SleepersRock

First off, my thanks to everyone on this board for the superb amount of information and quality advice that is given out!

I have been lurking on here for quite sometime and found this site when I initially wanted to purchase a C43 to C55 concersion. CoolCarski (I think that's his handle) was great about providing info concerning his conversion.

I did not buy the C43/55 and made the smarter move to invest some money and now that that investment has paid off I am ready to buy an an '04 or '05 E55 soon, hopefully by June!

My only concern is that I will drive it around 30K miles (95% open freeway!!!) per year and am wondering how ugly/scary my maintence will be as I start creeping over 100K miles (should take 2 years) and have no warranty. I have read all the posts regarding issues/maintenece etc., but it seems that no one has commented (or perhaps has no experience) on how the car holds up as it "ages." I do recall reading that someone on this board had a 110 mile a day commute in an E55 but I cannot remember who that was.

I drive every car I own into the ground and the E55 will be no exception. I am not concerened with re-sale value as it will exactly $0. Any ideas on how long this car will last at 30k per year and how much the services after 100K will cost?

Thanks again. You guys are awesome!

Jrocket

Honestly....Not a good idea on the E55.Problems are too costly for this car with no warranty and high mileage.Plus having to have it in the shop for every little ordeal.

Vetluver

Having owned MB for years I have come to realize that there is no car built to last like a Mercedes. I am driving an 05 E55 and just turned 39k miles and it drives identically to a new E. I test drove and E63 and liked it but not enough to even remotely consider trading. Other than the well publicized improvements there isn't enough to make me change. Also I'm not sure that there has been an improvement but rather a change for the sake of selling cars. New is always better. I bought a 6 year old E320 for my son and it drives perfectly. Solid as a rock and flawless. I would not hesitate to buy and drive one past 200k miles.
My next AMG will be used. I can't see spending 150,000 USD for a CL600/65 but I will be spending 100K for a 2 or 3 year old CL when the time comes.

If you switch to AMG you'll never drive anything else.

Vetluver

One other thing, Get an extended warranty. They are worth every cent. E55 are too expensive to repair and warrantys are relatively cheap. It's part of owning high strung rediculously expensive cars. I would get a CPO and get the best extended warranty you can.

2K6E55

TRUE THAT.

mclarenm8d

I second that, the most important thing with 55K's is having an extended warranty if you plan to rack up the miles.

I have 57K miles on my 2003 CL55, I'm averaging 15K miles of what is basically suburb driving - a mix of stop and go with occasion runs up the freeway. The SR and technician that I trust to work on my car get a big kick out of the fact that I actually drive the thing.

So, getting back to the question of high-mileage, my subjective thought is that an owner who keeps up on maintenance and repairs on 55K's will have pretty much everything replaced that will go wrong at the 50-60K mark. I've gone 6K miles now without a problem (knock on wood). This is truly a big thing.

You need the warranty because the parts are expensive. The car itself is relative cheap to work on, an MB technician bills out at about the same as a Chevy technician in Metro areas. Also, hour-wise repairs on major items for RWD MG's are not as bad as say a cramped up AWD or FWD vehicle. It's actually shocking how fast an MB tech can change a transmission.

As a summary of disadvantages:
1. Parts are expensive
2. Downtime because parts often have to be shipped from Germany

The parts expense is getting alleviated because there are rebuilds of major components starting to get into the supply chain.

With an extended warranty, I'd go for it. CPO is best. If you have to go non-CPO extended warranty, go with the warranty company that your local MB dealer sells and choose the local MB dealer that has an SR you trust and that doesn't mind fighting the battles with the extended warranty company.

SleepersRock

I plan on getting the CPO, and my best friend works at an MB dealership in the tech department so parts cost should not be too big a problem. The big thing is the service at 100K miles and all other services after that. Also, the time in the shop is a major drag too.

Are there waranties out there that cover tp to 200k miles?