Recently I came upon a great deal for a 2002 E55 in Silver with the Ruby Red interior. Car has 185,000 miles on it and it seems like it had been cared for over its life but recently just kinda driven with no thought to maintenance or caring for the little dumb things. I took it for a drive and it seemed to run well but the cluster was dark except for one bulb including the turn signal indicators, there were multiple exterior bulbs out, the center console trim was all loose and all the interior crevices were dirty and caked with years of dirt and junk that finds it was into all the little corners. The front and rear windows were tinted but not the back window. Tint was also in bad shape. I could feel when I was driving that it needed motor mounts and the tires were all mismatched with varying degrees of wear. The left rear bumper cover was cracked and missing trim. Car has had some paint work, but it has a clean title and for a driver its not as clean as I would like but for the cost it was more than adequate.
Well after a couple days of working 15 hours a day, I finally had time to install the myriad of little parts I had ordered to clean this thing up. I did a full service with filters and fluids. I replaced about 6 exterior light bulbs, pulled the cluster and replaced the bulbs with the led upgrades for a newer white dash look, replaced the burnt out climate control light bulb with an led one, refit both front fog lights that were loose with 3k bulbs, cleaned out all the little interior spaces and repaired and cleaned the cigarette lighter so that works. I replaced the broken/missing left rear trim strip which helped secure the cracked bumper and replaced the chrome rear center trim piece which made a huge difference. I will track down a factory painted bumper cover at some point but its okay for the time being. I scored a set of Continental tires and threw those on with a set of H&R springs I got from a friend.I have conditioned the leather multiple times which has really helped. I peeled the tint and had the car buffed out and man it made a big difference. I replaced the motor mounts and, as you can see from the pics, saying they needed attention was an understatement! Now the car idles like glass and runs just as well. The perforated leather on the steering wheel was all torn off and I found a factory wheel that should be here tomorrow so that will be a nice thing to have in good shape since you touch it anytime you're in the vehicle.

I owned a 2002 E55 previously and after putting about 90k miles on it I sold it because at the same time I had an E39 M5 which outperformed the E55 overall and I didn't need two very similar cars. Always missed the Mercedes because I really love the W210 body style.

My next touch ups are going to be getting the wheels reconditioned, tinkering with the multi contour seats to get them working, replacing that rear bumper cover, replacing the sagging headliner (big surprise), and having the cluster pixels repaired. All things that can be done in the future. For now I have a car that I have enjoyed showing some love and attention. I also am constantly looking for a reason to hop in and drive anywhere.

 

Congrats - must feel a great sense of accomplishment fixing all that stuff.
Love the two tone interior.
Are you going to do the resonator delete x-pipe install to pick up a little bit of growl?

 

Thank you. Yes it's been a lot of fun for me.
i was thinking about it but I've never heard one in person. I'd like to hear it before I make the decision.

 

​​​​​​There's a whole dedicated x-pipe thread on the Benzworld site - hope this is OK to link.
From what I've read the sound difference is pretty minimal and it adds a few ponies.
Enjoy your AMG.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...st-thread.html

 

I never heard one/seen another in person either. As few of these cars that are out there, then the few that do it, you'd be fortunate to. Youtube was the only way I sampled the sound.

It will definitely take away the sewing machine smooth nature to it (especially with those new motor mounts) and where you can hear a little grunt now when you step on it, it will be intensified and will take a little getting used to at first. Then it will be normal and beloved when you hit the highway on ramp. You will wonder why it wasn't this way all along and passengers who have never been in your car will envy the sound. Most people say to me "What kind of car is this?

My secondaries were rattling and I opted for x-pipe as close to front as I could, deleted the resonator and secondary cats delete however thats a no no in Cali. I think you have to put high flow secondaries. The resonator could anchor a boat so it makes it a little lighter feeling faster, placebo.