Newbie looking for AMG E or S class

[Mattblack]

Hi all, just joined and looking for something more exciting than my partners Hyundai i10!

I noticed a E55 for sale reg GX54NYD £18975. Anyone familiar with the car?

Im thinking of popping down next week to view, and then professionally inspected.

 

[AMGeed]

Welcome to the forum

An E55 selling for £18k+ needs to be absolutely immaculate and faultless for that price.
I sold an 04 plate 123k mile E55 just over 2 years ago for £8k+. It was in good order with an excellent s/h.
Prices being bandied around now for 55's are crazy.
£18k+ could get you into a superior 10/11/12 plate W212 E63, albeit a pre facelift 6.2 n/a .

 

[badgx]

Welcome aboard. The mileage is ultra low and it failed mot twice in its life time. If its of any benefit, it should be ulez compliant and may enjoy a lower road tax? You also need to look at the specs too, hopefully for that price it's fully loaded with all factory options

 

[John]

Not familiar with the car but as stated, that is very pricey for that plate, even with a low mileage (which isn't always a good thing if the car has been used for short trips not allowing the engine and ATF to warm up).

However, I once arranged to go and see a car that dealer had for sale in 2018.

Phoned up in the first thing in the morning at 9 and arranged to see it at something like 16:00 in the afternoon.

On my way to the dealer which was a fair trip and they rang me at 15:45 to tell me they'd looked at the car and it needed washing and two tyres were bald and could we re-arrange.

So I told them to do one and ended up buying a car elsewhere.

Obviously you are buying the car and not the dealer but bear this amazing customer service in mind if you do have an issue with the car.

 

[badgx]

Found it, I brought my Hemi from them back in 2010. From the photo it really looks mint, although the offside rear tyre will need doing, I can see a bulge on the side wall, about 11 o'clock

 

[Doodle]

That would appear to be an instant MoT fail. If they haven't bothered to deal with that before advertising the car then what else haven't they bothered with, especially given the exceptionally punchy pricing?

 

[John]

I can see their lax attitude and poor customer service still continues then it seems.

Caveat emptor!

 

[samoht]

This thread is always useful when looking at Mercs of this era

GALVANISING of MERCEDES CARS | Bodywork

It is often asked, when did Mercedes start galvanising the steel panels of their cars. Some threads refer to Mercedes and BMW beginning galvanising in 2004. I have -from an unimpeachable source- the detailed picture concerning Mercedes. I set out the picture –model by model- below. C CLASS...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

a 2004 car will be galvanised, but that doesn't mean it can't rust.

you're right to get any car inspected - I think if possible, it's ideal to find a local Merc specialist, and ask if they can inspect it - they'll be able to see more than a generic AA/RAC inspection.

As mentioned, that's really top of the market; might be worth it *if* the car's truly in great condition. I'd look at some of the ~£13k cars too, though.

For that budget you could consider a post-facelift W211, which got the 6.2L engine, and also omits the SBC brake-by-wire system. This latter is great until it decides you've used the brakes enough times, and demands an expensive pump replacement.
Opinions differ on whether the 5.4L supercharged engine in the pre-facelift is better or worse than the 6.2 normally aspirated one; what's not in doubt is that the facelifts are newer cars, and the conventional brakes are one less thing to worry about.

You could also get a bigger, newer S63

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

or a CL63 if four doors aren't required
I'd consider a CLS55 or CLS63 also, same platform as the E55

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

As stated, road tax is higher (nearly double) on cars registered from 23 March 2006 onwards.

You'll want to find a good independent Merc specialist near you to look after it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

So the owner and the dealer have both decided not to replace an obviously faulty and dangerous tyre on a high performance car.

That tells you all you need to know about what other, less visible, gremlins may be hiding, that they’ve seen but you haven’t.

.

 

[SmartAmg]

Welcome.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Maybe some people assume most expensive is best, and they manage to sell cars eventually that way.

Based upon what I’ve seen here I wouldn’t be buying even a cheap one from this trader never mind a very expensive one.

Quite how they could advertise a car with a visible critical safety defect is beyond me, nevermind include it in a photo.

They’re either incompetent or assume that their customers are stupid. Either way I wouldn’t fancy getting issues resolved.

 

[Skd884]

No comand, offer 15k max.

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

 

[Germgh0st]

Welcome

 

[Mattblack]

Hi all, thank you for your words of wisdom.

Needless to say I will not be inspecting the said E55, I will look further into the E63,CL and CLS and especially like the wood(?) trim reminiscent of the Daimler’s I owned many years ago.

I will wait till something comes up for sale nearby, so I can check head/leg/shoulder room, as I’m 6’2 and 19st.

I owned a Lexus LS previously, and loved all the options as standard (and the room) but found the car a bit soulless, something you admire but do not fall in love with,hence my interest in an AMG !

 

[badgx]

Thumbs up to E63, great value for money and a future classic in my opinion. Key is to find a good example with regular service. I can see a couple on Autotrader. The brakes are awesome too, without the SBC and comes with 360mm floating discs. You also get the M156 engine, quoted around 514bhp out of the box, 7 speed transmission instead of the 5 speed nag1 transmission. And proper paddle shifters too instead of the button types. The leather seats feel a little sportier with pronounced side boulders.

 

[Matt58]

You’ll have no problems fitting in the E55 with comfort, I’m 6’4 and 17st (big boned)
Defo get any car you decide on checked by a good independent, as you can drop a lot of your hard earned on these beasts.

 

[John]

Yes, I am 6'4" and 20st and I found the E55K incredibly comfortable.

Make sure you try a CLS though if you are considering one as I found the roofline a bit low!

 

[Mattblack]

Hi all, that’s a regular problem I have with cars.

I hate banging my head on the roof,bashing into the B post because the driver seat is so far back and smacking my feet on the door when I get in and out.

And as for cars that are so low,that you have to put your bum in first and wiggle to get in…

Anyway, I’ve noticed that more imported cars are appearing on the market mostly from Japan.

When I rode motorcycles,imports are an excepted part of the market and I did own one imported from the States.

What are the pitfalls of an imported Mercedes from Japan?

 

[badgx]

Currently there is a silver W211 E63 Japanese import up for grabs, reasonably priced and lower mileage. There are no salted roads in Japan, so will be less likely to have any corrosion. The road tax will be cheaper too. Please get a quote from your insurance company to see if your comfortable with the price, should be reasonable.

As its an import, I'm not sure if the emissions are known to dvla and whether you would be affected in ulez zones?

Other than that your fine. The radio may need to be reset, this is minor and the dashboard will read both in km and mph too, so you should be OK.

Good luck with purchase

 

[E55BOF]

The radio may need to be reset, this is minor and the dashboard will read both in km and mph too, so you should be OK.

I think I've read that Japanese-market cars use different frequency bands to European-market cars, and if so the radio will not work. It cannot be reset; you have to replace the head unit.