sm00thguy88

It's the first C55 I have driven or as a matter or fact, the first Merc I have driven in my entire life. I've been loyal to the japs ever since, well until now...

From a full stop, acceleration and torque just made me grin ear to ear.

However, when rolling around 20-30 or so and then I decide to accelerate a bit harder (just short of flooring the pedal), I noticed that the tranny doesn't downshift to a lower gear that I would have preferred. So it felt like accelerating from 3rd gear... Is this normal? Or did I test one with a bad AT? The care had 53K miles and it was an 05.

Oh shoot, it occured to me just now that the car might have been in "normal" mode! There should be a Normal/Power or Sport mode switch right? I just snuck out of the office so I was in a bit of a hurry that I didn't have time to check all the buttons and features of the car
Would having it set to Sport mode cure the sluggish 20-30mph rolling acceleration I experienced above?

Newzchspy

There are three (3) modes, S, C and M. The S is sport (normal), C is comfort and M is manual!!

sm00thguy88

Thanks! And the Sport mode should give me the more aggressive acceleration and downshift that I was looking for right? How does it behave? Will it also hold gears longers?

Anyway, that's the first thing I'll set on my next test drive.

By the way, I also noticed that the car didn't have a "V8 Kompressor" badge on the side trim. I thought all C55 AMGs had them. Is this okay, or is this a sign of tampering/repair?

chris.bachman

They don't have a V8 Kompressor badge on the fender.

jturkel

From the factory, C55 AMGs are naturally aspirated (NA) V8s. They are not supercharged (do not have a kompressor). There are some that exist that have been modified by say, Kleemann, or Renntech. But from the factory, no they will not have a kompressed V8 badge.

The E55s (W211), SL55, CLS55, S55 (depending on yr), CL55 (depending on yr) will have the V8 kompressor. Oooo and some G55s too (depending on yr)

The C32 and SLK32, for comparison and reference purposes, has a Kompressor V6 badge

PC Valkyrie

A few other comments about the transmission:

In S or C modes, there are 2 ways to guarantee a downshift everytime. You can manually downshift (using the left shift button on the steering wheel or nudge the shift lever towards the left). If you hold the shift button or shift lever for slightly longer, it will donwshift to the lowest possible gear to get maximum acceleration given your current speed and rpm's.

The second way to guarantee a downshift to the lowest gear for maximum acceleration is to floor the accelerator all the way to kickdown.

Outside of these 2 options, the response of the transmission to throttle inputs will depend on several things. The transmission mode makes a difference. In S mode, the transmission is generally more responsive to throttle inputs; it will hold a gear to higher rpms's before upshifting, it will automatically downshift with aggressive braking etc, etc. However, the transmission is "adaptive", meaning that if you have been driving very non-aggressively, automatically downshifting will not be as responsive as it could be. In its most aggressive mode (when I've been at the track for a few laps), I can make it downshift with minimal throttle input.......it's quite impressive actually.

In C mode, the car will behave like a non-AMG Benz slushbox. It will upshift at the earliest moment; it will start in 2nd gear, etc, etc.

In M mode, the transmission won't do anything on its own (other than downshifting to prevent stalling). You have to shift yourself.

sm00thguy88

Oh okay, so Kompressor = SC. I guess I was looking at a C32 then (and thought it was a C55) when I was online shopping yesterday.

Gee, after reading your replies, I realized how stupid my questions sounded... so thank you for patiently answering them. I've just set my eyes on this particular model last week so I basically have zero knowledge on it.

Anyway known major issues with the C55s? Like the SCs in C32s and the ABC suspension on E55s?

masterianvii

Early versions of C55 (2005) were known for leaking oil from under the transmission. There may have been a recall on that, but not sure. Leaking oil from the air boxes is also pretty common across all models. The seals on the air boxes are silicone and break down over time. Make sure the car isn't leaking oil anywhere, but if it is, a reseal is a pretty simple fix, nothing to worry about.

Both the C32 and C55 are awesome cars. Whether you're going to a wedding reception or the race track, they're appropriate for the occasion .

Hope you find a good one, good luck!

MIKESV8

they are amazing cars and i'm so glad i bought it! all my other choices don't even compare to this car. easy way to fix your issue, if you do buy the car, turn the key to the on position, hold the gas pedal down for five seconds, let go of the pedal and then turn the key one more time to turn on the car. you'll see a difference

91RS

Make sure you were hitting the kickdown. When you push the pedal all the way down, there will be another "click" to push it down more and it will downshift as low as it can. Otherwise, it will usually only downshift one gear if you don't hit the kickdown.

There isn't anything major to really worry about on the C55 since there isn't any supercharger to put extra stress on some parts. The valve covers will probably leak and the motor mounts will go at some point depending on how you drive the car. Mine also had a rear main seal leak. And a common W203 problem is front suspension bushings. I would definately inspect or have the car inspected to see if any of these problems exist and have the price of the car adjusted accordingly.

Newzchspy

Unless its a Kleemann SC, it should NOT say Kompressor on the C55. Thats for the C32 and E55.

Newzchspy

The SC is NOT an issue on the C32?? Modded ones can have bearing issues, BUT there's guys running over 100 K miles with NO issues on their SCd cars.

c32kompressor

i have 104k miles with a custom s/c pulley and no problems at all

sm00thguy88

This is to fast track the "adaptation" of the tranny to aggressive driving mode right? If yes, neat trick.

sm00thguy88

Sorry, I just based that comment on what I have read/researched in this forums. I remember coming across a numbers of posts saying that C32s "eats" SCs every 50k miles or so.

arekux

Not true at all, c32s dont eat scs ever 50k, its the bearing that goes out its only $50 part, but dealership wants to replace whole supercharger when that bearing goes out.

BTw original Sc on my 100k miles c32.

sm00thguy88

I requested for the car fax of the one I tested earlier and indeed there was an entry "automatic transmission oil leak checked" back in Dec 2005.
It was done at a dealership. Once serviced, does that take care of the problem once and for all, or is the tranny really bound to leak every 1-2 years?

How much approx. does the dealership charge to fix leaks (tranny, air box, rear main seal etc)? How about the motor mounts and suspension bushings?

91RS

Not really, the only place on the transmission that leaks is the connector. But the part is like $10 and doesn't take long to replace.

It depends on the location, some places have a higher labor rate and some dealers and nice with parts pricing and others are not. However, as usually the case is with seals, the parts are cheap but the labor is a killer. For a rear main seal the transmission will have to come out. However, it really depends on how **** you are about leaks. Unless it's pouring it may not even be worth fixing. I had a year of warranty left when I bought my car (which was what I wanted to work out all the kinks since I had no plans of buying an extended warranty) so I got mine fixed. The valve cover gaskets were leaking pretty good so it kinda covered up the rear main seal leaking (which wasn't really leaking that bad) at the time.

If the previous owner of the car was watching for leaks, they've probably been fixed already. Like I said though, definately have them lift up the car so you can check out underneath or take it somewhere and have it inspected. These are overall very good cars, but there's still always a chance of something crazy.

sm00thguy88

Thanks! Makes me wanna limit my search options to the ones that still have extended warranty... though it will cut my selection drastically, and these cars at not that common to begin with

cdd

You're in luck! I just put mine up for sale--with Mercedes Extended Limited Warranty (not aftermarket) until May of 2013.

It's also only got 26K miles on it (warranty also expires when you hit 75K).

Check out my thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...ay-2013-a.html

sm00thguy88

Hmmm... really tempting. Although I really prefer brilliant silver or gray, but black is 3rd on my list. Interior shots would be nice too.

Did you track this car btw?

Here's what might be another newbie question... I've never bought an out of state car before (your in PA and I'm in IL). How does it usually work? Does the buyer usually fly/drive over and have the car inspected at the seller's local dealership?

If any other members who have done this before could give me tips or share their out-of-state car buying experience, I would really appreciate it.

Sephiroth

since this car has extended warranty, I wouldn't worry too much about inspecting it. I would just make sure the wear items are in good shape (brakes, tires...etc) maybe check to make sure the warranty is valid and get a copy of the service history?

cdd

More pics are on the way--they'll be up by this weekend at the latest.

As much as I intended to get her to the track, I never actually did...no road racing, drag racing, auto-x, etc.

I actually did purchase this car out of state, and I'm pretty sure that the rules vary state to state.

In my situation, I bought in MA and live in PA. PA would not grant a temporary tag until the car was here (which didn't help me much) and MA would not grant temporary tags for cars not being titled in MA. So I flew in to MA, inspected and purchased the car. The previous owner let me use his tags to drive back to PA. Once there, I titled in PA and then mailed back his MA tags.

So you should definitely check with the Illinois DMV to see how they handle out of state cars being brought to IL. It would be easier for everyone if Illinois will provide temporary tags once you buy insurance on the new car. Then you use the tags on the trip back--and then title the car in IL.

I would certainly recommend a local inspection prior to purchase. MB of Cherry Hill, NJ or MB of Fort Washington are closest, but you could choose any mechanic you preferred.

cdd

Yes, the car has extended warranty, but I wouldn't have a problem if he wanted to have an inspection.

I do have the service history as well.

Newzchspy

Purchased many cars out of state. If you buy the PA car, all you have to do is this: CDD lets you use his plates to drive the car home to IL. You and he sign a bill of sale upon completion of the transaction and you give him a check or cash etc. You drive the car home to IL and register it here and pay the tax here in IL for plates etc. YOU mail the plates BACK to him asap and you're done. In IL , if you go directly to sec of state office, you'll get the plates and new registration sticker right there. You 'll have to pay the tax right away though, theres no free ride on that. You'll pay the IL tax, not PA!!