maintenance on a c55
 

So it turns out that most c55 parts are not amg specific according to a friend on the boards. What usually goes wrong on these cars, and how much are operating costs coming from a w202 c230k? (sparkplugs will be more for sure!)

The C55 is a very reliable car actually compared to other AMGs.... Maintenance will likely be a bit higher than a C230 due to AMG brakes, suspension, engine parts, etc... but overall, it is a good all-around car in my opinion :y

I just did my brakes today actually, and I've got 105,000 miles so they last a while. Total cost was about $100 per rotor, and $75 for pads with the sensors installed. (I only needed one sensor tho so I have an extra now) Rotors cannot be machined on these cars either - however, I think 105,000 is a good life. My rear brake pads and rotors are still fine too. I only changed the fronts.

Tranny fluid change was like $300 at the dealer

oil changes are about $120 at jiffy lube - I go every 5k-7k miles and use mobil1 or royal purple

My biggest expense is rear tires. They only last about 25,000-30,000 miles. ;^/

~MikE~

I went from a w202 C230 to a C55, and my experience has been that the maintenance on the AMG compared to the C230 is about twice as much (...but then again, you get twice as much :).)

My impression so far has been that the w202 is built to a much higher quality standard than the C55, and much more reliable. I've noticed this especially in the interior trim and exterior panels. Can't draw a proper comparison on the mechanical aspects, as I had the w202 from 60 to 90k miles, and my C55 has only 20k. I've had my C55 engine's airboxes resealed shortly after I bought the car due to the silicone seals degrading. Issue was age related though, and very common on other models. Never had such an issue with the w202. On the C55 I also had a cracked rim...which is almost impossible to get on the w202's standard rims.

They are two very, very different cars. Expect a completely different set of issues. On the upside, you only have to do maintenance on the C55 at least once a year or every 10k miles. Even though the parts for the maintenance are more expensive, you pay for them less often.

you said $100 per rotor for the fronts??? did u get the front rotors from the dealership?? thats pretty cheap i think?? let me know!

I bought the rotors from a warehouse in chattsworth, ca. they are mercedes OEM rotors.

The normal maintenance is cheap, but at 100k miles my car needs the trans service and wires/plugs which is a huge bill :\ I have been putting it off, but I finally got a CEL and my car was misfiring on 3 cylinders.


112-150-02-18 IGNITION 4 33.50
112-150-03-18 IGNITION 2 38.50
112-150-01-18 IGNITION 9 41.00
112-150-04-18 IGNITION 1 52.00
001-989-68-03-10 TRANS 13 17.50
140-271-00-80 ELASTOMER 1 13.00
003-159-97-03-98 SPARK P 16 22.50

Total Invoice: 1340.34

UGH! lucky!! i thought u bought it from MB dealer! i wonder where else we can pick up an OEM spec front rotors for the AMG? i mean, my rotors are still fine, but i wouldnt mind having a freshly new rotor :D

You can buy OEM rotors online all day for $100 or less

Ouch :eek:

OEM or OE. I found buncha different places with OE rotors for the c55 but I'm looking for OEM front rotors as mine need to be replaced.

Link or phone number?

Just buy online and from one of the major brands - Pilenga, Zimmermann, Balo, Centric....

They all produce rotors that are exactly the same, even with the drilled holes. Some of them might even come with the MB A203 part number engraved on them. MB probably uses some or all of these brands to produce their rotors, box them in a silver and blue MB box, and ship them to their factories and their dealers. It sounds like you're more worried about buying the part from a dealership because it was packaged into a silver and blue box instead of a plain box. If that's important to you and you feel that you will never be truly happy unless it came that way, then the only solution is to pay the premium at the dealership.

The only thing I was worried about was if its the same authorized rotor as buying from the dealership. I'm not about to put sub par equipment on my car.

If you buy a name brand, it is the same rotor just made by someone else. Just don't buy some off-brand from China or something. You'll be fine, save your money :y

The ones i got are OEM, same identical ones that came off my car.

Thanks. I was just leery of buying rotors online that could be shipped out from china or what not.

Most major websites will ship you the correct brand name item. Akebono ceramic pads (847 and 603) seem to be the popular choice of pad around here. And find a selling site that gives you free shipping - the rotors are very heavy and definitely not worth paying for the shipping.

Found a good OE set + akebono pads for 280 shipped! I'm going to order them as soon as I find out what suspension parts I need to replace up front and order them along with those as well.

I have that clunking noise when coming to a slow stop...my master tech buddy is going to take a look at it..hopefully just some bushings and what not...this is gonna be an expensive 50k service coming up :smash:

Impressive! I went to a local tire dealer to purchase a new set of tires. They told me that I needed to change pads and rotors too. They would charge me 600 for that. The tires were 900 (plus alignment) so I did not wanted to spend so much money for a day. However, the rotors are fine, no vibration when I brake (hard), no funny noises at all. The car is very stable, like a rock. Should I change them? I don't like to throw away money for nothing (I learned that the hard way with my previous 04' WRX).

I would not buy new rotors. Many times mechanics will try to lure unassuming customers into buying new rotors because they can charge an arm and a leg and most 'uneducated' people will be under the assumption that if they don't listen to the mechanic and change their rotors as recommended, their brakes are no longer safe.

Unless you feel your car shuddering as you brake, your rotors are fine. Brake pads on the other hand should be checked for thickness. You will know if your brake pads are too low because the pad area will be worn very thin. Someone else can chime in with an actual millimeter measurement for brake pads before you need to remove them. This is a relatively simple (*relatively is the key word) removal and installation. With the right tools it takes about an hour. With no knowledge and if it is your first time changing your brake pads, it may be 2-3 hours.

One thing to note: if you do change your brake pads, in most instances you should have your rotors resurfaced instead of replaced. This is much less costly than having the rotors entirely replaced. However, if you simply replace the brake pads and do not resurface the rotors, you will have some very squeaky brakes (I am talking high pitched screeching squeak). One solution to this is to thoroughly lube up the back of your new brake pads with brake grease.

:rolleyes: On an off topic - this is my first post! Will be picking up my 2006 iridium silver C55 this coming Saturday with 32,000 miles on the clock. I am trading in my Sapphire Silver Blue Crossfire Limited with 75,000 miles. Of all the MB forums this one definitely seems to be the best, especially for the C55-C32 forum.

Any chance you're buying that 2006 C55 in Charleston, SC?

Thanks! And you have a very good taste on cars :naughty:

konkapot yes it is why?

crossdrilled rotors dont like to be cut. throw them out, theyre $200 for the pair. just because you dont have a pulse in your brake pedal doesnt mean your rotors are "fine" either. they have a min. thickness, check them with a mic.

I saw it Saturday; I was looking at/driving a CLS they had. The CLS felt like crap, but looked at yours very briefly.

You are getting one sweet car. Didn't drive it, but it is clean clean clean.

Got a pretty good vibe from talking to the guys there.

They said that they had an "interested buyer" who was coming down this week.

I asked a couple of casual questions about the car........they got excited and mentioned that you hadn't put a deposit down, and that it was "very available" for purchase. I laughed and told them to call me if you ended up not getting it.

If you had backed out I was going to come and lowball them and see what happened.

I really think you're going to be very happy with that car.

Were you able to haggle them down on price? What did you end up paying if you don't mind me asking?