litsnsirn

I am looking possibly at a 2008-2009 E63, preferably one with P2 and Sports. I am looking for a fun summer car with the possibility that I might try to take it to a road course once or twice a year. I tried the C and it is too small for me. I looked at M5's and they are nice but seem fragile. I like CTS-V's and the years that are in my price range are still under warranty and are sometime CPO'd , so less to worry about with electronics and it shares chassis components with other cars, so rotors and stuff are fairly reasonable.

The E63 that had my eye is an '08 with 42k on it and had a "B" service at 40k miles. How much is this likely to turn into a huge money pit that I can't get out of and what kind of things can I expect to go wrong? Any advice?

MIKESV8

i was actually in the same boat as you not too long ago, except i wasn't considering the CTS-V. rotors are expensive on the E63, but what do you expect right? AMG has been good to me reliability/maintenance wise. and they're sexy as hell. i'll stick to them over a Cadillac.

Manuyc

Well from what the mb parts guy told me one time when I wanted a e63, he said that they burn a lot of oil

litsnsirn

This one has the P2 and performance packages, parktronic, voice control, panel roof, & trunk closer. Any idea of a fair purchase price?

Also, how likely are there to be a bunch of scary electrical gremlins and stuff like that, which may leave me stranded on the side of the road? When are the big expensive services?

Black63

I bought my E63 off a good friend a few months back and he's had it since it was new. Between the two of us, the car has been trouble free and very reliable.

infantry

I would say these vehicles are clearly well built, and a few problems do arise, specifically the Airmatic. I had a problem where my valve pressure release or something that controls the amount of air in the system, just overread the psi and dumped all of my air and the car was sitting very low. $850 later, the problem is solved and the car still has no flaws. I would just make sure that the maintenance on the vehicle is up to par, and you should have a very fun vehicle that right out of the box is fit to hit the track!

If rotors are bugging you on price, I highly recommend going aftermarket, lighter, better and cheaper!

litsnsirn

Good source for brake parts? Is it also worthwhile to get one of the STAR systems from ebay?

phalen302

I have 07 E63 designo and it has been trouble free since I bought it. I have just performed the regular maintenance. I have had Zero mechanical problems. If you are DIY type of person, the maintenance cost drops further. I do some of my own DIY maintenance like Oil changes, brake fluids, brake pads etc... I have purchased the DIY service DVD and its been very helpful. Price of parts of this car typically runs higher than other MB's but they last a long time. Rotors typically last 60K to 70K depending on use. So far I have no issues with Airmatic, but Arnott Industries sell them for very attractive price with Lifetime warranty. They are not hard to replace if you know what you are doing or let MB indy shop take care of it. I really dont see any need to invest in STAR at all. There is wealth of information on this car available on this forum as well AMG private lounge.

Now the fun part; this car is Jekyll and Hyde. It is a comfortable luxury cruiser but in a split of second it becomes a Monster . Its 6.2 motor is just incredible, endless power through out the band. Handling of the car is great too; not agile like M5 but close enough. Its a blast to drive this car everyday and in my opinion it is one of the slickest sleeper car on the road.

I would look for a car with good maintenance history and possibly a CPO (they are hard to find) and I bet you wont regret buying this monster.

phalen302

Good place to buy parts:

http://www.rmeuropean.com/mercedes-parts.aspx

litsnsirn

Wow, $1k per rotor, that's a steep price for a piece of cast iron. The RB ones are a little cheaper at about $700 ea.

After watching Wheeler Dealers and seeing how automotive fandom survives in the UK, are there any specialist dismantlers in the USA that are a source for good used parts?

Another thing I have been meaning to ask is, does the radio have any connectivity other then iPod, USB or anything? Is there a way to add it?

What do map updates run?

Arnee

Giro Disc rotors, $1k a pair. 2-piece with Al hats.

2007 6.3

Rotors and pads for $1800 for full front end job...

http://www.oediscountparts.com/parts...E%20COMPONENTS

litsnsirn

Any word on the radio? It seems that the '09 radio nights be better.

litsnsirn

Any thoughts on what a good price to pay would be for a 42k mile car with P2 and AMG performance packages, Parktronic, voice control, panorama sunroof, trunk closer, side shades, & ipod kit. Car has the original 18" wheels and a set of MB 19" wheels.

Also, am I still looking at only iPod connectivity to the radio? If so I might be better off waiting for a 2009 to come along.

phalen302

Low 30's with good maintenance history would be good deal.

60nomad

He earlier mentioned a 2008 or 2009 car! First of all there is a $5k-$7k difference between the years, second...FIND ME A 42K CAR, P2 CAR FOR LOW $30's AND I WILL TAKE IT!

2008's with 65k mi are low $30's on an average day and it probably will not be a very nice car! Maybe at the auction if your lucky but if you wanna talk 2009 cars...I will TAKE every one you can find with 42k miles for low $30's...As a matter of fact...I will quit my day job! LOL

You're obviously not in the market for one!

litsnsirn: 2009's with 70k mi loaded with pano and good colors (not the odd colors) are generally mid to high $30's, 2008's with same miles are low $30's, 2009's with 40k mi are mid $40's. If you can get into an auction then they are generally $4k less, give or take but most of you guys can't get into auctions and the chances of 'your' car being there, on that day, are slim. Good luck in your search...I am searching myself but I think I am just going to get the e55 that I have a deposit on.

P.S. I am not so sure that you can find a 2007 P2 car with 42k mi for low $30's but I could be wrong on that as I have not searched for a 2007, only 08 and 09's and mainly 09's. Everyone on here says they are better.

phalen302

07 and 08 are virtually the same, there are no difference. 09s are have better commad system.

Like I said "Low 30's would be a good deal" I didn't meant thats the average street price. FYI, one of my friend traded in his 2008 CPO with 57k (clean) recently and he got $29.5K for it in Northern Virginia at MB of Alexandria.

60nomad

Who is talking about trade ins? I don't know...maybe you have a dealership!? That dealer will want 4 grand on top of that...IF THEY'RE NOT A PIG LIKE MOST...and that car has 57k mi...not 42k mi!

litsnsirn

The dealer that is selling it is telling me that the MB summer wheels and tires are something like $6k, which I am taking worth a grain of salt. The important thing to me is that it has the performance package, which seems oddly rare in the cars that I am seeing for sale. I like the idea of the extra wheels so I can have a nice street set and a stock wheels for track duty, where 18" is important so that I can get some used Hoosiers instead of some crazily expensive new ones. If I bought a CTS-V or if by some miracle the BOSS 302 LS shows up, I'll still need to buy a set of 18's. I wish that it was a 2009 for the MP3 capabilities of the radio. I have a lot of live recordings in mp3 that I enjoy that will not convert easily to iTunes and when I have gone through the effort of doing so, either iTunes or Windows DRM seems to prune them from my collection, so as mp3's they sit and I'd love to just play them from a memory stick, or the newer radio has the SD reader. Is there a way to adapt the 09 radio to the 08 car or add USB connectivity to the existing one.

Also, the color sounds a bit weird and I haven't seen it in person, plus it doesn't seem to photograph well, the salesman described it as black with a little red flake in it, I want to say Sienna Black and it is listed at $39k and change. See if I could get it closer to $35k?

starbrite

Just be sure to listen to that engine on cold start up.....notorious cam adjuster and valve tappet problems.

litsnsirn

This is the first that I have heard of that, how common of a problem is it? I listened to the mp3's, neither one of those sounds good.

starbrite

Common enough that there's a class action lawsuit against MB :

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...8-defects.html

I was actively looking for an '09 before all this started. There's now head gasket issues that have come up as well.

Also on the C63 side : https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...-concerns.html

If you end up buying be sure to get an extended warranty !

viren.89

I have a question too,

Why the hell E63's rotors are so damn expensive compared to ours ? They almost look the same in size and everything ??

is it cuz of being newer models or there are some actual differences ?

starbrite

The 63 rotors are two piece. The rotor is iron but the hat is separate and made of aluminum. The 55 rotors are one piece and all iron. There is a big weight difference as well.

In fact, compared to RacingBrake rotors (RacingBrake makes the rotors with the cooling vanes going in the proper direction), Mercedes went the cheap route with their factory AMG rotors and there is no right or left rotor. Both left and right are the same part and therefore one of the vanes will be backwards.

Jon2007E63P30

You can run single piece rotors for a lot less, but once every 80k spending $700 per is not bad if you plan to track.

Only connectivity is iPod or aux input.

As likely the highest M156 on here, my 107k miles have been essentially trouble free. Engine oil analysis looks great and not burning more than 0.7qt in 7500 miles (my change interval)