Thoughts on this E53 estate!

[Woodleigh]

I just tried to open the bonnet, but the lever was hanging loose so I took it to the dealer who fixed it in 5 minutes; the cable had come off the catch.
Mercedes 21st century engineering???

The guy in the service department said "It happens".

 

[bladecrazy]

Well over a year into ownership of the E53 now and it’s interesting to compare forecourt prices then and now to see what kind of depreciation the car has been subject to. I paid £36.5k for the estate and have only covered a 2k miles so the odometer reads 44.5k so that doesn’t really factor into the residual value equation so looking at the cars currently on sale if I were to sell back to a retailer the car would be put back up for sale at approximately the same price I paid for it.

I can only put this down to rarity the fact that EVs aren’t selling well and there hasn’t been as many petrol engined cars registered over the last couple of years. Not inclined to sell as the car does everything I want and there is nothing out there that betters it other than an E63 which although appealing isn’t worth the premium to me personally

I have no idea where the prices of these cars will be in a couple of years time but I don’t see things changing that much mileage seems to be the main depreciating factor at the moment and the astronomical cost of new cars are keeping residual prices high.

so around 5k less , put reg into motorway for best idea.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

so around 5k less , put reg into motorway for best idea.

The sellers dividend is always there so for me to trade it in yes it would be circa £5k less but the point I’m making is the car would be put back on the market for the same amount I paid for it 13 months ago. If I were to try and sell it myself it would be advertised at £33k

Motorway’s estimate was £31.5k

 

[bladecrazy]

I have noticed the more you spend the more depriciation there is, but its something that i dont worry about as i tend to keep for many years and if they are trouble free in that time its a bonus.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I have noticed the more you spend the more depriciation there is, but its something that i dont worry about as i tend to keep for many years and if they are trouble free in that time its a bonus.

I tend to do the same!

The post and observation was aimed at what’s happening in the car market at the moment most of the depreciation is happening with EVs and manufacturers and leasing companies can’t accommodate the huge losses so governments are being lobbied to reduce their commitments to EV quotas

 

[JBell]

The guy in the service department said "It happens".

Makes a change from "They do that Sir"

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Another YouTube gem of a M256 build - not a factory assembly but a hand build which makes for interesting viewing

 

[grayb]

I wonder what the thinking is behind having the timing chain, oil pump, etc., at the back/bell housing end of the engine. Plus, I don't think my hand would ever be steady enough to run that sealing compound around the mating surfaces.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I wonder what the thinking is behind having the timing chain, oil pump, etc., at the back/bell housing end of the engine. Plus, I don't think my hand would ever be steady enough to run that sealing compound around the mating surfaces.

The M256 is a 48V hybrid with an electric powered water pump and A/C condenser so doesn’t have any ancillary drive pulleys at the front of the engine (in fact there is nothing there) hence the move to the back of the engine for the oil pump and camshaft chain drives.

I think I’d struggle to feed the gasket seal on as well quite impressive

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Well I’m 16 months into ownership of this car and it’s been a pleasure to drive but it’s developed a suspension/drivetrain fault that I can’t diagnose without it going into the dealership. The issue is intermittent and manifests itself when the car is driven over rough patches of road, its only happened on three occasions over 2.5k miles, on each occasion there is a loud metal on metal crack and nothing else except for this week when the car dropped out of drive when it happened but re-engaged without a problem.

The first time it happened I inspected the front end and discovered that the two half shaft CV joints had new rubber boots fitted they were like new so I suspect there may have been an ingress of dirt into the joints which may be making them bind occasionally.

Other than that I can’t see any part of the front suspension making this noise I know the front bottom links are a weak point on these cars but that’s generally down to the ball joint wearing and I think wouldn’t manifest itself in this way.

Any thoughts?

I’m on hols at the moment but as soon as I get back it will be going into the dealership.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Well finally got round to trying the spare alloy wheel for fit and giving the wheels some TLC. I’m doing the wheels one at a time and using the spare to sit the car on. The front wheel in the pic had a lot of scabby corrosion on the inner lip so used wet and dry to prepare the corroded areas and then painted with Hammerite Smooth just need to wait a day and then use some decent polish on the barrel of the wheel to finish.

Remount with new centre badges and then move on to the rear offside wheel this will take a lot more work the clear lacquer is peeling off in some areas so it will require the loose removing, masking and spraying. MB wheels seem a lot more resilient to corrosion since the ‘diamond cut’ surface is now painted with silver paint before the lacquer is applied. I hope there aren’t any more stubborn wheel nuts one bolt today needed a breaker bar to remove it I would guess it had been fitted at >180nm (should be 150nm) I hope somebody’s ears were burning lol.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I didn’t use the car much during the first year of ownership (2024) so hadn’t noticed anything of note about the Mild Hybrid EV aspect of owning these vehicles other than the silky smooth Stop/Start it’s only during this year that I’ve started to see/understand the benefits now that I’m putting more mileage on the car.

I’d mostly been doing short journeys in 2024 (less than 20 miles) and fuel consumption seemed reasonable for a big heavy car @ an average of 23 mpg what’s really impressed me now that I’m using the car for longer journeys is how the Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) is making a dramatic difference to mpg.

On a 100-200 mile trip the car is averaging 37.5 mpg which I’m very impressed with to put this in perspective it’s almost on a par with my S212 E350cdi. The ISG certainly comes into its own in distance driving the 48V generator assisting with acceleration and recharging the 48V battery on braking/overun. The overun is another aspect that surprised me downhill coasting with no throttle I had to keep touching the brake to stop the car getting too close to the vehicle in front.

In conclusion if anyone is thinking of buying a petrol MHEV I’d certainly recommend it Mercedes have done a really good job with the ISG system I’m very impressed I think you have to own one of these vehicles to appreciate how good they are certainly most ‘motoring journalists’ wouldn’t have a clue if they were doing a short term review.

 

[sl500amgsport]

For a heavy estate that is impressive, best I achieved was 40.9mpg in the cabriolet on a run but my average makes me look like a model citizen

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I forgot to mention that the very intermittent cracking sound (every 500 miles or so) from the front suspension has disappeared looks like the over torquing of the front wheels bolts was causing it MB couldn’t find it so I found the problem myself although it did cost me a new set of wheel bolts just in case the others had been stretched. Who would fit wheel bolts torqued to >180Nm when they should be 150Nm unless they were mistaking Lbs ft for Nm it happens I’m sure.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Just had a reminder about a service plan renewal for the next 2/3/4 years.

I’m currently paying £46pm for a 2 year plan which includes 2 services A and B and 2 x MOTs plus collection/delivery or guaranteed courtesy car. I like to keep the car within the franchise for servicing while it’s under warranty but that expires Jan 26

The ‘new’ plan costs £49pm for the same but when you dig into the T&Cs doesn’t include collection/delivery or a courtesy car which may be a deal breaker I’ll talk to the dealer about this when the car goes in for the last service under the current plan early October.

It’s very difficult to find a MB service schedule for these cars nowadays but I do know this service should include:

- Oil and filter change
- Air filter change
- renewal of spark plugs
- brake fluid flush
- general inspection
- maintaining Mobilo

Note to self:
- I need to ascertain whether the cabin filter will be replaced?
- does the car need an A/C service

I’ll also ask about a 9 speed box transmission service. I’ve had good advice that the boxes will do 75k miles without but…
I can add in a front and rear diff and transfer case oil change the following year.

The car is currently on 46k miles and drives really well

Thoughts anyone…

 

[Woodleigh]

I’ll also ask about a 9 speed box transmission service

My previous car with 4-MATIC 9G-Tronic, I had serviced at 5 years & 45,000 miles by my indie.
I will be doing the same with my present car, but with the Mercedes dealership, as I will be keeping the service plan going.

 

[Srdl]

Just had a reminder about a service plan renewal for the next 2/3/4 years.

I’m currently paying £46pm for a 2 year plan which includes 2 services A and B and 2 x MOTs plus collection/delivery or guaranteed courtesy car. I like to keep the car within the franchise for servicing while it’s under warranty but that expires Jan 26

The ‘new’ plan costs £49pm for the same but when you dig into the T&Cs doesn’t include collection/delivery or a courtesy car which may be a deal breaker I’ll talk to the dealer about this when the car goes in for the last service under the current plan early October.

It’s very difficult to find a MB service schedule for these cars nowadays but I do know this service should include:

- Oil and filter change
- Air filter change
- renewal of spark plugs
- brake fluid flush
- general inspection
- maintaining Mobilo

Note to self:
- I need to ascertain whether the cabin filter will be replaced?
- does the car need an A/C service

I’ll also ask about a 9 speed box transmission service. I’ve had good advice that the boxes will do 75k miles without but…
I can add in a front and rear diff and transfer case oil change the following year.

The car is currently on 46k miles and drives really well

Thoughts anyone…

Even dealers get confused about auto box schedules but my understanding is that, for later cars, post about 2017, it is 77,500 miles regardless of time. Mercedes refused to do it under a service plan at 5 years,

 

[Woodleigh]

Mercedes refused to do it under a service plan at 5 years,

If that's the case, I will take mine to an indie and have it done @ 5 years

 

[AMGeed]

I just had my E63s 9g auto transmission fluid/filter changed along with front and rear diff fluids at a decent Indy.
£855 all in. Done at 57k miles for the second time. I wanted it done more for peace of mind than anything else.

 

[Srdl]

If that's the case, I will take mine to an indie and have it done @ 5 years

Mine booked in at MBS to be done next month. I wouldn’t trust a dealer to do it properly