robino

Hi...i'm new

and i'm stuck making a decision between an S600 and an E55
which one should i get?

both will eventually get the Renntech treatment and both would end up with similar performance figures, i understand that the E55 handles better, has bolstered seats, etc...

which is more reliable, which takes more beatings, which has less issues?

Musikmann

That's a hard choice, and I wish I was in the financial position to be looking at either one seriously. I'd practically commit murder to have either one of those beasts!

Personally, I like the idea of a 12-cylinder engine, but I also want to eventually own an AMG "something".

I'm casually looking for a used E55 (2003+) because there was a pretty dramatic increase in HP, mostly due to the Kompressor once they went to the W211.

Good luck and I'm green with envy

Welcome to the forum!

robino

thanks and oh...i'm looking for used also

just not schooled on which is more bulletproof...i have read about E55 panorama squeeks and rattles and i have read about S600 dashboard glitches, i'd actually prefer the bigger car but knowing myself all too well, i would have to upgrade brakes and stuff on the S600 which would cost me more in the end, i know the E55 is the 'better' all around performance package, but seeing videos of mid 11 sec. Renntech S600's has me confused to say the least.

my questions are simple, which takes more abuse, i would be at Moroso raceway at least once a week with it making passes, i read that both have durable motors/trannies, i'm not sure which has more electronic issues between the two and which had more recalls or annoying squeeking/rattling issues...stuff i wanna stay away from when spending upwards of 45-50K

whoover

I assume you're talking about the drag strip, not road course. The E55 and S600 are comparable stock, but the S600 with just Renntech ECU will be way faster than even a highly modded E55. If you're talking about laps around a track, the S is way too big.

The stock brakes aren't bad (4-pot Brembos).

Both will have fit-and-finish flaws and rattles. No MB from 2000 on had super quality until 2007. But they're not major deals.

robino

appreciate the imput, there's an e55 that runs at moroso (yes, drag strip) with the renntech pulley/ecm /drag radials and he runs 11.75-11.85's typically.

the S600 vids i've seen are right around the same ballpark, couple of them i've seen in the mid 11's, i'm imagining that a renntech chip for an s600 must cost less than a pulley/chip for an e55, not sure of the cost even though Renntech is right in my home town of Lake Park, FL. no more than 2 miles from my house...i do prefer the larger car as mentioned above and i realize that the larger car won't handle or stop as well as the e55, but if you know FL. you know there are few curbs and lots of straightaways...i basically don't need the handling of the E55 although i do like the bolstered seats lumpy steering wheel and fancier dash setup.

That said, i think i could be happy with an S600, just trying to get a good idea which years had less problems between the 03-04, anything change during those years?
The 03 S600 prices do seem a bit more attractive than the E55's, i'm starting to understand how important that warranty is, i never thought MB's top dog would be so problematic.

whoover

There's nothing like an S-class. It's like flying first class. The E55 is a great car but it's the business class cabin. I've driven an S since 1982 and can't imagine being without one. My wife and I both love her C55, but there's never any question what we take on a road trip.

The '04 W220 is much better than '03, largely because of the COMAND update. The '04 got a new unit with bigger screen, much improved user interface with "soft buttons," better graphics, better voice control system (highly recommended), faster route computation, all enabled by a new fiber-optic network which is more reliable.

robino

thanks for the info, anything else i should know, any generic bugs that they get, i've read about dash problems, what else goes on the S600's...(04's) that i should know about.

starmark certified means what exactly, should i go for one of those if i can help it? Is it a better warranty? I've searched and see lots of posts about it but none that explain what it actually means.

thanks again for your time, much appreciated.

another question would be, other than the S600 Renntech chip what other performance addons are recommended?

robino

you sure the 04 got the update over the 03?
i'm searching everywhere and can't find any updates as such over the 03...i do know the 02 had smaller screen/diff. dash buttons...

whoover

Starmark means Mercedes certified, sometimes called CPO (certified pre-owned). When you buy a used car from a Mercedes dealer, they may sell it as Starmark. They are generally in the best shape and are supposed to have been rigorously inspected. The real value is in the extended warranty.

The Starmark warranty is good for 100k miles or one year longer than the original warranty, whichever comes first. This means five years from the time the car was delivered as new to the first customer.

In addition, you can pay extra for one or two more years. This is highly advisable for any Mercedes V-12! A two year extension to a Starmark is $4,000 for an S600; one year is $2,400. These are retail prices -- the dealer may give you a discount to help close the deal. With a two-year extension a 2004 originally delivered in June, 2004 would be covered until June 2011 or 100k miles. In my opinion, this is the only way to go. The things that break on these cars are all very expensive.

http://www.mbusa.com allows you to search their used-car inventory. There are currently 38 2003-2006 S600s in the system. Most are Starmark. If you do a search on 4-door sedan, S class, nationwide and then click the "Model" heading twice, you'll see the list sorted with S65s on top, followed by S600s.

There are not a lot of performance mods for these cars. The ECU flash from Renntech or Kleeman makes a big difference. There isn't much more available. As it is, you have to worry about shortening the transmission life with the increased torque of the ECU flash. That's why I haven't done it to my S65. I know that the S65 tranny is reinforced. I'd inquire if the S600 has the same transmission before having my ECU flashed.

whoover

Yes. The 2002 and earlier had a small screen and CD-nav. In 2003 they did a minor facelift to move to a DVD-nav, but that was about it. The major improvement was in 2004. The mbusa site, CPO sub-section, allows you to browse back in time and compare the cars.

robino

i thought bi-turbo s600's used the beefy e/s55 tranny

whoover

The supercharged 55 AMG engines use a 900 N-m transmission (W5A900). The 65 AMG biturbos use a 1000 N-m version (W5A1000). I'm pretty sure that the biturbo non-AMG engines use the 1000 N-m version as well, but I'd double check that before flashing the ECU. Assuming it does, you should be OK. But I'm nervous about flashing the S65, since that would take it way past the 1000 N-m torque design max. The S600 flashed shouldn't be a problem as long as it's got the W5A1000.