Pre- Buy Checkups
next week on wednesday ill be driving to the netherlands to get my hands on a 2013 E63s Wagon.
Car has 68k Miles (113k km) and has been serviced every 7-9k miles (12-15k km) at a mercedes benz dealer since 2013.
Pre- Buy i wanted to do following checks,please tell me what you think about that and if im missing something:
- borescope and do a compression check
I heard cylinder 5 is the first to show wear, would it be enough to borescope and compression check this one or should i do more/ all?
As the borescope and the compression check are a bit of work and i dont want to stress out the dealer too much how much of a necessity are the remaining cylinders?
- Check Cam sensors and ECU for Oil in the harness
- Start the car from completely cold and listen for timing chain rattle
telling from the engine number, last 6 digits 36881, it should have the upgraded timing chain, and check valves, can someone approve?
As the timing chain tensioner was updated later in 2014 or 15 i think, do you guys think i`d have to change to the newer tensioner if theres no issues?
-check motor mounts
Please let me know if im missing something or theres something i should watch out for.
Thank you guys so much!
Last edited by Jordsen; Apr 4, 2025 at 04:27 PM.
next week on wednesday ill be driving to the netherlands to get my hands on a 2013 E63s Wagon.
Car has 68k Miles (113k km) and has been serviced every 7-9k miles (12-15k km) at a mercedes benz dealer since 2013.
Pre- Buy i wanted to do following checks,please tell me what you think about that and if im missing something:
- borescope and do a compression check
I heard cylinder 5 is the first to show wear, would it be enough to borescope and compression check this one or should i do more/ all?
As the borescope and the compression check are a bit of work and i dont want to stress out the dealer too much how much of a necessity are the remaining cylinders?
- Check Cam sensors and ECU for Oil in the harness
- Start the car from completely cold and listen for timing chain rattle
telling from the engine number, last 6 digits 36881, it should have the upgraded timing chain, and check valves, can someone approve?
As the timing chain tensioner was updated later in 2014 or 15 i think, do you guys think i`d have to change to the newer tensioner if theres no issues?
-check motor mounts
Please let me know if im missing something or theres something i should watch out for.
Thank you guys so much!
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...fixes-diy.html
Last edited by PeterUbers; Apr 4, 2025 at 05:44 PM.
has been very informative!
Your surely right, ll just do borescope and compression check on all 8 cylinders to be safe.
By any chance, does anyone know a good online shop around europe for all the parts regarding the m157?
I always see fcpeuro but i dont want to wait 2 weeks and pay 50 bucks shipping everytime i need something.
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- coolant lines and adapters
- gaskets
- coolant reservoir
- pcv
- vacuum check valve
- thermostat
- water/coolant pump
Other things:
- old main and aux battery
- airmatic suspension is a logistical and financial nightmare on a wagon - the parts are hard to come by internationally
- shifter not responding well going from park to drive
- leaking cv axle boots
- front diff seepage
- propeller shaft play and vibrations
- center hanger bearing old and noisy
I mean I can go through the whole sticky. Invariably all of these things may come to play on any car like this beyond 60k miles. If a catastrophic problem is just a scored cylinder or a leaky cylinder then that's one thing but if you add up all the little things listed above, they can be thousands and thousands of dollars and that could be catastrophic to another type of buyer.
Question is:
What is a deal breaker for you?
money pit used E63's:
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
Last edited by PeterUbers; Apr 5, 2025 at 03:10 PM.
- coolant lines and adapters
- gaskets
- coolant reservoir
- pcv
- vacuum check valve
- thermostat
- water/coolant pump
Other things:
- old main and aux battery
- airmatic suspension is a logistical and financial nightmare on a wagon - the parts are hard to come by internationally
- shifter not responding well going from park to drive
- leaking cv axle boots
- front diff seepage
- propeller shaft play and vibrations
- center hanger bearing old and noisy
I mean I can go through the whole sticky. Invariably all of these things may come to play on any car like this beyond 60k miles. If a catastrophic problem is just a scored cylinder or a leaky cylinder then that's one thing but if you add up all the little things listed above, they can be thousands and thousands of dollars and that could be catastrophic to another type of buyer.
Question is:
What is a deal breaker for you?
money pit used E63's:
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
I think up until now over the course of the last 6-12 Months i mustve spend at least 50+ hours just reading forum posts.
Ive read about a lot of great ownership experiences and also about a few very bad ones..
I know repairs on the M157 platform can get really expensive real quick and by now the problems that could occur all have a name.
Its not in question IF something is going to fail but WHEN it is going to fail.
Theres Nothing on earth that can change my mind about buying an S212 at this point, ive just been far to in love with this car for way too long and im willing to take the potential risks.
I I am just trying to stay as safe as possible from moneypits.
And whilst it'll never be a bargain to own one of these i would just like to have a reasonable amount of repairs and avoid any big dramas
Last edited by Jordsen; Apr 5, 2025 at 04:01 PM.
I think up until now over the course of the last 6-12 Months i mustve spend at least 50+ hours just reading forum posts.
Ive read about a lot of great ownership experiences and also about a few very bad ones..
I know repairs on the M157 platform can get really expensive real quick and by now the problems that could occur all have a name.
Its not in question IF something is going to fail but WHEN it is going to fail.
Theres Nothing on earth that can change my mind about buying an S212 at this point, ive just been far to in love with this car for way too long and im willing to take the potential risks.
I I am just trying to stay as safe as possible from moneypits.
And whilst it'll never be a bargain to own one of these i would just like to have a reasonable amount of repairs and avoid any big dramas
Amor Fati - all things that go into the fire, good and bad, burn the fire bright.
has been very informative!
Your surely right, ll just do borescope and compression check on all 8 cylinders to be safe.
By any chance, does anyone know a good online shop around europe for all the parts regarding the m157?
I always see fcpeuro but i dont want to wait 2 weeks and pay 50 bucks shipping everytime i need something.
I am super excited, i hope the car will be in great condition on wednesday!
For later / end of this year i planned:
-trans service
-diff front + rear oil change
-Brake fluid change
-cooling fluid change
Unfortunately from those i think i can only do the brake fluid change myself.
As far as i could tell the rest needs to much extra equipment or makes too much mess. I dont have a shop or suitable garage so im a bit limited in the work i can do by myself.
Should i try to do the trans service or even more of said work sooner?
As the next MB Service will be due in September / October it would have been convenient to do this work then.
I planned to do:
-Oil change (+filter)
-Airfilter
-Plugs incl. Indexing
-new Cam Sensors + Clean magnets / cables
-Oil solenoid unplug
immediately after purchase before i even start driving the car once i get it home.
Last edited by Jordsen; Apr 7, 2025 at 09:39 AM.
For later / end of this year i planned:
-trans service
-diff front + rear oil change
-Brake fluid change
-cooling fluid change
Unfortunately from those i think i can only do the brake fluid change myself.
As far as i could tell the rest needs to much extra equipment or makes too much mess. I dont have a shop or suitable garage so im a bit limited in the work i can do by myself.
Should i try to do the trans service or even more of said work sooner?
As the next MB Service will be due in September / October it would have been convenient to do this work then.
I planned to do:
-Oil change (+filter)
-Airfilter
-Plugs incl. Indexing
-new Cam Sensors + Clean magnets / cables
-Oil solenoid unplug
immediately after purchase before i even start driving the car once i get it home.
post 62 and 63:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...ml#post9005386
post 62 and 63:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...ml#post9005386
Repair bill was i think close to 4 grand with the car being worth not more than 9.
I will ask the owner if the back of the car sinks down when parking for several days and if, how fast.
At least this was the symptoms i got when mine died a few years ago.
Aside from looking for oilleaks there isnt anything i can do right?







