Hey there everyone, I’ve been in and out of this forum trying to get a feel for the e55 and e63. I can’t seem to shake them out of my mind so I’m going to go ahead and pull the trigger on an 06 that appears to in great shape. It has 157k miles so I’m prepared to have to do the proper maintenance.

Here is the link to the car, I’ve already driven it and played with it a little bit. Everything seems to work properly but I’m sure I’ve missed a couple things.

http://www.westbroadvw.com/used/Merc...b83b9b94ee.htm

Just wanted to drop in and see if anyone has any advice or thoughts before I go and try and finalize everything. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Lots of miles, potentially spending big $

Airmatic
Suspension arms & bushings
SBC unit
Alternator

I'd take it to a Merc dealer & have them inspect. Obviously don't have them repair it unless you're made of $, but use that info to negotiate pricing if inspection comes out reasonable.

 

Get a PPI done by either a Mercedes dealership or a good indy shop. It's well worth the money spent if you're serious about the car.

 

A pre-purchase inspection is definitely worth it to see if you have any major problems. At that mileage, I'm sure they'll find some things that need attention, but hopefully they'll be relatively minor.

The air suspension and SBC are the common/expensive repairs, and unfortunately, it's not typically possible to predict failure until it happens so don't buy the car unless you can afford these types of repairs without any warning.

I took a quick look at the VMI and it looks like the front air struts were replaced in 2014, but I didn't see anything about the rears (fairly expensive because you need to remove the entire rear subframe). I also didn't see an SBC replacement, but I didn't look too hard so I may have missed something. Luckily, there is a significant maintenance history (looks like most if not all work has been done at the dealer). Both rear tires were replaced this past May and the last service (looks like just an oil change, not a full A/B service) was November of 2016.

At that mileage, there's no way to know without looking at it, but with the extensive dealer service history, it may be in very good shape.

The engine/transmission are generally bullet-proof so the mileage doesn't really mean much to them: things can break at any time, so there's no guarantee, but they typically don't have any major problems at this mileage (just the typical leaking valve covers (engine) and pilot bushing (transmission)). The mileage is more of an issue regarding the suspension: bushings, especially, do wear out with that much mileage, but that should be expected and they're not terribly expensive.

There is an extended warranty on the entire fuel tank assembly (due to leaks) which is good until 2021. I would strongly recommend having the tank replaced even if you don't notice anything wrong: you will get both new pumps and filters for free. (Just say you smell gas after refueling.)

If you want a copy of the VMI, PM me your email address.

 

Although I've never done this and maybe the WIS tells you to do it this way, from everything I've read, replacing the rear Airmatics doesn't require lowering the subframe whatsoever. Moreover, it seems like one of the easier DIY's to do.

To OP, I just bought a very similar car with 113k miles for basically that price, and it came with stacks of receipts. My car was a Texas car all its life and was a legitimate 8/10-9/10 in all facets. So I think your car might be priced a little high with basically 45k extra miles. Also not loving the fact it was a Virginia car all its life because of the potential rust factor, but I guess that'd depend on how the car was driven and maintained. I just dread working on older cars from salt-belt states (as well as cars from like Florida tbh)-- things break or just don't budge which is never fun.

Also, it might help you to know that my car still required a new alternator, upper and lower ball joints, trans fluid flush, and cracked exhaust manifold repair (which I skipped in favor of long tube headers). Literally every other wear and tear item on my car was addressed in the last 30k miles by the previous owners; otherwise I would've been looking at additional thousands of dollars just in parts.

Having said that, in addition to what everyone else already mentioned, I'd definitely check to make sure the trans fluid was changed at some point. 160k miles is a very, very long time to go without it.

 

I have $5k sitting in the AMG repair bank account. When they break they do it in style. As others mentioned, other than usual maintenance it is worth replacing the pilot bushing unless it is recorded as done already, check all belts and pulleys, coolant change is usually overlooked, replace the intercooler pump and check fuel pressure. For E63 just hope for the best, they seem to have fewer but much more involved issues, headbolts etc.

 

I'm not sure what you've been reading, but to do the job correctly, the subframe must be lowered because the reservoir should not be separated from airbag (they are connected by a hose going over the subframe). The exception would be if you're installing an aftermarket airbag with no reservoir (Arnott), but I don't personally recommend that. Separating the reservoir and airbag (they come as one sealed piece) is not a good idea: it will most likely leak. MB is very particular about this and as a dealer tech, I have seen it happen several times (outside shops often cut corners and then we end up cleaning up their mess). Dealer techs usually cut every corner they can, but I've never seen one try this: it's too risky. WIS does often include minor unnecessary steps, but a procedure like remove/reinstalling the subframe adds a substantial amount to the book time and that is what MB must pay for warranty and goodwill repairs: they wouldn't be paying hundreds of dollars for it if they didn't think it was completely necessary (and profits from labor on customer pay repairs go to the dealer not MB so they couldn't care less about that). Regardless of what corners are cut, the book time includes time to remove/reinstall the subframe so that's what you will be paying for even if the tech doesn't bother to do the job properly.

 

I bought my car with 139k and it had been dealer serviced it's whole life. I'm now knocking on 160k and the car has been headache free.

My gut says the 06 must be less problem-prone after being on the forums for several years I haven't had nearly the level of trouble others on here seem to have.

 

If getting a PPI, request they pull the adaptation info on the transmission. This will give you an idea of how worn the clutch packs are.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post7162893

 

Right, the Arnott rear air springs for the W211 & W219s do not require the reservoir so you don't need to lower the subframe (saving over 90% labor time according to one shop estimating program). They were designed with a larger piston to overcome that need but you would need to replace both at the same time or the pressure on each side will be different and they won't be the same height. We haven't gotten complaints about the ride quality (We offer a 30 day return policy just in case). We tried to remanufacture these at one time but pulled that product pretty quickly. The current Arnott rear springs are 100% new, designed and assembled here in the USA, so they won't leak from the reservoir connection since there isn't one. One Note: Make sure the shop has the STAR diagnostics tool for the install.

More info on the Arnott Air Spring including link to install resources: http://www.arnottindustries.com/prod...5-e63-amg/2006