2007 W211 E63 AMG

[d_a_n1979]

Never owned a Merc before; but these are catching my attention...!

What are the 'must look out for' things and anything to be concerned about?

I work from home, only really drive the cars at the weekend, so economy isn't an issue/worry at all. I'm lucky to do 5k miles a year!

Cheers

[MercedesClassic]

Hi mate, appreciate your reader's car threads so thought I'd give back. I own a S211 ie the estate in diesel form it's a decent motor, more comfy than BMWs I've had. I don't know much about that 6.2 V8 (I've it's predecessor in my SL55) but heard good reports but a couple of things to watch.

AMG meister has lots of good videos on AMGs here's one to help you.

https://youtu.be/UC2WeL4C2xE

[d_a_n1979]

MercedesClassic said:

Hi mate, appreciate your reader's car threads so thought I'd give back. I own a S211 ie the estate in diesel form it's a decent motor, more comfy than BMWs I've had. I don't know much about that 6.2 V8 (I've it's predecessor in my SL55) but heard good reports but a couple of things to watch.

AMG meister has lots of good videos on AMGs here's one to help you.

https://youtu.be/UC2WeL4C2xE

Super cheers for that

I've seen a few W211's that have caught my attention... They take me completely away from my comfort zone of BMW but they tick the V8 itch I have and also tick the 'big saloon' box for me

[d_a_n1979]

Bumping this thread

This has caught my attention & I'm contemplating on going to view this and wanted to know what folks opinions are ref the car/its price/it's spec etc



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125316049501?ssPageName...



Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcomed



Cheers

[trevalvole]

I understand that early 6.2s can have head bolt problems: https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threa...

[Terzo123]

Whilst the headbolt issue shouldnt be ignored, it doesnt seem to be as prevelant with UK cars.

The car in the link is 15 years old and has well over 100k. If the headbolts were going to be an issue, it should have raised its head before now. No pun intended.

Rear sub frame rot would be more of a concern, although Merc appear to be sorting these FOC at present, They do sometimes need a wee push to do so though.

[trevalvole]

Terzo123 said:

Rear sub frame rot would be more of a concern, although Merc appear to be sorting these FOC at present, They do sometimes need a wee push to do so though.

A bit ago, on the Barge thread, I suggested that a poster considering a 211 should check for rusty rear subframes and was corrected by another poster, I think Krikkat, who said that the 211 had an alloy rear subframe.

[GlenMH]

trevalvole said:

Terzo123 said:

Rear sub frame rot would be more of a concern, although Merc appear to be sorting these FOC at present, They do sometimes need a wee push to do so though.

A bit ago, on the Barge thread, I suggested that a poster considering a 211 should check for rusty rear subframes and was corrected by another poster, I think Krikkat, who said that the 211 had an alloy rear subframe.

Yup - it is the 212 (like mine....) that have the rotting rear subframes. And the 210s (like my other one...) rot everywhere

[Terzo123]

trevalvole said:

Terzo123 said:

Rear sub frame rot would be more of a concern, although Merc appear to be sorting these FOC at present, They do sometimes need a wee push to do so though.

A bit ago, on the Barge thread, I suggested that a poster considering a 211 should check for rusty rear subframes and was corrected by another poster, I think Krikkat, who said that the 211 had an alloy rear subframe.

Every day is a school day. I didnt know that.

[MercedesClassic]

d_a_n1979 said:

Bumping this thread

This has caught my attention & I'm contemplating on going to view this and wanted to know what folks opinions are ref the car/its price/it's spec etc



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125316049501?ssPageName...



Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcomed



Cheers

Wow, based on pics and description that's a great car. I don't know how much you've researched the W211 but the 6.2 being in the facelift brought with it many improvements over the earlier cars. Less likely to rust, no SBC, better electricals etc.
My estate, also silver, they look good in silver has only a couple of rust spots and it's not pampered. During the winter it will be constantly wet, muddy and salty. It was in getting serviced last week and I asked my mechanic to give it a good inspection underneath thinking the subframe would be flaky. If it was I'd intended to enquire with MB about replacing it. If they refused then I'd just drive it out.
He confirmed there was no rust worth talking about and the brake lines looked good too. Although he suspected they might have been replaced and to do that as far as I know you need to drop the subframe. There's a chance if that was being done then the subframe might have been replaced but I've no evidence of that.
My car is over 15, 175000 miles and drive hard so they are tough enough but that doesn't mean like some people think you shouldn't look after them either. Everything has a lifespan.

Going by your reader's threads you're pretty handy and fastidious so I think you'll be the right type of owner for that car. Hoping for a forecourt shot soon.

Ps just noticed the reason it's not rust is that it might be alloy, if so excellent. My mechanic gave everything a coating of preservative anyway to increase longevity etc. I'm looking to keep the car long term, stinking diesel etc but suits my needs.

Edited by MercedesClassic on Monday 6th June 22:18

[Stegel]

If you were to replace the entire rear brake pipe then it would be easier to drop the subframe, but 211s (and 219 CLS) rot their rear pipes only where they duck behind the wheel arch liner, and splicing a new piece of pipe in can be sufficient. You can’t see this rot from beneath very easily, you need to remove the arch liner.

This is from a 2008 77k mile estate - our diesel estate rotted one pipe to the point of bursting when it was at similar miles but no more than 7 years old (the alloy subframe can be seen beneath the cut pipe).

[MercedesClassic]

Hey Stegel, great tips as always. You've got me worried now that my pipes are rotten but hidden especially as he did say that the pipes he could see were pretty corroded but not at replacement stage. He said the pipes looked to be copper hence his thinking they'd been replaced as he said the originals would be steel.

[Stegel]

If you take a rear wheel off you can get your fingers around the edge of the wheel liner where it divides to go around the damper. Good steel, copper or Kunifer pipes will feel smooth and very different to the crusty thing in the photo. The good news is even if a pipe gives way 211 brakes are reasonably good - my wife drove 70 miles home on the M6 with only one of the two circuits containing fluid, thinking the spongy pedal feel was down to her new sandals.

[MercedesClassic]

Sorry mate but that made me laugh. Pedal's near the carpet? Wow these new sandals are the nuts

[AC43]

d_a_n1979 said:

Bumping this thread

This has caught my attention & I'm contemplating on going to view this and wanted to know what folks opinions are ref the car/its price/it's spec etc



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125316049501?ssPageName...



Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcomed



Cheers

I had a (pre-facelift) 211 E500.

That 63 looks like a cracker. Great spec - I had the HK in mine and it was just fantastic. I'm partway through spending £1.5k's worth of ICE to get something vaguely comparible in my current 212....and I still miss the sunroof. Mine also had the dynamic seats which were the best seats I've had in all my Mercs. That one's also got the heated rears which is a nice touch. Being a facelift, I think that one may have bi-Xenons and possibly ILS or maybe that only came in on the 212's - dunno. I also think that one looks great on those 19's.

Also good to see the owners' done the engine mounts - they do fail. Seems to have had a lot of other maintenance.

6.2 headbolts aside (if that's actually a "thing") these cars are pretty tough. I took my 211 up to 145k and not much went wrong - boot lock, engine mount, crank pulley and Airmatic pump were the only surprises.

Regarding airmatic, the pumps, front struts and rear bellows do go. Also, the front struts/read dampers are active so that adds to the cost. But replacements are much cheaper on Autodoc these days.

Overall they're fantastic real-word cars with the ability to monster huge distances/speeds without breaking into a sweat.

FWIW I had 2 x C43's before that one and now have a 212 E500. I love the way Merc do V8's and the AMG's are the ultimate incarnation.