SVTF-150

hello all! i've been a bit of a longtime lurker and am now close to taking the w211 plunge. i've been diving headfirst into all things e63 over the past month or so, feel as if i have most potential issues mitigated with the 07 that i am looking at, but would like to put the car through as rigorous of a ppi as possible by a shop that knows the quirks and issues with these cars inside and out before agreeing to a final price/eventually making the purchase.

i am located in northern nj, but the car is located outside of philly. the car has been dealer-serviced for most of its life, and i do have access to the vmi. i was considering taking the car to mb of ft. washington (as it was once sold by mb of cherry hill, and has been serviced at euro motorcars mb in devon and i'm looking for the ppi to happen on neutral ground), but think that an indy mechanic might be a bit more knowledgeable (considering the age of the car).

i've read good things about cs cantlin in conshohocken, but know the current owner of the car had a nightmare experience with them misdiagnosing an electrical issue, and subsequently and throwing thousands of dollars of parts at the car without getting to the core of the problem, so i'd like to avoid them if possible. right now, my #1 pick is sonsini auto imports in plymouth meeting, but i'd really like some philly guys to chime in with any recommendations you might have.

jheadley98

I am currently in the process of purchasing a W211 E55, and I work at Mercedes-Benz of Fort Washington, which is just northwest of Philadelphia. I can't speak on other dealership's reputations, but I know we do good work here and I would put faith in a PPI from MBFW

SVTF-150

hey there!

i actually called mbfw a few days ago and spoke with paul (i believe that was his name) in the service department. i asked him about performing a ppi on an 07 e63 and was told "uh... yeah, i mean, i guess we can like check the tires and brakes and look at the suspension for an hour. it'll be 190 bucks". when i asked him about the w211 e63 in general, he gave me the "yeah we really never see these/they never made many of them/a brake job alone will cost you like 5k" speech, so i was a bit turned off. i've run into issues like this whenever i've needed some knowledge/expertise from a dealer about any of the older audis i've owned, so i kind of just wrote you guys off and moved on to indy shops.

all of that said, if you guys are super well versed in what i guess is technically an "older car", and can give me an honest to goodness breakdown of what this car will need (given it's history and its current condition), i'll definitely talk to the owner about bringing it to you. also, shoot me a pm if it'd be easier to chat directly.

AMG-SVT-FTW

As a Lightning guy, you should really give the M113K consideration. You would enjoy it immensely.

SVTF-150

i've never driven any standard AMG car with an M113K, but I've put hundreds of miles on cars with the M155 derivative (i used to work for an exotic car club between 08-10, and drove quite a few SLR's/Roadsters). i'm definitely very torn right now because i'm trying to reconcile having always wanted to own an M156 car, with also having something newer. i'm very hesitant to be dipping into the 07-09 range for any car i plan on dailying (let alone a one-time $100k, now 100k mile AMG car), which is why i really haven't had the desire to look at anything older than the E63.

Yuille36

I feel you.. All you can do is find the very best E63, that you can live with and afford to maintain.

Rovel

In general, my experience with PPI was that they don't inspect the car the way you expect. I've done Mercedes PPIs in MB dealerships and at independent shops. I think knowledgeable indy shops do far better job than the dealership and you can actually talk to techs and ask them specific questions.

I bought E63 from a Toyota dealership in NC a year ago sight unseen. I found a reputable independent BMW shop in the area (they said that they had MB techs too.) Asked the seller to take the car there for PPIs which I paid for. I called the shop and asked them to check several things specifically. For example, check coolant for exhaust smell, or smell exhaust for coolant burn - was trying to check whether head bolts were OK or not. Another one was to check tranny oil for contaminants and residue. They said that all was OK. When the car arrived, I took it to a local MB dealership for another PPI. Dealers just do visual check up: suspension, tires, computer scan, etc. They won't even check oil level.

So my advise would be don't order it from a dealer, but find smaller shops specializing in german cars.

SVTF-150

that's what i believe i have found (revised head bolts, cam adjusters and lifters, dealer maintained since new, new engine mounts, wiring harness, ecu, im resealed, lower ball joints replaced, a few airbags replaced, with a few cosmetic issues that i can sort out easily)... i just want someone that knows the achilles heels of these cars to go over the thing with a fine tooth comb to tell me i won't need to pull the engine and rebuild the entire car, or replace every electrical sensor/motor in a year.

Chrisk03

+1 Try VAC Motorsports in Philly...but call them first. They really are more of a BMW shop, but they MAY do an MB for you...they know their chit, usually. If not, try: https://www.benzshops.com/ ...I'll be using M-Tech Euro Auto Haus in Wilmington, DE going forward (haven't yet) seeing that the oil change (Service A) at MB of Wilmington was about $230 bucks. Good luck.

SVTF-150

i gave https://www.germanautospecialist.com/ a ring and spoke with nick, and think the car will be in very very good hands. their PPI is wildly expensive, but i have confidence that they'll uncover any hidden gremlins with the car i'm looking at.

i'll be sure to post my PPI results once all is said and done

Chrisk03

Good stuff! I think I've seen them in the BMWCCA local chapter info. Definitely, post up your results, you can never have too many good options when it comes to reputable service/repair shops.

jheadley98

Just saw this reply. I guess since I work there I can get a lot more done for a lot cheaper. No hard feelings, go with whoever will do the best work. You definitely don't want to skimp out when it comes to getting information on these cars. Good luck!

eddieo45

@SVTF-150 how did this work out for you?
@jheadley98 still work at MBFW??

Bajwa

My 07 e63 does the same. Rear suspensions leak air over time equally from both sides. Loses almost completely in a week in cold weather and I live in Calgary lol. I am away for almost a month now. If my rear suspensions are sitting very low with almost no air, does it damage the suspension? I am trying to get my friend to get hold of keys and fire it up once a week.

Also did anybody have exact same issue and got it fixed? If so, what was the cause and how much did it cost to fix?

cetialpha5

As long as you don't drive it, it should be fine. I wouldn't bother firing it up once a week. You probably have a leak in the air line somewhere and what typically happens is that people don't get the leak fixed and then they burn out the air compressor and that is an expensive part to replace. Which is why I don't suggest airing it up just to air it up, you'll just burn out the compressor sooner. It's basically a plumbing problem, you need to find the location where it's leaking. It's mentioned in a few other threads even in the regular W211 forum for those that have an E550.

Yuille36

Typically, the air leaks occurs at these components, air compressor, valve block, air struts and air springs. I haven’t heard. Of air leaks from the lines itself, unless they’re frayed. So, I would start first my checking these components. But if you have a shop that has Star Diagnostic computer they should be able to tell what component has failed or is leaking.

Bajwa

Thanks for the response. One of my friends told me that if you keep your car in that suspension deflated state for too long , it could damage or crack something (don’t remember what part exactly). That’s why I was really worried every time my suspension was completely out of air and car rear was completely down.

cetialpha5

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Just get it repaired quickly. Not really sure what it would damage. You could always put it up on jack stands.

Yuille36

The only thing that I can think of that would be damaged is the rear air bag. As a full deflation could possibly pinch the bag itself. No other suspension components would be compromised, but it does put a bind on bushings.