E63 Real World Reliability and Maintenance
 

Hey all,


I surfed into this forum on Thankgiving as I was searching for info on OEM rims for the '07 E63. You can imagine the thread I found and how much time I spent reading and how much my wife complained!

I'm planning on buying a MB 1st quarter next year. I've been drooling over the '06 E55 for awhile, but now the '07 E63 are coming into my price range. What I'd like to hear from these owners are your thoughts on the real world reliability and maintenance issues you've run into. I have a friend/acquaintance that had an '04 E55 and now an '07 E63 so I've heard his troubles, but as purchase time grows nearer, I have to do my research. I'll be putting myself out there, dropping 40k on a used car and I just want to know what to expect. I do all the work on our current cards myself, and I plan to do as much as I can on my Merc.

I have looked through some of the past threads, so I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere as I must not have found it.


Happy Thanksgiving and let me know your trials and tribulations.

Have had my '09 E63 as my DD for over a year now and have had no issues.

Just remember one thing, you hear about all the problems right here. Get the 07 E63 with a CPO warranty from a dealer. They are all hurting to get rid of cars but you must drive a hard bargain.

I bought mine last January. MB warranty runs out 7/2010. CPO'd till 7/2011. It had 25,000 mi. on when I got it and the only thing the previous owner had a problem with is the main battery which was replaced by MB. The trunk closer made a noise and was worked on twice but still makes the noise. Now there is 30,050 mi. and in those 5K miles I added 2 QT. of oil. I plan on securing an after market warranty in March of 2011 (hopefully Chrysler Service Contract) as I have every intention to keep this car for a long time. It's not my DD and I feel if it was there would be no issue what so ever other than the major cost of rotors and brakes for this great sedan!

IMHO it is an awesome car!!!!!:)

I have taken delivery of an 07 E63 Designo Edition with 12600 miles on the odometer from American service center in Arlington, VA. This was apparenetly a Corporate lease car, from all the information provided from Mercedes and CarFax. As for my personal experiences with it, I have added oil as well. I talked to the shop foreman, at ASC who I personally, he said that it's not unusual to add oil to an AMG. He said that engine is still in it's break in period, until the oil rings seal. And not unusual to add a qt of oil within 500-1000 miles. Definitely buy a CPO warranty, I had my rear driver's side airmatic strut replaced. The thing completely deflated on me when the car sat for several days. Apparently, the strut was leaking air, the car is designed to level out, but this one completely deflated. I looked cool, like a low rider, wheels tucked up into the fender wheels. The biggest hurdle about these AMG cars is repair and maintenance, there not cheap. I like you am a DIYer, I enjoy performing maintenance on all my vehicles. Besides the routine maintenance like oil change, brake and coolant fluid flush, I recommand having your tranny service conducted at Mercedes, they perform a complete flush and fill, even the torque converter, and filter change. This service is recommended at 40k. The other big foreseen expense is brakes and rotors, rotors for an E63 aren't cheap period. But you can save big bucks by purchasing from www.parts.com you can save up to 35% of what you would pay at the stealership. But a warranty is a must especially for unforseen gremlins that will pop up. But mercedes is a very well constructed car, better then most that I have owned, but again protect yourself, I can't stress that enough, especially on an AMG. Besides my little air strut issue, and let me say, that the car was able to be driven. The car would re-inflate the strut, once started up. I have seen some S classes where the suspension completely deflated, and couldn't be driven. This cars has been bulletproof, thanks to the great craftsmanship of Mercedes and especially to AMG. With great power comes great addiction to that little gas pedal. Dam this thing can haul ass.

Thanks all for the info so far. My lawyer buddy had the strut problem too. CPO adds about 5k from what I've seen on Autotrader. I need to learn more about CPO, what it covers, when can it be added, how can it be extended and so on. I really believe it's important, but first I have to afford the car. Wife recently lost her job so car purchase might have to wait for a few more months. No sense in getting a 500HP car in December living in northern Illinois! That's what my truck is for, snow and slush.

So far, so good.
 

I bought my '07 CPO in August with 35,xxx miles. I now have 38K, no issues at all. I did bring the car to the dealer last month for valve train noise. They said it is normal for the 6.3 engine. Since members of this forum and elswhere on the net have agreed that valve ticking is normal, I can easily live with it since I love the hell out of this car!!!! Bad to the bone!:D

Almost forgot...
 

The Nav SUCKS!

So is it safe to say that once MB certifies a car, that the CPO warranty begins after the factory ends? Are there any extensions that can be done to the factory or the CPO one? Can you get a CPO warranty on a vehicle that was not CPO when you bought it?

I know it makes more sense to buy a M45 or a GS400, but that's not what I want, and dammit I want an AMG. I just want to cover my a$$ as much as I can as we all know repairs are expensive, and I don't want to be out a car because it's in the shop every other week.

I've read a little about the CPO program, but I almost need to take a trip to a dealer. I just don't know how much help I'll get when I'm shopping used.


Thanks all,


shooter

if you want to mod go with the E55... the car has way more potential!

Dont get to terribly caught up in the problems with these cars. They do not break that often and they do not have as many problems as people make them out to have. Just get one and enjoy it!

Almost 2 years now, with my '08 - and no problems. Not even experiencing the squeaky brake issue that some have reported.

Truly the best car I've ever owned.

Same here, an 08 with no problems :y

I agree. The E55 has a lot more mod potential.

The nav does suck, the 09 has a better Nav unit.

25,xxx miles on my 08 E63 with no problems.

30K on an 07 E63 and the only issue I had was the rear sunshade not going up. Awesome car...

well put.

A Certified PreOwned car comes only from a Mercedes dealer. Certifying a car involves inspecting and reconditioning a used car. Different dealers work to different standards, so be aware that not all CPO cars have received the same extent of reconditioning. A CPO car will not have had any major accidents (paint work is acceptable, though), will be up to date on all scheduled maintenance and repair, and will have at least 50% remaining on tires & brakes.

CPO adds 1 year or warranty coverage, up to 100K total miles. If the car is still under the original 4 year/50K factory warranty, CPO warranty begins when the factory warranty expires. The CPO warranty is extensive, but does not cover everything like the factory warranty.

CPO warranty can be extended for 1 or 2 additional years, at additional cost, of course. I'm unsure of the pricing. Finally, MBUSA will only sell the CPO warranty extension at the time the CPO car is sold. For some reason they don't sell warranty extensions after the fact, or to subsequent owners.

Finally, the CPO warranty can be transferred only through private party sales. If a CPO car passes through a non-MB dealer, the warranty is cancelled.

I bought the car with 7 miles

Now I have 43K

Only vehicle problem was a CD changer mechanism problem.

I have had problems with the knowledge of the dealers, but they are getting better as they get experience with the 63 platform.

I've had my 07 about a year now, and have had no major issues. Park Place here in Dallas is great about taking care of warranty stuff. Maintenance costs aren't awful considering they come with a loaner car for the day ($112 for Service A). From what I've heard and experienced the 6.2 motor is more reliable than the Kompressor long term. Happy hunting and you will love this car. Except for the Comand unit, the 09 is worlds better...Oh well, can't have everything huh...

Thanks everyone for posting. From my research, the '04 E55 had issues, and these got less and less as the model revision progressed. Seems like they had it down solid in '06. For me, I want the newest car I can afford, and that looks to be the '07 E63. Again, some major changes concern me, but from what I've heard, an extended warranty makes it all better. I can't guarantee that I'll find/afford a CPO, so I need to look at other warranty's. Chrysler seems to be a favorite on this board from what I see, so I'll look into that.


Thanks again everyone. You'll help is much appreciated.

Apologies for bringing back this old thread from the dead.

To the OP, what did you end up getting?

To the other owners of the E63, how have your cars done in the last year and half since you originally gave your feedback on issues/reliability?

No problem, that's what this forum is for. Hopefully others will search and find this thread and get some good info.


I ended up getting an 08 E63. Bought it May of 2010. It had just under 27k miles and was under factory warranty but was not CPO. I just recently bought an extended factory warranty from MB, giving me another 2 years and 50k miles.


I had some issues that were covered under warranty that were likely caused by the original owner. The only issue I've had that wasn't related to the first owner was a parking sensor failed and I have an occasional rattle from the blower motor. other than that, this thing has been solid. I expect airmatic failures to happen, along with some of the other items mentioned above, but that's what the warranty is for. When that expires, well, I don't know what I'll do. Maybe relegate it to garage queen, despite still having like 6 years left on the 15 year loan I got on her!


This is my daily driver BTW. I'll hit 50k miles in the next few weeks. She looks great, sounds great, pulls like a freight train and makes me happy every time I press the GO button.

My DD. 25k on it now. Nothing but regular service. I bought it new and know everything about from when it had 8 miles on the odo to today. The 2009s have the newer HDD COMAND systems with better Nav so that's a nice plus, too. Mine uses no oil and there's no tappet noise, so that's another plus, too.

Probably won't buy another E Class AMG but only because there are so many other good choices out there these days. But for a four door sedan style grocery getter, the E Class is okay.

75k now and going strong.

My 07 has 59K on it now. Is there any warranty I can purchase that is worth it?