check the rear shade function and for kinks
make sure active seats smoothly adjust without problem
auxbattery health check
glove box door function
airmatic health
trunk opening and closing motor check
noisy pano
Gas door hinge issues
engine lifter noises
Make sure your led headlights are flawless ... active component etc... they are $3000 each

Check for a For Sale sign. I wouldn’t keep these cars out of warranty. Ordinary repairs get very expensive when you least expect it.

Just updated the list

i bought mine new in 2014 and have 21k miles

i have an ELW to 7/75k

and I will have a for sale sign on the night before the 7th year is up

This a good thread to have since people’s E63 warranty is coming to an end. 👍🏼

Amggggg - i tend to agree with you about “keeping for the duration” especially if you have purchased a (near) problem free 1 owner MB AMG that you took care of and is low mileage.

I wouldn’t try to talk you out of or into anything, but my experiences are pretty contrary to what you just highlighted. Cars have an economic lifecycle in addition to utility, for the former it’s about 12 years at which point the vehicle (not assuming rare or special pedigree vehicles) is pretty much worthless. You have already taken the biggest chunk of depreciation (year 2-3, the remainder of the lifecycle is pretty linear), so there is a strong argument for riding it out. However, costs go up and very often irrespective of mileage because it seems evident with electronics heavy modern cars that age is the demon, not usage. As your costs go up, typically on expensive components like suspension, subsystems supporting engine and drivetrain, and electronics, it pushes you negative relative to what the vehicle will be worth in resale. There is a strong argument for selling cars at the 3-4 year mark because while you have already taken a big hit on depreciation you won’t be compounding the loss down the depreciation curve by having expenses outside of a warranty period.

I’ve held on to specific cars for a lot longer because I really just like it or some other factor, but even with rare cars of modern vintage more often than not it ends up working against me economically. Most of the cars I own I just flip at the 3 year mark.

I would never argue economics as a reason for buying any of these cars, however there is an economic argument to be made for when to hold them and when to flip them. These things are depreciating assets that provide intangible benefit (the joy of driving them) and that is a reason for owning them. I just try to protect my downside and have learned that it is a false comfort to look at a car and say “low mileage, I already own it”. When we own something, the natural impulse is to irrationally value it vs undervaluing when we the buyer (the entire real estate market is built on this psychology.) I have faced repeat disappointment when selling a car out of the warranty window. The resale value is always below what I think I can get for it and then I kick myself for having put new tires on or just having the service done or new brakes. It’s just not worth it and AMG vehicles are hit with some of the steepest depreciation in the industry. I drive a Carrera GTS and I look at that car one year in and could resell for 13% loss while my 2 year old AMG wagon, in perfect condition with low mileage, would hit me with a 45% loss. The E63 is my wife’s car and she loves the wagon, but I have to say that I look at a Panamera shooting brake and wish I could talk her into it but I won’t so I’ll order her a new wagon next year and just lock down my loss.

I was thinking off the 2019 e63S but just didn't feel like spending 120k for a relatively small performance gain

the ELW helped me decide to keep the car for three more years and tune it

Apprciate all these perspectives offered up here on this topic so thanks guys.

To Kponti’s point, definitely is comical how MB has conditioned us to downplay and expect these “minor repairs” that ain’t cheap .

this discussion has me thinking its just more practical (and worry free) to lease these new AMGs for like 2-3 years and stay within warranty term then move on to something else....

I’m planning on keeping mine atleast until the CPO warranty ends in 2 years, the main thing I’ll have to weigh then is whether there is anything I would like as a replacement. The problem for me is I just don’t like the aesthetics of the W213 AMG S, exterior or interior. Maybe the 4 door AMG GTS once it’s released?
If any of you are contemplating the move after warranty, what are you looking at?

Yeah, my 2016 wagon is getting to the point where I want to upgrade it. I actually had a W213 wagon on hold for me and pulled the plug. I just can’t get excited about this car. The styling is a step back and unlike other generation changes, I’m not sure I would overcome it and eventually appreciate it. Smaller displacement, more power... 2 extra gears in the transmission. Dynamic AWD. Better cockpit, yes but I strenuously object to the stick on the column. People say “but you use the paddles to shift” and while true, a shifter on the console is as much a tradition as the left-side dummy key in Porsche’s keyless system (no buttons). The W213 feels very incremental and a bit sterile when compared to the W212 in my driveway.

I’m looking at the new Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid Sport Turismo. Plus, I can get a Federal tax credit.

what was the cause of the steering groan?
I also hear a rubbing noise during low speed manoeuvres and my dealer told me they can’t hear it.
thanks

Yeah, the W213 stick on the column is a design fail - it’s the same you had in a 2007 W221 S350 Diesel.

Not mentioning you can hit it by accident in a spirited driving a put in N. It happened to me on a racetrack actually.

It’s something almost every Mercedes has/will have and dealers “never seen it before”.

Sone people were lucky having their whole steering column replaced under warranty.

Maybe I missed it, but if you are still under factory warranty, you should be able to purchase the MB extended warranty. If you look at the cost of this warranty (apx $7k) for another 3 years of no anxiety vs the anxiety of no protection or the cost of another new car, it might be a sensible solution. If you go this route you will only be left without coverage for stuff like rattles and trim items basically.

Just a thought.

thanks for the reply. I will pressure my stealer to do the same.
cheers