W211 BEAST

It's been discussed here over and over again... An AMG without a warranty is insane. No one in their right mind would do it. My worry is this, the E55 has been an unbelievable car for me. I've enjoyed it everyday. I still have about 3 years left on my warranty, so I have 3 years left with the Beast.

But what do I get after? The car isn't gonna be worth anything in 3 years, so it's not like I can trade it in for something good, and unfortunately I've invested all of my money into my company, so it's not like I can go out and buy a used TT E63 when I'm done with this. Whatever money I have has to go back into the company.

So what car can I get that is gonna satisfy me everyday the same way that the Beast does? I know it's a long ways off, but it's a genuine concern for me as driving is one of the few pleasures that I have everyday.

What do you guys think? Where will you be going after the E55?

Thanks

Alps

my warranty ran out last year, but my beast will keep going for years more!

W211 BEAST

You're a brave, brave man.

cij911

Sorry but your post is really silly and implies that one should only own an AMG if they have a warranty. There are plenty of high mileage e55s out there (without warranties) - the motors and transmissions are very reliable. Keeping your e55 and factoring in proper yearly maintenance is far cheaper than buying a new car.

To answser your question - what after the e55 really depends on budget and from your post it would look like you should stick with an economy car and focus on growing your business. If you have the cash - then your standard speed demons - porsche, bmw, mb, caddy cts-v, etc...

Good luck and keep the car (best financial advice I can give w/o knowing all your personal info)...

W211 BEAST

Believe me, nothing would make me happier than driving this thing for a very long time and putting over 300,000 miles on it. I take great care of the car and I do all of the scheduled maintenance on time. But my warranty company has spent about $20,000 on my car since I've gotten the warranty, and it was all on BS things. I'm just scared that if something does go wrong I won't be able to fix it, and then I'll be screwed.

AKnight55

E550 TT.. MSRP is around $60 I believe and have 400 hp and similar torque.. Tune and you will have similar power to a stock E55.. Cant beat that in my opinion

Oh ya and just keep the E55, cuz it wont be worth what youll get for selling it.

W211 BEAST

I like that as an idea, but I've heard the quality on the interior has gone down considerably. And to be honest, I don't think any MB, no matter how much power or torque, is an actual animal until AMG gets their hands on it.

The new E550 is nothing compared to the W210 E55. Same power numbers(ish) and the E55 is over 10 years old. I think it's how AMG tunes the transmission or something. I really don't know about these things.

02S430

do you mean w211 cause im pretty sure the w212 e550 is faster then the w210 e55

W211 BEAST

You may very well be right about that, but I've driven both and I prefer the W210 E55. Maybe I'm talking about the older E550 engine, because I don't remember hearing about it having a TT.

ghettoroadster

Do you expect your company to NOT generate any returns after 3 years? If not, why are you even bothering?

Work.
Generate profit.
Lease E63 TT.
Let hot fiance drive "beater" E55.
Be happy you paid uncle sam less.

AKnight55

ahh ya.. And the tuning potential of the turbo.. w210 e55 has like 350 hp and 390 tq..w212 e550 has 400 hp and 440 tq.. Not sure thats very similar at all

justinwrock

I don't understand why people are scared of owning one of these outside of warranty.


There is a huge aftermarket base for these - and is only getting bigger by the day. The only real troubling area for me with the higher mileage is the air suspension, and the struts/bellows blowing out. (easily solved with a coilover conversion)

With that said, I currently have 143k miles on my E55, and plan to keep it until 200k miles!

AKnight55

W211 BEAST

I obviously plan on making a profit, it's just that I feel like the responsible thing to do would be to get a more affordable car if I get rid of this so I can keep reinvesting the profits back into my company, and then reap the benefits after that.

I'm trying to be responsible! Lol

I'm scared because of how much my car has cost my warranty company so far. And because of all the horror stories I have heard about expensive repair bills.

But thanks for posting, you're making keeping her as a DD seem like more of a possibility.

justinwrock

I look at like this....


You have a warranty for the first 5-8 years/50-100k miles of the cars like to get all the bugs worked out. Usually by then, all of the big ticket, high failure items have been addressed. (things like air struts, SBC pumps, airmatic pumps, etc.)

Three things happen in this time...

The first is those high failure items are updated and replaced by items with better durability or better quality. This happened with things like the intercooler pump, airmatic pump, torque converter, and most, if not, all of those will have failed while under warranty and have been replaced by a better, more robust version. Many, if not all of the parts found in the E55, were used on some other model at some point in time. The 55k powertrain came in several models, and there were several flavors of the W211, so quite a few - if not all the bugs that plague the 55 will have been worked out of the car with new/updated parts by the time the warranty has expired.

The second thing that happens is more unfortunate... Cars are written off (thing of totaled cars getting written off/cars getting junked). Junkyards in my area are stuffed full with W211s, and as a result, parts have Honda like pricing. As a result, getting parts with a warranty that's the same - if not better than online retailers is very inexpensive.

The third thing that happens is what you see here on this board. (And other planets... ) People with tons of knowledge on these cars come forward and share it. you get really easy DIY guides to follow when you have to replace those wear and tear items, which in the long run, keeps running costs low.

I'm willing to bet that you will be hard pressed to find another automobile that offers similar performance, similar comfort, with a better value than one of these 55s.

W211 BEAST

You guys have made me feel a lot better today. Thanks for all the input. I'm nowhere near as stressed out as I was this morning about this anymore.

kompressede

I agree - Too much hype about warranty. Just have a reliable indy shop, or a good MB tech that can do work on the side.
Eventually i'll get the new TT E, once they drop in price

ValerSterling

I'm nowhere near as stressed out as I was this morning about this anymore.

berti_00

we dont go anywhere we stay and enjoy it....

WHTEVO

/\ Yep!

Aaron

Jakpro1

Are you kidding me?

The 12 TT's will have depreciated BIG TIME in 3 years. You'll be looking at a car that is near 700hp with tune only for around 50-60K.

I am beyond excited to order a TT when money comes around. Kinda sick of headers and drone and fear of POOF from having such a highly modded 55. Be nice to just cruise around a monster that is near stock.

Just my rapidly depreciating 2 cents.

tbal

Warranty bah. 2 years baby been good. Than again she was low
Mile when I got her, been taking realllll good care of her and she's happy.

Repairs so far...
-Sc clutch

Rear main seal leaking very slightly but that will
Be next...

Dynamic seat pump gone... Just bought used one for $300

alextaylor29

I'm keeping my E55 forever (have about 30K left on my warranty) and when it hits 100K miles, I'm going to retire it and get a 2006 S65 or CL65 (with a warranty), tune it and have a 750/850 hp/tq daily driver!

That's my plan.

Alex

alextaylor29

Agreed! I'm going to a 2006 S65 next (with extended warranty), then onto the 12 TT's in a few years. The sweet spot in timing is around 6 years when the MB has done most of it's depreciation, then you swoop in, find a lower mileage AMG, get an extended warranty and you're back in business!

That's what I did my my 2004 E55 will do again with a 2006 S65 and again with an '12 TT (probbally a CLS). It's actually pretty formulaic but it works!

Alex

W211 BEAST

Is it going to be possible to get an extended warranty on an 06 in a year or two? I didn't know any companies were still selling extended service contracts for AMGs, especially ones that old.