hi mates,

I'm in the market of an second vehicle.. and have narrowed down to either an e55 or e63.

the thing though, have anyone had any serious issue with either the e55 or the e63?

is there any noticeable difference between the 03-06 vs the 07-09 body style? should I go for the newer model? any interior refinement that the e63 over the e55?

another thing, what are some of the specific things i should look for when i go look at the cars?

The one's I have been looking are starting from 11k's to mid 20k's.

I found an 05 with high mileage but they are only asking 11k's for it? should i take a look and see it?

 

Buy the lowest milage best condition one you can find. I was lookingg at both the 55 and the 63. I decided on a 2006 e55. To me it was the best value

 

the $11K one has about 110k miles and is an 05.

the $18k one has 72k miles and is an 05 also

and the third one is an 06 with 85k miles but asking $22.5k..

but there is also the 4th one which is an 07 with 78k miles and asking $23k

I'm leaning towards the 05 e55 with 78k and the 06 with 85k miles because they both have almost complete maintenance records on it..

 

The M156 in the E63 can have cam issues and head bolt issues. I like the E63 more though, so I budgeted to have these issues fixed. E55 is pretty bulletproof overall.

The W211 AMG got a facelift in 07 (so all E63s have the facelift). The most obvious facelift details are the more aggressive front bumper, different headlights, different front grille and different tail lights.

The E63 interior has a few very minor updates, most notably the black instrument cluster instead of the satin aluminum one in the E55.

 

I'll be honest with you, as much as I love the E55, I think the E63 is the better car. It's just tighter and more precise. The way the M156 revs, its responsiveness. The E63 also sounds INSANE, the M156 motor is just irreplaceable. The new BiTurbo just doesn't have that insane violence the M156 sound has. When you get headers it sounds like a race car (which I don't like) but when you keep the stock headers and just do the rest of the exhaust it sounds COLOSSAL!!

The E55 is a hold-on-to-something-we-are-about-to-takeoff kind of car. It's geared longer and has ALOT of torque especially down low and so it really feels like a jet. It's also much easier to get power out of and much cheaper unless you Weistec or Kleemann supercharge it which is expensive. The E55 is much more of a muscle car, the gearbox is very slushy but not really in a bad way, it's pretty quick but it's just really smooth.

They cannot really be described. You just need to go out and drive them. You'll be shocked at how different they feel considering it's the same platform/chassis. Personally I like the E63 a tiny bit more but that's just me. It's true about the head bolt and cam issues. You can preemptively repair those though. Weistec sells a kit for the head bolts.

Just gonna leave you with this video

 

Completely agree with the above statements...2 totally different cars. The 55 is much easier to put bolt ons in to get more power while the 63 is a lot smoother but lacks the supercharger for easy power gains. In the years that I've been working on these cars I will say the 55 engine and tranny is definitely more reliable than the 63 engine and trans. The 63 had head bolt issues early on and recently seen the cam/lifter issues where it will drop a valve on the affected cylinder as the cam wears. I've also seen people talking about balance shaft issues with the 63 engine. The 5 speed trans is IMO better mechanically than the 7 speed which is known for electrical plate and valve body issues.

 

I have owned now 2 E63's. 2007 and now a 2008. Love both of them. The Head bolt issue, is brought up on here pretty much only when new people ask about them or bring up the old thread. I asked my really good MB dealer have they seen or know about the issue and how bad is it? The response was very very rare, only about 1 per 2-3k of the 63 motors ends up with the issue. I have 80k on mine and it runs strong as can be. The only major issue I would worry about is if the Conductor plate has been replaced on the 722.9 transmission. If it hasn't, then it will need to be done at some point. It gives warning before it locks up. Its a 1k fix at a dealer. Then that shouldn't be an issue ever again. Beyond that its all normal issues if there are any. Pano rood motor may or may not go out, there is a DIY by eurocharged to prevent that though. Shocks may go bad, but can be replaced easy and use Arnott ones to save. But this is also true for the 55's. So my suggestion is go with the 63's.

I am posting a link to a 07 E63 White with tan interior, package 1 with normal sunroof (that can be good or bad, at least no squeaking and no chance of motor going out), with about 63k miles or so. I have looked at it myself, but went with a Black 08. Its priced well and they will deal to a degree. Its a nice car from what I have seen of it. This should be on your list!!!!!!

If you want this one, contact me and I will put you in touch with the Finance Manager so you can talk personally with him. He drives a E63 also.

http://www.metrolinaautogroup.com/20..._232852382.veh

 

Here is what a 2008 E63 Black can look like if you got one

 

SheriffDep, do you have a link to more info about the conductor plate?

I love those gold calipers btw!

 

This is my favorite one, the smart car cracks me up
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...tenance-3.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...hen-cel-2.html

 

You cant really compare those two setups.
The 55K is more or less a "true muscle car", although in many TV and Print Ads they're claiming the same about the "true" 63 engines (means over 6L displacement) these days...

One is Natural Aspirated the other is Forced Induction. Forced induction powertrains always have advantages over NA powertrains in terms of efficiency and power development - especially with a supercharger that creates power from idle RPM up.
IMHO what they did in the E63AMG is to compensate for the lack of torque with a shorter gearing 7-Speed Automatic gearbox and other measures and they did succeeded - although the 55K is still "faster" or equally fast and way better to mod, not to speak about reliability of the powertrain itself.

I hate the 7Speed boxes in every Benz i have driven so far, these to many gear switches annoy the **** out of me. The 7-Speeds are "always" at shifting gears it seems, it makes the whole experience a bit turbulent/restive. I love the 5 Speed much more.
People say they are slow, they can be altered to shift quicker by a TCU tune, or even get the CLK AMG DTM TCU (or its software).
I'd always chose the 55K and facelift it to E63AMG + add the saved money in some tune goodies. Also the much more beautiful 63AMG instrument cluster can be interchanged to fit the E55K, IIRC.

I remember the very first comparison test by Mercedes in the german TV press, just days after the E63 had been officially announced.
They launched both on an improvised dragstrip and i remember that i was shocking to see that the E63 was not faster. IIRC they were equally fast and the 55K was even a half or even one full car length ahead at the end.
Many people, i remember reading in the forums these days, were shocked to see this, as the E63AMG was marketed to be faster by the numbers.

476HP E55K vs. 517HP E63AMG were the Numbers in geman DIN Horsepower. And like 4.8seconds 0-62mph for the E55K and IIRC 4.5seconds 0-62mph for the E63.
Reality shows different. During that time people were even claiming that their 55K cars were suddenly slower after a "software update" by the dealer during service, just shortly before the 63AMGs did arrive on the market. I know its maybe "just" a conspiracy theory and one could resolve it with a box or custom tune by any tuner, but still quite interesting for sure.

 

I agree with most of that but for me, the sound of the E63 is just beyond reach of any other V8. It's sounds like a ****ing MONSTER!! The 55k sounds good don't get me wrong but it's not as rich and heavy of a sound. The M156 is a lion. It's just soooooo aggressive. The 55k just can't match it and you can't say G55 or SLR because you can't get the sound those cars in the E55.