So.... you are saying we should look for a car without:

pano
keyless go
and power trunk?

 

Unless you want to pay out the asz when it breaks. How hard is it to stick the key and turn it.....really.

 

True but is is a nice opition. Buyers choice

 

Depends what you want out of a car. I want the AMG drive and don't care about electronics and doodads. Here's my take on the various options:
- Pano: heavy, makes interior harder to cool in hot climates, increases creaks and rattles, crazy expensive to repair if it breaks.
- Keyless: Seems to have a high failure rate. Don't want the repair costs.
- Trunk: I can open it myself, thank you very much.
- Dynamic seats: Annoying as hell, had to turn them off 5 minutes into the test drive before I lost my mind. Serioiusly, these struck me as the single stupidest idea I've ever seen in a production car.
- Ventilated seats: Folks say they don't do much other than make a lot of noise. I've not used the MB version, but other brands pretty much comply with the all noise/no airflow description.
- TPMS: Like the idea in theory; expensive to repair when the batteries in the sensors die
- Nav: A $200 Garmin is a much better nav system, but I can almost see getting nav for the clean integration. That said, a Garmin is cheaper than the updated NAV DVD...
- CD Changer: OK - but there's a single CD player about 6 inches away from it. You could probably manage to live without it.
- Distronic: I almost never use cruise, so can't see getting much use out of this one.

Anyone else want to jump in with reviews of some other options?

 

No, you said it perfectly IMO. By the way, I added the nav to my CLS for $400. I found a guy selling the trunk unit and had it installed. Oh and yes, MB nav still sucks. I just did it for resale.

 

Shadow - spoken perfectly.

I knew there was a reason I asked you guys!

 

That being said, I have all of those options (except Distronic) and I love it! Sure they could all break, but they are all working on my E55 and it adds to enjoyment of the AMG experience. all of those options add about $20k to the car new. It does add a bit to the used value, but make your mind up for yourself... I do agree with Shadow, but I'm also a gadget guy so I'd be happy either way.

 

My car didn't have any of the options that Shadow listed. Sure some of them would have been neat but they were not at all necessary for me. Plus I didn't have enough money to get one with those options or to fix them if they broke. Still looked the same and the same thing happened when I hit the gas pedal though.

 

Here's a question. When buying a car, how would you value a highly optioned car with broken, but unnecessary options vs. one without those options. IE if a car has pano roof or keyless go, but they don't work - is it worth more, the same, or less than a car without?

I have my opinion, but would like to hear others thoughts.

 

Ideally, I think that most people would rather have the E55/E63 with all the bells and whistles (working).

That being said, I would rather have the car without the options rather than with -and broken.

 

Maybe Jam said it best - I like toys too. But the more of them there are the more that there is to break, and consequently more costs.

Is keyless-go, distronic, power trunk, power rear sunshade, pano roof, etc cool? Of course. Is the car worth more at resale with it working? Perhaps, but it may depreciate it even more than the gains at resale with it not functional.

I was also thinking about weight - Why have 200 lbs or more of stuff that's "cool" but I seldom use? 200 lbs is like having a passenger along at a drag race. Every 100 lbs is the same as 10hp and 1 tenth in a 1/4 mile. After all, we like these cars because they are fast. If we wanted just toys and luxury, we might get an E430 4 matic, instead right?

I would love to find a car in black or tectite gray, the aforementioned options not necessary, with about 45k on it and completely stock for low 20's. CPO a big plus. I know they are, ebay has them all the time. I sell my GN for 10-12k (I pray, the market is soft right now) put 5k cash down and finance less than 10k. That's my plan. Am I still on the right track?

There. This should keep the spirited debate going!

 

At this point in time with these cars aging, I would prefer a low miled, well maintained car over a car with a bunch of needless options. Buy quality not quanity!

 

ttt

 

I won't want HIDS either as i don't drive my car much at night time any ways and not to mention the bulbs are expensive too.
I won't want HK sound system either as my drive is pretty short.
The perfect E55 would have been one with manual windows/door locks,manual seat adjustments and with out the sunroof as you won't have any chance of those mechanical failures. We can then enjoy our E55's with out being concerned about those failures.

 

Interesting discussion guys. I would pay less for a car with broken but unnecessary options (keyless, sunshade, etc.) than for an otherwise equivalent car without them. Reason being, if the owner was the type of person who didn't maintain/repair stuff you can easily see/test, I would assume the same of other, harder to detect areas of the car and discount accordingly.

So I'm thinking it might be quite a bit less expensive to own one without fancy options, because you don't have to repair them to avoid taking a depreciation hit at resale.

BTW Chris, I have a pristine black/charcoal 2006 with no options, 40K miles, under CPO. But it's not for sale in the low 20s, not even close. Realistically, it's still a pretty solid $30K car, or very close to it. (This is where emoving comes out of the woodwork and thrashes me...)

 

So if a guy can have an '06 CPO pristine E55 with 40K miles with pretty much all the options for $6000 more then yours ( $36,000) then why not ? It's a lame excuse that just 'coz things can break so why have them doesn't make any sense.
To the OP,if you are interested in a loaded CPO pristine,no story E55 then shoot me an email.

 

The 06's are still hanging pretty close to 30k true, and both cars recently described sound awesome. I have noticed several similar 04 and 05 models on ebay that are having trouble getting 25k...remember, something is only worth what someone will pay for it, and the auctions on ebay seem to be a fair litmus test. This is not to take anything away from anyone's car, but between the economy and gas prices of late cars that are "toys" have all taken a hit in the value department. Mine isn't worth what it was 2 years ago either.

Once I sell (trade + cash?) my GN I will be in a position to make a move. I would love to do it now but I need to liquidate the GN first - and that means spring.

 

Toy cars are always well maintained and well taken care of. I will never ever sell any of my cars for what other people are willing to pay for them. All I/Some sellers need is,just one person that wants a car that's well optioned and been babied and looked after.
I just purchased an '07 BMW 530i for $31,500 where as most non BMW dealers were asking high 20's for similar cars. Most of those cars were mutli-owners and had some sort of paint work done to them. I waited for 3 weeks for a nice car and finally said screw it and turned around and purchased this '07 at BMW of Towson 2 weeks ago. It's a one owner,always garaged,18K miles,Navigation,Logic-7,Heated front & rear seats,Night vision,Head-up display,heated steering wheel,sport package,Adaptive headlights,IPOD center console adapter/interface etc etc.
So did i pay more,probably yes but then again i have a car that smells new and doesn't even have a single scratch on it and has the options that i wanted. I love the car.
So point is,nice cars are always going to be more then what other cars are going for.

 

Fast - sounds like you scored! I agree a premium car will fetch a better dollar, I was just saying there are lots of nice examples of 04-06 E55s out there that don't seem to be selling nearly as close to 30k as the sellers may have hoped.

I am hoping to use this to my advantage, of course. I too am looking for the right car, and will take my time finding it for sure.

 

With all of the talk about what options to get, I think living in fear of something breaking is a crappy way to buy a car, and quite honestly, you should not be looking at an E55 if you are worried about stuff breaking and being expensive.

For me, I would not even look at a car unless it had the Panoramic roof, heated/cooled seats, Keyless Go, Xenon headlights, and power trunk. My almost 18 month old daughter loves that the Panoramic roof pretty much gives her her own glass roof in the back seat of the car, the heated/cooled seats are great for warming my backside on cold trips to Canada, and cooling that same backside when the black leather seats get too toasty in the summer. Additionally, Keyless Go is a nice option for me because I am usually having to putz around with carrying a lot of things too and from the car, and just having the key somewhere in my pocket saves me from having to look for the keys or drop a bunch of stuff to search my pockets for the key. Lazy? Probably. But I know it is a good option for me. Xenon headlights are pure safety as far as I am concerned. Drive a car at night with them, and one without, and you will never go back to a car that does not have the Xenon lights. My wife does not feel safe in a car that just has normal headlights because her night vision is not so great. The power trunk is handy when loading and unloaded groceries and the endless baby items that my previously mentioned daughter has, and the ability to lock the car with a button on the trunk is pretty cool too. Essentially, the point of buying a luxury car is to have the additional luxuries that a normal car does not have. At least, that is the way I see it.

 

Mitch - I agree with you also. I am on both sides because I love gadgets too. The Pano roof is way cool, so is keyless go. I completely agree on the seats and the headlights. The truck - meh. I have a Durango for shlepping stuff around.

The initial vibe of the thread was to find out which of these gadgets are known to be problematic and would cost a bundle to fix, so I can make an informed choice.

As always, everyone's opinion is welcome, and I am learning more about these cars everyday, and therefore will make a wiser purchase and ultimately get the most enjoyment out of it.

 

I have a Sierra 2500HD that I could use to haul stuff too, but the E63 is just more fun, and WAY faster. LOL!!

From what I have found with regards to items breaking, many of the people that I have heard about who have broken their Panoramic roofs were people that rarely used them, and that caused the rails to get all gummed up with crap, and then they broke. In the owners manual there is actually a service interval for getting the Panoramic roof and rails cleaned, most likely for exactly this reason. I doubt many (if any) of the cars that had broken Panoramic roofs had this service performed.

That is not to say that the car is bulletproof, or that nothing electronic breaks even with a well maintained car, but I trust most people know that parts and service are going to cost more for a limited production $100,000 Mercedes AMG than they do for a $15,000 Toyota.

 

Any other opinions?

 

I just saw this thread and I'll chime... Mainly because I grew up in a buick performance house (my dad still has his all original '65 skylark gs convertible -445 wildcat 3spd manual!) and the gnx has always been a huge favorite of mine...damn...even the turbo t-types if you ever see one are cool...wait...and turbo ... Ok I'll stop).

This is my second AMG. First time around I didn't get an extended warranty. Why? Because NOTHING had gone wrong in 70000 miles. When something did - carbon build up broke off and lodged in an exhaust valve that kept it open...totally freak - it cost me $12k out of pocket. So this time around, with my E55 I did extend the warranty. First time I used it (week and a half ago) it more than paid for it. All that said it seems like things go wrong with these cars rarely but when they do, it's expensive. And these aren't diy cars for the most part.

Now that all that is out of the way the E55 is such an amazing car. I really can't believe it didn't get more press during it's run. A five year old car that makes people go "holy s*#^" every time they're in it.

Options in my opinion:

Pano roof (I don't have it) would have been cool. This car is never going to be a track car so the weight wouldn't have made a big deal. But...a co-member just had his fail. $9700. Covered under ext warranty.

Dynamic seats: I think they all come with. I actually leave mine on.

Powered trunk: surprisingly...I love it. At least three times a week it hit that red button with my nose.

Keyless: would have been cool .. But don't have. More of a cool for your friend option.

Nav: pretty sure every '04+ E55 has it. I just updated mine to the '10 disc and is surprisingly good...restaurants, etc are actually in there.

All this said I would be scared sh}}#less of an E55 in the $20k range. Find one with less than 45k on the clock under $35k and extend the warranty and you'll have a car that you can't believe you own at many times and that every time you drive you smile.

It's funny...when I snagged my E55 my price point (budget) was $55-70k for a car. My used E55 at $34k was still the best car I could have bought.

 

Chris - please do a search for SBC - its the electronic braking system that was used on '03-'06 W211's. Quite a few people here (at least in the non-AMG forum), have experienced SBC failure, and its pretty horrific. I"ve been thinking of upgrading to a W211 E55, but am having reservations about the SBC system. In fact, I'm even wondering if I should get rid of my perfectly running E500 just because of it! On the other side of the argument are all the owners here who have had no issues with it. It is a topic you should research.

Second of all, and OT, but may I suggest an MKIV Supra Turbo? 600+hp with factory internals on upgraded turbos and fuel, and of course - Toyo bulletproof reliability.

Or if u want the solidity and pure rewarding experience of an MB, the W210 E55 is a great buy, without the SBC and airmatic gizmos (but 100+ hp less) - still a great car though.

Despite the SBC, I may end up with a W211 E55 - it truly is an amazing car. Either way Good luck!