Hey gang. I need a little help from the people that understand these cars. I already have an '07 E63 that I absolutely love. But after several years of ownership, and driving back and forth from Indiana to north of Toronto and back has racked up the mileage...and tomorrow it will likely turn 100,000 miles. So I have decided to get another car to help share the mileage burden for our family trips, and pretty much decided that just getting another E63 makes the most sense. Yes....the first one spoiled me.

So here is my question...I found two cars with options that I wanted (Performance Package, Night Vision, P2 package, Panoramic Roof, and some others), but the main differences are mileage, color, and quirky options like rear seat entertainment....and I do not know which I should care more about. In the Porsche world, a new 997 missing the lap timer option with the clock on the dash makes the car far less desirable, so I did not know how that worked with the W212 E63s.

One is a white/black, 39k miles (so still with a fair amount of warranty left), has all of the options I was looking for listed above, and they are asking $46,995 and are a 'one price' dealer...so no negotiation. CarFax shows regular service at the dealer, so no worries about that.

The other is black/black, 49k miles, all of the options listed above PLUS rear seat entertainment monitors (are these factory??), and original window sticker, all records, keys, clear bra, and is being sold by the original owner. So the warranty is almost done (50k miles is the end), it has 10,000 more miles, and is not as striking as the white one....BUT the rear seat entertainment would help keep my 4 year old daughter quiet on long trips, and I am just O.C.D. enough that I really love having the original window sticker and paper records for my cars. Asking $48,000 or best offer.

So I am stuck. I like both for difference reasons, but really am not keen on the warranty on the black one being expired by the time I would drive it home to Indiana. What would you do if you were me? Any help is apprecaited. Thank you!

 

Go with the warranty. Then go down the road to a good shop and have them install an even better rear seat entertainment. I have a '10 right now that I'm about to unload just because the warranty runs out at the end if this month. I like warranties and piece of mind.

 

I am a fan of warranty also. Do you know if I could have the current owner buy and transfer more warranty from Mercedes?

 

How has your 07 E63 been to you over the yrs outside of warranty?

 

It has been pretty great. I had an extended warranty....so I have been outside of warranty for around 15,000 miles, and I just had them fix two leaking seals that go from the oil cooler and that cost me around $600 ($32 in parts, the rest in labor). There was something else that I had fixed for about $700 or $900....I cannot remember. But overall the car has been pretty amazing, and I fix ANYTHING that needs fixed...ANYTHING. So I admittedly am over the top in making sure that my car is perfect all the time, since my wife and child ride in that car.

But the thing I try to exlplain to people is that I bought this car with the understanding that owning a Mercedes, especially an AMG, is not a cheap endeavor if things break. Buying the car is the easy part. The people that are not prepared for $150 oil changes, and $500 services every 10,000 miles to maintain the car according to the book, really should consider a different car. That's not being mean....that's just the way it is.

Obviously I love the car enough that I am keeping it, and buying a newer version of it....so it has not been that bad of a car to own.

 

The $150 oil changes and $500 service every 10K miles is no big deal, its the random, annoying repairs that pop up more often then you'd think that add up that kills it. And the labor they charge is ridiculous.

 

Then you should be fine.....the car is pretty great as long as the maintenance is done, and repairs made as they happen rather than letting them mount up. As I mentioned, my car will likely turn 100,000 miles tomorrow and I have had very few things that required repair.

 

Thats great to hear.

 

I looked into buying more warranty for ours before I decided to buy a new E. I could not even get a quote from some after market warranty companies because it was an AMG. I even had a friend in the used car business look and he said he could not get one through his suppliers either. I didn't do a lot of digging but I did ask my local dealership to certify our current car and got an unofficial quote of $7-8,000. That was probably just a round about figure so I would just buy a new car from him instead. We didn't buy a warranty nor a new car from them. I imagine a local dealer can certify it but its going to be expensive. Probably in the $5-6,000 range if I had to guess.

 

I had a warranty on my 2004 E55 that I bought with 46k miles on it. I paid $3,000 for the warranty (service plan). It was a Chrysler service plan that covered everything except for tires, oil, and brakes. It even covered my dead battery.

The Chrysler service plan is no longer available, probably because they covered at least $20k worth of repairs on my E55, that was very well maintained and babied.

 

Damn!

What kept breaking??? It seems like you still have the car... I guess you weren't too afraid to keep owning it?

 

sounds like a nightmare

 

Oops. Forgot to change my signature. It was kind of a nightmare, but when you aren't paying, it takes away the sting.

I had the engine and trans mounts changed twice, front and rear airmatic shocks replaced, the whole panoramic roof mounts and tracks replaced, passenger seat airbag sensor replaced, climate control blower motor replaced, battery replaced, and a few other trips I can't remember.

I sold that car about 4 months before the warranty expired.

My new car is a 2013 E63 With Performance Package, carbon fibre trim, lane assist, premium leather, pano, and a few other goodies.

Here is a pic:

 

You could contract with the private seller to secure a Mercedes ELW on the car, and include the cost in the sale price. No such opportunity exists with the first unit.

There is a thread on this forum regarding discount Mercedes ELWs.

 

Thank you all for the replies. So….I am actually a bit more baffled now.

Both cars are actually out of warranty based on time…I found this out from the dealership when checking into getting them certified.

Now….owning a non-warranty E63 is in no way my first choice, but for a proper car, I am not totally shutting the door. The black 48k mile car is coming from the original owner who has all books, records, window sticker, keys, and the car has the rear seat entertainment package which would be nice for keeping my 4 year old daughter entertained. Plus, the owner sounds like a true enthusiast owner, which is reassuring.

The white 39k mile car is 2-owners, coming from a dealership, has the records available from CarFax, but I am fairly certain that it does not have any of the books, window sticker, rear seat entertainment package, or other key. The kicker is the 9,000 less miles and that white may be a nice change of pace from my current black E63.

My wife likes the rear seat entertainment package, and that the car is black because (this is not a joke, by the way) she says it would be more stealth and less attention attracting when we take road trips to Canada and are traveling at 'higher than normal speeds'. She said, 'If you are going 90 mph or more, that white car is going to turn heads,' which may be a good or bad thing.

So I am genuinely stuck, because I am wicked O.C.D., and love having details like actual paper records and the window sticker, but having 9,000 less miles on the other car is surely a plus for re-sale and long term ownership. I am genuinely stuck. How much would you care about the 9,000 mile difference if the cars were very close to the same price?

 

Here's my weighting:

1a - Condition/Maint History
1b - Warranty

2 - Appearance
3 - Options

No way would I buy a used AMG without a warranty. Unless it was something special and/or priced way, way, way below market.

Carsdotcom is showing at least four CPO 2010 E63's in the northeast, priced in the mid $40-low 50 range.

$0.02

 

Thank you. I checked out those CPO cars. The problem is that I want a car with the Performance Package and Nigh Time Assist for my wife, and none of those have those options, and only a few of the cars available on the Internet have them at all, and two of them are the ones I am looking at that are out of warranty. The black one is the only one I am finding with the rear seat entertainment package. So that has me kind of stuck too.

Both of the cars in question appear to be very nice, with maintenance history, and unique options list. I did call my dealer contact yesterday to have him scan his sources to see if he could find me one with what I want. If anyone here knows someone selling a car like this, I would appreciate the assistance.

2010 - 2011 E63

Performance Package

P2 Package

Night Time Assist

Under warranty with service history preferred.

Rear Seat Entertainment is a plus.

The only colour I do not want is silver. White or black are preferred.

No accidents.

 

Night View Assist is not a very common option. I'm sure you've perused the dozens of threads generally panning its usefulness in the MBWorld forums dedicated the various platforms MB has tried it on.


PP, P2 and still under warranty or CPO is going to yield a much more fruitful search.

Good luck.

 

Go with the privately owned car.

 

I mean this as a genuine question. What is the reasoning behind that so that I can more completely understand the recommendation?

Thank you.

 

Because I value an original, 1 owner car with all books and records. If I'm gonna buy a used car, I will always look for a 1 owner car, and especially one that has all books and records including the window sticker. I know it has more mileage that the white one, but its only 10k more. Its not like its 20K or more. Also, it has that rear entertainment that you said your kid(s) can use. Its a no brainer to me, really.

 

Thank you. I have been leaning towards the same thoughts. Usually someone who keeps that detailed of a history and ownership is a safer bet. I appreciate the insight.

 

Anytime