Another new project! Mercedes C55 AMG W203

[Sam87]

Hello everyone,

For someone that keeps saying he loves BMW M cars and is not that much into Mercedes, all I seem to be buying is only AMG's!

I have bought another Mercedes and this time a C55 AMG saloon

A forum member from m3cutters sent me a pm asking if I could have a look at a C55 AMG that he was considering to buy and asked what I thought of the car. I had a look, done some research and it seemed like a good car. The m3 forum member then said he was in two minds if he wanted to buy the car or not as he was a bit concerned to get an old car. In a joking way, I said to him he should buy it otherwise I will have it . He responded by saying no problem, I can pass you the owners details.
I felt a bit bad to then say no so I spoke with the owner of the C55 and arranged to go and see the car on the 1st of January. Most people want to stay home with their family on that day but oh no, not me!
I called my parents and told them they should come with me and my wife to go and have a look at a car . Of course they didn't say no as they know how crazy their son is about cars. The car was an hour away. We got there and met this lovely guy who showed me the car and we went for a test drive afterwards. Once we got back he asked what I thought of the car and if I'd be interested in buying the car to which my reply was, ''Well, I'm here now so no point to go back without a car'' .

He said he was selling the car as they wanted to start a family and didn't want a V8 and I replied by saying '' Oh, that's interesting, we're actually expecting our first child in a few months and I thought I'd buy another saloon car as it seems sensible to get a 4 door''

I paid the man and we made our way back to London. The car drove very well. It's only done 50k miles and it must be one of the last w203 AMG's as it's a 2007 model. It's also a UK car.
It lived in Chelsea most of it's life and then went to Hertfordshire. Now it's back in London to use the full potential of that lovely V8 under the bonnet by doing 20mph most of the time

Anyways, here are a few photos of the car











What are the plans for the C55?

To be honest, I'm still not sure why I bought it . I think what attracted me to the car was the fact that since the C55 has been out, in 20 years I can't remember ever seeing one on the road! It's such a rare AMG and a very underrated car imo. The idea of such a small saloon car with a very big V8 at the front, it just appealed to me. It also seemed like the right thing to do to try a non Turbo V8 AMG.
Yes an A45AMG or a mapped Golf R would destroy it but I wouldn't say it's a slow car. It pulls very well and the V8 sounds lovely. There are no knocking noises from anywhere.

I knew the starter motor was on it's way out and the last owner did mention it. First thing I did was order a new starter motor.

New starter motor fitted, put the car back together, went to start it, only click click sound.
Took the new one out, checked it and it was a faulty starter
Lesson learned, always check the part before fitting even if it’s a new one.
Ordered another one and fitted to the car.

Not fully fitted in this photo in case someone spots the gap on top of the starter motor



New front brakes for the C55 and it had the opportunity to meet the big brother ( S65 AMG )

The C class looks so small next to the S class.

This is why I love older cars, they were so different whereas now I can’t tell what’s a C class or an E class. Even the S class looks so similar to an E class!

upload phots

I also increased the speed limiter to 280kph and activated the computer to show how many litres of fuel the car has…. Well I say ''I'' but it was actually my friend that done these last two bits





I got the wheels refurbished in OEM finish [ hyper silver/ chrome paint the face of the wheels and diamond cut lip ]. They had been refurbished not long ago and were nearly immaculate [ apart from one wheel which had a small scratch ] but it was a normal silver finish including the lip and I didn't like that.
The place that refurbished the wheels were made aware how OCD I am and they were worried if they could get the finish I wanted but I'm impressed with the results!
Now I’m afraid to fit them on the car .
Pic's don't do the finish justice
This is how they looked before I sent them away.... Most people would have been happy as they were and I thought I could live with it as well but that didn't last more than 2 weeks



How they look now











The last owner told me there was also a recall for the sunroof and the whole thing was changed recently by Mercedes which I thought was a bonus to get a new sunroof!

This is where I am so far with the car.
I will update the thread as I get a few more things done to it. I won't be changing much regarding how the car looks as I think it should stay original even though I was tempted to lower it and get some genuine AMG 19's for it.

 

[petrolista928]

What a great looking thing! Congrats on the new acquisition - I'm in the process of bullying persuading a friend that he needs a C55 to ferry around the newly expanded family.

 

[MrGreedy]

One of my all-time favorite Mercedes alloys, those bad boys! Timeless, and not too bad to clean.

 

[Sam87]

What a great looking thing! Congrats on the new acquisition - I'm in the process of bullying persuading a friend that he needs a C55 to ferry around the newly expanded family.

Thank you!
They really are great cars and I'm sure your friend won't be disappointed if he got one

One of my all-time favorite Mercedes alloys, those bad boys! Timeless, and not too bad to clean.

Thank you!
I'm loving the wheels as well..... especially now that they've been refurbished in oem finish

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I’m a fan of the W203 AMG models. Both the C 32 and C 55 look very sharp but do not giveaway the performance which lies beneath. As you suggest, they’re not savagely fast by today’s standards, however in period you needed a Ferrari 550 to even inch ahead in a drag race. Remarkable cars.

 

[Sam87]

I’m a fan of the W203 AMG models. Both the C 32 and C 55 look very sharp but do not giveaway the performance which lies beneath. As you suggest, they’re not savagely fast by today’s standards, however in period you needed a Ferrari 550 to even inch ahead in a drag race. Remarkable cars.

The more I see the car, the more I grow to like it. Not one person that has seen the car has thought it has a V8 under the bonnet, they all think its a C180 or C200

 

[ALFAitalia]

I cant see any of those pics....just get these....

 

[Petrol Pete]

I have had mine , it' the estate , now those are rare, as pretty much a daily driver , lives outside , for 9 years now , 157K miles . I didn't buy it in the best condition but it's a pretty 'analogue' car that won't spring too many surprises , yours is low mileage and looks like it might have spent a lot of time indoors.

Just keep the rust at bay , don't waste money on any modifications and you will have a nice car .

And you are right , it's not going to win any races against more modern stuff, but lets face it, pretty soon no one in the UK will be allowed to drive a N/A V8 so IMHO it's nice to be able to own one now.

Same here

I cant see any of those pics....just get these....

View attachment 167151

 

[Petrol Pete]

The starter motor repair is an odd one at such low mileage , maybe did a lot of short journeys in it's earlier life . The M113 engine also uses oil , nothing to be worried about , some just sip , some just have a good glug .

AMG's own figures for M113 acceptable oil consumption is something mad like one litre per 1000KM (that would worry me) , someone on here will know the details , I carry a litre in the boot and pour it in when the dashboard asks for it , which is not that often and has not happened since I cut my oil changes in half (5000 miles). Keep an eye on it though as the M113 engine in this car has no oil pressure warning ...none, if it goes low , it goes bang . Also a very rare occurrence , I believe.

 

[Sam87]

I cant see any of those pics....just get these....

View attachment 167151

That’s strange! They don’t work on my phone as well but on the laptop the photos work fine
I’ll try to re upload them again if admin can help with deleting the last two posts. Thanks for letting me know.

I have had mine , it' the estate , now those are rare, as pretty much a daily driver , lives outside , for 9 years now , 157K miles . I didn't buy it in the best condition but it's a pretty 'analogue' car that won't spring too many surprises , yours is low mileage and looks like it might have spent a lot of time indoors.

Just keep the rust at bay , don't waste money on any modifications and you will have a nice car .

And you are right , it's not going to win any races against more modern stuff, but lets face it, pretty soon no one in the UK will be allowed to drive a N/A V8 so IMHO it's nice to be able to own one now.

Same here

Oh that’s impressive mileage! Nice to see you’ve been enjoying it as intended
I did think about possibly making some changes but I will leave it oem, just some very small changes

The starter motor repair is an odd one at such low mileage , maybe did a lot of short journeys in it's earlier life . The M113 engine also uses oil , nothing to be worried about , some just sip , some just have a good glug .

AMG's own figures for M113 acceptable oil consumption is something mad like one litre per 1000KM (that would worry me) , someone on here will know the details , I carry a litre in the boot and pour it in when the dashboard asks for it , which is not that often and has not happened since I cut my oil changes in half (5000 miles). Keep an eye on it though as the M113 engine in this car has no oil pressure warning ...none, if it goes low , it goes bang . Also a very rare occurrence , I believe.

Looking at the mot history, the car was doing around 1500 miles a year on average. Until 2020, it had only 24k miles and from then onwards it was doing around 4k - 5k miles a year. I think this is the reason why the starter motor failed.
I’ve read about the oil consumption. I will keep en eye on it, I’ve just done an oil change as soon as I bought it even though it’s not due a service. I’ve barely driven it since I got it but I thought I’d do around 100 miles or so and then change all the fluids and do a major service on the car so I know everything has been changed.
I read the oil breathers get blocked up and that can cause the car to burn oil?
Not sure if my one has ever had them cleaned.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

That’s strange! They don’t work on my phone as well but on the laptop the photos work fine
I’ll try to re upload them again if admin can help with deleting the last two posts. Thanks for letting me know.

I now see the same blue box message on my iPhone, but earlier today they displayed fine. If you can still the photos on your laptop then it’s perhaps because they’re being displayed from cache.

 

[Sam87]

I now see the same blue box message on my iPhone, but earlier today they displayed fine. If you can still the photos on your laptop then it’s perhaps because they’re being displayed from cache.

That could possibly be the reason
Post image was very slow today and I’m not sure if that was why all of a sudden they disappeared.
I’ve just sent a pm to one of the admin team and asked if he can delete the last three post with the photos I tried to post and I’ll try to repost them again

 

[Sam87]

I’m going to test it once more and see if the photos work…..




If there's not much love for the C55 on a MB forum, I can see why the car was never too popular

Another update for the C55 for those few that do like these models........ I knew I should have bought a C63

As most of you have seen by now, I tend to go a bit OTT with the cleaning/detailing. I thought I'd clean the underside of this car also.
Started off by removing the wheel arch liners, engine, gearbox and the underbody covers.
In 18 years, I highly doubt anyone had cleaned the underside of the car before. As you can imagine, it was a bit dirty underneath but no rust which is always a nice thing.

This is what I started off with

 

[Sam87]

 

[Sam87]

 

[Sam87]

 

[Petrol Pete]

Hello everyone,

For someone that keeps saying he loves BMW M cars and is not that much into Mercedes, all I seem to be buying is only AMG's!

I have bought another Mercedes and this time a C55 AMG saloon

A forum member from m3cutters sent me a pm asking if I could have a look at a C55 AMG that he was considering to buy and asked what I thought of the car. I had a look, done some research and it seemed like a good car. The m3 forum member then said he was in two minds if he wanted to buy the car or not as he was a bit concerned to get an old car. In a joking way, I said to him he should buy it otherwise I will have it . He responded by saying no problem, I can pass you the owners details.
I felt a bit bad to then say no so I spoke with the owner of the C55 and arranged to go and see the car on the 1st of January. Most people want to stay home with their family on that day but oh no, not me!
I called my parents and told them they should come with me and my wife to go and have a look at a car . Of course they didn't say no as they know how crazy their son is about cars. The car was an hour away. We got there and met this lovely guy who showed me the car and we went for a test drive afterwards. Once we got back he asked what I thought of the car and if I'd be interested in buying the car to which my reply was, ''Well, I'm here now so no point to go back without a car'' .

He said he was selling the car as they wanted to start a family and didn't want a V8 and I replied by saying '' Oh, that's interesting, we're actually expecting our first child in a few months and I thought I'd buy another saloon car as it seems sensible to get a 4 door''

I paid the man and we made our way back to London. The car drove very well. It's only done 50k miles and it must be one of the last w203 AMG's as it's a 2007 model. It's also a UK car.
It lived in Chelsea most of it's life and then went to Hertfordshire. Now it's back in London to use the full potential of that lovely V8 under the bonnet by doing 20mph most of the time

Anyways, here are a few photos of the car











What are the plans for the C55?

To be honest, I'm still not sure why I bought it . I think what attracted me to the car was the fact that since the C55 has been out, in 20 years I can't remember ever seeing one on the road! It's such a rare AMG and a very underrated car imo. The idea of such a small saloon car with a very big V8 at the front, it just appealed to me. It also seemed like the right thing to do to try a non Turbo V8 AMG.
Yes an A45AMG or a mapped Golf R would destroy it but I wouldn't say it's a slow car. It pulls very well and the V8 sounds lovely. There are no knocking noises from anywhere.

I knew the starter motor was on it's way out and the last owner did mention it. First thing I did was order a new starter motor.

New starter motor fitted, put the car back together, went to start it, only click click sound.
Took the new one out, checked it and it was a faulty starter
Lesson learned, always check the part before fitting even if it’s a new one.
Ordered another one and fitted to the car.

Not fully fitted in this photo in case someone spots the gap on top of the starter motor



New front brakes for the C55 and it had the opportunity to meet the big brother ( S65 AMG )

The C class looks so small next to the S class.

This is why I love older cars, they were so different whereas now I can’t tell what’s a C class or an E class. Even the S class looks so similar to an E class!

upload phots

I also increased the speed limiter to 280kph and activated the computer to show how many litres of fuel the car has…. Well I say ''I'' but it was actually my friend that done these last two bits





I got the wheels refurbished in OEM finish [ hyper silver/ chrome paint the face of the wheels and diamond cut lip ]. They had been refurbished not long ago and were nearly immaculate [ apart from one wheel which had a small scratch ] but it was a normal silver finish including the lip and I didn't like that.
The place that refurbished the wheels were made aware how OCD I am and they were worried if they could get the finish I wanted but I'm impressed with the results!
Now I’m afraid to fit them on the car .
Pic's don't do the finish justice
This is how they looked before I sent them away.... Most people would have been happy as they were and I thought I could live with it as well but that didn't last more than 2 weeks



How they look now











The last owner told me there was also a recall for the sunroof and the whole thing was changed recently by Mercedes which I thought was a bonus to get a new sunroof!

This is where I am so far with the car.
I will update the thread as I get a few more things done to it. I won't be changing much regarding how the car looks as I think it should stay original even though I was tempted to lower it and get some genuine AMG 19's for it.

It already has genuine 18' AMG wheels on it ( hard to come by nowadays) , fitting 19's and lowering it will bring nothing to the table.

 

[Sam87]

After all the cleaning was done, I wanted to paint the brakes.
It might seem boring to go for the same colour as I did on the S63 and the S65 but yellow calipers look so good in my eyes and I thought why not paint them the same on the C55.

After I cleaned them up and used different grades of sand paper, I painted them with primer first, I then had to paint the calipers white as if I had painted them yellow after primer, they would have come out a different shade of yellow.

Once they were painted, I added the AMG logo to the front calipers and then had the calipers lacquered.
I also painted the discs silver.

Here are the results




New front discs and pads fitted at the same time. Rear ones were also changed recently

 

[Sam87]

It already has genuine 18' AMG wheels on it ( hard to come by nowadays) , fitting 19's and lowering it will bring nothing to the table.

I agree, the 18’s are a beautiful design and they go so well with the car. I won’t be changing them

 

[Petrol Pete]

If there's not much love for the C55 on a MB forum, I can see why the car was never too popular

By the time the C55 was forced into being built MB enthusiasts knew the C63 was 'on the way' , fast forward 18 years and C63's are as common as muck , C55's ? not so much.