My new W212 E63 - ex Mercedes press car

[RedSpecial]

Hi folks, having had a few Mercedes‘ and benefited a lot from this forum I thought I should start contributing a bit more about one of my cars.

I‘ve just picked up a 2013 E63 saloon - it had just under 60k on the clock and in really nice condition. As per thread title, I discovered this car was one of the press cars used by Mercedes in the UK so it’s had an exciting start in life! There‘s a great Autocar roadtest on YouTube where it’s pitched against the Jaguar XFR-S. No surprises which car came out on top

Unsurprisingly the car has a great spec; off the top of my head:

- Palladium silver metallic paint
- Ash wood trim
- Dynamic seats - heated and cooled
- LSD
- Electric rear blind
- Manual side blinds
- Power rear headrests
- Rear camera

As is usually the case I’m working my way through some minor cosmetic issues just to make it tip-top but I’m always a bit OCD like that with any car I buy.

At some time the previous owner has refurbished the wheels in grey which I quite like although I’m contemplating return8ng them to the original finish. They are in great condition though so hard to justify at the moment. It’s also had rear tints applied to the windows which again isn’t my own taste but it kind of suits the overall look of the car. I’ll give it a few months and see how I’m feeling about both things.

Most importantly there’s a really good service history with the car and it drives really well. The performance is incredible and still shocks some 8 years after this car was launched. I’ve got new discs and pads all round which was the only thing the car needed. I’ve removed the paint protection film from the front end - it had done its job but was looking a little worse for wear. The car won’t do big miles with me so I’m happy to run without it.

Some pictures from the dealership:







I‘ll keep this thread updated as I go with any updates and look forward to being part of the community.

 

[SmartAmg]

Very, very nice motor!!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Lovely! Stay safe and enjoy

 

[AMGeed]

Nice car. Congrats

 

[Rich764089]

Awesome, lovely car, congrats.

Seen this review several times!

Enjoy

 

[Dickster]

Nice motor

 

[Doodle]

I’ve removed the paint protection film from the front end - it had done its job but was looking a little worse for wear.

I'd seen this one advertised and thought the colour on the front bumper looked a little off - now I know why!

 

[HB]

Love it

 

[Rpp999]

Very pretty.

 

[kam09]

Would love to have that!

 

[Londonscottish]

That's on the cool wall. The sub-zero section.

 

[T5R+]

Very nice - like a discrete E63.

 

[ShaunB]

Lovely colour, seen a C63S in the same colour yesterday, looks way better in the flesh than photographs.
Health to enjoy

 

[RedSpecial]

I'd seen this one advertised and thought the colour on the front bumper looked a little off - now I know why!

You know, sometimes depending on the angle it still does look slightly different but even looking at this still from one of the press road tests in 2013 it looks the same (as does the rear).

 

[RedSpecial]

ALCANTARA STEERING WHEEL CLEANING

So, the alcantara sections of my steering wheel didn’t really look right and I actually thought it had been retrimmed in contrast leather such was the finish. A bit of research however and it was clear that it was just likely to never have been cleaned properly and all the fibres had been matted smooth and caked in grime. Beautiful.

Anyway, a solid 20 minutes elbow grease per side with some damp microfibre cloths/cleaning fluid resulted in an absolute transformation and it’s now a joy to (be)hold

Not sure how well this will show up in pictures but you should get the idea. For reference that dirt on the cloth is after one single twist around the thumb grip - yuck:













Put some genuine rubber mats in to save the carpets and AMG mats. Also got the pano roof guides cleaned and lubricated; the roof was really slow to close and when I looked at the guides they were pretty dirty. Didn’t remember to take any pictures unfortunatel.

Sacrificed another few microfibres to get it all cleaned up and then lubed in the appropriate places with the proper gleitpaste from Mercedes which has transformed it.



A good few hours work all in all

 

[Rich764089]

ALCANTARA STEERING WHEEL CLEANING

So, the alcantara sections of my steering wheel didn’t really look right and I actually thought it had been retrimmed in contrast leather such was the finish. A bit of research however and it was clear that it was just likely to never have been cleaned properly and all the fibres had been matted smooth and caked in grime. Beautiful.

Anyway, a solid 20 minutes elbow grease per side with some damp microfibre cloths/cleaning fluid resulted in an absolute transformation and it’s now a joy to (be)hold

Not sure how well this will show up in pictures but you should get the idea. For reference that dirt on the cloth is after one single twist around the thumb grip - yuck:

View attachment 120331

View attachment 120332

View attachment 120333

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View attachment 120336

Put some genuine rubber mats in to save the carpets and AMG mats. Also got the pano roof guides cleaned and lubricated; the roof was really slow to close and when I looked at the guides they were pretty dirty. Didn’t remember to take any pictures unfortunatel.

Sacrificed another few microfibres to get it all cleaned up and then lubed in the appropriate places with the proper gleitpaste from Mercedes which has transformed it.

View attachment 120337

A good few hours work all in all

Good work.

at the steering wheel though! I used baby wipes but they weren't that dirty! All those disgusting journalists....

 

[Steve84N]

The material Mercedes use is Dinamica, a synthetic imitation of genuine alcantara. The real stuff is both nicer to hold and more hard wearing.

 

[John]

A lot of cars seem to have colour-mismatched bumpers to the body these days, especially metallics.

I noticed this a few years ago and have seen it's very common since on all sorts of cars. from high end prestige right down to more typical cars.

At first I presumed it was something to do with water-based paint, but I think this became the norm around a decade ago when solvent-based was made illegal by the EU (I think it was), and I've seen even older cars with colour-mismatched bumpers to the body.

 

[RedSpecial]

The material Mercedes use is Dinamica, a synthetic imitation of genuine alcantara. The real stuff is both nicer to hold and more hard wearing.

Cheers Steve,

Good info. Regardless of the material it feels 100% better to hold now!

 

[Engadine]

A lot of cars seem to have colour-mismatched bumpers to the body these days, especially metallics.

I noticed this a few years ago and have seen it's very common since on all sorts of cars. from high end prestige right down to more typical cars.

At first I presumed it was something to do with water-based paint, but I think this became the norm around a decade ago when solvent-based was made illegal by the EU (I think it was), and I've seen even older cars with colour-mismatched bumpers to the body.

I agree. I queried this with a Porsche dealer I know and he said it's because the new water based paints have a slightly different optic on PU parts compared to on metal. I don't know whether this is true.