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C55 AMG Values


MrDoctor
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I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how much I should pay for this car.

It's 1 owner, 2006, 106k miles, maintenance records(not sure what was done), new tires/shocks/struts(claimed, not verified), has the wood trim option for interior....asking $9.9k, but I think that's a little on the steep side.

Any clue how much its worth? I'm checking it out later today so need to look over it for any other problems it may have. I can't find any comparables/not a whole lot of transaction history for this model 

 

 

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A lot of AMG engines from that era have head bolt issues. Not sure if this model is one of them. I believe it is around $4k as a preventative maintenance measure, a lot more if they fail. I wouldn't one touch one if it hasn't been done.

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20 hours ago, kinnsella said:

A lot of AMG engines from that era have head bolt issues. Not sure if this model is one of them. I believe it is around $4k as a preventative maintenance measure, a lot more if they fail. I wouldn't one touch one if it hasn't been done.

This engine is bulletproof.

 

The m156 engine in the 63AMG from 07-10 had the headbolt issues

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7 hours ago, jtrump said:

This engine is bulletproof.

 

The m156 engine in the 63AMG from 07-10 had the headbolt issues

Yes, this seems to be the case. Loving the car so far:

 

 

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10 hours ago, emanon said:

Sweet!  Can you swap the blower from the big 55 cars on it?  

 

You can but it’s not worth the trouble  I can supercharge it for $10k but I wouldn’t go FI unless it was from the factory  I bought this car mainly for the NA V8 engine  they’ll never make another like this  sadly  . Turbos and superchagrers are great but the newer cars provide less feedback than from cars in this era IMO  the power delivery is just ridiculous 

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That'll be a fun car! Congrats. I'd love to pick up a big AMG sedan myself, I'm just not familiar enough with them to move forward. I'll be interested to see how yours goes! 

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22 hours ago, Destructo said:

That'll be a fun car! Congrats. I'd love to pick up a big AMG sedan myself, I'm just not familiar enough with them to move forward. I'll be interested to see how yours goes! 

Thank you ! If you go for one and are familiar with working on your own cars try to find a CL65  amazing car and I believe they only made 55 of them  they trade for about $30-40k just reserve about $10k for worse case Senario repairs  I almost got one instead of the CL 55 but I can’t afford one  . Some parts on the CL do fail often and if you need to pay a mechanic to do the repairs RIP might as well go Lamborghini lol 

1 minute ago, Chipster said:

Had a 05 C230 for 8 years.  Was a pretty solid car.  Only issue I had was the shifter assembly/module.  C55s seem pretty rare.

Transmissions in the AMG are supposed to be solid.  we’ll see  : thank you  haven’t ran into another C55 yet :)   I love driving it so far  love the CLK front end they did on the car  

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52 minutes ago, MrDoctor said:

Thank you ! If you go for one and are familiar with working on your own cars try to find a CL65  amazing car and I believe they only made 55 of them  they trade for about $30-40k just reserve about $10k for worse case Senario repairs  I almost got one instead of the CL 55 but I can’t afford one  . Some parts on the CL do fail often and if you need to pay a mechanic to do the repairs RIP might as well go Lamborghini lol 

Transmissions in the AMG are supposed to be solid.  we’ll see  : thank you  haven’t ran into another C55 yet :)   I love driving it so far  love the CLK front end they did on the car  

$10k is far from a worst case scenario repair on a CL65, or really almost all AMG's from the last 10-15 years.  Non-engine or a minor engine issue, probably so.  But if the engine has a major problem, no.  I know of 3 cars offhand just from being around my local MBZ dealership that wound up parked and essentially abandoned down there because it didn't make economic sense to fix them.  The last one was an ML63 in very nice condition, but the engine failed (may have been one of the cars with the head bolt issues), and even a remanufactured one was going to be $23k installed.   A new engine was $35k installed.  But the vehicle was only worth low 30's at the time, so the owner didn't know what to do with it.  These cars offer great value used because the depreciation is brutal, but if one breaks, the repair costs are equally brutal (as you note about the CL).

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23 minutes ago, RedGTS said:

$10k is far from a worst case scenario repair on a CL65, or really almost all AMG's from the last 10-15 years.  Non-engine or a minor engine issue, probably so.  But if the engine has a major problem, no.  I know of 3 cars offhand just from being around my local MBZ dealership that wound up parked and essentially abandoned down there because it didn't make economic sense to fix them.  The last one was an ML63 in very nice condition, but the engine failed (may have been one of the cars with the head bolt issues), and even a remanufactured one was going to be $23k installed.   A new engine was $35k installed.  But the vehicle was only worth low 30's at the time, so the owner didn't know what to do with it.  These cars offer great value used because the depreciation is brutal, but if one breaks, the repair costs are equally brutal (as you note about the CL).

Wow. 

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5 hours ago, RedGTS said:

$10k is far from a worst case scenario repair on a CL65, or really almost all AMG's from the last 10-15 years.  Non-engine or a minor engine issue, probably so.  But if the engine has a major problem, no.  I know of 3 cars offhand just from being around my local MBZ dealership that wound up parked and essentially abandoned down there because it didn't make economic sense to fix them.  The last one was an ML63 in very nice condition, but the engine failed (may have been one of the cars with the head bolt issues), and even a remanufactured one was going to be $23k installed.   A new engine was $35k installed.  But the vehicle was only worth low 30's at the time, so the owner didn't know what to do with it.  These cars offer great value used because the depreciation is brutal, but if one breaks, the repair costs are equally brutal (as you note about the CL).

 

LS-Swap time! :lol2:

 

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-CL65

They made a bunch from 2003-present. No idea where you got the idea of 55 of them total. There are likely 55 currently for sale is the US. In general there isn't much on that engine/car that should be touched by someone not familiar with the Mercedes V12. 

-AMG repairs/maintenance while expensive are proportional to the price of the vehicle when new, not what the 4th owner paid for the car at Manheim(auction).  Same as any other car. Most people don't understand this.... 

-Catastrophic engine failure in AMG cars is quite rare but does happen, as with any manufacturer. BWM has alot more issues with this in my experience. 

-Yes the transmission in your C55 is basically bulletproof with proper maintenance every 40k miles or so

 

To qualify the above I own a Mercedes repair facility and have been with the brand for almost 20 years now. I am, and employ 2 additional, Master Certified Mercedes Technicians. We also do some BMW and other work, but 95% of our business is Benz. I'm happy to answer any Benz related questions you may have 

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I had a CLS55 AMG for 3.5yrs, sold it with 70+k miles. Car was bulletproof except the rims. They were made out of tin foil. I must have gone through at least 8 rims and countless repairs. I once was driving from Brooklyn to Westchester where I am originally from. I cracked 2 rims within 40 mins at 2am, luckily there was a 24hr dunkin doughnut shop that I was able to limp to. That was ultimately why I sold it. I was on the side of the road at least once a week, it was absolutely insane. Other than that, prob my 2nd or 3rd favorite car I ever owned. The C55 is a little beast, enjoy it!

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14 minutes ago, jtrump said:

-CL65

They made a bunch from 2003-present. No idea where you got the idea of 55 of them total. There are likely 55 currently for sale is the US. In general there isn't much on that engine/car that should be touched by someone not familiar with the Mercedes V12. 

-AMG repairs/maintenance while expensive are proportional to the price of the vehicle when new, not what the 4th owner paid for the car at Manheim(auction).  Same as any other car. Most people don't understand this.... 

-Catastrophic engine failure in AMG cars is quite rare but does happen, as with any manufacturer. BWM has alot more issues with this in my experience. 

-Yes the transmission in your C55 is basically bulletproof with proper maintenance every 40k miles or so

 

To qualify the above I own a Mercedes repair facility and have been with the brand for almost 20 years now. I am, and employ 2 additional, Master Certified Mercedes Technicians. We also do some BMW and other work, but 95% of our business is Benz. I'm happy to answer any Benz related questions you may have 

I read it somewhere. I think MB world forum. You're right, 777 were produced, maybe that figure was for only US based cars? I was referring to the C215s only. Thanks for chiming in, I will hold you up to that offer if needed :):)

13 minutes ago, Griza said:

I had a CLS55 AMG for 3.5yrs, sold it with 70+k miles. Car was bulletproof except the rims. They were made out of tin foil. I must have gone through at least 8 rims and countless repairs. I once was driving from Brooklyn to Westchester where I am originally from. I cracked 2 rims within 40 mins at 2am, luckily there was a 24hr dunkin doughnut shop that I was able to limp to. That was ultimately why I sold it. I was on the side of the road at least once a week, it was absolutely insane. Other than that, prob my 2nd or 3rd favorite car I ever owned. The C55 is a little beast, enjoy it!

Thank You :)

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14 hours ago, jtrump said:

-CL65

They made a bunch from 2003-present. No idea where you got the idea of 55 of them total. There are likely 55 currently for sale is the US. In general there isn't much on that engine/car that should be touched by someone not familiar with the Mercedes V12. 

-AMG repairs/maintenance while expensive are proportional to the price of the vehicle when new, not what the 4th owner paid for the car at Manheim(auction).  Same as any other car. Most people don't understand this.... 

-Catastrophic engine failure in AMG cars is quite rare but does happen, as with any manufacturer. BWM has alot more issues with this in my experience. 

-Yes the transmission in your C55 is basically bulletproof with proper maintenance every 40k miles or so

 

To qualify the above I own a Mercedes repair facility and have been with the brand for almost 20 years now. I am, and employ 2 additional, Master Certified Mercedes Technicians. We also do some BMW and other work, but 95% of our business is Benz. I'm happy to answer any Benz related questions you may have 

One thing I've always been curious about is whether an independent shop like yours could repair/rebuild a catastrophic engine failure on an AMG for a lot less than having a dealer replace it (with either a new or remanufactured engine).   Have you done that before?

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19 minutes ago, RedGTS said:

One thing I've always been curious about is whether an independent shop like yours could repair/rebuild a catastrophic engine failure on an AMG for a lot less than having a dealer replace it (with either a new or remanufactured engine).   Have you done that before?

I've always wondered the same thing.  In the grand scheme of it they really aren't overly complex motors.  Even if you had to source custom pistons it couldn't be that big of a hurdle.  Dealing with the Alusil coated block is another story (if you hurt a cylinder).  It could be resleeved with Darton nodular iron but that takes a machine shop that really knows what they are doing, getting the proper ring pack, piston clearances, etc.  I'm betting it could still be done for a fraction the quoted costs above.

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10 hours ago, RedGTS said:

One thing I've always been curious about is whether an independent shop like yours could repair/rebuild a catastrophic engine failure on an AMG for a lot less than having a dealer replace it (with either a new or remanufactured engine).   Have you done that before?

It would really depend on the failure. As emanon said block failures are a big problem and sleeving is the only option. Modern(2007-)AMG V8 motors are $30-60k list price, we can get a sleeved block and upgraded parts for less than a new one generally speaking. Also the AMG parts are all available separately just like any other car to facilitate an OEM rebuild of any part of the engine. Some are expensive but some are the same price as a normal Benz. 

Check us out on instagram

@benzspecialist

 

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11 hours ago, jtrump said:

It would really depend on the failure. As emanon said block failures are a big problem and sleeving is the only option. Modern(2007-)AMG V8 motors are $30-60k list price, we can get a sleeved block and upgraded parts for less than a new one generally speaking. Also the AMG parts are all available separately just like any other car to facilitate an OEM rebuild of any part of the engine. Some are expensive but some are the same price as a normal Benz. 

Check us out on instagram

@benzspecialist

 

Damn, how did I not know you ran a bezn shop? 

Any feedback on the newer TT 4.0 motors and 7 spd dct?  Been eyeing a C63S for a bit.

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Minor fuel system issues on some of the newer 4.0TT m177 engines. They are monsters though. Get one and enjoy the shit out of it! 

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19 hours ago, jtrump said:

Minor fuel system issues on some of the newer 4.0TT m177 engines. They are monsters though. Get one and enjoy the shit out of it! 

They are monsters.  My wife drives a C63S and it's a beast even untuned, assuming you can get the tires to hook up.  I wish it were AWD sometimes.  Thanks for the feedback on the rebuilding issue.

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