I am coming more and more to the conclusion that the cars from the early 2000s are the best balance between "enough" tech and being easy to live with. Just a shame that the diesels are being chased out of existence.They gave me a C300 petrol estate in the meantime and that the tech in brand new cars is surreal compared to my 2011 S63. Which in itself is a huge leap up from my previous 22 year old Jaguar XJR 100! Come back Jaguar...all is forgiven
2012 S63 AMG - numerous issues following dead battery...ADVICE PLEASE!
- Thread starter SIS
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
- Messages
- 48,941
- Location
- London
- Car
- 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 RWD / 2016 Suzuki Vitara AWD
MB only started fully galvanising their cars in mid-2003..... so I'd say cars made after 2003.
MikeInWimbledon
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2014
- Messages
- 13,149
- Car
- (Ex S211 E500, W212 E500, C216, S212 E500, W211 E500 5.5, W221 S500, S211 E500, SL500, S500, E55)
Agreed, although only "chased out of existence" for those driving daily.
The price and mpg differential is getting so great that maybe the daily pollution charge is self financing through reduced depreciation, financing and better mpg & cost of maintenance.
OP
OP
SIS
New Member
Hello All. An update. My car clearly had a wobbly, everything needed to be recalibrated and I need an new OSF wheel speed sensor. Amazing (in a bad way) how many systems a linked to that little (expensive) thing. It turns out also that I might be needing new brake discs and pads (front and rear) sooner rather than later which is not a cheap consideration. Mercedes Bradford quoted me 5,000 pound. Yep. 5k. You are not reading this wrong. So - possibly for s different thread? - but any ideas on where to source quality discs etc. for a 2011 S63 which are not 5,000 pounds?! Thanks. In Bradford West Yorkshire...
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
- Messages
- 29,733
- Location
- Mittel England
- Car
- Smart ForFour AMG Black Series Night Edition Premium Plus 125 Powered by Brabus
Glad the fault has been diagnosed.
Regarding brakes, if you’re concerned about the cost of replacement, don’t replace them until after the warning light has illuminated on the dashboard, to maximise the service life of the current brakes.
To find out if the dealer is trying it on with their prices it’s worth asking the two of three dealers - ideally from different dealer groups for a quote to supply and fit the replacement brakes.
Next contact Mercedes-Benz of Edinburgh and Mercedes-Benz of Newcastle on eBay for quotes on brake parts, and you may be surprised. They can sometimes be competitive on brake parts.
Next get some aftermarket brake parts quotes. Personally I would only consider Brembo. I suspect that even the least expensive will be expensive relative to aftermarket brakes for “normal” cars.
Last but not least, get quotes from local trusted mechanics for fitting parts supplied by you. You then have information to make an informed decision.
Last edited:
OP
OP
SIS
New Member
Hi Bobby Dazzler, think you missed off something at the end! :0) I got a quote from Mercedes in Sheffield of £3,600 practically immediately so this area is a minefield in terms of 'creative' pricing clearly! Appreciate the advice.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
- Messages
- 29,733
- Location
- Mittel England
- Car
- Smart ForFour AMG Black Series Night Edition Premium Plus 125 Powered by Brabus
Dealerships from different dealer groups have different pricing strategies, and whilst it’s less common at the moment some dealers will do deals to keep their ramps at close to full utilisation.
If you don’t use the car much you could suggest that whichever dealer or garage you choose to do the work do it to suit them. I have found that can encourage them to knock a little more off the price.
OP
OP
SIS
New Member
No problem sharing. My invoice from Mercedes Bradford for the replacement of the OSF sensor , full diagnostics and recalibration of everything was £466.80. Not exactly cheap I know but I needed to get it done immediately. The warranty that came with the trader (of course...) did not cover it so came out of my pocket. The sensor is something that can go at anytime and from research is something that needs to be replaced every c. 30-50k miles. My car has just done over 50k miles and no sign of it having been replaced before. The brake disks though are a bigger issue. Well worn front and back.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
- Messages
- 48,941
- Location
- London
- Car
- 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 RWD / 2016 Suzuki Vitara AWD
Since you bought the car less than 6 months ago, and the seller is a trader, the repair should have been paid-for by the seller, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (and regardless of any supplementary warranty supplied by the seller).
That been said, I can fully understand that you urgently needed the car back on the road, and so starting a protracted dispute with the seller while the car is stranded at the dealer wasn't the best option for you.
You may still have a claim against the seller under the Consumer Rights Act (assuming that you did approach them and they refused to reimburse you because their own-supplied warranty didn't apply). But it's down to you if you want to try and pursue that, or just put it down to experience and move on.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
- Messages
- 29,733
- Location
- Mittel England
- Car
- Smart ForFour AMG Black Series Night Edition Premium Plus 125 Powered by Brabus
You could always approach the trader and suggest that given his obligation under the consumer rights act that he pays you back for the part and labour, and you pay for diagnostics.
He will possibly say no, and probably is justified on the basis that you didn’t give the trader the option to fix it first, but there are traders out there with a well calibrated moral compass.
He will possibly say no, and probably is justified on the basis that you didn’t give the trader the option to fix it first, but there are traders out there with a well calibrated moral compass.
My experience of the main dealers and brakes is that they can also be quite "creative" as to when they need to be replaced ie a lot sooner than they really need doing. My experience was a long time ago and I have never been back, life is so much better dealing with a trusted independent.
Spider10
MB Enthusiast
On my 1st w204 c63 it went into MB Nottingham for a service and front discs and pads were mentioned as to replace im not daft they were fine ,the following year went to MB Lincoln for the service No mention of discs and pads 
oldguy57
MB Enthusiast
I suspect that your dealer is taking the p--s there. The front discs and pads on our CL65 were £1600 and local indie charged £75 to fit. As Bobby Dazzler said get prices from the 2 dealers suggested and get a local indie to fit. That's if the work really needs doing in the first place. But you will have to be prepared for big bills with an S63 - MB prices with AMG tax on top. Great cars though.
Brakes are good bread and butter money earners for garages. Good markup on the parts and often fitted in far less than the book time, and I’m sure the techs will be on some kind of bonus too 
Not saying that you should ignore remarks made about brakes but if you’re unsure it’s worth checking.
My GL63 was advised for brakes at the last service, it’s due again in a few weeks and they’re still okay although the front will need doing soon (I have the parts already). Unfortunately upon collection they had decided to put four advisories (one for each corner) on the MOT pass that they were wearing low
The rear pads on my car are only 9.5mm thick when new, I noticed this when I replaced them last time as the old ones that had been advised in the past were only about 1/3 worn. If I’d opted to replace these a year ago it would have been a waste IMHO. The rears are still fine today.
By comparison, someone I know was buying a used car recently at a main dealer. The car was retail stock. A few years old but low mileage/full history/to be sold with new MOT and and not cheap. Deposit paid and car was brought to the local branch for payment and collection etc (it was group stock from another dealer in their network). The MOT was carried out, it originally failed and there were a number of advisories. They literally did the bare minimum to get it to pass and left the rest.
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Date tested
3 March 2023
FAIL
Mileage
44,924 miles
Repair immediately (major defects):
The car developed an overheating fault on the same day of purchase and was promptly rejected due to a number of other issues anyway (including poor previous accident repairs).
@SIS, In a nutshell - £5k for brakes sounds steep. As this sort of money you want to be sure that they really need doing and you maximise your use out of them. Doing them say when they’re only half worn would be a waste of £2.5k in your example.
Not saying that you should ignore remarks made about brakes but if you’re unsure it’s worth checking.
My GL63 was advised for brakes at the last service, it’s due again in a few weeks and they’re still okay although the front will need doing soon (I have the parts already). Unfortunately upon collection they had decided to put four advisories (one for each corner) on the MOT pass that they were wearing low
The rear pads on my car are only 9.5mm thick when new, I noticed this when I replaced them last time as the old ones that had been advised in the past were only about 1/3 worn. If I’d opted to replace these a year ago it would have been a waste IMHO. The rears are still fine today.By comparison, someone I know was buying a used car recently at a main dealer. The car was retail stock. A few years old but low mileage/full history/to be sold with new MOT and and not cheap. Deposit paid and car was brought to the local branch for payment and collection etc (it was group stock from another dealer in their network). The MOT was carried out, it originally failed and there were a number of advisories. They literally did the bare minimum to get it to pass and left the rest.
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
- Nearside Front Shock absorbers has light misting of oil (5.3.2 (b))
- Rear Heat shield loose
- Nearside Rear Axle swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn (5.1.2 (b) (i))
- Offside Rear Axle swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn (5.1.2 (b) (i))
- Central Front Inner Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))
Date tested
3 March 2023
FAIL
Mileage
44,924 miles
Repair immediately (major defects):
- Rear Brakes imbalanced across an axle Axle 2 (1.2.1 (b) (i))
- Nearside Front Shock absorbers has light misting of oil (5.3.2 (b))
- Rear Heat shield loose
- Nearside Rear Axle swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn (5.1.2 (b) (i))
- Offside Rear Axle swivel pins and bushes swivel pin and/or bush slightly worn (5.1.2 (b) (i))
- Central Front Inner Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))
The car developed an overheating fault on the same day of purchase and was promptly rejected due to a number of other issues anyway (including poor previous accident repairs).
@SIS, In a nutshell - £5k for brakes sounds steep. As this sort of money you want to be sure that they really need doing and you maximise your use out of them. Doing them say when they’re only half worn would be a waste of £2.5k in your example.
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2005
- Messages
- 7,539
- Location
- Weybridge. U.K
- Car
- 500L ( W221 ), 2014 AMG CL 5.5 Biturbo ( W216 ) Sold, 2014 Brabus Smart ( 451 Coupe ) Mapped 130bhp
Mikey Likey
Probably my fave MB paint colour: what Mrs S calls "Caravansite Blue"
A Porche 911 RS3 Lithium battery is $ 2,847.00 in the states
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 11,037
- Location
- South Bucks
- Car
- CLS63 SB, ML63, CLK350 'Vert, Triumph Sprint (Bike not Dolly...),
Is there any other advantage than a slight weight reduction over using a conventional AGM battery?
Lighter weight, longer life, better performing battery.
Disadvantage would be replacement cost (usually outweighed against longer service life), also they don’t like being charged when very cold (freezing)
I'm new on here but owned Mercs for over 20 years. Aside from the tendency to suffer from a little rust and paint bubbling, I feel there is no comparison between the build quality of models built before and after around 2002. I have 4 at present including 2 AMGs and sitting them alongside their newer and more powerful brethren only confirms this for me. They may look sharper and have far more tech but look at the quality of the upholstery and fittings, adding to this, both my cars are over 20 years old and other than the odd quirk, they both drive like a dream and the engines are bulletproof as long as you service them regularly and use high grade service items. One problem which I see on here which does though seem to afflict these cars are battery drain, even on my old buses, I have to make sure I don't leave them too long without a run or sticking them on a charger. This aside, what wonderful cars they are and being more mechanical, easier to look after.
