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.
It feels like the W211 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG is flying under the radar a little. Well, at least for now. Maybe it’s their subtle looks or lack of screaming exhaust note, but then again, that was the entire point when this car was new. Keep in mind, this was right when the horsepower wars started between Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, which ultimately prompted V10s in both the E60 M5 and C6 S6. Looking back now, the E60 M5 is basically considered radioactive in terms of reliability, and people seem not to want to sign up for an aging Lamborghini-esque V10 that requires carbon cleaning and new intake flaps every so often. That leaves the E55, the car with a big supercharger on it, as the most reasonable example to own out of the three. I think we set the bar pretty low here.
Your dollar doesn’t go very far if you want a Mercedes-Benz station wagon. I’ve expanded on the value of the wagons in the past, and that seems to be holding true in almost every example. However, if you really want a long body with a three-pointed star, you can find a good buy if you search hard enough or adjust your standards low enough. This 2006 E350 Wagon up for sale Tennessee is a little bit of both.
Station wagon, estate, avant, whatever you want to call them, they are still popular. How did I come to that conclusion? Well, take a look at basically any German vehicle that is offered in both sedan and wagon and you’ll see that the wagon transacts at a higher price tag on the used market. This is especially true when it comes to high performance models like an Audi RS or AMG. A lot of that has to do with having your cake and eating it too, along with the exclusivity, as high performance wagons are made in extremely small numbers. However, even in standard base models, the wagons are still bringing premiums over sedans. Today’s car, a 2006 E500 Estate up for sale in California, follows that trend. Who says wagons are uncool?
Hard to believe it has been over a year since the last time I looked at a Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Estate. Time flies when you’re having fun I suppose, but I came across this 2005 up for sale in California that caught my eye immediately. Its really not any different than every other E55 Wagon I look at, but I thought it would be interesting to see where the market is at on these cars now that we head into 2020 and Mercedes-Benz is thankfully still gracing us with AMG wagons that are fast enough to put most exotics to shame. So are these still commanding strong money? Or are they starting to soften just a little? I think I have one of the answers to that question.
Last week Carter took a look at a US-legal C5 Audi RS6 Avant that in terms of “super wagons” is right up there, and now that they are over 15 years-old, serious collectible vehicles. Thing is, you don’t get these amazing long bodies without some serious creative engineering and doing things like twin-turbocharging an already big V8. Mercedes-Benz is never one to be outdone, so they jumped into the game with the first-generation E55 AMG Estate and then went nuts on the W211 chassis with the supercharged E55 and 6.2 liter V8 E63. Today’s car is is the latter E63 that is just 1 or 62 examples produced for the 2007 model year for the US market. However, just like the RS6, big power means big issues, and judging by this car’s history, the E63 is not immune to that.
When it rains, it pours. For a vehicle that North American only saw 192 of, I have come across three W211 Mercedes-Benz E55 Estates for sale in less than three weeks. Last week it was a 2005 in The Hamptons that needed some help and the week before that it was an even rarer 2006 also in New York that was replaced by a Ferrari FF. Today, we have another 2005 that is up for sale in sunny Jacksonville, Florida that thankfully looks to be in prime shape. This S211 painted in Brilliant Silver Metallic checks in with 145,000 miles and thanks to a few little Mercedes software tricks, has some nice little features that I don’t see all that often.
My never-ending quest for a replacement for my dying Land Rover for a winter vehicle (it is still ongoing) saw me look at a W210 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate 4Matic and then went back a generation to look at a W124 Mercedes-Benz E320 Estate. It seems like most preferred the W124 and I can’t say I disagree, but I thought it might be interesting to head the other direction and look at a W211 E350 4Matic Estate. Mercedes made the W211 a little softer, a little sleeker and the biggest change was going from the M112 V6 to a M272 V6. The M272 was based on the M112 but with a bunch of little upgrades like continuous variable valve timing, the elimination of a mechanical thermostat and a dual variable-length intake manifold. Everything that sounds great on paper, but these early M272s had one major flaw that basically turns vehicles radioactive and unfortunately this wagon suffers from that. Of course I am talking about the dreaded balance shaft gears.
Earlier this week I checked out a 1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet with just 6,700 miles on it with a price tag on it that had me running the other way. Today, we have another low mileage Mercedes, but this one is a little different style and a lot more power. This is a 2005 E55 AMG for sale in the Bay Area with just a little over 21,000 miles. It’s painted in the awesome Midnight Blue with black leather interior and my favorite trim, Birdseye Black Maple. Now that most of these W211 E55s have passed their 10th birthday, these supercharged sedans haven started to get really cheap compared to their original $75,000 price tag when new. But as for this car? Sadly you won’t be able to snag it up for $11,995. Not even close.
Now that everyone is in holiday shopping mode and searching diligently for a good deal, I’d thought I’d throw this one out there. This is a 2007 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG for $12,000. No, it isn’t smashed in the rear and you just can’t see it like some tricks some other eBay auctions try to pull. This is a perfectly functioning 6.2 liter V8 monster that normally trades around the $20,000 mark. Yes, it is $12,000 for a reason, but the pluses for this car might just outweigh the minuses. Let me explain.
