2006 W211 E63 AMG Saloon

[bmthnick1981]

I acquired this back in June to replace my 2014 E Class Estate which was on a 2 year lease. I've always been a fan of big saloons with big naturally aspirated engines and have previously run various BMWs and Mercs with big engines.

I considered an E60 M5 and liked the idea of the V10 engine but not the SMG box. I do like the RS6 but would want a V10 avant model and those where out of budget. Hence I went for the E63.

Prior to purchasing this car I went to look at a much cheaper car in Buckinghamshire with higher miles, that particular car had a very high spec with cooled seats, pano roof, rear TV, push button start etc BUT smoked terribly on start up. Despite the seller's attempts to persuade me this was normal I walked away and am glad I did. My car doesn't smoke at all from cold or hot start.

My car is quite a low spec car but only had 35,000 miles when I bought it, now on 36,500 approx, and had been serviced at Mercedes locally to me around 34,700 miles. I paid slightly more than I planned to but the low mileage and condition sealed it for me. I dont do massive mileage so would hope that in 12 months I should get most of my money back when the car would only be on 45,000 miles.

No real plans for it as such other than to use it any enjoy it. It doesn't need anything (other than a wheel refurb to put them back to diamond cut finish as they should be - MB refurbed them in all silver some time ago) at the moment but I plan to change the oil regularly with MB filer and 0w 40 Mobil 1. I'd like to take it into Europe at some stage as I think it would be excellent for a longer road trip.

People always seem to want to know about MPG, round town can be 14-18 MPG. Longer runs can be around 25 MPG. Similar to a V12 7 series I had a few years back.

I'll try and add some pics later.

[bmthnick1981]

These are from the advert when I bought the car (location is Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset);

[bmthnick1981]

harrykul said:

I bet that sounds soooo good. Great car.

The sound is one of its finest attributes!

[bmthnick1981]

griffin dai said:

Awesome bit of kit :

I thought my old w210 e55 AMG was quick until I had a play with one of these!! Had a chat with him and he had a kleeman supercharger upgrade on there. Ballistic

Here's my old one

I've always had a soft spot fro the old W210 E55 AMG and should have bought one years ago when you could get a relatively tidy one for £4-5k.

The Kleeman supercharge conversion for the M156 engine is a serious (and expensive) bit of kit !

[bmthnick1981]

A few pictures of the interior. The low mileage means the leather is still really soft and supple. Seats much better than my 2014 E Class;

[bmthnick1981]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Lovely car. Having run a 2014 E-class for a couple of years, how does it feel to step back into an older model?

I'm not sure there is much form the newer car which I miss. Probably the bluetooth streaming of music I do miss a bit but the E63 has a lead to plug an iPhone in contained in the glove box - that currently has an old iPhone 4 plug on it so I am waiting for an adaptor so I can plug my iPhone 6 in.

The E63 has a good Parrot kit installed so I can use the phone when driving which is handy. Other than that it has heated seats, auto lights and wipers, good A/C, the auto brake thingy which is useful in traffic, electric memory seats, electric steering column, folding mirrors, nav (which still works) and probably some other stuff i'm not aware of. It has all I need basically.

[bmthnick1981]

turboteeth said:

Beautiful car! Like others have said - there is no low spec AMG and thank god you walked away from the old smokey one! I sold my E55 this year and always wanted to upgrade to the 6.2 like yours. I've now got the 5.5 bi turbo and it's good but not as good at delivering that great soundtrack of the 6.2 ??

I agree re: the smokey one. It could have been something relatively simple like a blocked or knackered PCV or it could have been something much more serious like valve stem seals. I could have save a few grand going for the cheaper smokey car but I am very pleased I didn't.

I like the idea of the 5.5 bi turbo car and could be interested in a 2013 facelift onwards saloon (in black) in a year or two. I do agree thought the 6.2 makes the better noise - I don't think they will make a N/A engine like the M156 again.

[bmthnick1981]

spark_s said:

Great cars I've had one for a couple of years now. Also had a V10 M5 which whilst unbeatable at 10/10ths is nowhere near as good an overall car as the E63. Mine is now on 77k miles and the interior still looks like yours!

Diamond cut wheels are a bit of pain but worth it as set the car off well. Enjoy the car!

A agree the diamond cut wheels do set the car off.

My wheels;



And what they should look like (two tone);



I'm happy to get them done but it is a bit of an expense so i'll probably hold off for a few months.

[bmthnick1981]

The other choice with the wheels which I am toying with is trying to find a set of the 19" AMG split rims known as AMG iv's. These were fitted new to the SL55, S65, CL65 and others I think. They are expensive wheels to buy new and rarely seem to come up second hand and when they do they are a lot of money. I was drawn to the idea when I spotted a set on a silver W211 at a recent car show;







I think they look good but would be interested to learn what others think.

[bmthnick1981]

abarber said:

If parked on an incline, the smoking is normal. Try it with yours and it will do it at certain angles!

The black car I went to see smoked when parked completely level and it was a LOT of smoke! Never noticed mine smoke at any angle thankfully.

[bmthnick1981]

Not a lot to report, now ticked over 37,000 miles so done around 2,000 miles since the end of May when I bought it. Ran up to Historics at Brooklands on Saturday just gone and got around 27mpg over the 170 mile round trip. Not bad as I wasn't deliberately trying to max out on the MPG so had a few spirited bursts and the A/C on both ways.

Still considering a set of 19" AMG ivs if anyone knows of any going at an affordable price!

[bmthnick1981]

Small update, used the car to bring my new daughter home on 7 October ;



Car has been well but I had been noticing a slight stiffness to the steering on cold start up, suspected pump or belt and had been meaning to get the car into the garage. Then yesterday on a solo spirited drive this happened;





Power steering failed completely and battery light came on the dash, fortunately I was able to pull straight over and shut the car off. Belt had failed quite spectacularly.

The excellent Mercedes Benz recovery came out diagnosed a seized idler which had caused the belt to burn and fray and eventually fail. Car is at Mercedes Benz Poole having 2 or 3 new idlers and a belt, quote for current work is £302 all in, waiting to see if tensioners also required.

I have a sore car so no harm done. I'm just pleased it didn't happen on the way to the maternity unit on Friday night !

[bmthnick1981]

[bmthnick1981]

No big update. Breakdown issue in October was a idler which had seized causing belt to deteriorate. All idlers replaced and a new belt on at Mercedes for £300. Free recovery as well, mustn't grumble.

Since the belts have been done I've used it a lot putting 1200 miles on it in just over a week recently due to some family issues. Mileage is now 40,000 so I've done 5,000 in it.

Rear tyres on 3mm so will probably change them soon, Contis to match the other tyres.

[bmthnick1981]

Mileage now just under 41,000 miles car running well no issues to report. Topped up the oil and screen wash the other day and put some air in the tyres, that's been the extent of the maintenance! Will need 2 rear tyres sooner rather than letter so need to get them priced up. Not been able to wash the car as often as I would have liked due to the weather but when I do manage to wash it it still looks good to my eyes and I find myself standing back and admiring it.





I've had the car for 9 months now and it's probably time for a change, a possible property project would mean it has to go in any event, so it will probably make an appearance in the classifieds in the next few weeks.

[bmthnick1981]

DSLiverpool said:

PM £ Pls and miles.

PM sent.

[bmthnick1981]

Not sure if I might get in trouble for this but hey ho let's see....

Car now for sale in the PH classifieds;

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...