W210 or W211 for a "heavy duty" daily driver?
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Joined: Jul 2016
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Porsche 911
W210 or W211 for a "heavy duty" daily driver?
Greetings,
I have lurked for a while here and read a mountain of information and finally registered. I am considering an E55 for a new daily driver. By way of background, I currently DD a 2000 Porsche 911 from rural VA to downtown DC and I rack up the miles fast - a combination of rural roads, highways, and heavy traffic. Pretty tough on any car.
I am now facing the big "D", and on top of that my two tall teens fight over who has to sit in the back of the 911, so it's time for it to go. I am a DIY-er of moderate+ ability, so a lot of jobs don't faze me. I do, however, need reliability, something I can work on, and something that will not cost a fortune to fix. To put things in perspective, the last couple of services for the 911 were $1200 and $1500, which to me is high...but I understand the "pay to play" element too.
With a budget of $12-$14k (ish), would you recommend an older, lower-mile W210, or a newer, higher-mile W211 given my needs? Of course I want more power and the idea of a blown AMG V8 is exciting, but I am not excited about some of the repair issues I have read about (e.g., pulling the blower to replace a $10 hose) with the W211. (I'm posting this in the W211 forum simply because it has more readers and because I guess many of you have owned both.)
I greatly appreciate your collective insight. And if anyone is interested in a potential trade for a nice 911 (Arctic silver, tiptronic), drop me a line.
Dave
I have lurked for a while here and read a mountain of information and finally registered. I am considering an E55 for a new daily driver. By way of background, I currently DD a 2000 Porsche 911 from rural VA to downtown DC and I rack up the miles fast - a combination of rural roads, highways, and heavy traffic. Pretty tough on any car.
I am now facing the big "D", and on top of that my two tall teens fight over who has to sit in the back of the 911, so it's time for it to go. I am a DIY-er of moderate+ ability, so a lot of jobs don't faze me. I do, however, need reliability, something I can work on, and something that will not cost a fortune to fix. To put things in perspective, the last couple of services for the 911 were $1200 and $1500, which to me is high...but I understand the "pay to play" element too.
With a budget of $12-$14k (ish), would you recommend an older, lower-mile W210, or a newer, higher-mile W211 given my needs? Of course I want more power and the idea of a blown AMG V8 is exciting, but I am not excited about some of the repair issues I have read about (e.g., pulling the blower to replace a $10 hose) with the W211. (I'm posting this in the W211 forum simply because it has more readers and because I guess many of you have owned both.)
I greatly appreciate your collective insight. And if anyone is interested in a potential trade for a nice 911 (Arctic silver, tiptronic), drop me a line.
Dave
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 3,966
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From: Republic of Texas
'99 and '05 E55 AMG
My take as I've owned a W210 E55 for 2 1/2 years and a W211 E55 for 2 years; I've put about 30K miles on each.
-Handling goes to the W211.
-Acceleration goes to the W211 but the W210 is no slouch.
-Fuel mileage goes to the W210 (avg 23 mpg) vs W211 (<19 mpg) .
-Maintenance ease goes to the W210. Greater access to engine and transmission.
-Parts cost goes to the W210. FWIW, I went over each car at 100K miles and removed/replaced/repaired anything I determined/thought needed it. W210 parts cost ~$1200. W211 parts cost ~$6800. YMMV.
-Comfort on 500 to 1000-mile road trips goes to the W210. My wife and I both prefer it on trips longer than four hours.
-W211 is "Sex On Wheels".
-W210 is "Russian Mafia Staff Car".
-Both require a dedicated diagnostic system; the W211 especially so.
-Multi-function display on the W211 is both a pro and a con; a pro as it is a dedicated and useful multi-function display; a con as it distracts one's attention from the road until one is very familiar with using the controls without looking at the display (i.e. if audio function engaged, one "down" menu press to speed/temp screen, then toggle between those. Repeat for mileage, remaining, settings, etc).
-Most W210s are getting long in the tooth; I replaced my headliner and installed new fabric on the A/B/C pillars plus replaced numerous plastic parts. Also spent $2300 repainting portions of the car where the clear coat came off due to sun exposure. Costs are still less than that for the W211 and the W210 looks awesome.
-I like them both. If I could only own one, I'd go with the W210 but I would miss my W211.
Appreciate the offer of a potential trade but I'm considering getting rid of my Miata and replacing it with a Boxster.
-Handling goes to the W211.
-Acceleration goes to the W211 but the W210 is no slouch.
-Fuel mileage goes to the W210 (avg 23 mpg) vs W211 (<19 mpg) .
-Maintenance ease goes to the W210. Greater access to engine and transmission.
-Parts cost goes to the W210. FWIW, I went over each car at 100K miles and removed/replaced/repaired anything I determined/thought needed it. W210 parts cost ~$1200. W211 parts cost ~$6800. YMMV.
-Comfort on 500 to 1000-mile road trips goes to the W210. My wife and I both prefer it on trips longer than four hours.
-W211 is "Sex On Wheels".
-W210 is "Russian Mafia Staff Car".
-Both require a dedicated diagnostic system; the W211 especially so.
-Multi-function display on the W211 is both a pro and a con; a pro as it is a dedicated and useful multi-function display; a con as it distracts one's attention from the road until one is very familiar with using the controls without looking at the display (i.e. if audio function engaged, one "down" menu press to speed/temp screen, then toggle between those. Repeat for mileage, remaining, settings, etc).
-Most W210s are getting long in the tooth; I replaced my headliner and installed new fabric on the A/B/C pillars plus replaced numerous plastic parts. Also spent $2300 repainting portions of the car where the clear coat came off due to sun exposure. Costs are still less than that for the W211 and the W210 looks awesome.
-I like them both. If I could only own one, I'd go with the W210 but I would miss my W211.
Appreciate the offer of a potential trade but I'm considering getting rid of my Miata and replacing it with a Boxster.
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 599
Likes: 120
2004 E55
From a reliability and DD standpoint, though I have no experience with the w210 at $1200 in 2 yrs it sounds like a winner to me.
My auction deal is turning into a bring back to life project. I am at about $3.70/mile right now, after a 1k miles.
It seems at 120K I am about $3k shy of the birdwell's figure so I cannot stress enough to verify maintenance if you get a w211 and as also stated above there is a need for a STAR diagnostic tool.
That runs about $750 I can attest, best investment not to guess whats wrong.
w211:A previous thread about cost of ownership stated plan on $2-3k a year due to known Airmatic and SBC pump failures then you have a little $ for failed sensors etc.
elbow aching amg humbled opinion of mine anyways
Last edited by BoostedAero; Jul 27, 2016 at 03:45 PM. Reason: K.I.S.S.
Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 143
Likes: 7
From: Raleigh, NC
2006 E55 AMG
First, can you think of any other 10+ year old luxury/sport sedans that will not need constant upkeep? That's a serious question and I'd like to know the answer. Part of me thinks that Japanese luxury sedans might cost less to maintain as they age.
But, if you want a supercharged V8 that is king of the Autobahn and damned good looking to boot, the W211 can be had at a low cost of entry, then a medium car payment every month for service and to fix all the things you didn't catch when you first bought it. Bought my '06 E55 (daily driver) nine months ago for $13,300 w/ 138k miles. Now it has 150k miles and I've paid $4k in service and repairs (and I tore out the entire airmatic suspension and replaced it with Strutmasters). New control arms (bushings were shot and noisy), new tires, new thermostat, new rear brakes and rotors, Service B, etc.
Now I'm committed! After this week's new four-wheel alignment (post control arm/suspension adjustment), I'm hoping to go three months without any expenditures other than gasoline.
But, if you want a supercharged V8 that is king of the Autobahn and damned good looking to boot, the W211 can be had at a low cost of entry, then a medium car payment every month for service and to fix all the things you didn't catch when you first bought it. Bought my '06 E55 (daily driver) nine months ago for $13,300 w/ 138k miles. Now it has 150k miles and I've paid $4k in service and repairs (and I tore out the entire airmatic suspension and replaced it with Strutmasters). New control arms (bushings were shot and noisy), new tires, new thermostat, new rear brakes and rotors, Service B, etc.
Now I'm committed! After this week's new four-wheel alignment (post control arm/suspension adjustment), I'm hoping to go three months without any expenditures other than gasoline.
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 31
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2000 E55 AMG
just bought my 2000 e55 last week with 109k on the odo for $3,500 but needs a rear main seal and a hood. had a 2003 e55 that i modded and the crank shaft key tore off and cost 22k for a new crank. the place i took it to i thought knew their sh** but i think even a dealer wouldn not have charged that much. DONT MOD unless you have cash to burn in the event of a failure.
