Kevin - your call, you're already getting some good feedback here.

As for the W211 E55 and its potential problems, I agree they are lurking. However, I consider it the price of owning an incredibly engineered AMG Mercedes with close to 500 HP on tap. You either pay $100K up front and enjoy the car hassle free under warranty, or you buy it for dead cheap at $30K and you simply factor in $15-20K in repairs/maintenance for the next 3-6 years. You can't buy a car like that for $30K, run it hard, and not expect some serious maintenance. Everything on that AMG is expensive, from rotors to I'm guessing the AMG valve caps on the tires. :D Just MHO.

Good luck with whatever you go with, both are great cars!

Are you talking 450bhp or whp? I don't think you'll see that 100-150HP gain n/a without MAJOR work. Intake, headers, exhaust, and a chip. That's about all you can really get. I think to to get to 450hp you'll need a dyno tune, and not anyone with an SCT can tune a mercedes, so that'll be pricey, you'll probably need cams and compression there. Rebuilding the motor with custom parts I guarantee you'll see the other side of $10,000. So you've got $15,000-$20,000 in the car. I'd buy the W210 because you'll get a good price from the fam, do some mild bolt ons, some suspension work and call it a day. As soon as you try to go insane on the W210 you're exceeding the cost of a W211 quickly

My first thought was "just buy a 211." Didn't post that up because I didn't want to rain on anyone's parade, but it looks like I'm in the comfortable majority. The mods are a lot of money to spend on a 210 E55, and you won't get any of it back when you sell the car - it's 100% sunk cost.

I've driven everything - 124.036, 210 E55, 211 E55, 211 E63, 212 E63 - and the 211 E55 really stands out if you want brute power. It is nothing like the naturally aspirated cars. It's unrefined in comparison, it's brutal, it makes huge amounts of power right from idle. I think of it as a muscle car more than a sports sedan.

The driving feel of a 211 is not all that different from a 210. No big surprise, the cars are not that different - similar size, similar weight, similar suspension design. If you like a 210, you won't be disappointed with a 211. Steering is light but accurate. Absolute grip is quite good, though of course dynamics are a challenge on such a large, heavy sedan.

I don't know that ownership costs on a 211 are all that much higher than a 210. The SBC brakes have a 10 year warranty, so that's covered. The 722.6 trans is going to be about the same cost. The 5.4 liter V8 is substantially the same. So the main differences seem to be the supercharger and air suspension.

Airmatic ain't that bad. There is a reliable strut rebuilder for $400, and they are easy to replace. The pump doesn't go bad unless you ignore a leak too long. And it does offer a more impressive ride/handling compromise than any coil sprung car I've spent time in.

Superchargers are pretty reliable, if not infallible. But hey, look at all the window regulators you won't have to replace. :)

BTW, rotors on a 211 E55 are only about $100 each. The E63 went to a 2 piece rotor, and it costs almost 10 times as much.

I don't think you're going to get near 100HP/liter out of a naturally aspirated 3-valve, SOHC motor.

OK, this has been more than a bit rambling, but isn't meant to be a sales pitch for a 211. Rather, if you can be happy with the 210 without dropping a bunch of coin on it, then it makes sense. But if you got to have a bunch more performance, I feel you are better off just going for a 211. They're not that scary - I have one!

- JimY

JimY - great info, thanks for sharing!

I'd go with the W211 as well. As you prob know, modding won't help the resale value on the 210...

I owned a W210 E55. It was a great car, but had the typical body rust issues. Perch springs were okay however.

I "upgraded" to a bi-turbo S600, but should have taken a smaller step towards the W211 s/c car instead.

Iirc you can get an airmatic pump for under $400 and it's about 3 hours labor, at least on the W220. Mine went south at about 55k miles. :rolleyes:

Here ya go...

'06 Kleeman E55 600+ HP!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VERY-Unique-2006-E55-AMG-Kleemann-/300426161418?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item45f2cb6d0a#ht_675wt_1167

Goes to show mods add nothing to the value. Its a $140,000 car with 13,000 miles and probably won't bring much over $40k.

That said, would I mod my E55... hellz yeah!

Sorry for not replying guys, I had a number of computers blow up at work and I've had a hell of a week getting them all replaced and going again. Anyhow.

I understand the reasoning behind everyone's recommendations to go with a 211, but I'm not going to go that route. For my needs, wants, and intended use, a modified 210 is a substantially better car, irrespective of whether it ends up costing more or less than a 211.

And since it seems that I can't track down much in the way of hard numbers to quantify the effect that various parts the aftermarket has for the 210 beyond 1/4 mile timeslips, I suppose I'm just going to have to do it and find out what can be done. We'll see what happens when my parents are ready to sell it in a few months.


Yeah, I tend to agree with your assessment on the handling; even just replacing the tires with something like the Dunlop D1 * Specs would be a big help. And I don't know what the AMG Monoblocks weigh offhand but they look heavy as hell and I doubt they do any favors for brake cooling, either.

With respect to the STI, I haven't hit the track with it as much as I could have. I actually had my 560 out more often than I have the STI. And the E55, by nature-even stock-is a much more challenging car to drive fast than the Subaru is. Between the AWD and the light weight the STI is very much a "point and shoot" car so to speak. You pretty much aim it where you want it to go and punch it. I'm well aware of what happens when you do that in the E55 with the ESP off. :D