How much does your E55 cost you per year?
 

I am looking into purchasing an E55 and know that there are costs beyond just purchasing the car. I am looking to get an idea of what these cars cost for maintenance and service. How much does your e55 cost you per year?

Doing the work yourself or taking it to a shop? Lots of specialized parts on the specific car and they are going on 18 years old. All my 55 cars ( SL,cLS, and E ) go 2 to 3 thousand miles before something breaks. From cooling fans to window regulators to ball joints and steering racks.

i would not own one if I couldn’t repair them myself, it wouldn’t be cost effective at all.

I do not have a lift, so I would do as much work as I could on my own. I am young and just getting into cars so I would do my research and do as much work on my own as I could. Anything I could find a helpful or instructional video for I would do my own. I am an electrician so I have tools, but not tools specific to auto repair.

Really depends on luck.

I’ve spent maybe 1k in 10k miles but i’m a massive cheapskate when it comes to parts

Hmmmmm...Race fuel and nitrous refills.....$1,000 a year!

Will it be your primary car.?

Xentry diagnostic system or equivalent. Low to mid-hundreds of dollars.

Full set of Torx bits plus full set of E-Torx sockets.

3/8" and 1/2" drive breaker bars. 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive ratchets. Lots of extensions for the three ratchets; 1", 3", 6", 12", 18".

Torque wrenches; inch-pounds wrench, 3/8" drive foot-pounds, 1/2" drive foot-pounds.

Full set of combination wrenches. Don't forget the 15 mm and 18 mm versions. 21mm if you plan on working on the tie rods up front. Ratcheting box wrenches make removing/installing the oil drain plugs a breeze.

Triple square bits if you go into the rear swing arm inboard bushing.

The above are just the basic tools if you do not already own. I had plenty of tools previous to the MB but not the diagnostic system nor the Torx bits and E-Torx sockets.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post7492842

Here's my post on the major maintenance I pulled on my car to give you an idea:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ummary-2k.html

Barry knows his stuff. I have had to add tools coming from an American platform.. I keep $1500 for emergency repair. There are 3 major common problems where any of them would cost that at anytime. Do not use this money for maitence. Tires brakes oil changes etc. It's for larger issues SBC, Airmatic ,Fuel pump sending units etc

If you are DIY, it will cost less. If you are paying for a lot of stuff due to no lift, area to work, tools, etc. Will cost more.

It's also luck of the draw. You can have leaks, alternator, strut failure, belt failure, etc all within a few months, but then have no issues for a year..... it really varies.

I think I responded to your other thread, but I would go into purchasing one of these with the expectation to spend at least 50% purchase price on potential maintenance.

You could find a perfect one, drive it for 2 days, and have an air strut fail.... or you could be fine for a year. Just have your checkbook ready!

Can't you take SBC out of that now, with the new extended warranty? I know you might have to replace the accumulator but that is like $70 on FCP. BUt I agree, I keep $2K for emergency, I have to take to a shop, kinda work. I just got the air suspension visit workshop fault, a couple days ago, first issue with air suspension since owning car. it hasn't come back in a few days, haven't had time to hook up the DAS to see what the actual fault is, I am hoping it was just because my son spilled a little water right on the buttons in the center console, and that it cleared up! fingers crossed

No my primary car is a 2016 honda accord. This would be a weekend/fun car

Thank you I will look into this.

I plan on buying the most pristine well taken care of car I can find so hopefully luck is on my side with me willing to spend more for a better taken care of car.

Ahhhh...It's only money. We can't take it with us !! LOL

That makes a huge difference. I have drove mine 10k miles in 5 years. No problems. 2 tires, 2 oil changes and just replaced the Batterys last week. I drive it in warm dry weather only.

Back up car reguardless is always a great idea. And like LS! said he drive's in warm weather...winter driving especially if you have no garage is brutal to a car.

For me about $500 a year include the last big bill $2500 transmission...

I live in san diego so it would never see snow and rarely rain

very helpful. Thank you.

you had a transmission issue? From what I've heard the transmission and engine is very reliable on these cars

lol.. i spend more than that on tires per year.

nothing’s perfect, it happens

$500 tires per year ? wow... I drive about 4k miles a year in my E55 and rotate with CLS55.

Yes and I do transmission service every 20K miles. My mechanic told me too much power and torque so it's normal to rebuild after 100K + miles. They are good but not bullet-prove.
I had a W210 E55 2002, also had transmission issue sold it before need to rebuild.

Oooof I just updated my spreadsheet where I track all of my expenses since buying the car 20 months ago..... $8,146 :eek:

but that includes things I knew the car needed at purchase like brakes ($850) so that should be baked into the price

and me being a dope and putting all new tires on & repairing a cracked rim ($1,100) just to buy aftermarket wheels ($2,200) 7 months later after cracking 2 more rims

and me being an even bigger dope and not noticing my fuel filter was leaking until after the extended warranty had expired and having to pay for filter/pump replacement out of pocket ($1,600)

so if you don’t include the fuel issue & aftermarket wheels I’m at about $4,300. I kept the tires & brakes since it’s possible that would have been necessary. This also includes a front shock, rear dampers, ic pump, couple oil changes, lifetime alignments from firestone, tranny fluid change and some other random stuff. But I’m at a point where the car won’t need much more than oil changes & fuel for a while...at least I hope. I could probably skimp on some of the stuff but I hope to have the car for a long time so I’ve been on top of any issues