dustinN

So, the head bolt issue is the known issue for W211 E63. Mine is around 65K and it's running good, I don't have any kind of problem but I am concern abt this issue that I might have in the future. I am planning to keep my car for at least a couple more years. I have heard that CarMax has some good extended warranty program but I don't know if prepaying around $3k that I might or might not using at all in the future is a good idea. Another thing, will the "resonator deleted" prevent me from getting the extended warranty? Any thought E63 owners? Thanks.

Speedriven1

The extended warranty wouldn't cover exhaust stuff because you modified that, obviously- but a powertrain warranty should cover the head bolt issue.

2000UZJ

Does your warranty cover "bolts and fasteners"?

dustinN

I don't have one yet. I am thinking of getting one. So I need to make sure that the extended warranty will cover the "bolts and fasteners"? How many 07 E63 had experience with the head bolts issue? At 65K, mine doesn't have any mechanical problem whatsoever.

thtguy

CarMax warranties are only for cars they sell.

mightar

Only Mercedes-Benz corporate knows.

If you guesstimate that there are at least 15,000 M156-equipped vehicles sold between 2007-2010 and if you assume there are 500 verified head bolt issues (which I highly doubt - otherwise there would have been a major class-action lawsuit by now), that's still 3.33% chance you would be affected.

CarbonHan

I hit 80k miles and im having my lifters, camshafts and headbolts replaced at mercedes through my extended auto warranty via USAA right now. I paid close to $4k up front for 2 years/24k miles coverage. They covered everything BUT they put a cap on their payout. Mine was capped at $18k when I bought the coverage at 58k miles so your cap will be even lower. USAA(assurant) is rated as one of the top extended vehicle warranty companies out there though so you can't go wrong with them... just be wary of the cap on payouts.

dustinN

This is the reason why I am not sure if a 3-4k warranty is a good investment. Just enjoy the car and IF the problem ever hit, deal with it???

CarbonHan

I decided to go with the warranty because although the m156 doesnt have many problems, if one was to arise it'll be costly. My warranty paid out $18,xxx in legitimate mechanical problems over the span of 2 years. I even used my indy for 90% of the repairs so if I had gone to the stealership for every single problem i wouldve hit my cap sooner.

I'd get a warranty just for the peace of mind. I was planning on selling my 63 when the warranty expired but after getting all of the problems resolved im probably going to drive this thing til it dies.

dustinN

When you get the head bolts replaced, did they ask for proof?

CarbonHan

I was approved to get the camshafts and lifters replaced by USAA so I just asked my SA at MB how much more it would be to expose my headbolts to see if theres any corrosion. They quoted me about 10 hours of additional work but was told that if they notice headbolt issues, USAA will send out another adjuster to verify and then pay for it. I took a gamble and gave them the go ahead and lo and behold my headbolts needed to be replaced.

I ended up hitting my CAP and owing $400 on top of my own money but thats chump change compared to what I could've owed down the line.

Obviously YMMV The tech working on my car has been a master tech at MB for 7+ years and said that he sees head bolt issues on high mileage m156s... anything over 90K miles. Its not really a matter of IF but WHEN on the old style headbolts.