samoht
Member
I'm feeling like a little kid at Christmas this weekend, having today picked up my new 2007 C55 AMG Estate.
My journey started when I nearly put my back out craning 1 (one) suitcase awkwardly into my 350Z and decided to get something more practical, and proceeded through a general request for suggestions on PH which yielded dozens of good ideas What practical/fast/cheap car ? - Page 1 - Car Buying - PistonHeads UK , the decisive one coming from a C55 owner. I really love the elegantly curved good looks of this era of Mercedes, was happy with an automatic as I already have one sports car, and was keen to get my hands on my first V8.
A trip to Winchester to drive a dealer's example convinced me that I definitely wanted one of these cars, but definitely not that one Pre-purchase inspection of a C55 near Southampton? | General Discussion . The experience of driving a small, wieldy car with a big V8 really hit the spot for me, and the quest for a 'practical daily' instantly became a search for something rather more special.
This isn't this car's first thread here, Dammit posted shortly after he bought it back in 2018 2007 C55 Estate, laundry list | Parts, Maintenance & Servicing . In fact it was that thread which persuaded me that, since I'm determined to get a C55, his would be a good example to buy. There really aren't many of these cars around for sale, especially in estate form, and having seen the dregs at the bottom of the market I was keen to begin my AMG ownership experience at the other end. In fact my alternative was to get a car in from Japan, but the complications around ULEZ, time to wait for a good example to appear and be shipped, and the fact that this example was ready to go and fully maintained all tipped me this way.
Dammit was selling to upsize for more MTB-hauling capacity, and had seen a nice E63 up North The E63 I don’t own yet. | AMG Lounge , so offered to meet me at Stevenage station with the car, conveniently less than 40 minutes from me in Cambridge. The whole purchasing process went very smoothly, lubricated by shared interest, openness, and the excellent condition in which Dammit keeps his cars. It's often said that the ideal situation is to buy from a fellow enthusiast, and that was certainly the case here.
First impressions - the car looks almost new despite its 13 years and 99k miles. I like the parking sensors, never seen a roof-mounted display before but was perfect to help me escape the car park. The visibility is great and I like the way the bonnet slopes down giving you a clear view of the road immediately ahead, belying the cubic capacity that resides underneath.
This is the first automatic I've had, which took a tiny bit of getting used to especially the feeling that you have to fight the engine when starting to apply the brakes. Having said that it has a lot of benefits, makes entering roundabouts easier for one. I nearly got caught out by Mercedes' special parking brake, but after a few frantic seconds my mind dredged up a memory from a summer working at a car hire firm decades ago, and I found the release handle.
Taking it cautiously across a dual carriageway roundabout, a red Audi TT came past me at speed. As he passed I pulled out into his wake and instinctively squeezed the throttle, and this wonderful bub-bub-bub growl arose from behind - not super-loud, but enough to make me start laughing in the car! There was a single-carriageway leg of the journey later when I was behind another driver who was obviously keen to press on, so we both made a couple of overtakes when it was clear. The engine and gearbox team up well together, it's always 'ready to go' when you see the opportunity, so with the visibility makes overtaking straightforward, all underscored with that muted-NASCAR soundtrack and ample urge.
The car felt good in roundabouts, the steering has a reassuring weight and 'tips in' to turns nicely, you can feel the grip and it inspires confidence. At lower speeds when you try and spin the wheel quickly, I felt a bit of inertia in it, unsure if this is the PAS or just how it is. So perhaps not the best for autocrossing but in road cornering it's rather good. Overall I love that it's a fairly compact car (173cm wide) and feels wieldy with the good visibility and taut well-weighted steering, as well as the ever-present urge of the V8. Wrapped up with comfortable leather seats and plenty of space, the overall package is just lovely.
A few pics of the car in its new home, apologies that it's not been washed since the 70-odd miles of damp winter roads to get here today. It's on its 17" winter wheels with Pirelli Sottozero winters; the original staggered 18"s (also in mint condition) are now tucked up in my garage. The winters are same size all round so don't fill the rear arches, but that's a small price to pay for not crashing in the snow ;-)
I'm hoping to keep this car for five years or so, it seems to cover a lot of bases and be the perfect complement to my RX-7, which I love but is rather less adept in town, on long trips, or at carrying bicycles. First longer run will probably be to Yorkshire for a family Christmas, then fingers crossed travel restrictions are removed and we can make a Continental trip in 2021
My journey started when I nearly put my back out craning 1 (one) suitcase awkwardly into my 350Z and decided to get something more practical, and proceeded through a general request for suggestions on PH which yielded dozens of good ideas What practical/fast/cheap car ? - Page 1 - Car Buying - PistonHeads UK , the decisive one coming from a C55 owner. I really love the elegantly curved good looks of this era of Mercedes, was happy with an automatic as I already have one sports car, and was keen to get my hands on my first V8.
A trip to Winchester to drive a dealer's example convinced me that I definitely wanted one of these cars, but definitely not that one Pre-purchase inspection of a C55 near Southampton? | General Discussion . The experience of driving a small, wieldy car with a big V8 really hit the spot for me, and the quest for a 'practical daily' instantly became a search for something rather more special.
This isn't this car's first thread here, Dammit posted shortly after he bought it back in 2018 2007 C55 Estate, laundry list | Parts, Maintenance & Servicing . In fact it was that thread which persuaded me that, since I'm determined to get a C55, his would be a good example to buy. There really aren't many of these cars around for sale, especially in estate form, and having seen the dregs at the bottom of the market I was keen to begin my AMG ownership experience at the other end. In fact my alternative was to get a car in from Japan, but the complications around ULEZ, time to wait for a good example to appear and be shipped, and the fact that this example was ready to go and fully maintained all tipped me this way.
Dammit was selling to upsize for more MTB-hauling capacity, and had seen a nice E63 up North The E63 I don’t own yet. | AMG Lounge , so offered to meet me at Stevenage station with the car, conveniently less than 40 minutes from me in Cambridge. The whole purchasing process went very smoothly, lubricated by shared interest, openness, and the excellent condition in which Dammit keeps his cars. It's often said that the ideal situation is to buy from a fellow enthusiast, and that was certainly the case here.
First impressions - the car looks almost new despite its 13 years and 99k miles. I like the parking sensors, never seen a roof-mounted display before but was perfect to help me escape the car park. The visibility is great and I like the way the bonnet slopes down giving you a clear view of the road immediately ahead, belying the cubic capacity that resides underneath.
This is the first automatic I've had, which took a tiny bit of getting used to especially the feeling that you have to fight the engine when starting to apply the brakes. Having said that it has a lot of benefits, makes entering roundabouts easier for one. I nearly got caught out by Mercedes' special parking brake, but after a few frantic seconds my mind dredged up a memory from a summer working at a car hire firm decades ago, and I found the release handle.
Taking it cautiously across a dual carriageway roundabout, a red Audi TT came past me at speed. As he passed I pulled out into his wake and instinctively squeezed the throttle, and this wonderful bub-bub-bub growl arose from behind - not super-loud, but enough to make me start laughing in the car! There was a single-carriageway leg of the journey later when I was behind another driver who was obviously keen to press on, so we both made a couple of overtakes when it was clear. The engine and gearbox team up well together, it's always 'ready to go' when you see the opportunity, so with the visibility makes overtaking straightforward, all underscored with that muted-NASCAR soundtrack and ample urge.
The car felt good in roundabouts, the steering has a reassuring weight and 'tips in' to turns nicely, you can feel the grip and it inspires confidence. At lower speeds when you try and spin the wheel quickly, I felt a bit of inertia in it, unsure if this is the PAS or just how it is. So perhaps not the best for autocrossing but in road cornering it's rather good. Overall I love that it's a fairly compact car (173cm wide) and feels wieldy with the good visibility and taut well-weighted steering, as well as the ever-present urge of the V8. Wrapped up with comfortable leather seats and plenty of space, the overall package is just lovely.
A few pics of the car in its new home, apologies that it's not been washed since the 70-odd miles of damp winter roads to get here today. It's on its 17" winter wheels with Pirelli Sottozero winters; the original staggered 18"s (also in mint condition) are now tucked up in my garage. The winters are same size all round so don't fill the rear arches, but that's a small price to pay for not crashing in the snow ;-)
I'm hoping to keep this car for five years or so, it seems to cover a lot of bases and be the perfect complement to my RX-7, which I love but is rather less adept in town, on long trips, or at carrying bicycles. First longer run will probably be to Yorkshire for a family Christmas, then fingers crossed travel restrictions are removed and we can make a Continental trip in 2021
