E55/C55/CLK55 AMG wanted - PS:New to MB!

[TheGrip]

Hi everyone. Just a polite request to ask for help to all you E55/C55/CLK55 owners on the MB owners club forum.
I am have been a long term petrolhead always looking for great fun cars to drive and always within a frugal budget.
I always buy 2nd hand and have had a Mark 1, 2 and 3 Mini Cooper S, Volvo 480turbo (less said about that the better), new shape Toyota Supra Twin Turbo, VW Corrado VR6 to the car I have now Audi S4 2.7 bi-turbo Avant (estate).

Whilst I love the Audi S4 Avant and am happy with the performance and spec, something is somehow missing from the driving thrill.
My Corrado sounded superb with the Miltek sports exhaust and drove amazing over twisty country roads where I live deep in the countryside and sung along A roads and motorways happily with a nice fruity exhaust note.
However the Audi is nothing like this and rather plain. In fact the only thing that turns heads is the Nogaro blue paintwork which is stunning.

I have been hankering after the E55 / C55 or perhaps a CLK55 or even the SL600 or something along those lines. The 5.4 V8 engine with 367bhp sounds wonderful and reading many reviews and videos etc... on TopGear and on youtube and the like makes me want one more and more for the simple thrill of driving it and putting a huge smile back on my face.

I don't drive many miles each week and maybe put on 8K at the most in a year with the occasional drive to the French Alps once every year or so.

I don't have a huge budget but will stretch to up to £12K if needed for a really nice example.
What could I realistically get for up to that budget?
I am drawn to the '04 galvanised models but will 12K get me one of those?

What are the pro's and con's to driving the E55 AMG/ C55 AMG models?
Where are the best places to search for such models?
MPG cruising at 70-80mph? (Audi S4 I get 28-32mpg crusing on motorway).
What are the costs for a general and full service?
Can the rear seats fold down to make plenty of room in the rear?

Looking at Autotrader and there are a few models but the MB used site has none in my price range thats for sure!

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[AMGeed]

Welcome to the forum Gripper

If you are looking for an E55, then I doubt you'll find a good example of an 04reg for £12k. Think nearer £15k, although an 03 model may be found. The W211 E55 is supercharged and is 476bhp so will give you an even bigger

Apart from Autotrader and ebay, I have found Pistonheads to be the best place to find used Mercedes and most of the models you seek are in the AMG section. http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/list.asp?p=1&s=326

Can't help you with the C55 or CLK55 but someone will advise.

 

[MarkCL]

Hi - in your price range for the AMG cars you're looking at either mint CLK55/E55/C43/C32 up to 2001/2 or else poor, high mileage examples of post 2002 cars (CLK55/C55/E55K) I'm afraid. If you can raise your budget to £15k you'll be in a better position for the AMG models around 2003/4+ age group, but really speaking you still need to add a wee bit more even to be sure of getting a good one. Also C55s are rare as hens teeth, and a really good one even more so - I know as this is really what I've been looking at next myself.

As far as the SL600 is concerned though you might be better off spending your money there - taking away the AMG badge also removes some of the costs The V12 though is a thirsty and complex beast in its own right and as such expensive to run and fix. As to your other questions, the non-supercharged 55s generally get around 25mpg average I've found, rising to around 29 at best when cruising within the speed limit. The C43 does better as it's a smaller engine, managing over 30 when cruising I found. The folding seats was an option on all these cars so you'll have to check on a case by case basis, but other than that they're all comfortably roomy. The only issues is getting baby seats into the CLK - if the seat fits then the kid won't has been my experience Servicing costs aren't too horrendous if you find a good independant specialist rather than dealers, but remember all these cars were around £50k+ when new and therefore some spares etc can be expensive if parts wear out/fail.

The V8 engines are strong as they come and are my preference, though the 55 kompressor in the 2002 and later cars is a beast to say the least with over 400bhp. The C32 is a supercharged V6 and as such the weak point is the supercharger/charge cooler system - usually it's the chargecooler pump that goes on these at around 60k miles or so.

If your budget is set at a high of £12k then I'd be looking for the best example of the earlier cars that I could find to be honest. Good luck though - I'm sure there will be other answers on here very soon

Cheers,
Mark

 

[TheGrip]

Really appreciate your comments and feedback as its certainly very difficult what with all the various models out there with the AMG engine and producing over 350bhp!
Simply need a little more room so thats why I went with a 4 door like the E55 AMG but dont want an estate anymore as I want more driving thrill than convenience transporting a bike or two.

Went looking yesterday at cars and saw a BMW M5, Jaguar S-TypeR and saw an E55 or similar coming the other way on the B3000 out of Farnham. A real beaut!
Trying to find an '02-'03 pre galvanised body and a '04 E55 AMG in the south is proving very hard!

Is there a resource somewhere with all '00-'05 models and spec in a table or something similar?

Thanks

 

[Developer]

Hello TheGrip and welcome.

On this thread there are E55's owned by some on here.

Not a sales site but if you like them then you'll enjoy the photo's

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=9872

 

[TheGrip]

Thanks I saw that thread and loved some of those E55's.

Would know what '00-'05 AMG models came as 4 doors with the V8 engine?
Been trawling so many sites and cars with plenty of 2/3 door options.

Did any come with a 5 door? Not counting the estates!

 

[Developer]

Thanks I saw that thread and loved some of those E55's.

Would know what '00-'05 AMG models came as 4 doors with the V8 engine?
Been trawling so many sites and cars with plenty of 2/3 door options.

Did any come with a 5 door? Not counting the estates!

Have a look here for AMG porn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-AMG

 

[TheGrip]

thanks for your help

Can anyone tell me what 4door models there are with the 5.4 litre 367bhp engines there are for '00-'04 models (as these are about my budget)?
And did any of these models have a 5th door (hatchback)?

Are the E55 AMG's pretty reliable?

 

[MarkCL]

There are no AMG hatchbacks I'm afraid. As to the 367bhp engine, this was only in the E55 up to the end of 2001 (W210 models) - from 2002 onwards it was the 55 Kompressor in the W211 model range. Like I said before - for the money you're talking, you won't find a good AMG model C or E class much past 2002/3 really, and the galvanised bodywork didn't return until the middle of 2003 at least.

As to reliability, as far as I know, yes they're all very reliable. Apart from things wearing out and stuff like the crank sensor dying (cheap & quick to fix), they're pretty much bombproof.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[TheGrip]

Thanks Mark thats all good to know. Something inside me says dont go for the V12 engines and I am definately swayed to the V8 grunt and sound.
Trying to find good examples of low mileage E55 (newer shape after '00) is really hard. Am not in a hurry so will bide my time and search for the best examples.
So BMW M5, Audi RS6 or AMG V8 Mercedes... hmmmm

 

[barley1111]

c55 available

I have a C55 November 2004 that Im trying to sell.
Low mileage 39300, good condition.
Loads of extra, bluetooth, ipod etc etc

Let me know if anyones interested

 

[MarkCL]

Well I am - depending on the rest of the spec, colour, service/owner history and most importantly...price I'm dropping you a PM with my email address. So you never know...

Cheers,
Mark

 

[daveskompressor]

e55 amg kompressor

my car could be for sale around £14000. 77k f.s.h. look at pics beautiful condition and very very quick.this car has a huge spec .p.m. me if you want any details.476 b.h.p and is very reliable cheers dave

 

[just240]

I have a C55 November 2004 that Im trying to sell.
Low mileage 39300, good condition.
Loads of extra, bluetooth, ipod etc etc

Let me know if anyones interested

Hi barley1111, did you sell your c55 amg? If not i would like to know more about it.

 

[EvanJones]

E55 amg

I have an E55 AMG Jan 2003 in silver which I bought a couple of years ago.
Supercharged 5.4 litre V8 476 BHP, 0-60 4.6 seconds, 0-60-0 6.9, four doors; I absolutely love this car -we even used it as the groom's wedding car when my wife & I got married. Comfortably seats 5 adults or 4 with a baby's car seat & the dog sits by the front passenger's feet.
Driving on the motorway I easily get 25MPG for the overall journey. Driving to work (65 miles each way) I tested keeping at 60 & got 28MPG although to be honest why would anyone do that with when driving one of these?...
I found that it doesn't really make much difference to MPG driving at 70 80 or 90 if you keep at a roughly constant speed. Driving up and down (and around) the roads in the Presceli Hills in South Wales gave a respectable 20MPG

The rear seats don't fold down however the the boot itself is huge & swallows suitcases, children's buggies (even lengthways) and just about anything else you can think of. An AMG is not something to cart things round in -although if you really want one that does then get an estate.

For servicing I take it to a local specialist rather that a main dealer; my office is above the Mercedes dealership in Beaconsfield & I know that they charge... using the specialists standard services are only slightly more than my old BMW 318is!

Sadly for me I'm looking to sell this car as we're looking to move house & also buy somewhere in Sweden (as my wife is Swedish) so this beautiful machine will need to go :-(
We're looking for around 12k for her; if you want more details email or MSN me & I'll send you details including a customised valuation from Auto Trader.

I can't offer any pros or cons of the E55 v C55, is the C55 supercharged? It makes a differnce to acceleration as you feel it kick. My favourite Youtube clip is this one - the sound of the engine is fantastic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRAAYeKvSk

Good luck finding your car

 

[Alex M Grieve]

I have an E55 AMG Jan 2003 in silver which I bought a couple of years ago.
Supercharged 5.4 litre V8 476 BHP, 0-60 4.6 seconds, 0-60-0 6.9, four doors; I absolutely love this car -we even used it as the groom's wedding car when my wife & I got married. Comfortably seats 5 adults or 4 with a baby's car seat & the dog sits by the front passenger's feet.
Driving on the motorway I easily get 25MPG for the overall journey. Driving to work (65 miles each way) I tested keeping at 60 & got 28MPG although to be honest why would anyone do that with when driving one of these?...
I found that it doesn't really make much difference to MPG driving at 70 80 or 90 if you keep at a roughly constant speed. Driving up and down (and around) the roads in the Presceli Hills in South Wales gave a respectable 20MPG

The rear seats don't fold down however the the boot itself is huge & swallows suitcases, children's buggies (even lengthways) and just about anything else you can think of. An AMG is not something to cart things round in -although if you really want one that does then get an estate.

For servicing I take it to a local specialist rather that a main dealer; my office is above the Mercedes dealership in Beaconsfield & I know that they charge... using the specialists standard services are only slightly more than my old BMW 318is!

Sadly for me I'm looking to sell this car as we're looking to move house & also buy somewhere in Sweden (as my wife is Swedish) so this beautiful machine will need to go :-(
We're looking for around 12k for her; if you want more details email or MSN me & I'll send you details including a customised valuation from Auto Trader.

I can't offer any pros or cons of the E55 v C55, is the C55 supercharged? It makes a differnce to acceleration as you feel it kick. My favourite Youtube clip is this one - the sound of the engine is fantastic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRAAYeKvSk

Good luck finding your car

A great post and some excellent data on your supercar.