Hi-

First post.

I live in the snowbelt (Chicago) and am selling my current car b/c it sucks in the snow and is not really all that practical (it sits 2.5 inches off the ground). Additionally, my trunk will accomodate a breifcase and a sandwich...maybe.

So now that I have decided to be practical, I am looking at my options. Me being a bargain hunter, the E55 cannot be overlooked. I consider it an incredible bargain. However, I do have a couple of questions as I have never driven one.

1. How is it in the snow? My current car is RWD with a LSD and is okay except for the low ride height and small wheelbase (i.e. hockey puck). Before this car I had an Audi S4 and that was like driving a snowmobile...I don't expect that.

2. How is the maintenance? I am used to paying for German cars and 200.00 oil changes but don't want my car sitting on a lift for the better part of the year with bigtime maintenance. What should I look out for if I catch E55 fever? ...common failures?

3. Any year models better than others? (better equipment packages, updated styling and etc....)

4. Any standard features I should insist on having? For example, extended leather in my car cost nearly 3grand and sounds like robbery until you see it. Then you cannot live without it. Any must haves that are not intuitive for the E55?

5. I would like to pay around $35 grand. What would you consider a great deal for that money? Year, options and etc....

Thanks for the help.

ISDS

 

I too live in the wind city and drive my cars year around. I just purchase MY 06 E55 Designo model 6 weeks ago for around that much with 41,000 miles CPO. In this market I expect you'll find a 06 with low miles and a warranty. If you’re willing to find a good car I suggest go south or west. Those cars would be in cosmetic shape because it has not been through our winters. As far as option do your home work to what you like and what's important to you. Although all the option in E55 are nice it’s difficult to get all of it with color combination to your liking. It took me 3 months to find my car. I look at 3 cars locally and inquired 5 cars around the country before deciding. I bought my car from Monterey, CA and drove it back. Be patient and you'll get a good deal. I don’t much about maintenance and reliability but that’s why I opt for car with warranty. Also have the car inspected before buying these cars are not cheap to fix. Think of these cars as exotic that can be a daily driver. Good luck.

 

What's up Bartlett buddy? I work in South Elgin and commute down 59 every day.

Anyways, this will be my first winter with the E, and I'm not worried one bit. Put a good set of all-season's or preferably snow tires on it and you'll be set. Throw a couple of sand bags in the trunk if you're worried. I drove a modified Z/28 for the last 4 winters, with the only changes being snow tires and some sand. It got me through the worst storms, though of course no where near as well as a Quattro Audi would.

Regular maintenance isn't bad. I do all of mine myself since I have access to a shop, but replacing belts, oil, fluids, etc... isn't too hard or expensive. There are common things on these cars that break, so an extended warranty is a good idea. Off the top of my head some common problems are cracked wheels, cracked exhaust manifolds, alternators, intercooler pumps, SBC units, and of course Airmatic struts. The engine and transmission appear to be exceptionally reliable and strong.

As far as features, I do like the dynamic heated and cooled seats, but I could certainly live without them. The lighting package(bi-xenon headlights that swivel) is great! I don't have Distronic, Parktronic, or the Pano roof, but I don't like the look of the roof, and I would never use Distronic or Parktronic anyways. I do have NAV, which is cool and works decently well once you manage to input the destination. However, my $150 Garmin was much easier to use. I believe all E55's came with rain-sensing wipers, which can be identified by the huge sensor at the top middle of the windshield.

I know there were different interior leather and trim color combinations abvailable. I have the blue and black interior and love it.

Regardless of options, it is an amazing car at a fantastic price.

 

Seriously! Your car sucks now in the snow but you are considering a 469hp rear wheel drive car to drive in the snow! You may want to look at an Audi!

 

The W211 AMGs go great in the snow !!
Tires are key though...

Maintenance is as stated above...
As far as model changes, most 2005 cars had an updated sliding center console (instead of sh**ty pop out cupholders), updated speedometer (200mph vs. 160mph), as well as aluminum rubber-studded pedals vs. all rubber....

Keyless go is nice, as well as Parktronic - don't care much for Pano roof.

 

It has a decent ESP/TCS system and plenty of weight over the rear tires. It should drive similar to the Crown Vics the cops drive no-problem all winter using crappy General all-season tires. If you're foolish enough to stand on it all the time then yeah, it's going to suck. Tires make all the difference in the world, though an Audi would be fantastic fun in the snow.

 

Just bought an E55 from a Chicago Forum member... I live in Milwaukee 'burbs and will drive it in the snow... until it gets too deep or the salt is to thick in the roads to deal with. I just picked up a cheap beater just in case...

 

I have a 03' CPO under warranty (4/2010) with 42,600 on it for sale. PM me if you're interested.

 

Thought I addressed this in my original post-
1. How is it in the snow? My current car is RWD with a LSD and is okay except for the low ride height and small wheelbase (i.e. hockey puck). Before this car I had an Audi S4 and that was like driving a snowmobile...I don't expect that.

________________________

Thanks to the rest of the posts. I looked at an 2007 E63 yesterday...very nice but I am not sure it is worth the extra coin over the E55.

 

CAR NEEDS SNOW TIRES. If you get them you will be fine. If you don't you will have thrown money away on all seasons that you hate all summer, and will have limited traction in the winter. Don't get all seasons. Get summer rubber and put them on your AMG rims and Snows and mount on alloys from the tirerack. about 1400 complete. If you keep the car more than 30k miles, you'll have to replace tires anyway, and since snows are cheaper than good summer tires, you'll spend the same money including a spare set of rims. And the added bonus is that your AMG rims won't get messed up.

a couple of years ago I posted pics of my e63 in about 5 inches of snow. I also drove back and forth to NY (600 miles or so) in an 18 inch snowfall. While the roads sucked, at any speed over 5 miles per hour no probs - and there were idiots in 4x4's and assorted other cars off the road every couple of miles. 0-5 mph is compromised because of the RWD configuration, but add 200 pounds of cement in the trunk with the snowies and even that is not bad. I would take an e55 or e63 on the highway with snow tires over a tahoe on regular rubber up till about 5 inches of snow. Keep in mind, even in an 18 inch snowfall, there is seldom more than 5 inches on the road because they are generally plowing to keep ahead of it. bets are off on neighborhood back roads, that is specific to where you live, and probably based on the taxes you are paying. Higher taxes tends to = more plows in my experience.

Thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ws-my-e63.html

 

Damn,,,my 06 w/snows wouldnt get up my driveway!