zoink

I personally don't have any experience w/ extended warranty... but logically speaking, if the problem is not found prior to the warranty becomes active, the warranty should cover... but for you, these problems may not be covered by any warranty since they occured before the warranty started.

Having said that...
If you're not happy w/ your car as is, then either fix it or sell it... If you know evosport could fix it plus add stage 1 (which would make more less on par w/ stock C55) for $3K and this would make you happy again w/ the car, then do it. Otherwise, I'd rather spend $10K.

The bottom line, just measure the cost vs. your feeling.... pick the one that you like.

BTW, if you ever consider purchasing a C55, PM me... I have one that I'm thinking of selling.... CA car (NorCal), black/black, loaded, mint condition, <20K miles (still under warranty). And as Ling said.... C55 never gives any problems

jgsx

Both the C32 and C55 AMG motors seem to be bulletproof, so the additional stress is trivial.

jgsx

A stage 1 c32 is not on par with a C55, it is significantly quicker. A pulley alone makes it quicker. A stage 1 c32 will be on par with a C55 with intake/ECU/headers.

Fifth Ring

There's also nothing wrong with saying you want a new car. A guy on the AMG forum *****ed relentlessly that his SL65 had squeaky brakes. And then he posts that he sold it and got a Porsche GT 3. So, basically, he wanted a Porsche GT 3 and he had to make himself feel right about dumping a nearly new AMG at a tremendous loss. Meanwhile, a bunch of us wasted our good time trying to help him solve his squeaky brake issue, and to otherwise help him keep the issue in perspective.

Hey, it's great to get new stuff. Nothing wrong with that!

amgmark

Have you had your intercooler checked? This sounds like an intercooler problem to me..

FrankW

that = the intercooler pump problem.

KleanC

Wait for the C63's. . . c32 and c55 is 2 similar. . .

gkstar

Intercooler pump problem - the "lurch" is a result of S/C clutch disengaging when is should not under normal circumstances, due to high air intake temperature. Since the load on the engine decreases sharply at that point, you feel the jerk/push. The lack of power at that point further proves this theory.

Another reason for having sluggish engine response and lack of downshifting is faulty throttle pedal sensor.

TemeculaC32

Is this a complicated and/or pricey repair? Thanks for the information.

itsmeek

agreed. i have 2 buddies w/c55's that have ecu's and filters, i have a pretty much stock c32, and a friend w/a stage 1 c32. from a 0-100 the stage 1 c32 is almost always at least 2 cars ahead of the c55's and 3-4 ahead of me.

FrankW

it's a fairly cheap repair. just replace the cooler pump and refill the coolant.

it's the part labeled M44.

CLKBSVegas

I posted a few weeks ago, "don't get the C55 over the C32". Well, to my surprise my wife bought me a 05 C55 with 10k miles. The $ did not impact my decision it was a gift; and I had no idea she would do it. Thus, I had both a 02 C32 OEM and an 05 C55 OEM at my disposal.

C55 is better: lineal acceleration, handling, fit and finish, front end looks, sound, ride quality, options, interior, and top end acceleration.

C32 is better: sleeper and supercharger grunt....mod'able???

I really have to tell you, I love the C55. It just feels tighter, stronger, faster, smoother, quieter and everything else-er. In fact, I was surprised how much I enjoy driving it more then my C32 (which was a great car!). Now the C55 was/is 3 years newer, so some things just come with a newer car (fit and finish, options, interior).

The real question, do I think the C55 is worth $15k+ more? It depends on your money...if $15k is an issue or causes payments...no; the C32 is great. But, if you can do it cash with no worries...the C55 is, in all aspects a better car. IMO

jgsx

I completely agree. 100% stock vs stock, the C55 is superior in just about every category. Congrats on the facelift.

Fifth Ring

Harsh words to post on a C32/C55 forum.

You compared a 3 year old C32 with a lesser options package to a nearly new C55.

PS: C32 = Mod'able.

CLKBSVegas

Sometimes the truth hurts. (No doubt MB-USA agrees with all of my statements and actually attempted to improve all of these areas in making the C55). But no doubt "time" takes its toll...as I stated in the blurb.

To tell you the truth, I did not ever think I would be writing this. But if you drive them back to back, at length, not just 5 min off the lot, this is the story. Again IMO

Fifth Ring

I don't disagree with your conclusions, just that you're comparing a 3 year old car to a new car. If both were new, and optioned out the same, the C55 would win on sound quality and handling (although the difference would be undiscernible to most drivers, and different tires would have a greater impact).

With the $15,000 price difference (or actually 1/3 of it) the C32 could be spruced up nicely.

jgsx

I agree with you too Fifth. But, stock vs stock, the C55 wins, even if they were both brand new. Modded vs Modded . . . The C32 wins by a landslide.

sdsilverm3

Modded versus modded the C32 wins? Not too sure about that.

How modded is "modded"?

The fastest C55 I've seen on here to date is DragonAMG's Kleemann SC'ed running 11.997 at 3k feet elevation. I have yet to see a modded C32 match that.

jgsx

Yes, a blown C55 will beat a modded C32. But a blown 55 isn't something that I'd want. It's totally obvious that it is modded and it costs a fortune. There will be warranty issues. A modded C32 interior is also way better than the plane jane C55 interior as well. A C32 with a couple parts will beat a C55 with ecu/headers/intake. You're right though, a well blown C55 is quicker.

gkstar

That is the question. Otherwise, how about this turbo and S/C C32 :

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1447/article.html

500HP + 490 ft lbs

I read here that the (price) issue with a modded C55 is that it goes in the E55 territory, so many would just jump on an E55 instead.

FrankW

with $25k worth of mods.

jgsx

Yeah, I take that back. It looks like a C32 with 25k in mods will beat a C55 with 25k in mods. =)

MB_Forever

I drove both C32 and C55 for a while, and nobody is denying the C55 has a few improvements here and there, but overall I would say both cars are 90% similar. I would rather spend 15 to 20 grand to get a car that is a HUGE improvement: more powerful, much faster, more options, and at least have a new shape, new design, new technology, etc...

Here are some points on the two cars:
========================
- Both C32 and C55 have an average 0-60 time of 5.0 seconds.
- C32 has an average 1/4 mile time of 13.7-13.8 seconds while C55 is 13.8-13.95 seconds.
- For twisties, most track results show C55 about one second faster (although there was a couple of tests where C32 had a slight lead).
- C32 can be modded to 430 hp for about $6,000 dollars (with bolt-on mods) while $6,000 dollars will only get you 390 hp on a C55.
- C55 has a 15% stiffer suspension, so the ride provides less luxury and more performance. Depending on the driver this can be a plus or a minus. Some people prefer the more luxury ride vs the stiffer more aggressive ride and vise versa.
- Both the C32 and C55 offer the SAME options: Navigation, Xenon, heated seats, head-lamp washing system, etc...

To summarize, the two cars (in stock form) perform at the same level, have the same chasis, same shape, same seating space, same safety features, and both cars offer the SAME options. Sure they drive a LITTLE differently, but overall, they are more similar than different. That's how car manufacturers get you, they change minor things here and there to convince you to upgrade...

Now if Mercedes would've made the C55 with 400+ hp (that is 50 horsepower increase over C32) and offered more options, such as, Parktronic, Active/Dynamic/Ventilated Seats, and all the other goodies, then YES I would go for the C55 upgrade. But the two cars are just more similar than different, which doesn't justify the extra 15-20k especially when the new C63 is right around the corner. Now that would really be worth the upgrade...

Please note that I love the C55 and I think it is overall (stock vs stock) the better car, but I just don't think it is different enough to be worth the upgrade. But if you didn't have a C32 and were thinking about owning a C-Class AMG, and want to keep the car stock, then C55 all the way.

Most-Wanted

Not sure where you saw 13.9's for C55's??? I ran my C55 and it went 13.3@106 bone stock. That was with a horrible 60' too(2.1). The car is bone stock with everything in the car, spare tire, and almost full tank of gas. I love my C55, just don't love the depreciation. If you are buying new make sure you don't over pay. MB has alot of hidden money in there cars and a fully loaded 06 C55 should be able to be bought for around 53k. Just my .02

MB_Forever

Looks like you have one SUPER HEALTHY C55 if you ran 13.3 seconds bone stock. When I ran my friend's C55, I got 14.05 seconds, and in the same night, on the same track, I ran 13.84 in my C32 also when it was bone stock (Temp 84 F and 1,000 elevation).

Anyways, I got the numbers above from edmunds independent testing. Here is the direct quote from the article.

At the track, the C55 turned in slightly slower times than the C32 we tested a couple years ago. The raw numbers came in at 5.6 seconds for the 0-60 dash and 13.95 for the quarter. Still quick, but one would rightfully expect that the V8 would be a few tenths quicker, not slower. As we have stated before, there are many variables that come into play when testing a car for acceleration — the track surface, weather conditions (cool air is better than warm) and driver differences. Putting all that power to the ground is tricky, as it's so easy (with the traction control switched off) to make the rear Pirellis go up in smoke. If we chose to take say, eight runs, we're sure that the times would have come down, but we feel that three runs are easier on the car and better represent "real world" numbers. But let's not split hairs; this is one fast car any way you look at it.

Here is the link to the full article:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=103424

I agree with you about the depreciation rates of brand new Mercedes. But you can use it to your advantage by buying one year or maybe two years used car. Take for example, S65 which costs almost 200k brand new. If you wait a couple of years (15 to 20k miles), you can buy one for 80k...