HighPerformance

Hi I am currently in the market for a e55 AMG and I am not sure what the differances are between the 04, 05 and 06 models?

lawguy

Differences are very subtle between the years you mentioned. Importantly, engine is the same. I think there is some suspension upgrade in '06 cars.

Best advice is just to start reading old threads and use search key. There is a ton of info here. When I was looking a few months ago, I spend hours just going back through old threads, a page at a time.

Good luck.

Mantooth

One difference between the '04 and '05-'06 models is the center console. The cup holders in the '04 is slightly more useless than the two in the '05-'06. I'm not sure of other differences.

'04 center console:



'05-'06 center console:

tgoss

Steering improved a bit '05+ if i'm not mistaken...

Also in '05+ you get a 200mph speedometer. Something I would spend a great deal of money getting myself. It just feels proper.

smiley47

As with almost every car, each new MB model year incorporates hundreds of improvements, some visible, most not so visible. In that regard I would look for an '06 E55 first. That's not to say that there aren't some outstanding '04-'05's out there (I'd avoid all '03's) but the older models lack the hidden '06 improvements and in theory you would expect to find one with lower miles, CPO, etc.
Good luck

jpohl402

here is my summary:

04 - better armrest (as far as elbow rest is concerned. split-folding) but useless cupholders.


05+
sliding wooden armrest, dual cupholders enclosed
200mph speedo vs. 160
rubber-studded aluminum pedals vs. just cheap black rubber

nanayaw6

^^ What he said.
One more minor/useless difference on 05+ is the center channel speaker cover is mesh as opposed to the one pictured above.

X2Board

And you say this based on what?

My '03 Dynoed 428 rwhp stock, and has been trouble free, beyond regular maintenance items. Any car can have issues, so bashing a particular model year, because of what you read on the internet, just does not make sense.

I heard the same crap about RMS failures when I had my '99 986 and '02 996. I never had a problem on either one, and I don't drive like Ms. Daisy is in the car, so if it was going to fail, it would have. I'm still in touch with the guy that bought my Boxster and it has 75k on it now, still no RMS issues.

A PPI performed by a trusted mechanic, is a must, just don't rule out something because of hearsay.

aquasition

I am looking for a E55 too, and came across a 2000 with 106,000 miles and decent price. It has some service history at MB dealers. what would you guys say, are the good and the bad about a "2000" E55 amg? Thanks.

mikey33

You would want to check out the w210 amg forum for those answers ^^^

SuperchargerV8

Hey x2board My car is 03 as well and bone stock i dynoed 438 rwhp lol most powerfull e55 stock to every go on marranos dyno here in sydney must be some thing about 03's they pull the big power lol nothing wrong with 03's

here is the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj6dej1WBqA

Yacht Master

The 200 MPH spedo just sweeps 20% slower than the 160. I only say this because a passenger in my car once said "Oh I thought that was the tachometer, it was moving so fast" The year to year changes, pale in comparison to the all the options these 55's can have, as I recall base MSRP was $83K most cars were optioned to $89K but there are many that were $96+K.

X2Board

I think AMG made sure their first year cars had beastly motors

smiley47

I'm not ruling out the '03 "based on heresay". I'm speaking from my wallet. I've owned 2 E55's, an '01 and an '03 as well as my current '08 E63. All were bought new. The '03 was a major POS. Maybe because it was the first year of a new model. Thankfully mine was under warranty but the constant inconvenience almost ended my relationship with MB. The '01 and the '08 were pretty much trouble free.

The guy was asking for advice about which E55 to look for. My advice is to avoid the '03. I stand by that.

No heresay.

X2Board

My point is, don't summarily rule out all '03's, or any model year, because some of the cars were problematic. What if your '08 was a lemon too? Would you say avoid all '08 E63's?

AMGPilot

late 04 cars have the rubber-studded aluminum pedals

GT-ER

Hmmm...my car is 05 and has everything an 05 has according to this topic EXCEPT the rubber-studded aluminum pedals. My pedals are all rubber. It's an early 05 model.

chawkins2001

06's are the Fastest

Shadow5501

The differences across all model years are small enough not to be of much consideration when choosing a car. Buy the cleanest/best maintained/lowest mileage car you can find at your price point. It may be newer, it may be older - really doesn't matter.

bzliteyear

While I agree w/ the first part of your statement, I think that as a general rule, buying the last year of a particular model as been a VERY safe relative to buying the FIRST year of a particular model. This isn't meant to knock the 2003 E55s, but it's just common sense that MB (and other auto makers) continue to improve/fix issues through its model life)...and usually all the kinks are worked out by the last model year. Yes, there are many good 2003's out there, my gut feel is that statistically the 2006s are probably a safer bet - all things being equal. Just my $.02.

PL

Mantooth

I forgot about this. My cluster went out and the dealership put in an '05+ cluster.

Shadow5501

I almost put in a disclaimer regarding the '03 models because that was the first year of the 211 chassis and had developed quite a reputation for electronic and software related glitches.

That said, after reading this and other forums for the last year or two, I don't perceive any real difference in the reliability across the years. Of course, this is anecdotal evidence and shoould be taken as such.

GT-ER

They are all bad? LOL.

emoving

Be a real man and get a CLS55!

chawkins2001

You not selling are you