E36 AMG

[growla666]

Fellow Benzies,

Am toying with the idea of flogging the red SLK (98, 230 Komp) and buying what I've always wanted an E36 AMG. There's one for sale in Yorkshire, 66k, on 96 P, fsh at a dealer....trouble is the running costs are the only question mark. Does anybody out there own one and care to tell me what the look outs are when buying, the average running costs, problems, performance....and frankly is it worth it. Even more interesting...is it cheaper to run than an E55 or should I just go all out and buy the 5.4 V8 instead...members opinions greatly received

thanks

 

[mjtray]

Not many of those about!

From what I have heard the brakes are one of the biggest running costs, with disks and pads costing £££'s.....just check the disks out by running your finger across the face of the disk to the outer edge and if it has a big lip on the edge get the dealer to replace the disks before purchase.

Check out the engine for head gasket leaks. As you stand in front of the engine have a look at the left rear of the head and see if oil is leaking down the block...big ££££'s to put right. Also have a look at the front left and see if there is oil leaking down the block onto the alternator...could be head gasket or more likely the front timing cover gasket which is cheap to replace.

Then check inside the expansion tank for oil in the coolant.

I would have thought that the E36 would be cheaper to run than a E55 from an all round point of view, such as servicing, insurance, etc

Good luck

 

[growla666]

Mjtray, thanks for the advice...I'm picking it up on saturday from the Mercedes dealer and I'll be checking out those areas. Thankfully it comes with a 12 month Merc warranty and will have been fully serviced. I assumed the E36 is a slightly (sic) cheaper alternative to the full McCoy E55 as even my wallet shudders at a 15-18 mpg at £3.80 a gallon!!!

 

[mjtray]

Sounds good......post a picture at some stage

Cheers