times over a two week period, it fell on deaf ears. I'm quite surprised and disappointed as the boss is very active on numerous forums and they have a great reputation, hence why I took the car all the way to Dartford for the job.
The MB specialist who diagnosed the torque converter fault quoted me approx £2,200 to replace it - so I ordered a new unit from MB for £800 on an exchange basis, and a local garage fitted it along with a new battery for £400. Vibration now gone, and the kick down / power delivery is definitely slicker and smoother, especially low down.
They have picked up on some minor oil leaks that I will get looked at soon, and have the supercharger baffle removed at the same time now the new gaskets finally arrived from MB - 3 months on back order !
Also fitted a pair of Contis to the rear as they were getting low.
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