greghaz

Greetings gentlemen,

I am a long time BMW owner researching my first MB purchase.

I believe I have narrowed my search to a W210 E55.

Are certain years thought to be better than others?

Many thanks,
Greg

Esh

Nope, just a facelift in 2000 is the difference on the W210 AMG's. Where are you at in Oregon?

Search function is your friend.

DAGREEKNYC

i would get the last year which came with the supercharger

greghaz

I'm in Eugene.

I'm actually looking for a normally aspirated example.

Thanks.

nicobaires

They didn't make a supercharged W210

AMS Performance

01-02 are the best years but 2000 isn't bad either. 1999 has the old body style & interior so you may prefer the newer design.

Esh

Welcome, I'm in Portland.

Too bad you hadn't come on a bit earlier, as Jeff.Bisonett was selling his. He ended up trading it in for a Hyundai.

saintz

1998-1999 are the original W210 models.

2000 - 2002 are the updated W210 models. Have revised bumper and exterior looks, manual shifting capabilities, steering wheel radio buttons, and some other goodies.

2000 has manual sunroof
2001 has auto open sunroof, manual close
2002 has auto open and close sunroof

2003-2006 are the W211 supercharged.

Generally the W210 E55 models are equally reliable, they are all hand built, the difference is really the small feature differences.

saintz

Also, I think Peter is in Oregon. He has a very powerful E55 up for sale.

AMS Performance

please tell me thats not true... shame the AMG is such a great car...

Esh

Peter is in Washington near Seattle

It's true, he went back to grad school and needed a car with better gas mileage and with a warranty.

greghaz

Thanks guys, it all helps.

tjcMBE55AMG

2002 has auto open and close sunroof

That's very interesting - I have a 2002 W210 E55 and the sunroof is auto open - but NOT auto close.

Anyone else have a 2002 with a sunroof that auto-closes? Am I missing an adjustment somewhere?

Interplexor

I lived in PDX for a while and spent a good deal of time in Eugene... I miss it! The roads out there are perfect for a W210 E55. I used to call my weekly drives to and from Eugene a form of "autobahning it!" down I-5 through the numerous speed traps that Oregon State Police would regularly set up. That radar detector paid for itself many times over...

To answer your questions, there are more changes/differences other than just the facelift and new interior. The biggest and most substantive change was that the transmission went to a touchshift/tiptronic style unit, whereas the original '99 models did not have that. The later model year transmissions are supposedly hardened and a little more robust than the earlier ones but I don't know the specifics of when these changes occurred.

Good luck finding a nice car... I note that Mercedes-Benz of Eugene has a nice W210 E55 for sale, but at a fairly high price.

I'd look only for examples that lived in Oregon or along the west coast. I'd steer clear of any E55s that might have spent time in any area that regularly sees snow and salted roads. The W210 is particularly rust prone...

best of luck!

Interplexor

What's also interesting is that I have a 2001 and the sunroof is fully manual... no auto open or close. It's an early 2001 model year, built in 8/2000...

greghaz

Yes, very nice car, used to be owned by a friend. Dealer knows I could be a buyer for the right money...we'll see.

Thanks for the tranny info.

Interplexor

Persistence pays off with dealers. I'd pop in twice weekly and chat up the sales manager. Make sure that he knows your price, and make it clear to him that it's more than he'll get at auction for it...

After nobody bites at their obscene pricing on it, he will eventually shift to your price... but only if you stay on their radar. If you don't, or only contacted them the once, I'm willing to bet they've already forgotten about you...

saintz

My 2001 has auto open but manual close.

SleepersRock

My 02 is auto open and manual close as well.

greghaz

Thanks guys, Fri I bought a 2001 with only 57K for a very nice price.

armaniE55

Congrats ! and welcome aboard ! Pics or Ban as Leerod would say

Armani

greghaz

Here she is.

Anyone want to trade their 18" AMG (or Brabus) Aero II monoblocks for these 20" Lexanis?