So after some "life" I am finally back to shopping for a Benz, a year later.

After searching a half dozen ways and reading a ton of threads, it looks like the E55 and CLS55(I'm leaning this way) are pretty reliable(do not read this as worry free).

My stepdad owns a repair shop and I did all the maintenance and repairs on my E46m3 not including the valve adjustment. My biggest worry is the cost to replace airmatic components but at the mileage I'm thinking(if I can find it 35-50k miles) there shouldn't be too many problems for a couple years.

For those of you who are DIY'ers what am I looking at for costs of ownership?
What am I looking at for costs of parts, is this going to be similar to my ML55 or my M3? What are some common things that might need replacing that I am overlooking? What's my experience going to be once I start modding?

Common problems with the Eclass cars

-crank position sensor failing and you are stuck on the road
-auxillary batter/trunk batter giving 'some convenience functions temporarily disabled' due to bad alternator, leaving the car for a long time and not driving it, voltage regulator, bad BCM

-airmatic, fronts you can get through Arnott industries for $500, rears not available
-leaky valve cover gaskets
-rear tires wear fast:-)

Hmm rear tire wear out? Never had that problem on my M3, LOL

May also want to consider picking up a C3/C4 STAR unit. About $400-$700 with a laptop. Goes a long ways.

I think the rear air suspension part will come out early next year.
All cars has problem and maintenance, if you find a 50K miles car you should spend some basic maintenance. Oil, air filter, tranny oil, brake flush, coolant flush same as any other cars. Try to find 05 and 06 should be more reliable. I would say $3 to $4k repair and maintenance in 3 years. (assume you don't break the engine and tranny)

My experience of last 2.5 years,
Change battery $130
Oil change $400 ( i change evrey 6 months)
Air Filter $95
Valve cover gasket + spark plugs $500
Water pump $340 + labor 100 = $440
IC pump $170 + labor $50 =$220
Belts $150 include labor.
Tranny oil change $250

Total about $2K. (not include mod ECU and Header)

I do that with almost any car I plan to hold on to long term. Just so I can know what my service schedule is

The key to reducing the cost of ownership of an AMG, is learning to do the maintenance part yourself.

I honestly don't think there is a more perfect person to own a used 55 or CLS55. You got a lift handy....can turn a wrench. Most stuff is pretty easy or has lots of DIY info on it.

You are gonna love the 55. Parts are rape but you are used to that from Bimmers.

I say go CLS. They still look amazing to me (the older ones)

Our bug eyed babies are starting to show their age. sniff sniff

M3 needed a lot more care than my ML55 but parts were cheaper. I thought the M3 wasn't even worth the headache of maintenance it cost :-/

So either way I go, the car sounds like its going to be less of a head ache then my M but will need more care then my ML

IMO, just do all the maintenance service need to be done + don't fix if not broken.

I had issues when I got my car. Below are some DIY prices to compare:
1. Transmission dropped in to neutral - turned out to be a leaky transmission seal. Second day of ownership.Should be a recall item.
2. Fuel sender leak approx $300 per side if you DIY - pretty straightforward
3. Airmatic - fronts can be bought rebuilt from Arnott for cheap ($800-900 each with warranty) Rears you'd be SOL. My fronts went bad.
4. spark plugs/wires -amazingly only cost me $200 because they screwed up on the spark plugs charging me for 4 instead of 4 packs of four!!! I tried to argue but they wouldn't listen!
5. valve cover gaskets go bad (can't remember cost)
6. Brake bads and rotors (lot's of types available) I think mine was $600 but can't remember
7. Oil and filter - only $60-$70 or so if DIY
8. IC pump went out I went with Meziere which is pretty noisy, there are several choices.
9. Supercharger and accessory belts $50 or so I think

I spent the money I saved by not paying a dealer on Pulley, injectors, headers, Throttlebody, IC upgrades etc

I still have my E46 M3. The only bad thing about the M3 is you have to use the Castrol TWS oil from BMW and watch out for Vanos failure. The interior falls apart real quick. I spent more $$ on redoing my entire interior than anything else on the car .. oh and the lights fall apart too! Couldn't believe the tail light covers were almost falling off and the front side markers were all faded to crap! Ugh ... Mine looks like yours Carbon Schwartz?

You will love the 55, trust me! I love my M3 for different reasons but it's too slow stock

I have 2 friends, and its the same story with both of their M3s. Peeling trim, door seals trim separating, concerns over random noises coming from the engine, rear subframe concerns, and the oil that can only be had from the dealership. Its not like any of this is terribly expensive, but it seems like the amount of wrenching to the amount of fun factor is a bit off...


The M3 is a fantastic car to drive, and a fantastic car to look at, but it seems like more time is spent under the hood, or under the car... Dont know about you, but I like being behind the wheel more than I like being under the hood, or under the car!

That is why I like my E55. The E55 is awesome because its fast and reliable out of the box. I know that I can gas her up, and head to SoCal without having to worry about this little issue, or that little issue, like most of my friends with M3s. I shop around for my parts, and can get them as cheap as the parts for my friends M3, and it seems that DIY work is easier on the 55 (more space to work, dont have to remove panels to access stuff). As for the air-matic components, convert to coils if your really worried about it. I have my set sitting at home, I am just waiting for a finalized parts list to get started on the swap!

the way you guys put it its not much more to maintain than a W210 is. Any input on that part? haha I'm a huge DIYer and am looking to get a 211 E55 soon.

I like wrenching .. it's fun to me. I have my M3 almost to where I want it now with quality parts. Forgot about rear subframe issue... I agree with you overall. That's why I daily drive my E55 and my M3 is sitting ... I really need to get it running again to run against my E55 ... turboed it might actually have a chance!

lets add a few more to the list

oil cooler & pipes (behind the wheel arch)
folding mirror frame
keyless handles
dynamic seat components (valve block in my case)
and now Active headlight unit motor (need to get whole headlight)
spark plugs and wires
rotors and pads
valve breather cover seals
rear trunk led light

theres probably loads more i just cant remember!

Hard to say, on a good year $1,200.00 (oil & tires) on a bad year $12,000.00 (piston & trans)

did you blow an engine? Were you doing something out of the ordinary?

I did basically all the bolt on mods that massaged major power from the S54(on the cheap) - had headers, tune, and intake elbow. It seemed like an eternity between shifts under hard acceleration. I did some ax with it but never took it on the track. I would think a car like a CLS would keep up with it on a track(for most drivers of average skill level). I think when it came out the M3 was at the top of the food chain for its segment but the E46M has fallen fast off the top of that with the huge leaps in performance of the next generation of cars. E/CLS 55s performance wise are still pretty similar to current model cars. I never had "major" issues with my M3 but it felt like it was always in need of something in terms of maintenance and at $12 a bottle of oil from BMW... it was rediculous

In a straight line, I pull away from all of my friends who drive E46 M3s. They are able to put distance on me through corners, but I catch right back up to them as soon as I roll into the power.


Did you say track....?

About time you got one of these

I know I know! I am foaming at the mouth to be in a car with torque again. I've sold myself on the CLS55 I think in silver. And have all my mods picked out too!

Are 18s the smallest I can go on a cls55? Thinking about winter wheels

Yes.. Front calipers is where you run into problems

hi i have a cls 55 with abt 52k miles on it still under mb extended warranty if you are interested. well maintained. let me know.