cool breeze

Hey everyone!

Looking at getting into my first MB and AMG and have narrowed it down to one of these or a E55. These have the styling win for sure but the one year made only has me hesitant.
I see there is the 030 option that was bigger brakes but also much more expensive. What i can't find definite answer on is if these cars came with an actual mechanical differential. My lexus gs460 has only 350hp and without a LSD its a spinfest so for me a LSD in these cars is absolutely necessary!

BTW: solid buyer in the colorado area, happy to catch a flight and drive across the country for a great car or deal.
Cheers!

machild

Welcome to the forums. There is no issue with the one year vehicles. The CLS (W219/C219) is entirely built on the E Class (W211) with virtually everything mechanical interchangeable. As you may know, the mechanicals of the E55 existed a few years before the one year of the 2006 CLS55 model. These cars are well made and if well maitained is a good buy. But, some components can be pricey when it comes time for replacement. The air suspension is one such example. They typcially need some serious attention (read dollars) when the car is in the 80,000 - 100,000 range. If you are a DIY then it is not that big of a deal. Taking it to a dealer is a very costly trip for a 15 year old car.

You are correct the 030 (P30) option does provide additional performance components. Larger front brakes, LSD and such. The LSD is indeed mechanical. Finding a 2006 model with that option is tough to come by. They are out there but it may not worth waiting for the right one to come along. Much of the premium is the perception. Finding a used LSD and swapping it in would likely be quicker than finding a 030 optioned model.

Because the CLS55 is shared with the E Class you may want to spend some time over on that page of the forum. Much more activity there then on this page. https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg-81/

cool breeze

Thanks!
How hard is it to find a P30 one, aka how many were made? Cant find that info.

machild

I don't have any numbers. All I know from being in the market when I bought mine last year that they almost never came up. It seems like from memory only one came up but it had been beat pretty hard so that was no interest for me. My search was across the entire US so I saw everything that came on the market. I think that there were never more than 15-18 cars that fell into my criteria (less than 120K miles) at any point and 90+% of them never got sold and were still there eight month later when I finally bought my car. It is not a large, deep, or very active market. Patience has to be your mantra. The first thing I would do when I found one was to run the VIN to get a data card which details every option and all the details on the car. The data card tells you everything from the date it was manufactured to options to the engine and transmission serial numbers. It also takes out all the marketing hype that is often not correct and is misleading.