I wanted to get a 500e W124, but not many for sale now and I don't want to fly one-way cross-country to get one at this point. Anyhoo, considering buying an E55 AMG locally I saw on the ebays this morning. The auction ended, but you should still be able to see the details about the car here:

Amazing 2004 Mercedes E55 AMG E63 Front Clip 675 HP Many Upgrades Clean w Nav | eBay

I've had several european cars over the past few years, but I'm not really familiar with the E55 AMGs. A few questions:

-Do they come with a mechanical LSD in the rear diff. (other than the factory "traction control" which applies individual caliper pressure OR is it possible to fit an LSD?
-This car above has been modified, should I expect issues with any of the breathers/higher top end back pressure/leaking valve covers and fittings, etc.
-How often are the service intervals (other than oil changes), every 20K, 30K, or 40K?

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'66 VW Bus (Fuel Injecter'd, disk brakes, airbags susp., IRS, CLK rims)
'12 Chevy Colorado Crew 3.7 I-5

There is an entire forum dedicated to the w211 E55 over at mbworld; suggest you go browse there. It has all been discussed a million times.

To answer your questions: the car uses an open diff. The traction control can apply each rear brake individually to manage power delivery. There are aftermarket limited slip options.

Not a fan of modified engines. You can only add a bit more boost before beginning to run out of fuel. Cylinder #8 goes lean and then blows up. The HP claim in the advert is bogus, nobody is getting that kind of power.

Service is every 10K miles or once per year. The car tracks time and miles and tells you what is needed. Transmission service is every 40K. Brake fluid at 2 years. Coolant is 3 years, I think. Belts every 40k miles. Mtce is not too bad.

Learn about the more common problems and cost to fix them. It's a great car but can be expensive to repair.

Thanks this is good info. I did look do some checking yesterday before posting here, but all the articles I saw only discussed the stock E55 AMG of 469hp, nothing about modified and I didn't find anything out about the diff. only the aftermarket options popped up also. Will check out the forum over on MBWorld.

I'm going to look at the car on Thursday. If it's too loud or rides too bumpy then I'm going to pass on it.

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'66 VW Bus (Fuel Injecter'd, disk brakes, airbags susp., IRS, CLK rims)
'12 Chevy Colorado Crew 3.7 I-5

I just looked at the auction. That's far too high a price for a 115K mile '04. It's perhaps a $14K car. For that money you could be in an '05 with quite a bit less money.

I would not buy a car with a modified engine. If it isn't done right, the motor has a tendency to blow due to too lean a mixture. Buying used, you cannot tell if it was done right or not. Repairing or replacing a bad motor is about $10K.

Thanks for the suggestion. You're right the more I think about it, I'm going to check the place out that the work was done at, M Power MPower Houston: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Porsche, Nissan, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Maserati. Repair, Service and Customization

It's crazy how quickly these model Benzes depreciate. The 500e W124s I've been watching for a while now though all seem to be in the $12K-15K range. Maybe I should hold out for one??

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'66 VW Bus (Fuel Injecter'd, disk brakes, airbags susp., IRS, CLK rims)
'12 Chevy Colorado Crew 3.7 I-5