What to chose and if I should?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
What to chose and if I should?
Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum, but I must confess that I am terribly unsure of my next car purchase, and I was hoping to gain some real world experience from owners out there. I was thinking of purchasing a used E55 AMG, but then I forced myself to look at the s55 AMG. First of all I was very excited about either vehicle, but then I began doing my usual research about any vehicle I want to purchase, and I am now deathly afraid of any newer (2002-05) Mercedes after hearing what people have been saying about reliability/customer service etc....
I would like to know what ownership of a 2002-2005 s55 AMG regarding:
1)Reliability
2)Safety
3)Roadhandling
4)Real world fuel economy
5)Performance
All I can say is that there appears to be many disgruntled MB owners out there, and having owned all types of cars, I just wanted some real world feedback, because I don't want to be one of those people suing MB or posting all over the internet because of a lemon MB.
Thank you all for your time,
Jonathan
I am new to this forum, but I must confess that I am terribly unsure of my next car purchase, and I was hoping to gain some real world experience from owners out there. I was thinking of purchasing a used E55 AMG, but then I forced myself to look at the s55 AMG. First of all I was very excited about either vehicle, but then I began doing my usual research about any vehicle I want to purchase, and I am now deathly afraid of any newer (2002-05) Mercedes after hearing what people have been saying about reliability/customer service etc....
I would like to know what ownership of a 2002-2005 s55 AMG regarding:
1)Reliability
2)Safety
3)Roadhandling
4)Real world fuel economy
5)Performance
All I can say is that there appears to be many disgruntled MB owners out there, and having owned all types of cars, I just wanted some real world feedback, because I don't want to be one of those people suing MB or posting all over the internet because of a lemon MB.
Thank you all for your time,
Jonathan
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,278
Likes: 377
From: San Jose area
'19 E63S sedan
You want a 2004 or later.
2002 is not supercharged (it's short about 100 HP compared with the others). 2003 has an oddball COMAND with CD navigation; 2004 went to the much improved DVD version. The suspension was tweaked in 2003 as well, and the car holds the road much better. The Presafe safety systems are more advanced in 2003 and later than earlier, I think.
Most of the kinks were ironed out by 2004 as well; the worst of the reliability problems were 2000-2002, although there are some systems (like the ABC suspension and electrical modules) that have a higher failure rate than you'd like. Whatever year, make sure you have an extended warranty!
Fuel economy depends on how hard you drive it. You can get it about as low as you want, although I can always do worse in my 65
. If you drive the car hard, you'll go through $300 tires like pretzels at happy hour. You may spend more on rubber than gas. But the first-class cabin will cost you.
2002 is not supercharged (it's short about 100 HP compared with the others). 2003 has an oddball COMAND with CD navigation; 2004 went to the much improved DVD version. The suspension was tweaked in 2003 as well, and the car holds the road much better. The Presafe safety systems are more advanced in 2003 and later than earlier, I think.
Most of the kinks were ironed out by 2004 as well; the worst of the reliability problems were 2000-2002, although there are some systems (like the ABC suspension and electrical modules) that have a higher failure rate than you'd like. Whatever year, make sure you have an extended warranty!
Fuel economy depends on how hard you drive it. You can get it about as low as you want, although I can always do worse in my 65
. If you drive the car hard, you'll go through $300 tires like pretzels at happy hour. You may spend more on rubber than gas. But the first-class cabin will cost you.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
MB owners please speak up
Come on owners, please tell me all those pages on mercedes websites are wrong and that these cars are really all they look to be???
How would you guys buy a used s55 amg ensuring that one doesn't buy one of those lemons. (assuming that I am not dumb enough to purchase a bought back vehicle.)
Thank you for your time,
jonathan
