500E
MB Enthusiast
Hey all, reviving this thread as I still have the W210 E55 AMG posted here and its a daily driver going strong!!! I have owned it since Oct 2016 and to be fair it has been faultess. I was recent considering changing it for a W211 E55 or a CLS55/63 but I think these W210 E55s will eventually become modern classics, especially if well cared for - what does everyone think?
Since I bought the car (some of this has been detailed above) I have had numerous oil and air filter changes, AC compressor replaced twice (mechanic mucked up the first one) and valve replaced, set of Michelin PS4s which are still great and have tonnes of thread, new brake discs and pads all around, brake fluid and coolant changed twice, engine mounts, gearbox mount, transmission oil and filter, fan belt, engine oil cap and seal, one coil pack as it went dead and MB plugs. I have also had the gear gaitor bushes changed (what a difference to the gear shift!) and I think one of the pulleys replaced along with the ARBs.
To cosmetically smarten the car up I have had all the alloys refurbished back to OEM spec, replaces the front bonnet star (was snapped off when I bought the car), replaced the Japanese stereo with a smart Pioneer bluetooth unit, replaced one fog light as smashed, replaced the windscreen lower covers, (not sure what they're called), changed the washer bottles, changed the oil dipstick, replaced the engine cover as the AMG chrome was flaking off and apart from that generally cleaned and polished it every week.
In terms of next steps I am thinking to keep the car for the foreseeable. Cosmetically the car has original paint and is therefore showing its age with various stone chips and some paint fade. Additionally some of the plastics and mouldings look out and want replacing. Therefore I may go for a full repaint or as detailers are getting so good a full detail - what does everyone think?
Anyway it wants the following to be near perfect (and to my taste) - keeping it all relatively OEM:
- Full detail / repaint to remove all the fading, stone chips and pin dents the car has picked up
- Replace the lower moulding plastic trims as they have cracked
- Replace the 'avantguard' badges on the wings as faded
- Replace the wing mirror rubbers as flaking off
- Replace the outer carbon door trims as they're worn/faded
- Repace headliner as it is now quite loose (perhaps black alcantera would be nice)
- Replace fan clutch as its faulty
- Replace fuel filter as it's never been done
- Replace valve cover gaskets as they're leaking
- Delete the exhaust secondary cats and central resonator (retain primary caps and OEM backbox) + fit X pipe
- All the interior speakers need replacing as two of them are beginning to crack (eek!)
The steering is relatively wooley and the suspension is quite soft now too - hmmm - so I think it would benefit from replacement of bushes all around a perhaps a new set of springs and shocks. It only has 67,000 miles but it is 17 years old now and all those components look original.
So quite abit of work needed but doing the above would really make the car show quality. It came from a nice part of Japan and then I have been the only owner in the UAE and I can confirm this car has NO rust!
Any/all advice is welcome - I will get some pics/a video of the car up soon as I want to start vlogging on it
Cheers
Bill
Since I bought the car (some of this has been detailed above) I have had numerous oil and air filter changes, AC compressor replaced twice (mechanic mucked up the first one) and valve replaced, set of Michelin PS4s which are still great and have tonnes of thread, new brake discs and pads all around, brake fluid and coolant changed twice, engine mounts, gearbox mount, transmission oil and filter, fan belt, engine oil cap and seal, one coil pack as it went dead and MB plugs. I have also had the gear gaitor bushes changed (what a difference to the gear shift!) and I think one of the pulleys replaced along with the ARBs.
To cosmetically smarten the car up I have had all the alloys refurbished back to OEM spec, replaces the front bonnet star (was snapped off when I bought the car), replaced the Japanese stereo with a smart Pioneer bluetooth unit, replaced one fog light as smashed, replaced the windscreen lower covers, (not sure what they're called), changed the washer bottles, changed the oil dipstick, replaced the engine cover as the AMG chrome was flaking off and apart from that generally cleaned and polished it every week.
In terms of next steps I am thinking to keep the car for the foreseeable. Cosmetically the car has original paint and is therefore showing its age with various stone chips and some paint fade. Additionally some of the plastics and mouldings look out and want replacing. Therefore I may go for a full repaint or as detailers are getting so good a full detail - what does everyone think?
Anyway it wants the following to be near perfect (and to my taste) - keeping it all relatively OEM:
- Full detail / repaint to remove all the fading, stone chips and pin dents the car has picked up
- Replace the lower moulding plastic trims as they have cracked
- Replace the 'avantguard' badges on the wings as faded
- Replace the wing mirror rubbers as flaking off
- Replace the outer carbon door trims as they're worn/faded
- Repace headliner as it is now quite loose (perhaps black alcantera would be nice)
- Replace fan clutch as its faulty
- Replace fuel filter as it's never been done
- Replace valve cover gaskets as they're leaking
- Delete the exhaust secondary cats and central resonator (retain primary caps and OEM backbox) + fit X pipe
- All the interior speakers need replacing as two of them are beginning to crack (eek!)
The steering is relatively wooley and the suspension is quite soft now too - hmmm - so I think it would benefit from replacement of bushes all around a perhaps a new set of springs and shocks. It only has 67,000 miles but it is 17 years old now and all those components look original.
So quite abit of work needed but doing the above would really make the car show quality. It came from a nice part of Japan and then I have been the only owner in the UAE and I can confirm this car has NO rust!
Any/all advice is welcome - I will get some pics/a video of the car up soon as I want to start vlogging on it
Cheers
Bill
