I had my C32 for six years. My favorite AMG
Fairly easy to maintain and i kept on top of all scheduled maintenance
I did have to align my tires often

However as soon as i sold it to the next guy
things started to go south within literally weeks
battery
alternator
rear main seal
header leak
o2 sensors
spark plugs needed changing
machine gun door locks


Now i found that the old D2B wiring system to be fairly relaible
It was the newer MOST system on the C55 which was a PITA
You will need to change your rotors every second pad change.

If you baby the C32 you can get decent gas mileage.
I did the SC pulley, headers, intake, and tune and netted 340whp from a stock 297hp

2004 is probably the most reliable and didnt have the glycol cooling issue with the radiator.
Any BMW or Volkswagen/Audi will cost you more to maintain. The AMGs are simpler.

To the chap in South Africa
Gas is 95 RON = 93 OCT. Not all standards are the same in each country.

 

I know they aren't the same. But our 95 burns quicker then 93 and has a higher octane rating than 93. Mind you the 95 isn't pure 95 but close to it and the same applies with 93.

 

Ex took it when we broke up she then sold it like a few weeks latter haha for less then I offered to pay her if I got to keep it o well in a c63 now
I'm also in Calgary, well airdrie to be exact

 

No i think youre wayyyyy off base
Your 95 is actually equivalent to our 91. I looked it up and i suggest you do the same.

RON and OCT are just laboratory methods measuring the performance of gasoline
The gas comes from the same hole in the ground
Yes but there is some variance but your 95 number is not better than our 93 number. In order for your gas to have a higher octane rating than us, it would have to be rated 100+ higher.

See below

In Europe and Africa they use RON = Research Octane Number
In US, Canada, and Brazil we combine your RON and what is called MON
(Motor Octane Number) and divide that number in half to get our AKI which is Anti Knock Index.

So if i wrote above is true
The best gas available to the common driver in the USA without resorting to AV Fuel or Race Gas is Petro Canadas Ultra 94 and thats equivalent to 101 RON

The best gas available in Europe which is probably Aral Ultimate 102 which is equivalent to 95 OCT

 

Moosejaw, to be honest I couldn't give a hoot bout this. All I need to know is that 95 and 93 unleaded are good for my car engines. 95 burns quicker in any car I know of this side thats why people use that for racing and tuning. I spoke to a guy here from Europe who used to build BMW race cars for touring, who told me 95 is a 93.8 or so octane rating fuel and 93 is 91. some odd number. Hence they prefer tuning a car on 95 and then racing it with higher octane fuel such as race fuel 101 Octane.

I don't know if you a race tuner or a chemical engineer which I doubt but good for you if you are and know your chemicals and the molecules used to make up fuel.

lets just stop jacking this kid's thread now please

 

I'm also about to get my first car in a month or so and I have been looking at some c55's and c32's in my area. I have found some c55's that I'm interested in there's is one that has 137k miles on it that's in amazing condition interior for only $7500. I'm a bit sketched out though because of the miles, do you think I will start seeing problems and is it worth paying that extra cash for a c55? The car I'm looking at is in amazing condition in and out.

 

I think a c32 or a c55 is a great first car. Yes something could go wrong but most likely not. I'm 16 and will be buying a c55 soon and know what the responsibilities will be but I think people over react when they say a c32 is a bad first car.

 

How do you know? You're 16 so you probably have a grip on things.

I'm 28 and bought the car to be a garage queen. I am also in a position where if I had to shell out some coin to fix something it wouldn't bother me.

I bought a 10 year old mercedes for 15k... Do I like it, yes. But I would dump it in a heartbeat for an econocar if I had to DD it.

Wait until gas prices go back up and you are stuck with a car that gets 12 mpgs and drinks the good stuff.

$100 oil change
$250 per tire

Not being a tool or anything but I keep seeing these posts from kids looking to buy these as a first car asking if they should. If you have the knowledge and time to do all the work yourself then it's not bad. If you're like me I'd rather make it to my appointment than canceling because my old *** mercedes went into limp mode.

Just saying...

 

Yeah UR right about maintaining the car and the cost, but I guess it could also be about your financial situation. if your not making good steady income buying an older amg wouldnt be the best choice, but if you know you can afford for what ever comes your way go for it, doesn't matter if it your first car car or yu 10th car

 

It's not just about the cost of R&M and Gas as CRod06 mentioned, it's the reliability of the car as a DD. If it doesn't start up one morning, and you need to get to work/school, then you won't be able to unless you have another car available as DD, or someone who's going to be able to drive you to wherever you need to be. Although, having a 2nd car as a DD would only help sometimes (if you were at home to begin with), since if you were out already, or the car died en route, you wouldn't have access to the 2nd car.

All it comes down to in the end is what you're prepared for. If you've taken a good look at your financial situation, and have budgeted for everything accordingly (Gas, regular R&M, unexpected R&M, accidents) and have also considered the possibility that you may be stuck without a car for a week or two if it ever needs to go in for more major repairs, then you'll be fine.

I personally wouldn't get the C32/C55 as a first car/only car, as I cannot live with the things I mentioned above. But to each, their own.

I hope everything works out for you with that 137k miles C55. But my advice would be to always have a bit saved up as a 'rainy day fund' for the 'oh ****' moments of C32/55 ownership.

 

I know I was not planing nearly this far ahead at 16. Also if I had a car this fast at 16 I'd be dead.

 

honestly, if you want a positive experience out of owning an AMG mercedes at your age, it would be wise to have a few thousand saved up that you can actually spend at your discretion. there are already plenty of things that need repairing on the car you're looking at and honestly there's probably a lot more that needs to be done before you can get any real "driving experience" out of it.

you're going to want to flush fluids (engine oil, trans oil, maybe diff oil, coolant, bleed the brakes, etc), new intercooler pump is likely, new battery/alternator, new behr radiator, new suspension bushings (especially in the front), new struts/shocks, etc. this is all stuff that you're likely going to want to do before modding at all.

i don't think age is an issue. i got my c32 when i was like 18 or 19 and it literally looks and drives like it's brand new because of how meticulously i maintain it. i'm serious--everyone thinks i'm insane because it takes me four hours to wash my car and dry it with a leaf blower so i don't scratch the paint.

just really think this through. i was lucky and the previous two owners were freaks like me who made the c32 a garage queen, but i obviously paid a higher price because of that.

put it this way--about six months ago i bought myself a 2003 c320 with like 170k miles (yes, another w203) for $5k. this thing is rough around the edges. missing a floor mat, stains on the carpet, faded door pulls, scratched paint, etc. i did notice that parts that aren't original were replaced with oem parts though, like bosch, etc. so i know the previous owner wasn't nickel and diming. within the six months i've owned it, i've needed to replace the MAF sensor, the throttle position sensor, and now i'm going to tackle the secondary air pump issue. oh and it has trouble starting on very cold mornings. that was for $5k and it's not even an AMG. so think about what you're getting into if you buy a c32 for 6k.

good luck and i hope you make an educated decision!