kiluminati616

so i started a thread about possibly looking at a repo'd 2005 e55 that kind of turned into members sending me suggestions and listings they found across the internet so i figured i'd open a thread dedicated to that. This is what i'm looking for:

unmodified 2004+
under 120k miles
more maintenance records and options the better
huge plus if suspension has been sorted

I'm extremely interested in this car in Raleigh. wasn't particularly looking for such a low mileage example (46k) but looks like it's been nicely cared for. not a lot of info on the carfax or autocheck report and current owner has only had it since May. in his time the instrument cluster was replaced as it was sending a bad signal to the distronic and a couple other little things were addressed. i was able to get in contact with the shop that he had it serviced at and they said it was seeping at the rear main seal and brakes will need to be done in the next few thousand miles. RMS could turn out to be pricey but sounds pretty common and hopefully doesnt get much worse. seller seems like a stand up guy who owns several cars and is selling a couple to fund some house upgrades.

anything too scary here?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Merced...lbpY-5&vxp=mtr

I've also contacted the sellers of these cars (thanks @strigoi for the links)
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto...675668027.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto...670121071.html

white one had a full PPI conducted in June which doesn't show anything major. car was serviced it's whole life at the dealer in santa monica/malibu but unfortunately they won't release the records to the new owner. waiting on a response on the maroon one

Strigoi

Are you dead set on an E55 or have you also thought about an E63? I believe you mentioned that you planned on leaving the car stock in the other thread.

You'll see on here a lot that people recommend an E55 if you're going to mod it or an E63 if you're going to stay pretty much stock. If you'd also consider an E63 that would give you some more options.

kiluminati616

head bolt issue scares the hell out of me.

has that been blown out of proportion?

Strigoi

I want to say that it has been. People seem to think that every M156 engine is going to have the head bolts fail. I've only seen a few cases of it happening on here (in the E Class section, I don't check others very often) and can only think of one that ended up with a destroyed engine. If you can find one that has had the updated parts installed there's not much to worry about. The updated head bolts themselves aren't terribly expensive, it's just a lot of labor to replace them.

I don't feel that it's nearly as prevalent of an issue as people make it out to be. I planned on changing mine and the only reason being that my mechanic was willing to do it for cheap. I have all the parts to do it in my garage, but I'm putting the car up for sale soon so I doubt I'll bother. He doesn't really want to do it just to have me turn around and sell the car right after either.

Yuille36

I've mentioned this in other threads, but I've owned three AMGs with the M156 engine, and none of them has suffered from failed head bolts.
This issue has been blown way out of proportion, so much in fact that everyone is afraid of buying an E63. But I will always have love for the engine.
As it was the first engine totally designed, engineered and built by AMG.

kiluminati616

interesting. looking online it seems that e55 and e63 are generally the same price.

I'll be honest - i haven't really researched the e63 at all. i heard of the head bolt issue and maintenance costs being a bit more than the 55 and crossed them off the list pretty quickly. thought i saw that full brake job for the 55 was around $500 and triple that for the 63

In general, is the 63 as reliable as the 55?

Strigoi

When it comes to brakes you can also run the 1 piece E55 rotors instead of the 2 piece E63 ones. They're just a bit heavier.

The upgraded interior is a bit nicer on the E63 and they have the 7spd transmission instead of the 5spd in the E55. Another thing to think about is the power delivery is very different between the two cars

I've only put 11,000 miles on mine in the last 2+ years and haven't had any issues. It did need engine mounts when I bought it, but those are a maintenance item. Other than that, it's just mostly been fluids.

As for reliability, I haven't paid that much attention to the E55s so I can't really say. I think it mostly comes down to the individual car and how it's been maintained and driven.

Might want to give this thread a read: https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...liability.html

C2 Turbo

The most important thing is the Budget, what is your?

kiluminati616

tw2

The headbolt issue is probably blown out of proportion on the boards here (where most people bring their problems). It is still a pretty unlikely occurrence, I would estimate (pure speculation) under 5% but if it happens to you it can mean a $1-2k repair or a new engine. I really like the E63 but I prefer the sledgehammer to the face torque of the E55. Drive both and see what you like. The 7 speed is heaps better. I also drove a 2011 E63 with the MCT and I like the older 7 speed much better. I used to think the E55 was more reliable but they can both be pretty expensive if you are maintaining things properly. There are lots of small things on the E55 which people often ignore.

If I was getting an E63 I would replace the headbolts one by one myself and address the lifters. $1k in parts and both issues addressed forever. Might cost a bit of labour if you aren't a fairly mechanically experienced DIY person, it is not the most straightforward procedure.

tlambert

florsh

?

Strigoi

Don't be sorry, you 100% should post stuff like that if you've checked out a car that's been posted from CL.

tw2

+1 save someone a wasted trip and if the owner is reading, they will know what they need to address to have a better chance of a sale.... or just take offence.

kiluminati616

Pmarino

Nice ride! decent price (if he has a stack of paperwork). Good luck with it. The statement I question is "The exhaust is tamed and not too loud while daily commuting". Headers, straight pipes no cats, no mufflers

w204_racing

E55NOVA

I have a 2006 E55 with 51k miles on it now. May consider selling next year.

06E55BEAST

So looks like there is a bit of talk about how "messed up" my E55 is.

Lets put some theories to rest here:

1. The user florsh (Jim) came to visit my car a month back and wanted to give me a hard time on 2 scratches that did not even hit the clear coat. Buddy, the car is 13 years old and garaged kept its entire life. You are telling me that not scratches are not inevitable?
2. The interior is trash? Please man, you need to quit the embellishing. The interior is in tip top shape. Yes the carpet was had a few leaves but really man who cares? You are talking about my car like it is some trash can when in reality it was note
3. You are salty because I did not take your offer of driving 50 miles to a "trusted" mechanic. Think about liability for myself. If something happens to my car when you throw it on a lift, the shop is not liable. There for I am out of cash. I don't even know your mechanic. Why would I trust him?
4. Having a check in hand prior to a test drive is not a big ask. It filters out those who want joy rides and those who are serious about buying my car
5. Ruining and defaming my car on a public board is not cool. I have plenty of text messages like the attached of you begging me to show the car to you. If it was truly trash, why would you continue to hit me up? You sound like a bitter ex girlfriend. Stop it.

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w204_racing

06E55BEAST

Can you point out where the scratches are? Would like to what you are seeing.

Thanks

w204_racing

tw2

Wow amazing colour. Never seen it before. Did you have interior photos?

Strigoi

Always 2 sides to every story. Glad to see that the seller is a member on here as well.

06E55BEAST