I decided to buy an AMG on a whim and did not need anything the size of an E class (I didn't really need another car at all) , I did (compared to others on here) the equivalent of 10 minutes of research and decided to go for a simple version that I liked the look of....C class estate.
I had no Idea that the C55 wagon was as rare as it is but what I did find out during my 'extensive' research is that it is about as analogue as you can get in this company. No SBC/ABC/XYZ/LGBT etc, no 'door closing assist' etc etc , a tried and trusted simple SOHC (chain driven) activating 3 valves per cylinder with 2 spark plugs per cylinder.
Adding to that it only makes around 350 odd BHP from a M113 5.4 V8 engine linked to a proven transmission unit rated at double the torque output that it is being served, I figured it must be a pretty under stressed power-train.
So at this point I started my extensive 6 month search for the perfect example making sure funds were in place so I could pounce when the perfect example popped up....not quite.
Bear with me. For years ALL of my work has been outside the UK , only the very odd work day or two in country so I had no need or desire to own a 'nice' car and in between being taxied/chauffeured to the airport or taking the train to Brussels and picking up a hire car my UK form of transport was a X reg Opel Astra that had been in our family from new.
That changed when I landed a local UK contract that just kept getting extended , the young (car mad) lads at work would take the pi$$ out of me with comments like " Bloody contractor on a million pounds an hour and driving his mom's" car etc etc , all lighthearted stuff.
One of the car lads asked what I liked the look of and I mentioned MB used to make a small estate car with a big V8 in it, I wonder what they are like? Within minutes using the power of smart phones and those blurred fingers the yoof seem to have when using them he had found one for sale at a dealers........15 miles away from where I was working and half way between work and my home !
Long story (a bit) short , I looked at it on the way home , test drove it the next day and bought it, my first Mercedes Benz . If it had been 30 miles North or meant taking a day off to see one 200 miles away I would not have bothered and I would not now be on a MB forum boring you all to death.
I did not even know than Comand and parking sensors were an option on the C55, (mine lack's both) , I had no idea that earlier models are half as cheap when it comes to VED ,thats how little research I did.
Do I regret it ? No , the car is my daily driver (although the little family Toyota Yaris is being use more during lock down) And for it's age and mileage the running cost's are acceptable, the beginning of the rust issue is more annoying (because it should NOT happen on a
premium car this young) but I will make my mind up on that at a later date.
Pound for pound you can not get into a more simple 'real' AMG to drive every day. What really worked for me is that I did not test drive any other V8 AMG cars and have not driven any other one since, Had I taken a supercharged E class or a C 63 for a test drive things might have been different...
Bug4life...just buy it....
