WoodyBang

This post will serve two purposes, first an introduction and second a buying experience.

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of years now and I have to say this forum is a great resource albeit bias and harsh at times overall it's been invaluable for me.

I started in seriously modding cars with the honda fad of the late 90's. I had quite a few hondas and loved to track them. FF is fun to a point.




I've always liked my cars clean.

I've been abreast of the AMG cars for about 15+ years now as one of my good friends bought a salvage c43 back in 99 and refreshed the engine, it had hydro locked. I can remember back in 2004 or 5 seeing a few E55's out and about and I loved the classy looks and of course killer performance but the price was far out of reach. I was driving a 6 speed 2003 maxima at the time.

Fast forward a few years and I wound up with a 2006 STI. I loved the performance and handling of this platform. They truly are amazing cars and tons of fun especially in Michigan where you can enjoy some crazy Finnish flicks in the winter.





As much fun as this platform was, It was douchey. I couldn't get over the looks of the car and the douche ora it wafted. So I sold it after going stage II (311hp and 325ft p at the wheels).

That's when I signed up here and started looking for a replacement. I took my time and did a ton of research on this and other forums. This past winter I started seriously looking and found a few relatively local cars. The first car I drove was a 2005 early example with the bi fold console 58K miles. The car was loose, needed ball joints alignment and so on. I lowballed but never received a response back from the dealer. I think they wanted 28K and I offered 23. The second car I found was a late 2005 with 93k. I admit I was scared of the mileage but wanted to drive it and compare with the other one I drove. It was listed for 22k. I drove it and most everything checked out. I did my own "ppi" on the car and noticed a few faults but nothing I couldn't handle on my own. Long story short after the back and forth I picked it up for 16k. The entire process took a few months over the winter and I had in the garage April 1. I knew going in what to expect, again due to my research and the copious amounts of great information here.





Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance

During my PPI I found leaking valve covers. This was first on my list to address. Using this thread https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...lug-wires.html I was able to knock this out in a few hours. I spent under 50 on OEM gaskets. The dealer wanted 1100 for this repair.



Next issue to address was the auto trunk closer. I had a no light scenario and again found the needed resources here to address it.

I had three broken wires. They were easily fixed in about an hour.



Cost 0, dealer again wanted about 900.



At this point the car was running good. I found during long highway pulls I would lose power and at points it seemed the supercharger was shutting off. Time for repair number three. Bosch 010 was ordered to replace the failing stocker. I picked it up here http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...8@Water%20Pump for 97 bucks. It took about 2 hrs from start to finish including bleeding.




This "mod" made a huge difference in drivability and unleashed absolute terror on the highway.



Car was running great and the weather turned for the better, windows down cruising season. I noticed a high pitched squeak coming from the driver’s side. It didn't go away and seemed to get worse. After about 2 weeks it turned into the seedy motel squeaky bed noise as seen in this video.
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...oints-e63.html

Again looking toward AutohouseAZ I bought the upper and lower ball joints part cost was about 100.00.

I went to autozone and rented the Ball joint press and proceeded to replace both the upper and lower on the driver’s side.

Dealer quoted me about 2500 over the phone. They wanted to replace the entire front suspension lol. Total rip off.



My dog was giving me a hand here lol.



Everything went well and with air tools the repair wasn't that bad. I split this repair over two days and about 4-5 hours total. After completing this repair I needed to get an alignment done. My good friend works at the dealer as a service adviser for VW (the dealership is VW, Volvo, Mercedes) and was able to get a good deal on the alignment. 250 total. While it was in the shop I had them do a trans drain and fill along with the replacing the leaky tcu plug and filter. During the alignment they needed to replace the lower ball joint also on the passenger side. The total bill was 750. Without my buddy it would have been around 1500.

That brings me up to date with the repairs. I have a few more things to address before I start modding. Tensioner's need to be replaced and some new rear tires.



To sum up the buying experience of a high mileage E55 I'd say you better have either an open checkbook or some skills with tools. This is not an extremely hard car to work on but it's also not the easiest.

Prospective buyers with some skill can easily skip the 5K plus warranty and just do a little DIY. Total investment in repairs to date is right at about 1K. Even if all the common parts take a dump on me I will still be several thousand dollars ahead without the warranty. If left to the dealer to fix all of the common issues the repair bill would be around 5K or more.

I can't wait to start modding and making more power. I'm going to keep it simple. My plans include headers, exhaust work, additional cooling maybe even a trunk tank, tune, and injectors.

rockthemullet

Similar to you, I picked mine up with 95k. I did the valve cover gaskets for less than $50 (dealer $800) and the supercharger pulley bearing for $44 (dealer $1400). You just have to know what you're doing! A mechanically capable garage guy should be able to curb at least 50% of the cost of ownership on a higher mileage Mercedes.

RedBullJnky

Very nice! Good luck!

berti_00

Great write up and story... Welcome and enjoy her, def a funn car

hank55

awesome, i plan to do my own repairs tooo that are not covered by my warranty.

moosejaw

nice story and clean EG series

WHTEVO

Good write-up, and welcome.

60nomad

Excellent write up!

WoodyBang

Thanks guys. The help I've found here is awesome.



Thanks, your FD is amazing.

SterlingE55

OMG you bought an AMG and didn't freak out when it needed routine maintenance?!?! Haha props to you sir and great write up. Thanks for sharing.

ArmoE55

I love when people buy this car and expect the maintenance to be like a Toyota Camry...

ocapella

Enjoyed the write up as well. Like you I don't have a warranty and plan to do my own maintenance when and if something breaks. Only 37K on the clock currently.

sk8erjosh09

Very nicely put together. Even with 1K immediately put in, you definately got a steal.

BenzoBoi

Welcome! Very nice write up!

Yacht Master

Welcome, we love DIYs here with lots of pics.
You will fit right in with all us harsh AMG holes.

biggking

Just did:

-BOSH H/E Pump
-Trans + Rear Diff Service
-Eng Oil (ROYAL PURP)
-Spark Plugs
-Wires
-Coil Packs
-Valve cover gasket
-thermostat

somewhere around 2k in parts. and now im working on full brake swap.

Purchased my E55 for DIRT cheap so I'm just trying to baby the car until 200K+ on the odometer. starting at 101k when I got it.

statepkt

Good thread, would be informative for new potential owners to read. Too bad many people don't use the search function it seems

sorasak

Thanks for sharing your experience. This is really helpful for me to make a decision. I am actually looking to buy a 2005 E55 AMG as well.

Worth the wait

Nice write up.

One thing to note, time is just as much an enemy as mileage on our cars.
I have seen it time and time again. That is why I would by a high mileage E55 with complete service records over a 20k mile example with no records every time!
The majority of our maintenance issues (gaskets, bushings, seals, plugs, ECT)
will need to attention every five years or so, regardless of mileage

Good luck to the op.

WoodyBang

Forgot about this thread.

Only other repair to date is the alternator.

The voltage regulator was well worn and I did try this replacement first. Didn't work. I bought a reman alternator and had the dealer install. 600 total with parts and labor. Again this was a deal on the labor side so your milage will vary.

Still very pleased with the car at the moment but I do have it listed for sale. Sold my house and moving to a part of town where I just dont want to keep this thing around.

Quicksilv3r

Nice story. I've had my '05 (120K mi) for a year now and so far maint. has cost me right around $7,800.

Upper and lower ball joints
Front tie rods
Front lower control arms (both)
Arnott replacement air struts/shocks all-around
Set of Continental DWS's
Motor & transmission mounts (all)
Main battery (trunk)
Sensotronic Brake Controller (SBC, covered under MB extended warranty)
Glove box soft-open mechanism
Dual tensioner pulley + all new belts


Owned 3 M-cars prior to this and never had so much go wrong in such a short period of time. Love the car, but d4mn give me a break. Sometimes I feel like settin' it on fire, calling the ins. co. and walking away.

rcasos

I picked up my '03 E55 last month for $10k with 140k miles. Excellent cosmetic condition, new tires, new brakes, clean carfax, recent service and custom 18" wheels plus the original set of 18"s. Electric trunk not working, and ball joint squeaks came with it as well. Wanted something fun to drive, that did better than the Ml55 that i just sold on gas, but no new car payment. Having owned a 2003 e500 all the way to 175k, i was not afraid of a high mileage E class. I have done most of the repairs needed on all my past mercs, so i had a good idea of parts cost and common e class issues. Also have had an amazing experience with the reliability of AMG motors. In 100k i put on the ML, i think i replaced a CPS once, nothing else. Will probably do ball joints later this month, and the supercharger pulley as well, next month will do a transmission and diff service. The broken trunk is a new one for me, but looks like OP has dealt with a similar issue, so a search through the forum should put me on track to fix it. What surprizes me is how much performance i got for my money with this car, and how good the aftermarket options are.

Sugar_Mouth

Great write up!

BimmerDawg

Great info and welcome!

Tommy Kaira

Great post. I've just bought an MKB tuned 2004 W211 E55 with 50k miles on the clock and I intend to maintain it myself. Hopefully I won't have too many headaches along the way.
I'm starting with a nice 1000mile round trip to Le Mans for the 24 hour race this week.