Mini Cooper S to W210 E36 AMG? Advice please.

[drainaudio]

Hi all,
Currently own an incredibly high spec 2005 Mini Cooper S with low mileage so would be pretty easy to sell for around £15,500.
It's a great car but lots of annoying niggles with these (it's my 2nd Mini), not sure I fancy owning it outside of warranty and I'm looking to re-locate to Berlin in the next 12 months so it's a bit silly to have a car of this value parked on the street in London.

Have seen that very nice E36 AMG's are available for around £7k which I feel is very reasonable for such a highly spec'd car.
Certainly not going to depreciate too much over a couple of years and don't think I'd feel so precious/obsessive about an older/less expensive vehicle.

Just after some advice really, I'd be looking to purchase through Mercseller or similar, so an example that has excellent history.
Are they as solid as they seem (the number of W210's doing taxi service in Germany seems to verify this) and would a good example be a hassle free purchase?
Any particular problems I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance, Geoff.

 

[JEZ.S320L]

...............Any particular problems I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance, Geoff.

Being constantly flagged down in the street?

Only joking (couldn't resist, sorry) - there will be someone along pretty soon to advise you.

 

[Legoman]

not sure I fancy owning it outside of warranty and I'm looking to re-locate to Berlin in the next 12 months so it's a bit silly to have a car of this value parked on the street in London.

Certainly not going to depreciate too much over a couple of years and don't think I'd feel so precious/obsessive about an older/less expensive vehicle.

ok imo the merc will attract more attention than the mini regardless of value , i deal with thousands of cooper S's and even the work's edition on the ships i load , there common as muck , look very similar to the normal version and dont ooze the quality the amg does , trust me when i say they will envy the amg badge more and attack the 'crosshair'

on the second bit , you will fall for the amg more than you realize , dunno what it is , but they just get you hooked. ive never rated the cooper and ive driven alot of new ones , but amg's of all types just leave me speechless

 

[2slow2calm]

Mate ditch the Cooper S, I actually don't mind them I think they are quite cool, but AMGs are a completely different league of car it's like chalk and cheese, they are all - if we were using the cheesy top gear cool wall thing AMGs would be 'sub zero' or in that little freezer they have. Even if you were comparing say an R32 Golf or an S3 Audi (both fun cars) I'd still say any AMG takes the overall cake without question.

 

[JEZ.S320L]

Mate ditch the Cooper S, I actually don't mind them I think they are quite cool, but AMGs are a completely different league of car it's like chalk and cheese, they are all - if we were using the cheesy top gear cool wall thing AMGs would be 'sub zero' or in that little freezer they have. Even if you were comparing say an R32 Golf or an S3 Audi (both fun cars) I'd still say any AMG takes the overall cake without question.

5th Gear burned the Top Gear Coolwall down - allegedly..!! Only burnt offerings left :roll:

 

[verytalldave]

Be well prepared for higher fuel and servicing/maintenance bills (MUCH higher).

 

[television]

Be well prepared for higher fuel and servicing/maintenance bills (MUCH higher).

I am deducting my fuel bills from my inheritance tax remains

 

[growla666]

e36 AMG

Hi, welcome to the world of E36 AMGs. I owned an excellent E36 AMG about 18 months ago, purchased form Mercedes of Lincoln (I think it was). Anyway, like all other W210s first thing is to check for rust. Open both front doors and pull back the rubber seals to see if there's any rust along the top. Also check the rear wheel arches and the engine mounts. These are places I found rust on mine. The boot locks go too. That said when I pointed this out to the Dealer they had the lot repaired and did a superb job. Car came back like new. The other thing to check is the head gasket. The M109 engine (rebored 3.2 straight six) has a weak head gasket, although mine didn't need replacing it did 'sweat' a bit, which meant it leaked a little. If you find one with that problem then take at least £600-800 off the asking price. My E36 was a superb example and a joy to own. Expect hefty running costs on these cars and around 23-27 mpg for normal running. Tyres, services (especially brakes) and other consumables cost a fair bit more than the bog standard w210. There are about 4-5 on autotrader at the moment but they have all got starship mileage so take your time to find a decent on with a full history (backed up with bills) . You'll know a well looked after one when you see it. They're great cars......

 

[100%Bitch]

Sounds like a bit of a no-brainer to me.