after nearly a year of saving and putting up with the crown vic, i was finally able to achieve my long time goal of the E55!! this car infected me as soon as i first drove it a few years ago, ever since then i've been determined to get one of my own. of course i couldn't part with my beloved LS, that just has too much sentimental value and not enough actual value for me to sell it, plus the LS is far nicer to use than the E55 anyway lol... but oh man once the Kompressor gets going all bets are off. the supercharged V8 in this car is an ANIMAL and doesn't feel remotely dated or obsolete. other than maybe a tesla i can't think of anything with as much immediate back-squeezing torque as this car. and THE SOUND... straight up muscle car hotrod heavy duty industrial sound. the new AMGs with their turbos and loud exhausts don't even make this same incredibly angry sound of this engine.

my particular car has only 91,400 miles, and was genuinely owned by one person in florida for the first 10 years of its life, before the person i bought it from had it shipped up here about a year ago. i asked him why he was selling it, he cited excessive fuel consumption for the type of commute he had and that he was getting pulled over too often lol... seems like it's working then! i had a mechanic around here who specializes in these cars that i've used before thoroughly look over the car and apart from minor service and maintenance related items everything checked out. seller was asking $13,333 and i was able to use a bit of these service items as some leverage to get the price at $11,333. a 500hp supercharged V8 mercedes for half the price of a corolla? no brainer to me... and honestly assuming you can do the labor yourself (which i can) these aren't THAT expensive to run, certainly less than a comparable S-Class or CL


things that need immediate attention:


tires, the rears are almost bald and it's even breaking traction in 2nd gear (which goes up to about 85 mph) so they definitely need to be replaced

intercooler pump, cost about $110 for the genuine bosch part and takes about 30 min to install. intake temps are way higher than they should be and the car actually goes into "slow mode" (supercharger doesn't engage) after doing a pull for a few min until intake temps drop again but this is a common issue with these

idler pulley bearing, the left-most pulley in the picture above has a bearing that's totally shot, goes clackity clackity clackity when it's idling and it feels like it's about to fall apart, which would mean no tension on the supercharger belt. bearing cost $8 and it's also a relatively easy fix.


overall i'm super excited to finally own this car and take it on some nice long highway road trips where it really shines. this seriously might be one of the best bang for your buck cars out there!

 

More cars need supercharging hah! Congrats, she's a beauty!

 

Super jelly lol. Love that gen E-class(looks a lot better than the square headlight model that replaced it) and that motor in particular. sounds great with the supercharger whine. It also makes more torque than the 6.2 liter engine that replaced it, horsepower is pretty similar as I think the stock 469hp rating for the 5.4 supercharged car was a joke, same engine in the S55 was rated for 30 or 40 more horsepower.

Also that is one smoking deal you got there. I can't believe prices have dropped that much, a nice 1st gen Cadillac CTS-V is still $15-20k. And those cars are complete garbage compared to the Benz.

 

I kid you not, in my last job, one of the execs had that car brand new, and I was in love with it. Are you able to DIY a lot on it? Interesting too how AMG was not inclined to cover up the motor with plastic, very sweet! Congrats! Please tell us more about it.....

 

What a gem! Congrats........ I know the torque is insane.

 

Congratulations. I did a full-review on an E63 AMG some years ago. That car was a beast. But be prepared for some high service and operating costs.

I agree. If you want to keep your license, take it easy with that right foot. The torque on this car means business.

 

there is a small cover that goes over the front of the engine that covers up the supercharger pulley, but i had it off for your better viewing! it is a surprisingly DIYable car, i mean the engine was built by hand so it must be possible to work on it by hand lol... there's a youtube channel "AMGmeister" and he actually recently came out with a video going over his ownership and running costs, and over 2.5 years and like 20,000 miles he said he spent under $900 on maintenance and repairs. if you're handy with a wrench and decently thrifty it is possible to own this car for not THAT much. boy can it go through gas though lol... it doesn't have to but if you start driving it hard holy crap does it burn fuel.

compared to a new E63, these seats are surprisingly soft and cushy, and the ride is pretty nice as well. eventually i'm probably gonna want to do the basic E55 mods, namely a pulley upgrade and tune, with some possible headers and cooling upgrades in the future. i should be giving it new tires today and my intercooler pump and pulley bearing should arrive tomorrow or sometime during the middle of this week.

one thing to understand is that this engine was SQUEEZED under that hood, there's not a lot of space between the radiator and front of the engine so some things can be tricky to reach, but not impossible. more pics and footage will follow...

 

Wow thats is a lot of car for that price.
Can't believe the old 55 AMGs are selling so cheap.
I think CL55 and SL55 can be had in high teens to low 20s.

I wish I had space for 10-20 cars lol def pick up a CL55.

 

That is because they generally cost a fortune to maintain and fix, if just a few things go bad it can easily cost the purchase price they are going for or more to fix them. I would love a Merc CL coupe, they are temping at those low prices but I know better, same with a 8 series, and Jag XK8 coupe.

 

I'll see a 2008 750Li with a sport package and start drooling...$17k? with 52,000 miles? My in-laws tell me no, don't do it...and one is a tech from Munich lol Kills me that a 2010 can sometimes be had for a couple grand more (2nd yr of new body twin turbo)?

But AMG's are special....almost sacred....

 

Nice E55, I really like the styling inside and out of that generation E class. I remember in 2003 drooling over the performance numbers it was putting out. 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds was unheard for a sedan, even a BMW M5. I remember talking to a co worker about it who was totally just into US muscle cars and he was blown away by it and really wanted one.

 

My favorite generation of E Class. Congratulations!

 

Congrats. I love the look of these amgs, esp. the CL AMGs.

As long as the last owner took care of the major $$$ components (superchargers, air suspensions, any electricals that came up...), you're good to go until the next interval

 

Ye im well aware - thats why i said if i had room for a 10 car fleet, it would be in the lineup to drive few times per month lol.
The air suspension alone is a nightmare on these cars.

 

Very nice, but my wallet hurts for you lol. Be sure you love it! Its going to be like dating a coke starved stripper LOL