Zoraone

Hello. Long time lurker, first time poster and today, first time owner.

For many years I've been a fan of the '99-02 E55 and I've thrown around the idea of buying one as a daily driver.

For the past 7-years I've been driving a 1995 Lexus LS400 that I bought to use as a daily driver along with a 2005 Pontiac GTO that I owned. Long story short, my wife and I were blessed with our second child and I sold the GTO for my wife to get an SUV and kept the LS400.

That has been 3 years now and I finally decided to get rid of the LS400 and go for something new to me.

I looked at everything. Thought about the safe route in buying a newer Lexus LS430, then thought about a Lexus GS430, Infiniti M45, Pontiac G8.

Then about three weeks ago a 2002 E55 w/105k miles and 2 owners showed up at a local dealership in Carmel Indiana. They were asking $9,995. I drove it and put it off until the weather got better.

Well, today I pulled the trigger. My LS400 was in excellent condition, but not worth all that much. Fortunately, they still offered me $3,000 for my trade.

It was a locally owned car, had records and came with an extra set of 4 E430 Sport wheels with snow tires.

I'm quite amazed at how solid the E55 feels when you drive it. Excellent performance. I'd put it even quicker than my old 2005 GTO via my seat-of-the-pants dyno.

I'll be honest. I'm still a little nervous. But after reading so many reviews and DIY articles on how wonderful the W210 E55 vehicles are I am excited and I hope that my ownership experience will be similar to others with good fortune.

First up will be the insurance of full fluids and a complete detail. I'm certain I will be checking in on this forum to look for DIY and other items.

Pictures are from the dealership.






Best,
Dustin

Strigoi

Did you get a PPI done?

june82000

Congratulations. I drove an '01 with 108k for around the same price. I liked it but after we left my wife said she wants a black car instead of silver. Question, did you consider an S55 too? I'm looking at both models and keeping my options open.

WBE55

Nice, Silver is a great color, I have Silver 99 and black 02 E55, Welcome and enjoy !! FYI there are some great DIY docs on pelican.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/

patrick_y

Beautiful car. Congrats!

Main thing is to be cautious of rust problems. Keep it clean and keep it dry.

From what can be seen in the photos, the car looks to be in great shape!

Zoraone

Thank you.

I did look at the S55. Candidly, I really liked the S55, but I weighed the options of the E versus S in terms of overall reliability and or potentials for problems, and went with the E.

I agree with everyone, keeping her rust free will be my biggest project. Short of keeping them clean and dry is there any magical rust prevention measures that people are trying? Coatings? Rust Protection?

I ordered a slew of filters online and found that the prices are really quite reasonable compared to the other vehicles I have owned or do own.

Hell, the cabin air filter and oil filter were the same price as my wife's Acura MDX.

I have found a rattle in the rear headliner. I may have to dig into it and find the culprit.

I was laughing at myself, because I opened the hood and began going through things. I thought to myself "How in the world do I get to the air filters?"

I saw the upside down screws and I counted 12 of them. So I went along trying to unscrew them upside down. By about the third one I decided to hop online and found the DIY.

So much easier when you actually know how to go about doing it.

Best,
Dustin

june82000

I was thinking about the same thing (more things to go wrong on an S); plus, the fact that an S is a bigger car altogether. I would also assume that the E is a more nimble car to drive. However the S appears to be far more luxurious, and the extra room in the back isn't a bad thing either. I guess it's a toss up really, depending on what's important to you. I have three teenagers so I'm sure the S would be a better way to haul them around, although i have a Lincoln Navigator for that too.

Filters shouldn't be that much really. I checked some prices on brake pads and rotors through my local parts store and they were quite reasonable also. The air ride on the S is a costly item I hear, especially if you just hand it over to the dealership to do the work. Strutmasters (among others) sells a kit that retrofits the air ride system and replaces it with 4 Eibach McPherson struts; a little pricey at $1,395.00 IMO but it's certainly an option for somebody. I DIY replaced my rear air suspension on my Lincoln for a minimal cost of about $150 because one of them failed.

Use the internet - you can find out nearly anything about anything - that's what I do. I haven't checked yet, but for the BMW I have, I downloaded (for free) a Bentley manual which is a very good manual; something along what the shops would be using. I had an '02 Volvo; a real pain the butt to deal with because of the software required to access the different systems on the car. Your basic scanner is almost useless on these. Bought a chinese factory software for less than 200 bucks and put it on my laptop. There are ways around these vehicles. They don't have to be super expensive to maintain. As long as you aren't dealing with constant ailments such as blown head gaskets (ahem, BMW), warped heads - stuff like that - you should be alright. From what I've heard, these cars seem to be pretty durable. Maybe someone else will chime in.

Assuming you have a sunroof, maybe that has something to do with your rattle. Also check the trunk, and around/under the package tray in the back. Just a guess anyway...

I hope I can find a good one - let us know how you are enjoying yours.

Dave

Zoraone

Thanks Dave.

Yes, I love the overall size of the S, but for me I just love the overall styling of the W210 and like the idea of it having far fewer electronics.

My 1995 LS400 had the factory air suspension. I replaced the entire system with some Strutmaster units. I was very happy and the $650 cost for all 4 traditional struts (for the Lexus) was much easier to swallow than trying to maintain the air.

I've looked at buying a a Mercedes scan tool. I've seen some for a lot of money ($4,000) and some others for not a lot of money ($200 - $400). I guess I could load some software onto a computer a well and buy the proper cabling for the car and computer to talk.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the E55.

Like I said, this has been a vehicle that I've known about and looked at for many years. I've read all the articles and decided it was finally time to take the first step in ownership.

I did get lucy, and the dealership called and told me they have an extra smart key that the previous owner dropped off.

I got lucky.

Dustin

june82000

Nice!

EdLien

congrats~

snooozie

Get yourself a mighty vac pump and save yourself time and money on oil changes...congratulation great car

Solo wing

First, congrats mate.
Second, I'm not sure what's best measure against rust, I had the undercarriage, brake lines and wheel wells rust proofed (once a year)
KEEP an eye on the SPRING PERCH.
The car is amazing, and reasonable to maintain.


Enjoy your ride!

Zoraone

The E55 is really beginning to grow on me. In a good way. Even though it has only been a handful of days.

Very few cars have really felt special to me and this one does.

I know faster and newer cars are on the road. But, I don't know, there is just something about the W210 that is special.

I've actually started thinking of ways to take the long road home again.

Dustin

CharlyE500

Welcome ! The 2000-2002 S55 are slow and heavy. All the S55 has ABC suspension which not reliable at all. The W210 E55 is one of the most reliable performance car you can find. I have 3 AMG and my W210 is the most reliable one.

BlownV8

The 210 E55 may be the most reliable performance vehicle ever produced.

Tall Giraffe

Welcome! I picked up an E55 last August and I am still honeymooning. Each time I do any maintenance she keeps improving. Get familiar with the soft ecu reset as it could get some umph when the E55 seems lazy. New tires morphed a different, better car.

This is definitely a special car.

amthatiam

Nice car, congratulations. Their is an easy fix for the roof rattle, it is the headliner bouncing against the roof, their is a write up with pic's on how to fix it on the "other" site.(benz world)look in the sticky's. Actually their is allot of information there for these cars in the W210 section.

I used an aluminum yard stick slightly bent to get small pieces of microfiber cloth between the headliner and roof reenforcing rails towards the rear of the car that the liner vibrates against. the sunroof has to be closed, the shade has to be open slightly than you pull/bend the headliner down very carefully, don't pull to hard as you can kink it. fold the small square of cloth over the end of the yard stick (or what ever clever gadget you come up with) and slide it towards the area I mentioned above.

Once you look in there with a flashlight/drop light you will see what I mean, also once you see the aforementioned write up you should be able to figure it out. I hope this helps, it eliminates a very irritating rattle. Good luck.

Dan

Swiftmotoring

Dustin any updates on the E55? I am considering a 2002 E55 and find current reports from owners to be a tremendous information source. They seem to be ageless when properly maintained. Thank you.

Zoraone

No upgrades yet. Candidly I don't really know what I would do. It is a daily driver (kids to school, me to work). I guess if I ever found a Renntech carbon bubble top intake used and not a crazy price, I would do it.

X-pipe and resonator delete might happen because it is so quiet.

I have done most all of the maint. Items.

- all fluids (except power steering)
- trans (twice so far)
- brakes all around
- fuel filter
- new brake light switch
- pixel fix
- throttle body and maf removed and cleaned.
- plugs

Basically what I knew would need to be replaced. Runs like a top and I still love it.

Solo wing

+55 On the resonator delete and X-pipe. Best mod for the 210, and throw in a 2nd cat delete if you can the sound will be Divine, while remaining quite at idle.
Here's my feedback after replacing rear kitties with an X-pipe:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w210-amg/...te-x-pipe.html

Best of Luck!

Faiz

armaniE55

+1 for the vac pump

Enjoy the car. I've own the E55 for a few years now and I still enjoy driving her. I do store her away for the winter. I plan on keeping mine for when I pull the trigger on the CLS. Look into Depo headlight retrofit-

BTW I owned a 02 S500 while I purchased new it spent a lot of time at the shop. Extremely problematic- At least 3-5k a year for maintenance.


Great guys on this forum

Congtrats

Armani

Swiftmotoring

Dustin I finally found my 2002 E55 and have really been enjoying it. I need to correct the pixels for my temp and time...any suggestions?

AmxnG

Hey guys,

I am a future owner as well and I can't tell you how excited I get every time I visit the
W210 E55 forum.

I'll be obtaining a Silver 2000 E55 mid October w/ 125,xxx

Car runs solid as far as the test drive... I fell in love with the E series after owning a 92' 300E.

The only thing is I do hear some kind of loose fitment/shock on the front left wheel under regular compression (small bumps or pots)

I'll be taking the car to a shop to have it inspected and make sure I get some good maintenance in before I put her to everyday use...

@Zoraone, congrats bro. The car looks just like what I'll be getting my paws on.

This car does not seem to disappoint whatsoever.


-Kev