tsquare

I have been shopping for a performance car for the better part of 6 months. I like the E55 and Porsche 911 in the years listed above. Would like the car as a daily driver. Any experience on using either of these cars as a daily driver would be helpfull. Mainly interested in reliability and cost to maintain.

tscales

Well, I might be uniquely qualified as we have a 2005 E55 Wagon and a 2004 911 Turbo convertible.

The short answer is -- I don't know.

This is entirely dependent on you. Usually my wife drives the E55 and I drive the 911. Sometimes we switch. They're both great fun. The E55 is more comfortable and actually more fun off the line. The 911 is better as soon as you hit the first turn.

If I could only have one, I would keep the E55 as it is so much more versatile. If you believe that the 911 has a back seat, well, it doesn't. There is one there, but even my 4 year old barely fits.

Personally, I'm also a big fan of the wagon. Very rare (under 200 imported), seats 7 and is the ultimate sleeper.

Oh, one caveat. If you have to deal with snow, buy the 911.

Tom

LT1

911 should be more reliable with less costly repairs. Benz has much more power unless you spring for a 996 turbo porsche which is a ecu flash away from 500+ hp :-)

Is this your only car? Do you need to carry golf clubs?

tsquare

No snow , extra seats not a must, it is not my only car and yes I will carry golf clubs from time to time.

My comparison question came about as I was doing research on the E55 and thinking about what I would be most happy with in a car. I currently have a 1997 E320, and I have driven this car over 160K and it runs great, I have not, nor never would hesitate driving this car anywhere.

I would like a performance car I wouldn't hesitate to drive every day if I so desired. After reading through the W211 AMG Forum, it seems to me, most AMG's are second cars, that do not get treated like a daily driver, either because of the cost of repair or concerns about reliability issues, whiich of couse translates into more repair costs.

I know Porsches have their issues as with any car, but they seem to be more robust in the area of reliability, and predictable maintence costs. Maybe in this w211 AMG forum you get the extreme drivers who are driving their cars hard more often then not and the additional problems that come along with driving the E55 especially hard. I am looking for a car that has great performance, that I will not hesitate to drive because of unexpected costs, that I can push when needed. I will not be out on the streets looking for races. I just like to know that if I need a car to perform weel, it will be on tap when I need it.

tscales

If you're considering a 911/996, go with the Turbo. More reliable and bargains these days.

No golf clubs though.

That said, we're in the DD E55 and DD 996 club. The 996 HAS been more reliable.

e551986

Both cars are good one ,but if i was your place i will get E55 without thinking , Porsche is fun too , the way he handle the corners i like it , mercedes is more straight line its handling too ,but porsche is more better, but if you one get monster inside your front hood lol go with BEAST, one more thing, you can go and do test drive both cars and drive crazy don't listen dealer guy lol and go with your feelings .

ertech

don't get a 996 big engine issues and the interior looks real cheap.997's is a real improvement.was shopping for a 993 <last real 911 porsche> .but test drove a 1989 930<911 turbo>. and purchased it . that car goes like a sling shot.
I also find the 996 front looks wat to much like a boxter.
good luck .but I would stay far from a 996.

Rocket Boost

Get the 911

WPOZZZ

Hmmm, I had a 996 and it was a great car as a DD. It was quick, handled extremely well and even with my flogging it, it got 18-19 mpg overall with a Tip. An E55 is also a great DD, but I think I would still take a 996 for the fun factor.

Point2Point

996 seems to be the redheaded stepchild of 911 generations among Porsche fans. That means there are some good bargains out there if you like the exterior and interior styling. Watch out for RMS and IMS problems.

WPOZZZ

RMS leak isn't that bad. The IMS is the one to worry about. In the 2002+ M96 motors, there is a newer single row bearing design that is supposed to be much better and less prone to failure. For peace of mind, I'd change it to the LN Engineering IMS bearing upgrade kit.

tsquare

Thanks to everyone who replied

I just read through this thread here on the W211 forum

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...e55-buyer.html

This kind of experince with a car would drive me nuts - I want to have fun, not a project

Vetluver

I've been driving my E55 for 6 years as a daily driver and have had very few issues. It has easily been as reliable as my previous 500E and 2 E320s. Has 80k on the clock and I'm keeping it for my "road car" and looking for a SL65 or Porsche TT to play with.

speedpeddler

I've had both and they are really apples and oranges. So different you really can't compare the two. Both were reliable fun cars to drive on a daily basis.

Figure out what you really want: a four door, automatic cruise missle or, two door, canyon carving, manual shift sports car.

transferred

nah, only the air cooled die hards see them as that....E55 or 996TT....tough choice, 996 is more fun to drive, power is comparable, P is more responsive to mods, E55 is an awesome sleeper....depends how you drive, if you like to cruise with big power get the E, if you do trackdays or hit the canyon curves get the P....

can't go wrong with either unless you get a lemon...

Wryfox

From a cost point of view, the 911 will cost more but hold its value better. It'll *likely* be more reliable long term and get better gas mileage. One thing I both love and hate about my E55, it drives like a sports car but isn't.

prodigymb

I had an E55 for about 16 months then I switched to a 996tt. 996tt has been much much more reliable even though its older. I daily drove both until now, I just got Jeep Grand Cherokee winter beater to keep the Turbo garaged.

My E55 made the same whp as my 996tt, however it could absolutely beat the Porsche in a drag race. Given that the E55 was on drag radials hehe(mine was most of the time). With that said, I still prefer driving the Porsche over the E55. You have more control and AWD gives some extra stability and power you can manage. Handling is an obvious +1 for the Porsche as well as the ability to get it in Manual is another +1, there is absolutely nothing out there that can make the 4100lb E55 take turns well or that can make the slushy trans feel good...

Big item here is VALUE - as someone mentioned earlier. You can get a 911 Turbo for a very good price and it will hold value significantly better then any mass production AMG or any Merc out there. I lost an ****-ton of money on my E55, and I got a pretty decent deal when I bought and sold it. Between mods, constant repairs and warranty....vs on the Porsche I could have made 10k on numerous occasions.

Girls do fit in back seats (no grenades) - they will not be comfortable. But guess what they still love it way more then the Merc. Car does not have much storage, clubs will have to lay in the back seat.

Gas mileage on modded E55 was 10-12 city on modded Turbo Porsche it's 14-15.

jamcclureuk

I posted this in another thread so please don't flame me. I have been eager to get a MB for a very long time. I had thought that I narrowed my search down to an E55. I love everything about it (except what I hear about the headaches). -Which is why if I do get one, I want to find one with a VERY good warranty. I have located one (2004 CPO with 36k miles, new tires, brakes and every option available [even has a solar panels]). But the lowest I can get the dealer is $32,000. It's a great car but I think that $32k is a bit high.... or is it? Could someone PLEASE advise? If it's a great deal, someone might get it before me!

transferred

Come again? You mean rides or accelerates but not "drives," right?

tsquare

I drove a 2003 Porsche convertible today 39K on the clock, asking $34K and wanted to charge me 3500.00 for the remainder of the platinum warranty, (it has 40K mile left or 3 years), he said he can sell it back to Fidelity for the remaining value if I do not buy it. The car was absolutely pristine, stock and a strong runner. Driving with the top down is beautiful, when the top is up, not quite so beautiful. When I hopped back into my E320, my old Mercedes never felt so smooth and quiet. Tomorrow, a 2003 Targa and 2005 E55.

Thanks to all who have shared their experiences with these cars, it really helps.