Coming back.. AMG advice please :)

[Leemc2008]

Hello all again!!

Been driving around in a 97' 540i 4.4 V8 for the last year and a bit.. love it, its a great car and well kitted.

Can't help wanting an AMG though..

W211 E55k

Does anyone know where I can find a buyers guide, or perhaps someone can offer advice here.

I know the usual stuff, history, accident damage etc.. so talking about AMG specific stuff.

Cheeky pic of my 540i

Cheers

Lee

 

[developer]

There's lots of general stuff here.......

Mercedes-AMG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Leemc2008]

There's lots of general stuff here.......

Mercedes-AMG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for your link, but I'm aware of the car, its spec etc...

What I'm not sure on is the potential problems, typical inspection costs, intervals etc..

 

[John]

When checking out the car, try out the airmatic stuff in front of the gear lever.

Make sure the car raises and lowers, with the raise car button on the left.

Then make sure the normal/sport I/sport II button, on the right, changes the settings. It should be fairly comfortable with no lights (normal) and great handling with one light and really firm with two lights.

Also, if you are used to 286BHP, you will be familiar with a fairly fast pickup. In this, compare to what you have, it should seem ridiculously fast.

I had an Alpina B10 V8 with the same engine, albeit 4.6 and 347BHP, once upon a time and this blows it away.

If it doesn't, you might have a supercharger cooling pump (I think) issue I believe - or something along those lines.

Don't know about costs yet - mine is not due for a while and I bought it in March this year. Was quoted by an inde at the same amounts for a regular E class. However, any AMG bits required means the price multiplies by 55.



Reckon on £200 a corner for decent Conti or Michelin tyres.

One thing I did learn from here from a post was that apparently, those cars which have a vented grill above the upper centre vents probably have the wiring loom installed by robot (which has caused issues). After this point (late 2004), there is a mesh there which then means the loom was installed manually.

Whilst this doesn't guarantee anything, apparently this did go some way to resolving some issues.

Mine started to have electrical gremlins very early on, but they've since cleared up.

I put this down to damp, because it wasn't used for 4 months, and battery not fully charged. Since I've been using it daily, it feels like it has loosened up considerably.

 

[Leemc2008]

Excellent reply... thanks alot.

I see this as an alternative to an M5.. and already having an e39 I wanted something different!

 

[E CLASS]

I've been interested in a 740 4.4 version.

How have you found your 540?

If you get a mo would you mind writing up a quick review.

Appreciate they are totally different cars but they do share a lot of commonality - esp the engine!

 

[Adam230K]

How bizarre Lee... I went to a 540i from my 230K (albeit 2 of them), so I got to try the VANOS engine and the normal one too!

Welcome back

 

[BQF]

I have a 2004 W211 E55K, silver, 70k miles - still got 6 months of MB Warranty left (bought it at Christmas).

£17,000 if you're interested. It's top drawer.

 

[Leemc2008]

I've been interested in a 740 4.4 version.

How have you found your 540?

If you get a mo would you mind writing up a quick review.

Appreciate they are totally different cars but they do share a lot of commonality - esp the engine!

Sure mate, I'll try and drop you a PM later.. with any information I can help you with.

 

[Leemc2008]

How bizarre Lee... I went to a 540i from my 230K (albeit 2 of them), so I got to try the VANOS engine and the normal one too!

Welcome back

Having read reports about the lately M62 engines with vanos, I decided to avoid one and stuck with a pre-facelift model but just bought the best example that I could.

Has every single extra I'm sure, immaculate body and a full comprehensive history.. I know its not a sport but I quite like the fact its de-badged and know ones knows whats under the bonnet!

 

[Leemc2008]

I have a 2004 W211 E55K, silver, 70k miles - still got 6 months of MB Warranty left (bought it at Christmas).

£17,000 if you're interested. It's top drawer.

Thats for the offer, but I need to part exchange 2003 BMW 330Ci M Sport and including the part exchange my budget is about 15k.

Cheers

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Thats for the offer, but I need to part exchange 2003 BMW 330Ci M Sport and including the part exchange my budget is about 15k.

Cheers

For a budget of £15k you should be able to pick up an absolute peach.

The prices of the 211 E63 have hit £20k now and this is compressing the E55 market, which will work in your favour.

 

[John]

There is a nice 55 plate black one on Autotrader (SomethingSomething 55 JHT or similar).

This arrived on Autotrader as a part-ex being sold by Toyota. At the time (March), I posted on here if anyone bought it - it was up at £15,999.

Anyhow, it then disappeared for a week and then re-appeared dropped on at £16,999 by a trader and has since dropped again to £16,449 I think.

The only thing I can't stand about it are the burgandy seats but it is not bad pricewise for the mileage.

If it is a good one, I reckon you could get it for £15,000 on the nail if you push hard as it has been around for 4 months...