2003 E55 AMG - Benzworld.org

p100 · 04-20-2008, 03:50 PM

I posted this in the W210 thread, but would like to get some opinions on this:

I test drove a 2003 E55AMG which is for sale by a local dealer. I believe that it is a one owner trade in. The car has 27k miles and appears to be in mint condition. It has twin panoramic sunroofs. The asking price is $ 36.9k.

When I gave the car very moderate throttle at 60 mph speed, it seemed to downshift rather abruptly twice in short intervals. I was able to duplicate this at least three times. Not very pleasant, I have never experienced this in another vehicle. Almost seems like a clunky U joint or worn rear end. Also, similar experience when rolling to a stop. Sudden multiple downshifting, felt like an unpleasant series of clunks in the rear end, making continuous rumbling noise. This totally spoiled an otherwise superb ride.

This looks odd to me. A car as refined and expensive as this should not shift with a clunk like a 3/4 ton Dodge pickup truck. Let alone double downshift at the slight pressure on the gas pedal. Is there a problem in your opinion? Or is this the way it is designed due to its high HP and torque? I wish I could find another one of these to test drive to compare.

Any well known problems with this model year that I should know about? I read on one of BMW forums that the W211 class is the most unreliable MB ever built. This is very discouraging, as this car is already out of factory warranty. The power is awesome, spoiled only by forced braking on takeoff to prevent wheelspin (traction control can be deactivated I think), and this clunky strange abrupt shifting.

What is the fair asking price for this car? It is a low mileage car, which makes it very attractive. However, the sheer number of electronic gadgets has me worried already about repair costs, parts costs and long term reliability.

p100 · 04-21-2008, 08:24 AM

Any comments? Nobody has anything to say?

**Musikmann** · 04-21-2008, 08:41 AM

I was hoping to read the replies to your thread on this fourm too. I might have given you bad advice on the W210 AMG forum!

Fast55 · 04-21-2008, 01:29 PM

I couldn't begin to guess what the trouble might be without driving the car. In any event, I wouldn't even consider it without a warranty. It will never be as reliable as a W210, trust me.

clkgtr19 · 04-25-2008, 05:54 PM

The car sounds like a decent deal...but you will need an extended warranty for sure

Rocketralph · 04-28-2008, 09:54 PM

My best guess is that the supercharger clutch pack is the problem. On the 03 and into 05 the clutch packs go out at about 30k miles (ask me how I know - but the dealer fixed it under warranty). The replacement is an upgraded unit used on the late 05 to 06 cars. This is similar to the IC pump problems - mine was replaced under warranty also. Hope this helps.

Yacht Master · 04-30-2008, 06:06 AM

No warranty, don't even consider it.
The E55 is not the comfort/refinement car you may think it is
it is all about 500+ hp.
If you want smooth refined comfort get a E 550.

cretamk · 05-10-2008, 02:36 PM

I agree with yacht master. I owned an E500, which made decent power and was very smooth. Now I have an E55 which has amazing power, but not nearly as smooth during acceleration. But you have to expect a little jerkiness with the amount of power that it has. And I think that if the car doesnt come with a waranty, you are taking a bit of a risk. The parts on these vehicles are not cheap.

remgwagen · 05-11-2008, 07:18 PM

P100,
I am going to throw my almost worthless 2 cents in based upon my personal expeience with my '08 CLK 63 AMG Black Series: I am amazed by the performance of these cars. Much of what one experiences when accelerating briskly depends upon the shift mapping. Please forgive my ignorance... I have no personal experience with an E55. In my car, I have three shift maps: C (comfort), S (sport), and M (manual). These are selected via a small button adjacent to the shifter. Comfort mode is pretty much for strolling about... the shifts are gentle and downshifting, when accelerating from whatever speed, say 60, as you mentioned, might be a drop of one or two gears. Nothing radical or abrupt. Bear in mind that my car has the seven speed gear box which means that there are plenty of gears for the transmission to utilize at any given speed. When I opt for the sport mode, it's completely different: the gears are held deeper into the rev range and change more quickly which could be sensed as more abruptly. Likewise passing in sport mode... the car flat out moves and may be two or even three gears lower. Don't forget that both of these cars have relatively high rear end ratios (numerically lower) than cars of old to give better fuel mileage when in top gear at cruising speed. Because of that, they will downshift into lower gears for a quick blast of speed. That may be what you experienced. Perhaps the car was in sport mode when you road tested it.
The other thing I have noticed is the transmission downshifting itself when approaching a stop sign, indeed, even when I pull into my garage. Given the vehicles you list in your avatar, I suspect that this is a very different beast. Try selecting the comfort mode to see if the sensation changes or not.
I can't say anything with respect to the asking price. Look for a full service history and who did it. I think your local Benz dealer can bring that sort of data up on his computer if, indeed, it had services performed by a Benz dealership. By the tone of your post, I gather this is not a CPO car. If your seriously considering the vehicle, obtain some sort of warranty. If not, walk away from it, don't look back. The E55's are out there both in Florida and California.
Good luck!
REM

Sovereignbenz · 05-11-2008, 08:45 PM

For the bad shifting I would check the following. check atf level and pilot bushing, the electrical valve on the left side of the tranny for leaks. next I would remove the plugs from the trans ecu and check for oil. Oil travels through the wiring harness killing the ecu. Next I would run a diag check and if you have no current codes I would erase them, stored or current and reset the adaptations. I've found that If you do any ecu flash updates without erasing the codes, almost always the trans bangs. If though your diag check you have current codes, then you need to check one by one before you start with any evasive repairs such as cirquit board inside the trans. I assume that you have the 722.6 trans? Any dealer with a star machine should figure this out pretty fast. Its a common problem. As far as buying a car like this without warranty... unless you can afford heavy repair bills... stay away...