Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Color me blue. This 2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG is finished in Bright Blue Metallic, which is a shade I’ve never seen on the W211 E55 before. Almost every E55 of this generation was painted is painted in some sort of silver, grey, black, or beige, and bright colors like this are very rarely ever seen. Nary a green or navy blue to be found. Even better, wait until you see what is inside! There is one problem however…I hope you speak Dutch.
Phoenix Yellow Metallic could go down as the most polarizing color offered on an M3, ever. In fact, the only thing perhaps more hated than the color on this car (by some, it’s worth noting) is the optional SMG transmission offered at a substantial premium (a $2,400 option) on the E46 M3. Spoiler alert, trigger warning, notice of action – what have you – today’s duo of ’04 M3 Coupes are BOTH Phoenix Yellow Metallic and BOTH have SMG sequential manual gearboxes. Hey, I like a bit of controversy! And, since I own one just like it, I feel like I’m probably better equipped to weigh in than…say….all of the internet armchair warriors.
As for the percentage of U.S. Coupes ordered in PYM: 514 were bought out of 26,202, meaning your chance of running across one when new was only about 2%. Most of those were early examples as well; the color was phased out of the color pallet before the end of production, and along with a bunch of LCI changes that means you’re pretty unlikely to roll across a post-‘03.5 in PYM. So let’s take a look at this duo and see if either is a smart purchase:
Oh Maybach, how far will you fall? Normally when screaming about depreciation, its the Maybach 57, not the king of the hill 62 like we have here today. Just to refresh, the 62 was the extra-long wheel base version that measures 20-feet-long (!) that allowed rear passengers lay completely flat. It rang in at $360,000 … in 2004. Just to put that into perspective, the 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom was only $320,000. This car was unbelievably expensive and its hard to argue it was worth it when you see it now and take a close look at it. That also probably explains why it is so cheap now.
Fresh off last week’s 2018 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG, I thought I’d look at one of the first vehicles equipped with the M275 engine, the W220 S600. This engine replaced the god awful M158 V12 that lasted a few short years and was by far the better engine for the job. It was so good, they literally put it in almost every vehicle in their range for the next 15 years, including that G65 that I just mentioned. You would think an old twin-turbocharged V12 would be nothing but trouble, but they are fairly easy to live with as long as you remember it is an old twin-turbocharged V12.
This 2004 S600 up for sale in Texas comes in with just a little over 32,000 miles and seems to be in top shape. Admittedly, it isn’t the most attractive car ever in terms of looks and of course the tech is a bit dated, but for the price, is it worth look?
A few weeks ago I looked at a 1995 Volvo 850 T5-R wagon, one of the all-time great designs launched by the company:
The Porsche-modified engine managed to channel an impressive 243 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque. The downsides? Well, not only was that particular example expensive, it was front-drive only and equipped with an automatic transaxle. Of course, move forward a generation and there was an even more potent possibility if you like fast five-doors; the V70R. The V70R had 300 horsepower driving all-four wheels through a transversely mounted turbo five, along with heavily bolstered sport seats, Brembo brakes, and an Öhlins adjustable suspension. And yeah, you could get a six-speed manual. A vast majority of these cars were used quite heavily as intended, but still are appealing to consider in the used market:
