Was looking around on the internet, found a 2002 W210 E55 amg w/ 33k miles. While I've heard about MB's reliability issues ,I was wondering what everyone thought about this year (apart from the NA V8)?
Ive read the coilpacks sometimes go out and it has MAF problems but is there anything else CL thinks i should look for or is it best to walk away and keep looking? Also its priced around 23k, is that a bit high?

As for title of the car, no idea if its clean or salvaged, ill look into it a bit more if everything else seems to be in order.

Thanks

 

W210 E55 and W209 CLK55 are very solid cars. I have a friend that has put near 200k miles on his W209 CLK55, and it's been very reliable. It has needed a new MAF, but that was after 100k miles. Another issue that he's had (which there is no fix for except costly replacement) is losing pixels on the small screen in the instrument cluster.

All in all though, it's been rock solid.

 

We have a W210 E430, Maf has been replaced, and another big issue is the window regulators, they like going out alot, we also just replaced the windshield washer pump, because it was slowly leaking washer fluid. Granted it rides nice, has plenty of pickup, and if you drive it conservatively you can average 25mpg 75% highway 25% city.

Now you're looking at an E55 W210, so I'm imagining there will be a tad more pickup, and a tad less mpg LOL.

 

Nice cars, but sounds expensive to maintain properly.

 

Yup, wonderful car, just have money to fix it. Check out MBWorld.com I go there time to time.

 

I would be a little concerned about owning an older Benz without a warranty. If you can get service records that would be great. Maybe the last owner already dealt with the MAF issue.

 

If you read some of the owner reviews and threads on various MB boards then you will find that most of the W210 cars are damn near bulletproof.

The W210 E55 is an excellent car. Especially one with only 33k miles they represent an excellent performance/luxury bargain.

Again, from what I've read, one of the most reliable Mercedes Benz cars you can buy.

 

mm thanks for the info, i have been checking out mbworld and have learned a decent amount. Just a quick question though.. the MAF sensor is that a problem that occurs once in the cars lifetime or is it more dependent with the amount of miles the car builds up?

Hopefully insurance will cover this car, (4 pts and some other no bueno info, no DUI or car accidents though ) then ill go check it out and hopefully be the owner of a W210

 

I've read that the MAFs are typically replaced due to age. IF I remember correctly they have a very affordable replacement part. The MAF replacement is not something I would worry about.

 

One of my closer work colleagues has a W210 E320 (gasoline V6). I'm not sure of the year but it's the pre-facelift version which has the boxier mirrors without the turn indicators. It's pretty nicely spec'd as well.

The last time I rode with him, he had over 500,000 km on it. My colleague is originally from Romania and he tends to visit his family in Eastern Europe quite often with this car. Seems like a pretty solid ride. If he had major problems with the car I'm sure I'd hear him complain since he's the type who has to complain about "every little thing".


One thing about the W210 I personally like is the very elegant design. It's classy and stately and extremely conservative but it has also aged well. I think this might be favorite E class in terms of design.






Edit: Just browsed through some German sites regarding the W210. Rust, especially underside and in the wheel housings, is apparently the biggest issue on these cars, especially if they were driven in environments which experienced heavy rains, winters etc. On some early common-rail diesels the injection system can stutter or fail after 500,000 km. The gasoline motors are pretty solid, but there's no info on the AMG V8, though.

 

At that price, you could get a W211 469HP E55 with just a bit more miles. In fact, if you're interested in the W211 E55, I have a friend who's about to sell his 2003..unsure about mileage, but it's also pretty low AFAIK.