E63 M156 - Overall reliability from long term owners request

Seriously considering adding a W211 E63 Wagon to my fleet. I'm aware of the stout reliability of the W210 platform, and I'm aware of the gremlins that plague the M156 motors. I plan to address the motor issues with the 63 Motorsports company upgrades.
However, for the long term M156 owners - how reliable have your cars been for other issues?
What are some common things that break and are annoying or cost a lot of money to fix?
I'm adding this car as a nice day daily-driver, and selling my Toyota. I know I'm never going to be as reliable as my Toyota, but life is short and I want something fun for my daily, but I don't want to send my mechanic's kids through college.
Just want to see what your overall ownership experiences have been like, and what problems you've had before I make the plunge.
Thanks all!
-Matt from Edmonton




BTW, I'm in Edmonton as well.
R.K.


What are you spending that 2500/yr on? What's breaking? Or is that just routine maintenance costs, just curious?
We're still going to keep our Rav4...wife says we have too many cars so the 4Runner might be getting the axe...




- All new brakes including rotors and pads, fluid flush for both front and rear.
- Valve cover gaskets
- Oil cooler O-rings
- All new suspension excluding the air struts for the front
- Rear air struts
- AC compressor
- Transmission valve body
- Alternator, SBC Battery, tensioner pulley and belt
- Fuel pressure regulator
- Fuel pumps
- Front radiator
- Rear Hatch struts (mine is manual in the rear)
- Misc plastic engine parts and interior parts
- Crank Position Sensor
So ya, a couple of things...
R.K.
BTW, I'm in Edmonton as well.
R.K.
Last edited by LindaWagner; Jul 22, 2024 at 07:23 AM.
Last edited by Rafichicago; Jul 17, 2024 at 06:31 PM.
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- All new brakes including rotors and pads, fluid flush for both front and rear.
- Valve cover gaskets
- Oil cooler O-rings
- All new suspension excluding the air struts for the front
- Rear air struts
- AC compressor
- Transmission valve body
- Alternator, SBC Battery, tensioner pulley and belt
- Fuel pressure regulator
- Fuel pumps
- Front radiator
- Rear Hatch struts (mine is manual in the rear)
- Misc plastic engine parts and interior parts
- Crank Position Sensor
--
So ya, a couple of things...
R.K.
This is pretty representative of my experience as well. 130k miles and the engine and transmission are still strong, but the creature comforts will start to add up . Biggest cost so far has been replacing the entire air suspension. Outside of that, $500 - $1500 in annual fixing things costs should be expected. More if you can't do the work yourself.



