CharlyE500

+1 W210 is very reliable.

Yacht Master

+2 way more reliable, + no airmatic + metal fuel tank.

w210 E55 349 HP
w211 E55 469 HP
w212 E63 570 HP

I still say, skip the W211 and set a goal of the W212 twin turbo.

HeissRod

Expanded for ya

CharlyE500

Also easy to change Fuel filter $100 ! The damn W211 filter will cost XXX
The W212 just wait for 2 more years the price should be $45K - $50K

Worth the wait

I love my W211, but at over 100k it is starting to scare the crap out of me about potential upcoming repairs. I could easily spend $3k today on needed maintenance/preventive issues.

The 210 is one of the most reliable cars MB ever built. The look is classic and stylish.
Just saw a comparison of old vs new on Fifth Gear and the w210 E55 did surprisingly well.

Reliability=210
Cost=210
Maintenance=210
Insurance=210
Speed=211
Current looks=211
Emptying your pocket=211

Of course nothing beats an 11sec DD

bbirdwell

CharlyE500 has the best advice so far...
Worth the wait's summary is pretty much dead on...


I own a '99 E55 and a '05 E55. I keep my cars for up to two decades and up to a quarter of a million miles. I say this so you'll understand I'm not one to "trade up" to a new car every two to three years. Nice if one can afford it but not my lifestyle.


W211 is sexy. W210 is classy. One is the very hot lady you are looking to land and the other is your lovely and attractive wife of many years. (Not having owned a W212 I'd tongue-in-cheek refer to it as the hot coed hitting on you in a bar in Key West during the festival.)


W211 is awesome quick. W210 not as quick but not to be trifled with either.


W211 handles like it is on rails. W210 is not as nimble.


W211 interior chrome trim sucks; who ever thought putting sun glare in the cockpit was a good idea? W210 has a better layout for window switches and a better arm rest.


W211 exhaust is more noticeable and it is a great car for a back road jaunt. W210 exhaust is more subdued and is my choice for multi-hour road trips of 300 miles or more.


W211 and W210 maintenance costs are similar. But...the fancy electronics and suspension on the W211 are going to hurt the average Joe's wallet when (not if) they break.


I like them both but, if I could only have one, I'd take the W210. But, since I can have two, I'll keep them both.


Don't know if this will help you but here it is anyway. Best to you.

elvis19seventy

Without a doubt the W210 chassis E55 is the best! So reliable and easy to work on. I keep reading people saying, under their breath kinda, that the 210 is dated. How is it DATED? I think it looks AWESOME! And no BS supercharger to deal with, or air-suspension or countless amounts of computers. And another thing I don't get is, yea, the 211 e55 has 100 more hp....but ahhh, WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO UNLEASH THAT HP? It's a waste...there's nowhere to drive that thing except at a track or a dyno. It's just a pissing match...okay, my 211 has more power than the old e55...BIG DEAL. Unless I live next to the Autobahn..no thanks. I haven't even gotten my '99 E55 to it's redline because cops are EVERYWHERE here in Dallas. I'm so glad I went with the '99 E55...it's the LAST handmade AMG...anything after was assembly line BS...no thanks!

Yuille36

Boy are you opening a can of worms here...... If my memory serves me correctly the 99 E55, wasn't a hand built engine.
This was a massaged MB M113 engine. Then AMG worked their magic on the M113K. The M156 was all AMG developed and hand built.
But I'm not here to argue with you, just pointing out the obvious.

BlownV8

The M156 was not the most reliable engine. Just saying.

Yuille36

But the same could be said about M113K. No engine is perfect. But these issues, can be fixed on both platform.
But costs money.....​​​​​​​

elvis19seventy

I'm talking about the actual assembly of the car; making it an AMG. All the engines are "hand built"....the 210's m113 was just bored out using larger pistons and it surely was done by one person; not an assembly line...same thing holds true to the 211, they got a 113 and added the Eaton supercharger that was placed on top of the m113 with a signature of the engine tech.

tlambert

Joined 2017 and that was your first post? Cool

Yuille36

The M113 engine in the W210 E55, wasn't actually built by AMG in Affalterbach, but the W211 M113K engine was. Just saying....
But regardless the M113 was a awesome engine, very little issues with it, if any.

Strigoi

I've owned a W210 E55 and a W211 E63 and currently own a W210 E320 wagon. I would 100% take the W210 over the W211 any day. If the engine in my wagon goes, it's getting an M113 swap (not the M113K). It's only got 140k on it, so that won't be happening any time soon.

The W210 E55 has more than enough power for a daily driver. That was the issue with my E63, it had too much power that it was hard to have fun with. It was fun getting on it on freeway on ramps, but I'd still be out of it after hitting 75mph. Same went for getting on it while on the freeway. Running 100+ isn't really my thing anymore and that car got to those speeds quick. IMO, the W210 has the perfect amount of power for a fun daily driver. W210 cars are also much simpler than the W211.

Strigoi

This is an old post from this thread. Comparing styling is totally subjective. I'm ok with the W210 interior, really like the facelift W211 interior (not a fan of pre-facelift) and don't like the W212 interior. Basing how good a car is on it's interior is kind of stupid as well.

Ls1toAMG

I would love to find a w210 55 in good condition. A great daily driver and easy to work on. The w211 55k is in a different speed class and cost of maintenance class. It's all part of the game. As for interior keep in mind the w210's are 20 years old. Standards have changed a lot and so have the prices

Strigoi

It's not an AMG, but I like having my E320 for a daily driver. If I find the right W210 E55, I will be all over it. I have no interest in owning another W211 AMG car.

When the wagon was on E55 monoblocks it got way more looks than my old W211 E63 ever did. Recently swapped the E63 wheels onto the wagon and it still gets looks.

Attachment 439670

Yuille36

I just sent you a PM, I have a friend that has one for sale. He's a MB Tech that has his own shop in Fairfax VA. Contact Emile at 703-370-1220 if you have any further question.

SleepersRock

I would 100% love to have my old 210 E55 back over my current 211 E63. That said I'd rather have the 211 E55 over either of those. However, the W211 E63 is the best looking of the bunch. I still love the way the 210 looks though. Old school blocky Mercedes desing at its best.

90%+ of the time the E63 either has too much power or not enough with the way its geared. The W210 was linear in power delivery from whenever you stepped on the gas. Made commuting way better. There was 400 ft lb of torque in the 210 available at 1500ish RPM. The E63 needs time to spool up to 4k RPM to get the same feeling as the 210 does at 1500RPM. I am irritated everyday with the E63 when merging at 20-30mph and needing to get to 70mph quick.

I've spent way more on maintenance for the E63 than I have for the W210. The suspension being the majority of that. My 210 had the original shocks and springs after 15 years and still had no issues!

I RimReaper l

Dude sounds like my opinion isn't the most popular but I just got a super low mileage w210 and it absolutely rips. You won't regret buying it and with the value of them going up daily as of late, you'll be able to make money on it when you decide to upgrade

Sulaco

Not a w210, but I absolutely adore my w202 C43 AMG in a weird way above my w211 E55. It's hard to explain, but both cars are very different. If you put a gun to my head and I had to pick 1 to keep, it would be the C43.