Before the E55 I owned an e39 M5 for 4 years. I was very happy with the M5, however, with 3 young kids & all their paraphernalia, life was getting a bit cramped in a 4 door saloon. So I then bought an immaculate 1995 e34 M5 Touring, great car, however sold this recently, as the M5 board had so many stories of engine problems. I then bought a 7 seater E 55 AMG Estate, what a brilliant antidote to a boring old MPV/people carrier vehicle & available in RHD (e34 M5 Touring was LHD only).
I am so pleased with the E55. It's been really well looked after by its 2 previous owners & only has 65k on the clock. First owner was a Hugh Padgham. It's quite an unusual name. I'm wondering if it's the same Hugh Padgham, the English record producer for Sting, Genesis, Phil Collins etc?
There is absolutely no rust nor dents whatsoever (MB did a partial respray under warranty apparently).
IMHO an even better put together car than the M5, with higher quality materials. Everything works perfectly & feels like it will continue to do so for a very long time still. Built like the proverbial tank & one of the last proper Mercedes, before the takeover of Chrysler disaster. I was apprehensive about getting an automatic after enjoying a manual 6 speed, however have quickly adapted & now value the turbine smooth transmission/engine and yet the pace of the car feels pretty damn close to the M5.
My kids now fight over who sits in the boot & no doubt wave at all the cars I routinely overtake in my sleeper estate. Not bad for a 9 year old car. These cars represent outstanding value for money...ssshhhh don't tell anyone!
One question please: I need to source a s/h Mercedes CD changer. I have seen a few on Ebay with fibre optic connections e.g. MC 3198. Does a 1998 E55 Estate have fibre optic connections?
BTW great website, compares well with the dark side i.e. the BMW M5 board.
Joe, re asking the dealer about the fibre optics, I spoke to my local one, all he could say, after being given the VIN, was that the car was fitted originally with the Audio 10 (currently got an Audio 30), but didn't know whether or not fibre optic cable fitted at the time. I've had a good look myself in the boot area (can't really see or feel much though as space quite tight), where the CD changer should go, but no sign of any fibre optic cable, so guess probably not. Next to where the CD changer should go, parallel to it & about the same size there's a big black metal box, with electrical wires running into it. Guess that might be an amplifier? There is a Bose sticker, just above it on the right hand side, next to the First Aid symbol sticker.
Regards
Chris
__________________
Chris
Sussex, England
1998 E55 AMG Estate
Previously owned:
1995 e34 M5 Touring
2000 e39 M5 Saloon
1995 e34 M5 Saloon
1991 Audi S2 Coupe
2000 BMW 320d Saloon
1990 Mazda MX5
Kawasaki ZX12R
Kawasaki GPz900R
Before the E55 I owned an e39 M5 for 4 years. I was very happy with the M5, however, with 3 young kids & all their paraphernalia, life was getting a bit cramped in a 4 door saloon. So I then bought an immaculate 1995 e34 M5 Touring, great car, however sold this recently, as the M5 board had so many stories of engine problems. I then bought a 7 seater E 55 AMG Estate, what a brilliant antidote to a boring old MPV/people carrier vehicle & available in RHD (e34 M5 Touring was LHD only).
I am so pleased with the E55. It's been really well looked after by its 2 previous owners & only has 65k on the clock. First owner was a Hugh Padgham. It's quite an unusual name. I'm wondering if it's the same Hugh Padgham, the English record producer for Sting, Genesis, Phil Collins etc?
There is absolutely no rust nor dents whatsoever (MB did a partial respray under warranty apparently).
IMHO an even better put together car than the M5, with higher quality materials. Everything works perfectly & feels like it will continue to do so for a very long time still. Built like the proverbial tank & one of the last proper Mercedes, before the takeover of Chrysler disaster. I was apprehensive about getting an automatic after enjoying a manual 6 speed, however have quickly adapted & now value the turbine smooth transmission/engine and yet the pace of the car feels pretty damn close to the M5.
My kids now fight over who sits in the boot & no doubt wave at all the cars I routinely overtake in my sleeper estate. Not bad for a 9 year old car. These cars represent outstanding value for money...ssshhhh don't tell anyone!
One question please: I need to source a s/h Mercedes CD changer. I have seen a few on Ebay with fibre optic connections e.g. MC 3198. Does a 1998 E55 Estate have fibre optic connections?
BTW great website, compares well with the dark side i.e. the BMW M5 board.
Regards
Chris
Nice car! I like the pre-facelifted W210 too! What options do you have? Do you have the 2-tone colour seats?
Thanks. It's got black monotone or they could be very dark grey leather, electric multi contour memory seats i.e. they move in all directions! These were fitted as standard though.
As the cars came more or less fully loaded as standard, the only optional extras I can find on my car would be the 2 extra seats in the boot, the Audio 30 radio/cassette hifi (an Audio 10 was originally fitted), with Bose sound system (there's a Bose sticker in the r/h/s in the boot next to the First Aid sticker & what I think must be an amplifier next to where a CD changer would go. The Brilliant Silver metallic paint was an optional extra at the time too!
Thanks. It's got black monotone or they could be very dark grey leather, electric multi contour memory seats i.e. they move in all directions! These were fitted as standard though.
As the cars came more or less fully loaded as standard, the only optional extras I can find on my car would be the 2 extra seats in the boot, the Audio 30 radio/cassette hifi (an Audio 10 was originally fitted), with Bose sound system (there's a Bose sticker in the r/h/s in the boot next to the First Aid sticker & what I think must be an amplifier next to where a CD changer would go. The Brilliant Silver metallic paint was an optional extra at the time too!
Regards
Chris
Do you have the glass moonroof option and the Parktronic system? My 1999 E55 sedan has all options except for the rear sunshade.
No sunroof nor Parktronic; I'm used to having a sunroof and I would have expected to miss one but I don't, guess the a/c is so effective. On the e34 M5 Touring I had, it had a double electric sunroof! Sunroofs add weight, so I'm quite pleased that my hasn't & is therefore lighter & meaner
Toying with the idea of tinting the windows, but I do like the classy blue tint. I understand that the blue glass already has some level of UV protection, however with young kids in the back, with strong sunlight, I really appreciated having privacy glass/tint on my last M5. Do you know anymore details about how effective the blue tint is, at cutting out UV?
E55 AMG Estate - new owner 
( jk that is according to my friend who owns E60 @ M5 board lol)
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