Quadcammer

^+1...and a line of buyers? Really. Amg benzes have some of the worst resale value ever

misterbeverlyhills

I have a 210 E 55, the last of the hand builts. Bilstein sports with Eibach springs, lowered 5/8 of an inch to Euro ride height and corner balanced.
I spent a year wth a 211 but didn't like the supercharger or the plastic interior. The 63 was a better car but still too much Chrysler.

There will be a line of folks wanting to buy the car, I said anything about what you were going to get for it. Try selling a M5 or Audi for cash these days, if the dealer didn't offer financing on the used cars they wouldn't sell any either.

Back to the 964 and early s forums, I can see you folks are way too smart for me.

Quadcammer

Dude let's be real. The 210 amgs are not handbuilt. Further, what good is a line of buyers bwhen they offer 30% of what you paid. And having had a 210 e430, I will say the 211 is a better car in almost everyway

misterbeverlyhills

On the AMG forums 2002 MY is commonly referred to as the last of the handbuilts so thanks for clearing that up. Having had a 430 I can tell you it is no 55 and having had a 211 too I guess our difference of opinion is why they have horseraces.

mcipseric

Hey Dave,

Come by anytime and you can take mine for a spin!

Quadcammer

I guess it doesn't matter if the 210 was handbuilt or not since thats not the issue at hand.

A 430 ain't a 55...no kidding. That said, a set of springs, another 75bhp, and some bodykit/wheels ain't turning a family sedan into a sports car either.

The 210 may have some superior interior materials (with the exception of the cracking dash around the airbag and air vents). thats about it.

Rust...and lots of it...dangerous even with the spring perches.

5L m113 vs 4.3 (I'm not even gonna start on the NA amg 5.5l vs the 55k), more space, more options, obviously updated electronics suite, etc etc.

Don't think a manufacturer like mercedes is going to produce a worse product.

SBC was retarded and a massive failure. MB realized it (yeah a bit late), but it was removed.

I'm not even getting into a post-facelift 211 vs a 210, as thats a no contest.

Carlos993

I agree on the E55 W210 as a potentially better package, depending on your needs.

Less horsepower, less electronics.... but IMHO far better build quality and better styling. Analogous in my mind to the 993 vs 996 issue, but the MB quality gap is less and the W211 clearly has better performance on paper.

Also, if I remember correctly, the W210 may have more total interior space (boxier passenger cell?). My 210 feels like it has more room than the W211.

Am actually looking for a second W210 E55, these cars are great and amazing value.

Cheers

VNTGSPD

Thanks for the offer I may take you up on it before I pull the trigger.

Thanks Eric!

Canyon56

Okay, now it makes sense. The assumption was that the OP is looking at a W211, so I wondered what you were talking about when you said to get new springs, etc..

I think part of the "handbuilt" idea comes from the fact that the AMG W210 production was split between Bremen and Affalterbach. Some of it was done in Affalterbach and some in Bremen. It wasn't handbuilt in the same way we talk about earlier Porsches, but there was some hand work being done in Affalterbach.

The sad part about the W210 AMGs is the heavy rust and corrosion issues. Although it may not be such an issue for a car kept in SoCal. Jurgen Schrempp as CEO was not a good period for Daimler. I personally would be more hesitant to own a Schrempp era Mercedes. fwiw, the last of the W211 E63s is a post Schrempp Daimler AG product, and Daimler had already rid itself of Chrysler. And facelifted W211s eliminated SBC and also offered many improvements in build quality.

I'm interested in early AMGs and pre-merger versions and would like to find a nice sample someday. But the 964 versus 993 versus 997.2 arguments are similar. We all like the perceived quality and "old school" attributes of the older cars, but the fact is the power/performance of the newer cars is really so much better (and enticing.) Plus when doubling as a family car, there are the newer safety improvements to take into consideration. It's a trade-off as always.

J.B.H.

I was looking at e55/e63 and ended up with the w212 E550. Very happy with the choice for a DD.

TRINITONY

I have a w210 55 and just got back from an 8 hour drive yesterday. Plus last year did a round trip from DC - Miami with 2 kids/wife and a boat load of stuff. Zero issues...best value $$.

Now back to regular programming.

It does have more interior room than the w211...

To the OP, buy the w211, but get a warranty...they're dirt cheap now.