W210 E55s: Request pre-purchase advice on '99 and 2002 e55s
 

Well our beloved "Betsy" has gone to car heaven after valiantly saving my wife and 8-year-old from harm in a rear end collision. Now I am considering the AMG cars listed above. Apart from the CAN-bus system limiting what I can DIY (compared to the '96 E320) I would sure appreciate any info about weak points, maintenance headaches, and owners' wisdom on these cars.

TIA,
-Tom

Spring perches, of course, especially on a V8 car

I have a 00 E55 that I recently purchased and I really like the car.

There are a few things I would look out for.

Records indicating the MAF has been replaced
Dash cracks
Pixels out in the ODO (mine had been replaced)
Look that the rear window regulators have been replaced at some point, if not plan on replacing them.
If AMG look that the wheels are not cracked or bent.
Look for a transmission service, if it has over 100K and it has not been done watch out.
Make sure the bladders in the multi contour seats hold air (this is a common problem)

My father has had his fair share of AMG's and they never give him any problems. The 00 E55 that I have was well taken care of and I really enjoy the way the car rides and drives. One thing to remember is that these cars need a soft reset every few weeks. Once they learn your driving pattern they adjust for economy and can seem sluggish. This is quickly remedied with the reset.

Thanks guys.
Re the transmission; is it the same for the six cylinder which I understand could be problematic in its first years ('97-98)? Surely not. Do the E430 and E55 share the same trans?

I thought the spring perches were only a '96-'97 issue and only on the E320s? (I wrote the perch warning which became multiple stickies after Betsy coughed up a perch a while back, proud of getting published:))

I have spent too many hours searching these topics without clear answers so I call on the gurus. Thank you in advance. I am going nuts looking for a car we can afford - my wife was ready to (give up and) buy a minivan, that's how bad it's getting. This is a dire situation for me. Help.