sy1616

Hi guys, I'm fairly new to Mercedes however we just bought my wife an '08 ML350 and it's been wonderful. I've been a BMW (530, 545, M3) guy for years and before that Audi (S4) (even a CTS-V and SRT-8 in there). My current 545i (6 speed) is and has been an awesome car, never lets me down, it fun to drive handles wonderfully and looks great (especially with OEM M5 wheels and sport pkg). So, I've had the bimmer for over two years and am close to wanting a new car. My list is short, either an M5, which lets be honest is pretty much what I have interior/exterior wise...sure it has gobs more power and an E55 or E63 (although I pref an E55, looks better IMHO + I like SC cars). How practicle (forget gas, brakes and such) is an E55 for someone like me that drives 18-20K per year? I plan to buy an 06 CPO car so warranty will be in place. I hate going into dealers for petty repairs...again the BMW has been perfect here. Should I pull the trigger? There's a few CPO around me here for high 30s, low 40's with less than 25k miles.

Thanks,

Vince

Yuille36

I too was a Bimmer man, before turning to the dark side, LOL. But on a serious note, as long as you have a factory warranty in place, then you should be fine, with getting a E55, I prefer the E63. But to each his own. The benefits of owning a BMW is low cost of ownership, that doesn't apply to Mercedes Benz. But you already know this, when you considered a Benz. I would say, yes pull the trigger on a E55. Great car, monster torque, easy to modify. If you can wait a few years Mercedes is coming out with the Twin Turbo 5.5 liter, and I believe that BMW is doing the same for the M5. Might want to look into it. Just something else to consider.

Busta Riles

Really?

The cost of ownership is less on an M5 than an E55?

I've never owned a BMW, but really?

Yuille36

Just think about this for a moment. If you were to buy both a BMW and a Mercedes Benz for 4 years. As long as you kept both of them under 50,000 miles, the BMW would cost you nothing, not a dime for oil changes, brakes, rotors, belts, hoses, wiper blades, engine coolant, or any repairs the list goes on and on. But Mercedes on the other hand, will charge you for every service you need. And not to mention repairs, unless something breaks under warranty. A typical Service "A" typically costs about $300, BMW cost for the same service $0. I know that your an intelligent man, and you understand these things. Sorry for breaking it down Barney style. No pun intended. But BMW is nothing like a Mercedes when it come to maintenance, BMW maintenance is free, Mercedes is not. So the BMW has a low cost of ownership for the first 4 years. And to keep this in perspective, your talking about an AMG, so service is a little higher then a typical Benz. I prefer to due maintenance myself, not because I can, but because I'm cheap, and don't want to pay the dealership my hard earned money, when I can do it myself. Besides that, I'm a grease monkey at heart. I hope that this give you some prespective, on things.

X2Board

I think he is referring to the included factory maintenance plan, that covers you for 4 years or 50,000 miles, with no money out of pocket.

sy1616

My BMW's have never so much as cost me a dime on repairs. They've all been bullet proof. Even a complete oil change with tire rotation only cost me $94 this past Saturday....not bad considering I get the oil changed once every 8k miles. My wife's ML has been perfect too but we've only had that 3k miles yet

efivefiveamg

I drove my e55 as a DD and it was great, now my wife drives it (before it she drove a 5-series) and she loves it as her DD, too.

sy1616

I am really asking about reliability and owership cost. I would drive my 545i across the country today and need to have that sense of quality/reliablity from an AMG product too. Forget the BMW maintenance plan, I am either looking to buy an 06 E55/ 07 E63 or used M5 (say less than $55k) all CPO. I love the M5 but I feel if I get one that I will feel like I still have the same car minus the power and slight interior changes. AMG products intrigue me but I want to feel like it's rock solid and not only a fast car that's in the dealer getting fixed 4-5 time a year. Take money out of the equation.

sy1616

Thanks,
Did you buy it new? How many miles on it? Any major issues? In the dealer more than twice a year for repairs?

Thank you!

Vince

itsmeek

If you are going for power and modability- go with the latest model e55 you can find. The e63's have their own advantages but as is the opinion of many people on this forum- the switch to n/a platform was a horrible decision on mb's part. Whether you choose the e55 or the e63- get a warranty with it unless you know your stuff VERY well.

PKE55AMG

My '06 E55 has been and still is my daily driver since day one. I leased the vehicle with intent to use it as such. With 37K miles and completely stock it's been an absolute work horse. Aside from factory recommended service intervals, it has never seen the service department other than a blown center speaker on the front dash which was covered under warranty. My out of pocket maintenance/repair cost on running this car is ZERO (not counting a set of new tires at 30Kmile mark). In fact, I'm still on my original set of brake pads. I have been absolutely thrilled by the performance and reliability of this car I'm seriously considering another AMG vehicle at the end of my current lease.

Yuille36

X2Board, That was exactly what I was referring to, the factory maintenance free plan. Gentlemen, I have had my 07 E63 for awhile now. And I can say that it's been bulletproof, I've been to the dealer one time to replace a leaking rear airmatic strut. I know that I could drive this car across country with no issues, that is how confident I am about my AMG. Like all cars, they will have their issues, this is unavoidable. Mercedes has done a great job at minimizing these issues. Alot of people say that the E55 engine in bulletproof, it has to be. Some people are pushing close to 600+ HP out of them. Mercedes are reliable cars, just like BMW. Made by Germans, who are the best builders of luxury cars in the world.

efivefiveamg

I bought a CPO 2004 with 50K mile. The first year I had it it was at the dealer for repairs maybe 3-4 times and since then I'd say its been about 2-3 times per year. Most of the time I took it voluntarily to get some sort of updated part (e.g. ic pump, clutch pack). It never bothers me when I have to take it in b/c they give me a free loaner C class. I recently got the extended warranty through chrysler and I'm sure you know by now you MUST have a warranty on this car. With that peace of mind, its a perfect DD IMHO. Also, FWIW I haven't modded it performance wise.

Busta Riles

I guess i thought when you said "cost of ownership" meant "cost of ownership", not "cost of maintenance while under warranty".

Yuille36

Certainly not trying to beat down BMW, because I had my share of these great cars. But, recently BMW has lost their way in the design department, their interiors have been lacking. The 3 and 5 Series interior looks almost identical. If you didn't know any better, you would be hard pressed to know the difference. Unlike an AMG, their are sudtle changes in the interior, that differentiates it from another E Class model. From the outside, their is no mistaken an AMG, from any other E Class. If you can't tell the difference, then your blind, and go get your eyes checked. Today during lunch, I went to KFC, and these construction workers gave me the thumbs up. Saying that is a beautiful car. Get yourself that AMG, and stop procastinating. You only live once, and if your were to die tomorrow, you will never know the pleasure of driving these beasts from AMG. Another Monster in the Garage

sy1616

Perfect, thank you...we'll stated. I love it!

Uber Wagon

Uh.... cost of maintenance while under warranty (or post warranty) IS a component of cost of ownership. It's just that with BMW it's $0, and with MB it's significantly higher.

g354080

I just bought a 04' E55 with 36k miles, 1 owner. Thank God i bought the ext warranty. Here is what is being replaced tomorrow:

1. Left rear air strut. It leaks over a 24hr period
2. IC pump
3. Sunroof will not close, i must hold the button down to close it
4. Heater does not work all the time
5. Rear view mirror switch is bad
6. Valve cover gaskets leak

Motorwerks in Houston is taking care of all of it under warranty!

Vic55

Agree with Uber- and god I love it when I go a quart down on oil and all I have to do is drive 1 mile to my local Bimmer store and they hand me some Castrol 10-60 which costs 15 bucks retail or more.

With a BMW for the first 4 years or 50k miles, you dont have to even change wipers. They dont even resurface rotors, you get new ones if they are warped.

I was fortunate enough to own an 04 E55 which I believe was the last year of service coverage paid by the dealer thru MBUSA. Even then the service was not as intense as the BMW M service. For SMG cars, the first 1200 miles includes a full tranny service and oil. Then you get free top offs as needed until the computer tells you to come in but if you didnt get an oil change in the first year (after the initial 1200 service) you can come in and get one for free. Good for those low mile drivers like myself.

As for the E55 as a DD- mine was and it was worth it although there was down time for some issues with the pano roof, alternator, sbc brake pump, oil level sensor and few other things. My M6, M3, and M5 all were more reliable. But then I dont buy German for refinement, I buy German for engineering.

jdeastbay

Bought my 05 e55 two yrs ago with 21k miles, and extended the CPO coverage. To date I have 65k miles. Original plan was to keep the miles much lower as I have other rides, but car is to much f-ing fun! Can't get my *** out of it, like sitting in a video game.

Other than a valve body replacement approx a yr ago, thing has been a tank. Total trust in it.

Do your homework on the car, extented the CPO coverage and go nuts, you'll never look back. (Unless it's a kill of some type).

Busta Riles

Correct. It is a COMPONENT of the cost of ownership. You also take into account what you bought it for, how long you had it, how many miles you drove, and what you sell it for.

Vic55, you know better than most...sounds like a paradise over at BMW the way you put it. Can't argue with that.

alextaylor29

I've only had my 04 E55 for 2 months now but drive 100 miles daily to and from work. (so 2,300 a month or almost 30,000 a year including weekend driving.

I got an extended warranty for 100K miles so I'm not worried. So far it's been great, got it as 23K miles, already has 28K miles on it.

My $.02.

AudiOn19s

We got our E55 in April and it serves as my wife's driver. '04 with 38K miles now. Maticulously maintained by the Previous owner. He had every repair order for the car since new and it was quite a stack of paperwork which scared the crap out of me but he was so on top of things that he's addressed just about everything that could have been an issue.

His aftermarket warranty transferred with the car and I've yet to use it. Only problem I've had with the car in 8 months is a bad heater control valve. I didn't even bother with warranty to fix that. I used to turn wrenches and like to do my own work so I replaced the heater control valve at a cost of less than $50.

Houstonnewbie

I bought my CPO '06 E55 six months ago after several years in a BMW 328i. I used both as daily drivers, complete with daily trips to take my kids to school and soccer on the weekends.

My M-B has given me no problems thus far. The E55 is a Beast, there's no other way to describe it. I litterally smile at least once on every ride I take. The car is amazing.

And don't believe what any BMW owner says...there is no compairison between the power of the E55 and a 5-series.

Just get ready to buy a bunch of tires. Mine are shot after six mos...and I've only lit it up and really smoked the rear tires once. Do your homework and you'll be fine. Happy hunting.

Faast

Last feb,i bought my one owner CPO '06 with 17K miles and a so far i have managed to put absolute trouble free 13K miles.The only issue i have so encountered so far is a bad passenger side seat switch.
The car is blast to drive and this is coming from a guy who just sold his active Autowerke Turbocharged E36 M3 sedan that dynoed at 380 rwhp/410 rwtq.
Just make sure you pay upfront and buy a nice car rather then buying a cheap car and paying later.