nyknow

INS1GNIA

Millage was shown to not be a common or definitive factor for the head bolts failing. Some failed early, while others would never fail. Members will suggest to go ahead and replace them just so it is one less thought or issue later on, that will cost you a quite a bit.

AMG6.3

BerBer63

63k miles no issues, buy mine

nyknow

AMG3.2

55k, no issues.

Case1906

SheryarYO

i got up to like 115k miles on my 2008 c63 before i sold it. didn't have any issues with the headbolts at all.

AA717driver

Rick X Joaquim

chrisridebike8

I made it to 86k miles and then replaced the headbolts before they broke. Fuel pumps died shortly after.

Rick X Joaquim

chrisridebike8

The car would stall from a stop and would cut out at part throttle acceleration. It would also sometimes feel like it died at constant speed and then KICK you. HG motorsports said they were drawing too much voltage at idle and not enough once throttle was applied. once they replaced them, everything was normal. fuel sender was not replaced

nyknow

I can see that there are not many M156 users who use C63 (for 8-10 years already) and did not experience common problems (Head bolts, camshafts) - I thought that there will be significantly more users with no common issues so far. I plan to buy 2009 C63 this week and will have to think on this (especially head bolts) - my first idea was not to do anything until there are some symptoms (low level of coolant ect).
Regards,
nyknow

chrisridebike8

waiting is the wrong answer IMO. it is not a matter of IF it will happen. It is a matter of WHEN it will happen. And waiting until you are losing coolant means a bolt has already broken, significantly increasing the cost of the job and also possibly damaging the engine with a hydrolock. just find an indy shop to do the job before something breaks.

nyknow

Thank you. Do you think that it is possible to change the bolts replacing them one by one rather than opening heads ect. ?

chrisridebike8

yes. that is how many have done it. my shop pulled the heads though and had them decked and new valve stem seals and lifters installed

D3-AMG

That's great if you can find a competent indy shop to do the job. I've spoken to 3 shops in the Maryland area which only work on Mercedes. Two won't even touch an AMG for anything more than an oil change. The third has worked on multiple AMGs with the headbolt issue and recommended against doing them preemptively.

Instead, my 2009 has had 2 sets of fuel pumps in a year (thankfully the second set went bad within warranty from MB but $1900 otherwise), the intake manifold (due to a stupid rubber host which cannot be replaced into the $2500 OEM new part, used ran 1/2 that) and just last week the power steering pump was replaced by the experienced indy shop previously mentioned for $900 (would have been $1600 easy at MB).

So at 3 years of ownership, I've averaged around $1500-2000/year on repairs above and beyond the basic maintenance of oil changes. Add in 3 sets of rear tires (one set/year on a daily driver getting <10,000 miles/year) and one set of fronts. New light bulbs which seem to burn out faster than any car I've ever owned. The real cost of ownership for me is probably $3k/year plus car payment, gas, and insurance.

That doesn't even cover the items I've chosen not to fix. Rear window shade never worked right and would be $1500 from MB to replace. COMMAND knob rotation function stopped working (not an expensive fix necessarily), my COMMAND function buttons not working (press SYS and get a different function like NAVI), and other items I'm forgetting right now.

So if you want to own one of the most awesome engines ever made just be prepared there can be other costs. Keep in mind the car is now probably worth less than just the cost of a new OEM m156 engine.

My advice, be able to afford $30k for one, find a 2011 for ~$20k and either get a great extended warranty or have the spare cash to cover some repairs. Buy it, enjoy it, try not to wreck it.

nyknow

thanks. what is your mileage ?
I can buy 2009 from person I know, with not so many miles so far (as for 9 year old car) with full service history - that is why currently I dont look for any other option.

nyknow

ok thanks. I thought that the only way to do it is to open heads and than replace all gaskets ect. - in such scenario it may cost quite a lot of money (as it is very time consuming I assume).
doing one bolt at a time (bolt by bolt) may be significantly cheaper and if the result is the same than it is the option to consider (two risks I see are:
1. MB will not be willing to use this method
2. if I decide for this method and during unscrew bolt will be destroyed than probably it will be required to do the desired method (more expensive) ?

BLKROKT

OCDUEUCE

Buy the face-lift W204, you'll have nothing to worry about. If your budget can't stretch for it yet, then I'd recommend waiting and saving up. The little updates and upgrades are worth it, with the headbolt issue being #1 fix.

AMG3.2

Or find a car that's already had the head bolts done. Realistically, this isn't a car for a person that can't DIY things. It's just far to expensive for basic things to be done.

Crya

iTrader: (1)

This! I let my emotions get the best of me and sprang on my 2009 with lowish mileage considering, 65,000. And even when I wrote the check I was familiar with the headbolt issue. Had I waited just a few more months, other P31 cars would have popped up and I too wouldn't have this hanging over me. It's one thing to get the work done and pay, it's entirely another to find an indy that will do it right for you. My conundrum now is whether I just stop modding now and drive the car for another year before trading it in at Carmax or just drive it like I stole it and run the thing hard and put it away wet and deal with maintenance as it arises. What I DO know after three months of ownership is that I absolutely will replace this with a last-year, lowest mileage C63 I can find when the time comes.

Also keep in mind that arguably a very small subset of C63 owners are probably online regularly, let alone on this forum reporting their issues. So when you ask "How many people haven't had headbolt issues?", the sample size is probably really really small.

D3-AMG

It helps that my wife loves the thing and I'm smart enough to be sure she drives it regularly to enjoy it.