Poor E55 AMG

[JustIgnore]

Seen on ebay:

mercedes e55 amg | eBay

Sad seeing an e55 in this condition. Could be a bargain if the description is correct.

 

[merc85]

Seen on ebay:

mercedes e55 amg | eBay

Sad seeing an e55 in this condition. Could be a bargain if the description is correct.

Just word of warning , Mine was in Good shape mechanically , ive still spent around 6k in a Year getting it upto a proper standard!

That one could be a very very expensive car... Its worth more than 3k in parts easy.

 

[AMGeed]

Seeing a car in this condition always makes me wonder why the owner doesn't do the necessary work to make it saleable. There are probably loads of problems with it and it will cost a fortune to fix.
It's not even been cleaned FFS!

 

[merc85]

I reckon the lump is goosed, SBC, Airmatic, Alternator, 2 batteries probably calipers etc as its been standing lol, Money pit

 

[mj2k]

Chances are one of the Ebay 'traders' will nab it, give it a clean, a dodgy MOT and stick it back on Ebay for 7.5k, warts'n'all...

 

[Alex]

Seeing a car in this condition always makes me wonder why the owner doesn't do the necessary work to make it saleable. There are probably loads of problems with it and it will cost a fortune to fix.
It's not even been cleaned FFS!

I know a chap around the corner at my work who has fallen ill and hasn't started his Brabus Vito in a year. It looks the same as that E55. The chap is putting it back together now with the help of a local garage and all it needs is brakes, fluids and a bit of a clean. Ill health is just one reason why people sell the cars as they are.

I reckon the lump is goosed, SBC, Airmatic, Alternator, 2 batteries probably calipers etc as its been standing lol, Money pit

The seller says it starts and runs. I put back and successfully sold a car that stood for 2 years. It started and fired up just as I turned it off. Spark plugs, consumables, belts - they are resilient motors. Now do the same to M156 and it's a financial suicide lol.

 

[mj2k]

I know a chap around the corner at my work who has fallen ill and hasn't started his Brabus Vito in a year. It looks the same as that E55. The chap is putting it back together now with the help of a local garage and all it needs is brakes, fluids and a bit of a clean. Ill health is just one reason why people sell the cars as they are.



The seller says it starts and runs. I put back and successfully sold a car that stood for 2 years. It started and fired up just as I turned it off. Spark plugs, consumables, belts - they are resilient motors. Now do the same to M156 and it's a financial suicide lol.

Mmm, there's no guarantee though. I rescued my Pug 306 cabriolet after it had been offroad for 2 years as an abandoned project - all it needed was a small weld to the floorpan, some interior work and a new cambelt, and it ran brilliantly for 2.5 years until I sold it last week.

OTOH I rescued a W124 which had been laid up for 4 years after the owner went abroad. Besides seized brakes and wheel bolts which had permanently welded themselves to the hubs, it had rust in just about every conceivable area, and several inconceivable ones too! I had to scrap it since it'd have been virtually impossible to restore. Engine still ran well though

 

[merc85]

Starts and run maybe, It may well be a Oil burner though, Still without knowing why it was laid up it's anyones guess. So much on these cars can go wrong i still reckon its a money pit.

 

[Alex]

Starts and run maybe, It may well be a Oil burner though, Still without knowing why it was laid up it's anyones guess. So much on these cars can go wrong i still reckon its a money pit.

The engine could be a toast but not impossible to fix. There's at least two 55K running with a 500 short block in the UK. Pistons could be a problem as they are NLA but then it is sold as a project so expect the worst and bid accordingly.

 

[mj2k]

The engine could be a toast but not impossible to fix. There's at least two 55K running with a 500 short block in the UK. Pistons could be a problem as they are NLA but then it is sold as a project so expect the worst and bid accordingly.

Wow, that's interesting to know; was thinking about maybe rescuing a W211 E55 in a few years when they become a bit rarer, but if pistons are already unavailable getting a good bottom end is going to be pretty important. Incidentally that's the main issue it's rival the Alfa GTA has got (well, apart from the rust and the iffy handling) - 3.2 pistons / heads have been unavailable for quite some time.

Are there any other W211 AMG 'gotchas', or is it all down to bottom end components?

 

[Alex]

I suspect in a few years a lot more components will be NLA so you may want to try and get one sooner. The engine is pretty good and under reasonable driving rarely goes bad. Swapping the short block out is the extreme scenario. You can always sleeve it like I did. Pistons then become a non issue as you don't need them ferro coated to prevent aluminium/aluminium galling. Other than the engine, it's an E class Mercedes so same rules apply like to all other 211 - SBC, Airmatic, etc.

 

[John]

I thought manufacturers produced parts for at least 10 years after the last model rolled off the production line?

Maybe even an EU law?

Or is it just down to the manufacturer to decide?

 

[AMGeed]

I thought manufacturers produced parts for at least 10 years after the last model rolled off the production line?

Maybe even an EU law?

Or is it just down to the manufacturer to decide?

Its 11 years since the last M113K engines rolled off the production line in the CLS55 so seems about right if it is 10yrs.

 

[John]

Its 11 years since the last M113K engines rolled off the production line in the CLS55 so seems about right if it is 10yrs.

Ah yes, good point.

I forget the E55 stopped at 2006.

 

[NAV8]

Now do the same to M156 and it's a financial suicide lol.

What do you mean by this lol ?

 

[Alex]

What do you mean by this lol ?

Some inside joke buddy, nothing to worry about

 

[Alex]

I thought manufacturers produced parts for at least 10 years after the last model rolled off the production line?

Maybe even an EU law?

Or is it just down to the manufacturer to decide?

Mahle is notorious for setting high MOQ (min. order qty) when it comes to ordering pistons. Pistons are not that big of a deal to make elsewhere (and for a lot less than from MB) it's the rings that is a bit of deal breaker. Switching to iron sleeves sorts both.

 

[JattAmg]

What do you mean by this lol ?

Don't worry he sometimes forgets to consume his daily medication, bless him.

 

[Alex]

Don't worry he sometimes forgets to consume his daily medication, bless him.

 

[RickyBurrows]

Hate seeing cars neglected like that especially an e55 people like that take cars for granted and don't know what it's like to walk everywhere in rain snow wind ect it's not hard to clean it every now and again and do the odd mechanical job