Hello all.

I am pondering over a decision to pursue a used Mercedes E55, either an 01 or 02 with no more than 65K. Although I haven't found "the car" yet, I hope to soon after a little research.

A little bit about myself, I currently own an Audi A8 that's been chipped has a Remus exhaust and H&R coil-overs. I'm telling you this because, before we get started I wanted everyone to know that I'm somewhat familiar with the cost of owning a fine German automobile and I expect the cost to be higher than average. This said, my last purchase (the A8) was an impulse buy, no research done on my part (stupid!) thus leading me (without my knowledge) to purchase the most ridiculously expensive problematic Audi that Audi has ever built! I swore to never do that again! So, here I am calling on you for some advice. From your own personal experience - What can i expect to go wrong with the E55 (between 60K and 150K- I keep my cars) and what should I look out for when purchasing one?

Is this a pretty typical list of repairs?
http://repairpal.com/mercedes-benz-e...ommon_problems

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated and I'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to respond.

Sincerely

Will (official car nut!)

 

Will,
That will be what the factory refers to the W210 E55. IMHO, it was one of the best NA AMG series that MZB produced. Simple, low cost (as compared to the SC'd W211) lighter (again, compared to the later W211's) good power, decent gas mileage, nice interior and lots of torque.
Your challenge will be to find a clean one with low miles. Speaking from my experience, mine was rock solid however, some had electrical gremlins. I still have some RENNTech goodies, if you find the right one.
GL with your search.

 

Great car for the money. I always loved them and still look current in stock form. Add even just some nicer monoblock style rims and you are set!

 

I have a 2001 S55 AMG, so it's more or less the same engine. It's been great, I have 124k miles on it. The S class is even more complicated and has more stuff that can go wrong vs the E class, but if you maintain it and get a good clean car you should be fine well into the 100's and above miles wise.

It's a fast car, even without the supercharger that came in 03 - my S55 is still quick and it's heavier than the E55, so it's definitely a blast to drive.

Here is a review I did of the S55, it may help as it does share things with the E55:

http://www.mbworld.org/forums/s55-am...mg-2001-a.html

 

Thanks so much for the responses.

D-Uber, thx for the offer for the goods. Exactly what type of Renntech goodies do you have??
Rondocap - thx for the link! Its my next stop.

In my org post, I also meant to ask if chipping or a remap would make any difference in the performance and would the cost to hp be worth it?

 

Mine had the ecu remap although, purchased car with work already done. So, can't compare to stock.
Still have set of RENNTech Monolite 18". 9.5 rear. 8.5 front w/good rubber.

 

I had an '02, and to this day, feel those were best looking and sexiest of all E class MB'z. Still miss my car today, and it stirs emotion when I see one on the road.

 

take a look "all around", I've owned 3 210 E55's. To me, the 210 is not exactly MB's finest hour. I suppose if you could find one of the last/latest cars, many of the issues would be worked out, but don't be too sure without checking it out. Every one of my cars had a drivability issue, namely, would go flat when you tried to really push her. I mean, it would absolutely fall on its face. I'm sure it was an electronics issue, and has been dealt with by now. But other W210 issues still remain, and you need to check these: Instrument cluster board failure (there are good aftermarket fixes), AC evaporator failure (spendy on all Benzes), window motors/regulators, and most incredibly on a late model Mercedes, rust. It is hard for me to believe that a car this recently built could have these kinds of rust issues (especially doors and rear undercar components). MB is aware of the problem, but at this point will do nothing to help. (They really didn't do anythinig to help then either).
I guess it just depends on how much you want to spend. With 03 211 E55's dropping so low now, I wouldn't spend big money on a 210. Of course, the 211's have issues too.
In any event, good luck with your search. YMMV.

 

As having experience has an MB master tech I thought I'd chime in here. Allen, your car probably kept falling flat on its face because of a failing Mass Air Flow sensor. This is very common on all the MBs that have one. The W210s are much much more reliable than the early build W211's (2003-2004). The site that you quoted for the common repair issues I find was spot on. One thing to watch out for, when you do have a slight transmission leak it most likely will be from the connector from the ECU into the transmission. Get this fixed sooner than later, should be cheap as it's just a couple of o-rings. If you wait on this repair, fluid has been known to travel up the harness and destroy the transmission ECU. Just a heads up.

Great car, pretty reliable, and very elegant. Love the car. Good luck in your hunt as they are getting harder and harder to find.