Hello,
I'm not sure about this, but also not sure if this car is for me. Maybe I haven't used it enough to get more attached to it. Maybe it's a bit too modern for my tastes, I don't know. I'm just not 'feeling it' if you know what I mean. I have more attachment to my diesel Pug 205! It really is an amazing machine with insane capabilities. It's not just a one trick pony drag racer, the handling and brakes are equally as impressive. There is hardly any roll, dive or squat when using the performance and the car remains very flat and planted. Due to it's capabilities, there is no sense of speed until you are well and truly in to licence losing territory. It is just relentless and the rate of acceleration never seems to drop off no matter what the speed. Depending on road surface, the traction control light is flashing away even at 70 MPH in the dry!
As some of you on RR may remember, I have only had the car for about 4 months and only covered about 1200 miles in it. During this time I have made a few cosmetic changes to try and make the car more original. I still have the original Headlamps and also some original (facelift) door mirrors to fit which need painting the correct colour. I bought and fitted a new battery when I got the car. I haven't got round to servicing it yet but do have a set of 16 O.E. NGK Platinum spark plugs (the most expensive item at service time) and all of these items will come with the car. There were a few bits of trim missing inside which I have since sourced and fitted so it is all now nice and complete.
Exterior
As can be seen in the pics the car is in lovely condition. The paint colour is known as Obsidian Black and appears to be quite rare. It was resprayed at least 4 years ago (according to a thread I found on the Merc forum) so has not had any recent paint to hide corrosion. The fact there is still none present (door tops under rubber are spotless) would indicate this is one of the nicer examples in the UK. There are of course the vents fitted in the wings (2 owners before me) which are not original but are not so bad now that I have removed some of the other exterior 'mods'. Once the door mirrors are on and window tints are removed (my preference) I think it will look even better and the wing vents won't detract too much from it. The wheels on the driver side have had their lacquer removed on the rims so they are polished chrome. The passenger side wheels need the same treatment as the rear wheel has peeling/cracked lacquer. This is the only cosmetic defect on the car.
Interior
Again, the pics speak for themselves. The AMG specific 'Condor' anthracite leather interior is in amazing condition. It really is hard wearing as most W210 E55s I've seen seem to have minimal wear. All the electrics work as they should including the seats which are heated with memory function. The few bits of missing trim I've found and replaced so there is nothing broken or missing. At some stage the car has had the Command 2 system retro fitted which all works as it should. The Bose speakers are crystal clear. A digital TV tuner was also fitted at the time so this also works which is nice. I've bought an O.E. Sat Nav disc so that also works now
The only thing that does not work is the Air Con but as I haven't looked at this I don't know what it is. My plan was to get a re-gas done and then take it from there.
Engine
The car has just rolled over on to 126k miles. I don't know when it was last serviced (but various receipts do exist for parts over the last couple of years) but my plan was to do this asap once the weather warms up/is drier. I have the 16 O.E. Platinum plugs, so it just needs some filters and oil to complete the service items. The engine is very quiet and smooth and is barely audible at tickover. It doesn't burn excessive oil or use any water so is a healthy AMG V8. It is as you would expect bonkers fast! Commuting to work (a 60 mile round trip) it will do 28 MPG which is the same as my BMW E28 520i used to do! Even round town it's similar to the E28 but will of course gulp the go juice if you want to hear the noise and feel warp factor 9. The furthest I have travelled in the car is 110 miles and have also been stuck in a traffic jam for 2 hours with no ill effects so it's as healthy as can be. I would have no doubts driving the car to anywhere in the country.
Gearbox
This was one point I was careful about when taking on this car. I know how expensive maintenance can be on these modern (to me) computer controlled auto boxes as my Jaguar XJ8 taught me this! There is a receipt in the service history for a service being carried out at a Mercedes specialist at 100k miles, and from research it does not appear to be a difficult job to change the fluid, unlike said Jaguar. If I keep the car I will do this along with Diff fluid and items mentioned above.
Chassis
I haven't even had the car on a jack but all seems well here. I found some old front brake discs and pads in the boot and the ones on the car have minimal wear indicating the previous owner replaced them. The ride is quite hard but I suppose you can not get away from this as it needs to remain poised when being driven enthusiastically. It's definitely stiffer than my chums E320 W210. I think a bush or 2 will need to be replaced as it's not quite as sharp as it could be. This most noticeable at low speed on bumpy surfaces and appears to be an inexpensive fix from researching the Mercedes forum. I notice on one of the previous MOTs it has an advisory for a deteriorated bush on O/S Front which is likely the issue.
The main reason I am thinking of letting go is I fancy something a little older which will hopefully charm me with it's character. The E55 doesn't have much charm, it's more like a well built hitman! It doesn't need to be repeated that these early AMG models values are now on the rise, but as appealing as that sounds, I'd rather something that I can connect with. I am open to PX/Swaps, preferably something '80s and a 4 door petrol saloon (1 diesel is enough). An older Mercedes like a W123 or W116 would be very nice, I was once keen on the W126 but not so much now, don't know why <shrug>. Even a Toyota CROWN/Cressida to sit alongside my GT86 would be very cool but they are thin on the ground. I'm not desperate to sell but haven't got to the stage of feeling that it's my P&J. Maybe I need to keep it for longer for this to sink in, maybe I will kick myself once I see it roaring off down the road, I just don't know. Maybe there is someone out there who really loves these and will be instantly fond of it, who knows.
Insurance is very cheap on these if you join the Mercedes Owners Club. It's £250 for me with a 3k mileage limit. Car has an agreed valuation of £7000.
I think I have covered everything but feel free to ask any questions you need. Viewings/test drives (for the serious, insured buyer
are also most welcome as the car is taxed and MOT'd. The MOT is only until the end of March but I don't have any worries about that considering it passed last time with no advisories, and has only covered about 2k miles since.
Prices for these seem to be all over the place but I feel that £5000 is fair considering it's visual and mechanical condition. Yes there are cheaper cars out there and you are most welcome to buy one of those if you wish, but I think the price reflects condition. I think with a wheel refurb (return to silver) along with a few other cosmetic changes, to make it as original as possible, it would be a 7k+ car.
As I said, I am not desperate (or sure) to sell so no low ball offers as you will just be ignored. Pics below and thread to the car here retrorides.proboards.com/thread/192528/1998-mercedes-e55-amg
This pic was taken directly after discovering that the Headlamp washers do indeed work, hence the soapy water around the lights.
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posted image
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I'm not sure about this, but also not sure if this car is for me. Maybe I haven't used it enough to get more attached to it. Maybe it's a bit too modern for my tastes, I don't know. I'm just not 'feeling it' if you know what I mean. I have more attachment to my diesel Pug 205! It really is an amazing machine with insane capabilities. It's not just a one trick pony drag racer, the handling and brakes are equally as impressive. There is hardly any roll, dive or squat when using the performance and the car remains very flat and planted. Due to it's capabilities, there is no sense of speed until you are well and truly in to licence losing territory. It is just relentless and the rate of acceleration never seems to drop off no matter what the speed. Depending on road surface, the traction control light is flashing away even at 70 MPH in the dry!
As some of you on RR may remember, I have only had the car for about 4 months and only covered about 1200 miles in it. During this time I have made a few cosmetic changes to try and make the car more original. I still have the original Headlamps and also some original (facelift) door mirrors to fit which need painting the correct colour. I bought and fitted a new battery when I got the car. I haven't got round to servicing it yet but do have a set of 16 O.E. NGK Platinum spark plugs (the most expensive item at service time) and all of these items will come with the car. There were a few bits of trim missing inside which I have since sourced and fitted so it is all now nice and complete.
Exterior
As can be seen in the pics the car is in lovely condition. The paint colour is known as Obsidian Black and appears to be quite rare. It was resprayed at least 4 years ago (according to a thread I found on the Merc forum) so has not had any recent paint to hide corrosion. The fact there is still none present (door tops under rubber are spotless) would indicate this is one of the nicer examples in the UK. There are of course the vents fitted in the wings (2 owners before me) which are not original but are not so bad now that I have removed some of the other exterior 'mods'. Once the door mirrors are on and window tints are removed (my preference) I think it will look even better and the wing vents won't detract too much from it. The wheels on the driver side have had their lacquer removed on the rims so they are polished chrome. The passenger side wheels need the same treatment as the rear wheel has peeling/cracked lacquer. This is the only cosmetic defect on the car.
Interior
Again, the pics speak for themselves. The AMG specific 'Condor' anthracite leather interior is in amazing condition. It really is hard wearing as most W210 E55s I've seen seem to have minimal wear. All the electrics work as they should including the seats which are heated with memory function. The few bits of missing trim I've found and replaced so there is nothing broken or missing. At some stage the car has had the Command 2 system retro fitted which all works as it should. The Bose speakers are crystal clear. A digital TV tuner was also fitted at the time so this also works which is nice. I've bought an O.E. Sat Nav disc so that also works now
The only thing that does not work is the Air Con but as I haven't looked at this I don't know what it is. My plan was to get a re-gas done and then take it from there.Engine
The car has just rolled over on to 126k miles. I don't know when it was last serviced (but various receipts do exist for parts over the last couple of years) but my plan was to do this asap once the weather warms up/is drier. I have the 16 O.E. Platinum plugs, so it just needs some filters and oil to complete the service items. The engine is very quiet and smooth and is barely audible at tickover. It doesn't burn excessive oil or use any water so is a healthy AMG V8. It is as you would expect bonkers fast! Commuting to work (a 60 mile round trip) it will do 28 MPG which is the same as my BMW E28 520i used to do! Even round town it's similar to the E28 but will of course gulp the go juice if you want to hear the noise and feel warp factor 9. The furthest I have travelled in the car is 110 miles and have also been stuck in a traffic jam for 2 hours with no ill effects so it's as healthy as can be. I would have no doubts driving the car to anywhere in the country.
Gearbox
This was one point I was careful about when taking on this car. I know how expensive maintenance can be on these modern (to me) computer controlled auto boxes as my Jaguar XJ8 taught me this! There is a receipt in the service history for a service being carried out at a Mercedes specialist at 100k miles, and from research it does not appear to be a difficult job to change the fluid, unlike said Jaguar. If I keep the car I will do this along with Diff fluid and items mentioned above.
Chassis
I haven't even had the car on a jack but all seems well here. I found some old front brake discs and pads in the boot and the ones on the car have minimal wear indicating the previous owner replaced them. The ride is quite hard but I suppose you can not get away from this as it needs to remain poised when being driven enthusiastically. It's definitely stiffer than my chums E320 W210. I think a bush or 2 will need to be replaced as it's not quite as sharp as it could be. This most noticeable at low speed on bumpy surfaces and appears to be an inexpensive fix from researching the Mercedes forum. I notice on one of the previous MOTs it has an advisory for a deteriorated bush on O/S Front which is likely the issue.
The main reason I am thinking of letting go is I fancy something a little older which will hopefully charm me with it's character. The E55 doesn't have much charm, it's more like a well built hitman! It doesn't need to be repeated that these early AMG models values are now on the rise, but as appealing as that sounds, I'd rather something that I can connect with. I am open to PX/Swaps, preferably something '80s and a 4 door petrol saloon (1 diesel is enough). An older Mercedes like a W123 or W116 would be very nice, I was once keen on the W126 but not so much now, don't know why <shrug>. Even a Toyota CROWN/Cressida to sit alongside my GT86 would be very cool but they are thin on the ground. I'm not desperate to sell but haven't got to the stage of feeling that it's my P&J. Maybe I need to keep it for longer for this to sink in, maybe I will kick myself once I see it roaring off down the road, I just don't know. Maybe there is someone out there who really loves these and will be instantly fond of it, who knows.
Insurance is very cheap on these if you join the Mercedes Owners Club. It's £250 for me with a 3k mileage limit. Car has an agreed valuation of £7000.
I think I have covered everything but feel free to ask any questions you need. Viewings/test drives (for the serious, insured buyer
are also most welcome as the car is taxed and MOT'd. The MOT is only until the end of March but I don't have any worries about that considering it passed last time with no advisories, and has only covered about 2k miles since.Prices for these seem to be all over the place but I feel that £5000 is fair considering it's visual and mechanical condition. Yes there are cheaper cars out there and you are most welcome to buy one of those if you wish, but I think the price reflects condition. I think with a wheel refurb (return to silver) along with a few other cosmetic changes, to make it as original as possible, it would be a 7k+ car.
As I said, I am not desperate (or sure) to sell so no low ball offers as you will just be ignored. Pics below and thread to the car here retrorides.proboards.com/thread/192528/1998-mercedes-e55-amg
This pic was taken directly after discovering that the Headlamp washers do indeed work, hence the soapy water around the lights.
upload imgposted imagephoto hosting sites 
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