zoink

If you were married, expecting your first child and to decide right now, which one would you choose? And since I post this in E55 forum, let's say you already have an E55 (for those who don't).

2005 E500 4MATIC Wagon
27K miles
All options except dynamic seats & ventilated seats
CPO
$44K or slightly less

vs.

2005 C55
25K miles
All options except ventilated seats (I don't think dynamic seats are available in this model, right?)
NOT CPO
$41K or slightly less

The car is for my wife.... replacement for her Cayenne S. I heard that the build quality (fit & finish) of C55 is not that good. But C55 is for sure a lot faster and more nimble. E500 has bigger space and been CPO'd.

Main consideration factors are reliability and resale value (around 2-3 years from now).

What do you think?

Can Drive 55

Based in your criteria, I would go with the wagon.

55User

Two AMG's are certainly better than one, I would get the C55, any baby hauling can be done in the E55, although I would take an SLK55 if given that as a choice. Just my $.02

MBE55AMG

C55!

MRichmond

My wife drives a 2004 E320 4Matic wagon. It is a terrific car. Remember that when planning vehicle needs for children, you have to account not only for the space that the kid occupies but the space that will be occupied by all of the kid-associated equipment -- stroller, high chair, bags, et., etc., etc. Paradoxically, as children grow the amount of space you need in the car, especially on extended trips, shrinks since you no longer have to take many of the items mentioned above. Also consider whether the C55 will provide enough room in the back seat. When your child is in his or her car seat, the feet will be pressed against the seat in front very soon. This may be less of an issue if you have the car seat in the middle, but they figure out ways to kick mom's and dad's seats if those seats are within easy reach. The wagon provides the space and ease of use that you and she will appreciate daily. I also expect that there is a marginal safety benefit in the wagon over the C55, not to mention the all wheel drive capability. The resale market for the wagon will be larger since the C55 appeals to a narrower audience. Good luck and congratulations on your expected arrival.

shaw01

Here's the correct answer (haha) .. your choice, C55 of course .. just because an AMG is always better ... BUT .. here's how you need to approach this (IMO) ..

It's your wife's main mode of transport, give her your input but make sure she makes the decision .. based on what SHE wants .. reason is simple .. you can weigh all the pro's and con's but if YOU choose the C55 and she has no room, it's your fault .. if YOU choose the E500 and it's too boring and bland it's your fault ..

If she picks the one she wants you can't lose .. well, not quite as big anyway .. but if you choose or she decides based on what you want instead of what she wants it's likely to come back to you ..

Besides, if she chooses she's more likely to make her selection based on what's more important to her .. and is more likely to be happy with it. Keep the wife happy, she can effect YOUR future car choices!

just my 2cents.

Congrats on the upcoming additions to your family and garage!

IanSL55

The E500 will be a step down in performance v. the Cayenne S, but I think it's the logical choice -- particularly if it's for your wife. Isn't the C class also due for a remake? That will hurt resale value for sure.

~ Ian

elbimmer

C55 all the way. Its an AMG! And its considered the BEST amg, the most perfect amg car. These are not my words, these came from Jeremy Clarkson....

VelocitE55

I gotta tell you, an E500 4Matic is not cheap. You may want to consider dropping a little more and going with an E55, I know I would.

ClayJ

From my understanding of the criteria you originally stated...and because it's for the wife and the upcoming child-unit? The E500 4Matic -- especially if you live in a climate where that 4Matic will replace the Cayenne's 4WD which she would have become accustomed to by now (?).
When/if she complains about the lack of power or handling? "Honey, it's a Mercedes wagon, not a Porsche Cayenne S -- and besides, we're a family now, and needed a family car.... We'll get you something else in a couple of years when we trade this one in."
You get the idea.....

Nij

e500 all the way...its roomie, 4matic, and comfortable to drive. what woman wouldn't love it?!

MRichmond

Also, unless the wagon is in bad shape or has odd color combinations, the price is good. I don't know enough about the C55 values to comment on its asking price.

jangy

Best AMG?

jtc55

if it's about space for a new family, then why are u getting rid of porsche cayenne s?

i have a C55 and if u need space for stroller or large items, the C55 isn't the car u want.

Jakpro1

Thennnnn Jakpro1 throws the wild card on table and through the thick smoke in room, people look down to see the answer they had been for alllll alone. The picture of the E55 Estate, more room and will whoop the a$$ off about anything stock on the road.

The he rode off into a smoke show tainted sunset (quick and the dead music please)


All kidding aside, here is the auto trader ad

Full searches on them

waldis

if i am somewhere that snows then maybe the 4matic, if not, i will choose the C55 all the way!

zoink

Thanks for the response guys.... It seems the crowd is leaning towards C55.... I'll follow you guys to show my loyalty in this forum....

Just kidding....

With the E500 wagon I mentioned above has been ******ed by other guy , I think I will get the C55 unless another good deal on E500 wagon comes up. The wagon price seems to hold better than sedan.

E55 wagon is the top choice (win-win situation ) but we don't want to spend that much at this time (plus I don't want to disturb my "reserve" for 997TT or E63 or something else.... noble m12? :v ).

C55 has been a constant debate between me and my wife..... she likes it (as she likes the power of E55).... but I don't think it has enough room for the baby.

So the arrangement as of today.... we'll get a C55..... I'll get my share in 2006 or 2007.... and we may get a minivan like Odyssey if we feel we need more room.

We'll see..... I'll try to shoot for $40K on the C55 I mentioned above. And I'll stop by at a dealer here to see what kind of deal he's willing to give for brand new C55 (hopefully, it's been sitting there forever ).

Do you think he's willing to give $50K for a fully-loaded C55? :v I may be dreaming

zoink

Hmmmm..... How come the word S.N.A.T.C.H is censored? Is it a bad word?

Based on dictionary.com:
****** ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snch)
v. ******ed, ******·ing, ******·es
v. tr.

To grasp or seize hastily, eagerly, or suddenly.
Sports. To raise (a weight) in one quick, uninterrupted motion from the floor to a position over the lifter's head.
To grasp or seize illicitly. <--- The mod may think this way?

v. intr.
To make grasping or seizing motions: ******ed at the lamp cord.

zoink

Haha.... I know someone will ask this question. I posted a thread in "R" class forum....

A lot of people has been calling me crazy.

Put it this way.... I got the '04 Cayenne S around $70K + tax (fully loaded, air suspension, parktronics, etc. etc. etc.). The market price around 1-2 months ago was around $50-55K. One person (a friend of my friend's friend's friend ) somehow liked my Cayenne as if there were a hidden 10-carat diamond in it... Just kidding, I think it was because the fact it was very hard to get a fully loaded non-turbo Cayenne. Most of them are only equipped w/ NAV & PSM & heated seats....

So this person kept increasing his offer (he initially offered $58K) plus my wife was not pregnant (at least we were not aware of it) at that time..... so the deal:
$55K market price vs. $65K offer.

I took the offer This made me to lose only around $12K for 12K miles in one year including the tax I paid, which I thought a killer deal.

WayneE

Based on the choices in your poll, definately the E500 wagon. If you buy her the C55 and she needs more room, she's going to be driving your E55 and piling loads of baby **** in it. Bad idea. I have a lot of friends with small kids, one theme runs through all complaints about autos - they all wish they had more room.

Also, your thread doesn't make a lot of sense. You say that you don't want to spend the coin for an E55 Estate, but you will buy a C55 and an Odyssey? A C55 and an Odyssey has got to be damn close to the cost of an E55 Estate.

zoink

I agree.... that's what I've been thinking also. My E55 is old.... but I still love it the most.

I'm not a big fan of buying a new car anymore after seeing crazy depreciation and my lemon W211 E55 (so much troubles.... not worth it). So a new used car (< 2 yrs. old) is ideal... The car has been hit w/ early depreciation plus I know it's not a lemon (still not a guarantee, though).

So to answer your question...
'05 E55 Wagon goes around $75K right now (I think.... please someone let me know if it has gone to mid-60's ).
'05 C55 I mentioned above would go around $41K....
'05 Odyssey I think is around $25K....
So if I buy C55 & Odyssey, I still have around $9K to play with

Of course it still does not justify the fun I lose w/ E55 wagon but if I buy E55 wagon and have another E55, I think I still force my wife to drive my old Max

jtc55

hey zoink, my wife's X5 is up in about 1 month and am thinking of getting a Cayenne S.

can u please let me know ur thoughts on the Cayenne S, i.e., handling, acceleration, brake and steer feel, etc..

TIA

FThornton666

wasnt he talking about the SLK55?

medici78

I say stretch the budget a little and get a pre-owned E55 wagon if you can find one. Win-win, baby!!!
Also, I would remove any incriminating info you may have previously posted.

ClayJ

Nothing like puting it in writing or on film, huh?