S211 E55K Estate on AT

[MikeInWimbledon]

Interesting and nothing in the photos to put you off. (Yes, that's blue inserts to the seats, continuing that AMG tradition from the W210)

Estates have to be priced as estates: they're rarer than saloons. Do you really want / need an estate?

But.....it's always about condition and service history with a twenty year old car, no matter what it is.

You can't take condition and service history for granted, as you would for a five or ten year old vehicle.

My view: worth a look, but could be dreadful, or could be good but just in need of a good detailing.

Given your E43 saga, I'm wondering why you're not looking for something fresher and a bit more expensive?


Rear seats? To my eyes a source of rattle unless you actually need them.

 

[rockits]

I rather miss mine. The cls is better in every way really but I did like the e55.
But they are getting old and even good ones are going to need money spent and it gets quite spendy. Add to that parts availability and down time is almost inevitable. Mine had been pretty much routine apart from the last year and I think I put nearly £5k into it before it went. Should have let it go to wbac before anything was fixed, I'd have been better off but it would be quite likely that it could have been the end of the road for that car and that would have been a shame.

Yes, I can understand that too. I would be happy investing some cash into a car I knew I was going to keep for a few years. I would be happy to do this for the E500 as it needs a couple of bits to get it up to scratch. Just loathed to do it just yet as if I replace it with an E55K it would be better to sell the E500 as it is cheaper. As you say you can sink some cash into it then sell for far less more than you just put into your car. Similar to what you were saying about your old E55K.

 

[rockits]

Interesting and nothing in the photos to put you off. (Yes, that's blue inserts to the seats, continuing that AMG tradition from the W210)

Estates have to be priced as estates: they're rarer than saloons. Do you really want / need an estate?

But.....it's always about condition and service history with a twenty year old car, no matter what it is.

You can't take condition and service history for granted, as you would for a five or ten year old vehicle.

My view: worth a look, but could be dreadful, or could be good but just in need of a good detailing.

Given your E43 saga, I'm wondering why you're not looking for something fresher and a bit more expensive?


Rear seats? To my eyes a source of rattle unless you actually need them.

Yes, ideally need an Estate as use it for work/customer jobs and often need to car a fair bit of kit. The Cayenne Turbo 955 popped up on the radar and I did have a Cayenne 955 3.2 V6 base for a while to tide me over before I found an E43. Not that it worked out so well in the end!

I'm not so fussed about older or newer car for what I need for work use. I changed the wife to an I-Pace recently that I've been really pleased with, so drive that mostly at the moment for non-work stuff. Drives very well and pleasantly surprised as much better than I expected.

Don't really need the 7 seats so 5 or 7 seat works. I had an XC90 4.4 V8 for a few years and found one of those recently too that would also be a good option. Just felt it made sense to go with a fast stealth wagon which is what the E55K does so well.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Yes, ideally need an Estate as use it for work/customer jobs and often need to car a fair bit of kit. The Cayenne Turbo 955 popped up on the radar and I did have a Cayenne 955 3.2 V6 base for a while to tide me over before I found an E43. Not that it worked out so well in the end!
I'm not so fussed about older or newer car for what I need for work use. I changed the wife to an I-Pace recently that I've been really pleased with, so drive that mostly at the moment for non-work stuff. Drives very well and pleasantly surprised as much better than I expected.
Don't really need the 7 seats so 5 or 7 seat works. I had an XC90 4.4 V8 for a few years and found one of those recently too that would also be a good option. Just felt it made sense to go with a fast stealth wagon which is what the E55K does so well.

All reasonable. I'd still make the case for a facelift E500, but it seems that I'm the only one "round here" that prefers 5.5 litre 385bhp Sindefingen engines to Affalterbach's finest. (Not that I have anything against the factory, it's the owners....)

People call me a "wafty old school," but I prefer Jaaag "Ton Up Boy."

Tell us about your I-Pace one day. I hear "mixed" stories, even though I know graduate Engineers developing their EV's. Would be good to hear a happy story, beyond the usual "tax break" logic.

 

[rockits]

All reasonable. I'd still make the case for a facelift E500, but it seems that I'm the only one "round here" that prefers 5.5 litre 385bhp Sindefingen engines to Affalterbach's finest. (Not that I have anything against the factory, it's the owners....)

People call me a "wafty old school," but I prefer Jaaag "Ton Up Boy."

Tell us about your I-Pace one day. I hear "mixed" stories, even though I know graduate Engineers developing their EV's. Would be good to hear a happy story, beyond the usual "tax break" logic.

View attachment 141276

I'm quite a fan of supercharged powerplants and enjoy the delivery of their power much more so than a turbo'd motor or even an N/A one even. So I guess that is why the E55K always left a bit of a soft spot with me. I also like an older 5 or 5 speed auto and not been a fan of most more modern 7/8/9 boxes.

I've been quite amazed by the clear engineering that has gone into an I-Pace and find it is a very comfortable, practical but also very very capable and dare I say fun drivers car. Effortlessly rapid but still with good steering judgement, great grip/handling and a nice place to be and sit in. With 4WD, twin 200bhp motors front and back. Looks a smaller car than it actually is and hides its size and mass amazing well. I couldn't afford or justify a new one but at just over 2 years old and cracking deals by Jaguar Q1 this year meant it was time to give it a bash. Works well for its use and home charging only.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I'm quite a fan of supercharged powerplants and enjoy the delivery of their power much more so than a turbo'd motor or even an N/A one even. So I guess that is why the E55K always left a bit of a soft spot with me. I also like an older 5 or 5 speed auto and not been a fan of most more modern 7/8/9 boxes.

I've been quite amazed by the clear engineering that has gone into an I-Pace and find it is a very comfortable, practical but also very very capable and dare I say fun drivers car. Effortlessly rapid but still with good steering judgement, great grip/handling and a nice place to be and sit in. With 4WD, twin 200bhp motors front and back. Looks a smaller car than it actually is and hides its size and mass amazing well. I couldn't afford or justify a new one but at just over 2 years old and cracking deals by Jaguar Q1 this year meant it was time to give it a bash. Works well for its use and home charging only.

Cripes, I didn’t realise how much they’ve depreciated. I’ve just had a look…

I’ll have to talk with my friends who had early examples. They had a lot of initial reliability issues and range anxiety. I’ll see how they’ve settled…

 

[badgx]

AMGmeister is really excited with his recent purchase of a preface lift W212 with the M156 engine. He should be making a few videos soon on his channel.

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[rockits]

Cripes, I didn’t realise how much they’ve depreciated. I’ve just had a look…

I’ll have to talk with my friends who had early examples. They had a lot of initial reliability issues and range anxiety. I’ll see how they’ve settled…

Yes, still not cheap in my eyes but at the price it still represents great value only because of how good I feel the car is.

Not had for long and not had any issues but time will tell how reliability is. I made sure we went for a later MY20-on car as they ditched the earlier twin main/aux battery systems that seemed to cause issues, updated the infotainment and made some other improvement/revisions. You can tell a later car from the earlier car quite easily as it has an eject button at the bottom right of the charging port panel. Easier to tell is the later cars have 40/20/40 split rears seats with the earlier cars having 60/40 split rear seats.

I was amazed by how good the ride and comfort is on the 22" alloys it came with and has the optional adjustable air suspension. I don't want the 22" alloys but the 20" so going to downgrade them to 20's at some point. It has tons of mechanical grip and gives tons of confidence in the corners. I just think the 20's would ride a smidge better, give slightly better economy and the 22" do look a little too large IMHO.
The only one thing I would say is on spirited driving with the two stage break regeneration set in low the brakes are not quite good enough. With the brake regeneration on high it is much better. Not sure if it is just this example or all. In normal driving it is of course perfectly fine.

 

[rockits]

AMGmeister is really excited with his recent purchase of a preface lift W212 with the M156 engine. He should be making a few videos soon on his channel.

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Thanks, that is interesting. I'll keep my eyes out.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I was amazed by how good the ride and comfort is on the 22" alloys it came with and has the optional adjustable air suspension.

It's the same old German vs Rest of the World suspension and ride quality "debate" that's been going on for three decades.

Our friends in Stuttgart and especially Munich, design cars in the context of German roads, while the French, Brits and Japanese design for surfaces that are more "unsettled."

 

[RossMB]

Interesting discussions going on here... especially as I own the blue E63 Estate for sale at the moment!

Ive owned two E55k estates, a C63 Estate 6.2, amongst other fast estates/saloons and Mercedes E class estates. For me at around the £10k price mark an E55k estate is hard to beat, is my E63 'worth' thousands more from a side by side comparison point of view, probably not. It is ball achingly pretty though in that blue

My first E55k was an 80k mile example with Eisenman back boxes that sounded epic and went like a steam train, never felt like it was going to break no matter how hard it was driven. Second example had 160k miles on the clock, LPG converted and was a higher spec example with an LSD and had been very well looked after but never felt quite as fast or solid as the first.

The E63 with 101k feels much like the first E55k, like I could lean on it all day long, sounds wonderful even totally standard and feels like the engine belongs in the car whereas I always felt it didnt feel right in the C Class, almost too big/powerful for the chassis. In the 211 E63 i think the steering and handling feels a touch sharper than the E55k but that might just be theyre older? Ive just bought an SL55 with the m113k and it has soooo much character in the SL, feels really looney esque and makes me actually laugh out loud.

Ive had E60 M5s, E39 M5s, RS4s, RS6s... If i were to buy another fast estate car to be properly used everyday - id buy an E55k Estate at around £10k

 

[Will]

Just on my way in to work earlier today I passed a ‘54 plate E55K wagon in what looked like designo blue - really bright and clean looking in the morning sun

GK54 something, didn’t get the full plate. Looked really smart (similar to the 2007 E63 estate posted earlier, but I’m sure it was brighter)

Definitely a ‘55K - correct brakes, exhaust, badges, bumpers, wheels etc

 

[rockits]

Just on my way in to work earlier today I passed a ‘54 plate E55K wagon in what looked like designo blue - really bright and clean looking in the morning sun

GK54 something, didn’t get the full plate. Looked really smart (similar to the 2007 E63 estate posted earlier, but I’m sure it was brighter)

Definitely a ‘55K - correct brakes, exhaust, badges, bumpers, wheels etc

It didn't have a for sale sign in the window did it?

 

[rockits]

Interesting discussions going on here... especially as I own the blue E63 Estate for sale at the moment!

Ive owned two E55k estates, a C63 Estate 6.2, amongst other fast estates/saloons and Mercedes E class estates. For me at around the £10k price mark an E55k estate is hard to beat, is my E63 'worth' thousands more from a side by side comparison point of view, probably not. It is ball achingly pretty though in that blue

My first E55k was an 80k mile example with Eisenman back boxes that sounded epic and went like a steam train, never felt like it was going to break no matter how hard it was driven. Second example had 160k miles on the clock, LPG converted and was a higher spec example with an LSD and had been very well looked after but never felt quite as fast or solid as the first.

The E63 with 101k feels much like the first E55k, like I could lean on it all day long, sounds wonderful even totally standard and feels like the engine belongs in the car whereas I always felt it didnt feel right in the C Class, almost too big/powerful for the chassis. In the 211 E63 i think the steering and handling feels a touch sharper than the E55k but that might just be theyre older? Ive just bought an SL55 with the m113k and it has soooo much character in the SL, feels really looney esque and makes me actually laugh out loud.

Ive had E60 M5s, E39 M5s, RS4s, RS6s... If i were to buy another fast estate car to be properly used everyday - id buy an E55k Estate at around £10k

LOL....that is interesting. I have looked at your E63 and been trying to justify it to myself but been struggling so far. Clearly a lovely looking car but being a newer FL E63 in that colour with the price then it pushes it into a different realm of thinking for me currently. How long have you had the E63? Is it completely different to an E55K? Less low down torque and more biased towards a punchier mid to top end?

I am thinking my current E500 will sell for circa £4.5k-£5k and thinking that adding £5k on top to get into an E55K would make sense. Just struggling to feel it is worth adding any more. In reality most of the time the E500 is all I really need so the E55K is a little superfluous really. Doesn't mean I can't try to make it make sense of course though!

I have been in contact with the seller of the Silver one on AT for £11.5k and have been honest. Just am a couple of K off at the moment. Of course if the E500 sold for more than £4.5k-£5k then I could justify a higher price to myself on an E55K but I won't know that until it is sold.

I don't need to sell the E500 first before buying a replacement but selling it first at least gives me a yardstick on where I could be on the E55K. The Silver one on AT for £11.5k has had some useful money spent but ideally will need an alloy refurb and a few other bits on the bodywork to tidy it up so there or thereabouts £9.5k-£10k would make sense.

Decisions decisons!

 

[Will]

It didn't have a for sale sign in the window did it?

Unfortunately not, not that I would have seen as I passed it.

Really random though considering the timing of your thread, and I am pretty good at spotting cars in general - can’t say I have ever seen it before

 

[rockits]

Unfortunately not, not that I would have seen as I passed it.

Really random though considering the timing of your thread, and I am pretty good at spotting cars in general - can’t say I have ever seen it before

LOL....only joshing. Interesting to see they are out there in the wild.

 

[RossMB]

LOL....that is interesting. I have looked at your E63 and been trying to justify it to myself but been struggling so far. Clearly a lovely looking car but being a newer FL E63 in that colour with the price then it pushes it into a different realm of thinking for me currently. How long have you had the E63? Is it completely different to an E55K? Less low down torque and more biased towards a punchier mid to top end?

I am thinking my current E500 will sell for circa £4.5k-£5k and thinking that adding £5k on top to get into an E55K would make sense. Just struggling to feel it is worth adding any more. In reality most of the time the E500 is all I really need so the E55K is a little superfluous really. Doesn't mean I can't try to make it make sense of course though!

I have been in contact with the seller of the Silver one on AT for £11.5k and have been honest. Just am a couple of K off at the moment. Of course if the E500 sold for more than £4.5k-£5k then I could justify a higher price to myself on an E55K but I won't know that until it is sold.

I don't need to sell the E500 first before buying a replacement but selling it first at least gives me a yardstick on where I could be on the E55K. The Silver one on AT for £11.5k has had some useful money spent but ideally will need an alloy refurb and a few other bits on the bodywork to tidy it up so there or thereabouts £9.5k-£10k would make sense.

Decisions decisons!

Ive always read huge debates about the M113k vs M156...

To be honest 90% of the time they feel really similar to me, the M113k hits harder earlier whereas the 6.2 gathers pace and feels like it just gets quicker and quicker - once its on a charge there is no stopping it - relentless power that absolutely sings.

To be fair id imagine an E500 probably does 90% of what an E55k does at twice the price, and the E63 S211 is once again more money possibly not for huge gain. I just fell for it as soon as i saw it - im a big fan of the S211 and prefer it to the 212, I also think the S211 E63 is a nicer all round daily than the C63 estate with the same engine.

 

[rockits]

Ive always read huge debates about the M113k vs M156...

To be honest 90% of the time they feel really similar to me, the M113k hits harder earlier whereas the 6.2 gathers pace and feels like it just gets quicker and quicker - once its on a charge there is no stopping it - relentless power that absolutely sings.

To be fair id imagine an E500 probably does 90% of what an E55k does at twice the price, and the E63 S211 is once again more money possibly not for huge gain. I just fell for it as soon as i saw it - im a big fan of the S211 and prefer it to the 212, I also think the S211 E63 is a nicer all round daily than the C63 estate with the same engine.

Thanks. Seems the same as me there and my thoughts too. Doesn't stop us wanting the E55K or E63 as you say. Yes, they might make less sense and offer slightly lesser VFM in comparison to an E500 but they still offer something a little extra that is worthwhile for many. The law of diminishing returns I guess.

I've always preferred an E-Class, 5 Series, A6/S6 size car over their smaller C-Class, 3 Series or A4/S4 equivalent to live with day to day. The smaller cars of course just feel a little tight in comparison.

I can see why you bought the E63 regardless of cost as it does look really nice in comparison to a silver equivalent. Something a bit rarer and different.

 

[badgx]

Just thought I add a photo of mine, its a really good example, very clean just gave it an oil change and filters. Coming out of hibernation from next month in time for a summer run.

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[RossMB]

Thanks. Seems the same as me there and my thoughts too. Doesn't stop us wanting the E55K or E63 as you say. Yes, they might make less sense and offer slightly lesser VFM in comparison to an E500 but they still offer something a little extra that is worthwhile for many. The law of diminishing returns I guess.

I've always preferred an E-Class, 5 Series, A6/S6 size car over their smaller C-Class, 3 Series or A4/S4 equivalent to live with day to day. The smaller cars of course just feel a little tight in comparison.

I can see why you bought the E63 regardless of cost as it does look really nice in comparison to a silver equivalent. Something a bit rarer and different.

Yeah The E63 really is a beauty, drives SO well. Having owned E55k estates previously when this came up locally I had to have a look!

Just thought I add a photo of mine, its a really good example, very clean just gave it an oil change and filters. Coming out of hibernation from next month in time for a summer run. View attachment 141313

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Dam thats stunning! What been done to make it sound like that?!