Govkov

Hi, like many of you may have done, I'm looking at an S6, M5 or E63 as a DD (there are some others as well). I want something fun to drive but do not want something that will be in the shop every other week. Obviously, there will be variances car to car and service history plays a role, but in general is a W211 E63 relatively reliable? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

SheriffDep

A lot of the M% models have horrendous maintenance issues. The Audi's tend to be the same way from my understanding. I am on my second W211 E63 and love them. Unless there is a catastrophic issue, mostly its just maintenance. It is nice to have a extended warranty and if you get one of those you will likely use it and more than what you paid. Some guys on here have spent 5-10k in repairs nearing 80-100k miles using the warranty, and others are 80-120k miles and have done nothing but normal maintenance. I have gone from 50k-80k on an 07' and did nothing at all but two oil changes. My 08' is perfect at 80k but likely to have some problems in the next 20k miles. Just planning on that. Conductor plates for the tranny's seem to be typical and about a 1k fix. Front rotors and brakes at a MD dealer run about 3k. You can do a lot better through a vendor on here and do them for under 2k. Other than that its pretty great car. People tend to ask this question a lot, and most members will say they are fairly reliable compared to the other ones you mentioned. There are some horror stories about the M5's pending which models. Hope this helps you out, do some searches and you will find more.

CarbonHan

Govkov if you want one with maintenance history, some tasteful aesthetic mods and an AWESOME zero deductible warranty shoot me a PM. I'm selling my e63. There's a link to my for sale thread in my sig below

I've owned an (e39)m5 and currently own an 2013 x6M along with my 2007 e63. All i gotta say is that if my x6m wasn't under factory warranty I'd be broke. The m5 had an aftermarket warranty but after that expired I had to spend a good amount of money..about $15k in a span of 6 years to keep it in tip top condition. My e63 has been a champ and i've only had to replace the common items that seem to go bad.

hachiroku

i daily mine, but also haven't had it for more than 3k miles. picked her up at 89k miles. within that time my Conductor plate failed which was a 1,200 fix. beyond that, nothing to report. the previous owner kept the car maintained well and carfax shows no repairs beyond replacement of battery and brakes.

gas mileage is horrible, but opening her up on the drive in and from work every day just reminds me why i settled with this beast of a car. 507(517) reasons to be exact.

SheriffDep

Hachiroku-- the reason the previous customer sold it was likely the conductor plate problem. It kept going into limp mode on them and someone likely told them it would cost major money to fix. So they sold or traded it in. Your gain, its almost a guarantee that the plate will fail once, and need to be replaced between 60k and 80k, then should be no problem. Mine has 80k on it and runs like a dream. Several members on here have over 100k and its only been a positive experience for them.

I was thinking today as I mashed my right foot down and tires were straining for grip in third, as the tail was wobbling about, this is bliss, and so much better than my Maserati. Again, doesn't get the attention that the Maserati gets, but oh what a sound and feeling. Time for the Maserati to be sold for sure. AMG sold!!!!!!!

fila0220

I have been daily driving mine for a little over a year. Most of my repairs are suspension related because the roads in NYC are not the best (believe me I try my best to preserve it)

I had to change my front stabilizing bushing (which can't be changed so you need to purchase the whole sway bar) There would be this terrible creak when driving on relatively mild wavy roads. With labor it was around 500.
I also changed the transmission mounts and motor mounts. The car would jerk a bit when downshifting to 1st while coming to a stop. Those weren't too bad, but labor is what bumped it up.
I also changed the front drivers side ball joint. (that was maybe with labor 150)
And recently I did the dreaded brake job. Rotors cost me 1200.

EDIT: also forgot about the Battery that died last winter (around 300) and the trunk mechanism I had to fix/reprogram from opening my trunk when the battery was dead (100 ish)

The only problem I can't fix is the panoramic sunroof clicks when going over uneven roads.

Even with all those repairs I absolutely love the car. Its the cost of living in a pot hole ridden city like NY.

IF there's any good to come recently. Gas fill ups have dropped. I used to fill up $80 every 190 or so miles. Now that's dropped to $60. Basically free one every 3 fill ups.

hachiroku

wow, i get about 240-280 per tank with mostly freeway traffic driving. gas is currently $3.13 for shell premium where i live in norcal.

JayE63

I've used mine as a DD for about 3 years and have put about 30,000 miles on it. Only issue was this past summer the serpentine belt went out twice- the 2nd time they fixed a bent pulley under warranty and since then it's been great- just the usual routine maintenance.

fila0220

Yea I envy you . I virtually get no highway, and if I do there's usually traffic. But I have gotten 390-400 miles off one fill up before, when I was transporting her from Chicago.

Cheapest shell we have right now is 3.28. But its miles better than the 4.20 I was filling up a few months ago.



Awesome that puts my nerves at ease

Enigma94

I daily drive mine with no major issues. I've owned it for 8 months and have put 15k on her. She's at 60k right now and I'm about to have the driver side motor mount replaced, and the rear driver side shock replaced, both under warranty. The only thing major you really need to worry about is he conductor plate issue and the tappet issue, but it should be pretty easy to avoid the tappets as they usually start giving you issues fairly early in its life.

SheriffDep

I am on my second 63 this year. I have put about 15k on them and get on average about 20 miles per gallon. Last trip the other day saw 24.3 mpg for 300 mile trip. I was slightly surprised but was easy on gas the whole time. Conductor plate on the first one then the pano motor. Both known. Second seems fine, but dealer replaced front rotors and pads, conductor plate, plugs, and put M PSS on it. Still got the 08 E63 with 73k miles for 25k. It was a great price. I love it and much happier with it than my Maserati that I sold for it. Drive on........

Enigma94

I've never seen more than 21mpg and that's all highway. This is calculating it myself not relying on the wacky computer which is always off. City I usually get 16-18 depending on how much I mash on it.

ssigarto

I had a 2008 M5 that i purchased new and loved it. It was my dd for quite a while and it was a great car to drive. Then I added a 2007 E63 to the stable and found myself enjoying the E63 more for daily driving and sold the M5. They are very different cars and both have their pros and cons, but the torque of the E63 is something that cannot be ignored. I modded the E63 quite a bit and love it even more than before.

aeroman

I had E63 for DD for about 1.5 years and loved it. Loving my SL65 as a DD now. The power cannot be beat.