twoloosescrews

Hey guys, long story short I am looking for a new car. I'm not rich or even have tons of money to waste. I'm 25 and make an avg money. I've never really looked into MB's before, mostly because of only having auto trans and I love manuals. I was searching ebay and came across the amg cl55 which caught my attension, after researching MB's and AMG I started looking at other models and found the E55. I'm looking at the 2003-04's with around 50-70k around $20-30k. So my question is, whats the run down on these? Are the really exspensive to maintain or similar to audi? I'm looking to use it as a daily driver, in the winter it will be put away. I'm really just looking for some owner inside info. I was told it has an Airmatic susp.? How reliable is that? Does the trans hold up well to the power and torq? How do these motors really hold up? It seems that the E55 is a little more reliable than the CL's, especially when it comes to the suspension. Thanks for any info. Other cars I was looking at included, Audi A6 2.7t stg 3(450whp), Supra tt, 03-05 M3,00-05 M5 etc...this would be a big step up compared to cars i've owned.

One of my previous cars I'ved owned.

sneakyneon

can you do your own routine maintenance?

citylightva

Is that your boat..??

guysandiego

yes its expensive -- like a 100g sportscar -- not like Audi "VW" . the trannie is a ROCK, the plateform is really solid even when modded -no worries.
Suspension is an issue... bags tend to leak or sensors tend to break. -
Other Problems occur because its a fancy car-- many many sensors and gizmos -- they go bad and the super sensitive ECU will be stubborn and ruin your day or week...until it gets fixed.

VCA_AMG

OMG LOOK AT THAT...














...he still has icicle christmas lights hanging from the gutters...

WPOZZZ

I would think if you went to an independent shop for your repairs, the hourly rate and parts prices would be very similar for an Audi, BMW or Merc. The Toyota may be a little cheaper on labor and parts. As said before, all of these cars have a myriad of sensors, modules and valves that control things and they can add up very quickly. The Toyota is a decade older and probably has less of these electronic doodads.

It looks as if I'm for the Toyota, but you also have to take into consideration the comfort factor. If you carry passengers, they would be much happier in a 4 door vehicle. At your age, you may also be thinking of settling down and starting a family. A 4 door will be a car you can keep throughout those years. That is why I would opt for a 4 door car.

Of the Audi, BMW and Merc, I would prefer the Merc because it looks way better than the A6 and the E39. Performance out of the box is much better in the Merc, and it is also a generation newer than the other 2 vehicles. Some people put down the auto in the Merc, but I love it. The touch shift and shift buttons are fun to play with, but I just leave it in D, Sport for the best performance. A stick is fun to have, but if you are stuck in traffic everyday, that is another story. The BMW may handle better, but I also believe the build quality and material quality is better in the Merc. Btw, I have had an E39 Dinan 540i, E34 M5, E30 M3 among all my other cars and the build quality on BMWs went downhill. I was also a 6 year BMWCCA Chapter President.

If you are searching for a nice E55, I would try and find the Tectite Grey President Edition E55 that is in Denver. The owner is a member here and it also comes with a Chrysler warranty! Now that would be the car to get! Here's the car. https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...-warranty.html

izzyz28

I was in the exact same boat as you a year and a half ago, but I can tell you this car is worth every penny. However, I have had to fix several issues that are cheap for DIY(which I did) but will cost a decent sum if you take it in(engine/trans mounts, exhaust manifolds, heater valve, cracked wheels, intercooler pump, air suspension leak).

What makes this car great is that it does the everyday grind very well, but when you put your foot down it'll make jaws drop. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY in a Mustang, Camaro, SRT-8, or Corvette will have any idea what happened when they see what this car(especially modded) can do in a straight line. Take it to a track full of hillbillies(pretty much any dragstrip in the U.S.) and you'll see exactly what I mean.

twoloosescrews

I can do routine maint., I'm pretty mechanically inclined. Yeah thats my boat, 89 Formula 272 w/t454's around 470hp each, had it since 2007. The photo of my corrado is about 2yrs old, around xmas time, I had just brought it out of the garage after a month of work on it. Thanks for all the good info Guy, Wpozz, and izzy. Some of the possible issues do concern me but, it seems like an awesome car, luxury and performance in one. I also like the fact it has that understated look to it, if your not really a mb amg guy you would have no idea beside the badge. What type of longevity does that platform have? I mean does it hold up to 100K+ miles?

Luke_M

I can see no reason why these cars won't go 100,000 miles plus and still be solid. Chiromikey on here has a ton of miles on his, most of which are modded miles and he seems to be ok. I can't speak for him or anyone else but I use the **** out of my car. I beat on it like it owes me money. All day, start and stop, rain or shine etc and at 71k miles it's still tight as a drum.

I've had a few problems like blown rear shocks when I first bought it and a bent wheel but nothing major. That said you would be best served by waiting for a car with an extended warranty. They seem to pay off on these cars and they can be expensive to fix. That is undeniable. A warranty is one thing I wish I would have looked for.

For some reason though these cars or Mercedes in general have an image of high miles = breakdown city and it just doesn't make sense to me. I wouldn't think twice about beating the **** out of a honda, vw, etc for 100,000+miles. I think the image of a benz and high miles just conflicts in people minds.