2 years of living with a C63 AMG Estate
Discussion
I've just posted the following in the Mercedes forum, however I thought I would share it with anyone else who may be looking for a C63 AMG or just have a level of interest 
Well after 2 years and 15k miles, my C63 AMG has just been taken away by Mercedes (well, BCA Group). Here is a final pic as it was driven off ;-(
So how has it been living with an AMG for 2 years? Well it all started here: ( http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/...) And now, 2 years later? For the most part it's been great, always enjoying that engine but also the excellent compromise between ride & handling. For those that haven't driven a C63, they really are a very different steer to a non-AMG C-class, something that became most apparent every time I drove a non-AMG Merc.
It was always enjoyable to see those 'in-the-know' people who knew, and always appreciated, what the car was. And for those that did not know, seeing their faces when they read 6.3L on the front wings would always delight. Well, it made a nice distraction from the plummeting fuel gauge!
So onto economy...My best tankful was 310 miles and 23.32mpg and worst was 165 miles and 16.03mpg. The car was only ever run on V-Power and averaged 20.04mpg over 15,000 miles. Breaking it down into 5k mile chunks looks like this:
0-5k miles = 19.13mpg
5-10k miles = 19.97mpg
10-15k miles = 21.16mpg
The above showing how the engine loosened up.
Also the car was Eurocharged when it was 6 months old with 3000 miles. This made a big difference to the top end (over 5000rpm) and also delimited the car. I made a vid of the event, as seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0iFBDySYZg&li...
I took the car on the continent twice, the first time to the Belgium GP in 2013 and the second time to Southern Austria on holiday. The latter trip was 2300 miles in total and I drove the 1005 miles home in one day. The car performed faultlessly, averaging 21.05mpg despite some fast Autobahn work, including a few trips up to 186mph ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGwPDCyUXQU&li...)
So what will I miss and what did I like about my C63?
Engine - Low & mid-range torque coupled with real top-end bite over 5000rpm (thanks to the Eurocharge remap) meant it was always smile-inducing. The punch over 100mph was ever amusing however it was the A-road overtaking pace that'll I miss most.
Noise - The morning start-up procedure (better on colder mornings), the exhaust cracks in S+ or M mode, the burbles on the overrun or even just that superb V8 throb when on the Motorway around 2000rpm, it was ALWAYS entertaining. There's no doubt AMG did a superb job giving the car a fairly ludicrous exhaust note, yet one that doesn't drone or impede with refined progress when desired.
Ride - My car had 18s and rode just on the right side of acceptable. Having driven multiple C63s with 19s, there was never a time in my ownership where I felt I'd made the wrong decision to go with the 18s.
Handling - for a big estate car, I think it handled extremely well, aided in part by the 18s and very much by the optional LSD. When pushing-on the weight of the engine can be felt on the front end, however there's enough torque (and drive with the LSD) to neutralise the balance and then push into mild oversteer. It's a great feeling and one that's happily allowed by the ESP when in Sport mode. However with everything off it could be a bit of a handful. Exiting T-junctions would always be a scruffy affair in Sport mode, but with the TC/ESP all off, one had to be very careful with throttle application in order to prevent L-A-R-G-E slides from getting away from you.
Steering - the steering really is very good. It's incredible how different the steering is on the C63 when compared with non-AMG C-classes. Great weighting, accurate and with some feel (rather than the standard 'none' of many cars these days), I always enjoyed the steering of the car.
Tech - for the most part this is good. I kept an iPhone in the central cubby to provide all my music needs, and the COMAND system worked well from a music/radio/bluetooth perspective. The voice control worked well and I liked all the various displays available within the central TFT on the dash, especially the AMG menu showing oil and water temps. I never did get the internet connection to work with my iPhone 5, although for a period of time it did receive and read out my text messages, however this has stopped again. Not the end of the world though.
Quality - I would say for the most part that the car is a quality item. The doors shut reassuringly (even with the windows down - a true test), the loadspace area was very nicely trimmed and appointed (MUCH better than a BMW 3 series in this regard) and the overall fit & finish was very good.
However the big caveat to this is rattles from the dash board. My car went in twice to the dealership and, along with a couple of home remedies, have fixed all the rattles once the car is warm. From a morning start the dash rattles a bit for the first few miles, and is then okay. The only other noise is when going over sharper bumps and comes from the rear. I suspect it's the parcel shelf, however I cannot replicate it from a static position, but it's very infrequent and I was never bothered enough to warrant a proper investigation.
Regarding reliability, the car never let me down although twice in recent months I did have the ESP inoperable lamp come on. The first time was after I'd been routing around in the engine bay to check the oil level. A re-start and all was fine. The second time was driving over a rumble strip on a motorway exit slip road that caused the lamp to illuminate. Again a re-start and all was well.
Other likes / dislikes
Like - ILS headlamps were excellent
Like - Good level of kit, i.e. heated elec memory seats, sunroof, COMAND etc
Like - Electric tailgate
Like - Little curry hooks for holding shopping bags
Like - Auto dimming mirror that really worked well
Like - Intuitive cruise control
Like - Calibration of auto lights & wipers
Like - Full tyre pressure monitoring
Like - Speed limit assist function
Like - Race start
Dislike - Horizontal boot lip that catches and holds dirt & water.
Dislike - Snatchy clutch let-up when accelerating from stationary at anything more than 20% throttle.
Dislike - Gearbox can be jerky when shifting down to first in S, S+ or M modes.
Dislike - Warning display messages taking ages to clear or until OK is pressed (example when selecting Sport mode)
Dislike - £85 of fuel every 280 miles.
Dislike - No internet with iPhone.
Costs
Fuel £4667.93.
2 new rear tyres at 7209 miles at a cost of £364.44 (currently have approx 5mm tread depth on all 4 tyres).
Road tax = £500 per year.
1 litre of Mobil 1 oil = £15.
1 Service = £298.00.
And finally, as a goodbye, I decided to depart the recent PistonHeads C63 AMG meeting in the way AMG intended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyYct3dnec&in...
Well after 2 years and 15k miles, my C63 AMG has just been taken away by Mercedes (well, BCA Group). Here is a final pic as it was driven off ;-(
So how has it been living with an AMG for 2 years? Well it all started here: ( http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/...) And now, 2 years later? For the most part it's been great, always enjoying that engine but also the excellent compromise between ride & handling. For those that haven't driven a C63, they really are a very different steer to a non-AMG C-class, something that became most apparent every time I drove a non-AMG Merc.
It was always enjoyable to see those 'in-the-know' people who knew, and always appreciated, what the car was. And for those that did not know, seeing their faces when they read 6.3L on the front wings would always delight. Well, it made a nice distraction from the plummeting fuel gauge!
So onto economy...My best tankful was 310 miles and 23.32mpg and worst was 165 miles and 16.03mpg. The car was only ever run on V-Power and averaged 20.04mpg over 15,000 miles. Breaking it down into 5k mile chunks looks like this:
0-5k miles = 19.13mpg
5-10k miles = 19.97mpg
10-15k miles = 21.16mpg
The above showing how the engine loosened up.
Also the car was Eurocharged when it was 6 months old with 3000 miles. This made a big difference to the top end (over 5000rpm) and also delimited the car. I made a vid of the event, as seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0iFBDySYZg&li...
I took the car on the continent twice, the first time to the Belgium GP in 2013 and the second time to Southern Austria on holiday. The latter trip was 2300 miles in total and I drove the 1005 miles home in one day. The car performed faultlessly, averaging 21.05mpg despite some fast Autobahn work, including a few trips up to 186mph ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGwPDCyUXQU&li...)
So what will I miss and what did I like about my C63?
Engine - Low & mid-range torque coupled with real top-end bite over 5000rpm (thanks to the Eurocharge remap) meant it was always smile-inducing. The punch over 100mph was ever amusing however it was the A-road overtaking pace that'll I miss most.
Noise - The morning start-up procedure (better on colder mornings), the exhaust cracks in S+ or M mode, the burbles on the overrun or even just that superb V8 throb when on the Motorway around 2000rpm, it was ALWAYS entertaining. There's no doubt AMG did a superb job giving the car a fairly ludicrous exhaust note, yet one that doesn't drone or impede with refined progress when desired.
Ride - My car had 18s and rode just on the right side of acceptable. Having driven multiple C63s with 19s, there was never a time in my ownership where I felt I'd made the wrong decision to go with the 18s.
Handling - for a big estate car, I think it handled extremely well, aided in part by the 18s and very much by the optional LSD. When pushing-on the weight of the engine can be felt on the front end, however there's enough torque (and drive with the LSD) to neutralise the balance and then push into mild oversteer. It's a great feeling and one that's happily allowed by the ESP when in Sport mode. However with everything off it could be a bit of a handful. Exiting T-junctions would always be a scruffy affair in Sport mode, but with the TC/ESP all off, one had to be very careful with throttle application in order to prevent L-A-R-G-E slides from getting away from you.
Steering - the steering really is very good. It's incredible how different the steering is on the C63 when compared with non-AMG C-classes. Great weighting, accurate and with some feel (rather than the standard 'none' of many cars these days), I always enjoyed the steering of the car.
Tech - for the most part this is good. I kept an iPhone in the central cubby to provide all my music needs, and the COMAND system worked well from a music/radio/bluetooth perspective. The voice control worked well and I liked all the various displays available within the central TFT on the dash, especially the AMG menu showing oil and water temps. I never did get the internet connection to work with my iPhone 5, although for a period of time it did receive and read out my text messages, however this has stopped again. Not the end of the world though.
Quality - I would say for the most part that the car is a quality item. The doors shut reassuringly (even with the windows down - a true test), the loadspace area was very nicely trimmed and appointed (MUCH better than a BMW 3 series in this regard) and the overall fit & finish was very good.
However the big caveat to this is rattles from the dash board. My car went in twice to the dealership and, along with a couple of home remedies, have fixed all the rattles once the car is warm. From a morning start the dash rattles a bit for the first few miles, and is then okay. The only other noise is when going over sharper bumps and comes from the rear. I suspect it's the parcel shelf, however I cannot replicate it from a static position, but it's very infrequent and I was never bothered enough to warrant a proper investigation.
Regarding reliability, the car never let me down although twice in recent months I did have the ESP inoperable lamp come on. The first time was after I'd been routing around in the engine bay to check the oil level. A re-start and all was fine. The second time was driving over a rumble strip on a motorway exit slip road that caused the lamp to illuminate. Again a re-start and all was well.
Other likes / dislikes
Like - ILS headlamps were excellent
Like - Good level of kit, i.e. heated elec memory seats, sunroof, COMAND etc
Like - Electric tailgate
Like - Little curry hooks for holding shopping bags
Like - Auto dimming mirror that really worked well
Like - Intuitive cruise control
Like - Calibration of auto lights & wipers
Like - Full tyre pressure monitoring
Like - Speed limit assist function
Like - Race start
Dislike - Horizontal boot lip that catches and holds dirt & water.
Dislike - Snatchy clutch let-up when accelerating from stationary at anything more than 20% throttle.
Dislike - Gearbox can be jerky when shifting down to first in S, S+ or M modes.
Dislike - Warning display messages taking ages to clear or until OK is pressed (example when selecting Sport mode)
Dislike - £85 of fuel every 280 miles.
Dislike - No internet with iPhone.
Costs
Fuel £4667.93.
2 new rear tyres at 7209 miles at a cost of £364.44 (currently have approx 5mm tread depth on all 4 tyres).
Road tax = £500 per year.
1 litre of Mobil 1 oil = £15.
1 Service = £298.00.
And finally, as a goodbye, I decided to depart the recent PistonHeads C63 AMG meeting in the way AMG intended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyYct3dnec&in...
Thanks all
1. Buy the car
2. Trade it for something else
3. Hand it back
The problem was that I was never even offered anything close to the GFV, thus buying it would have been throwing money away. The trade in prices I got, even from Mercedes, were rubbish and MB just didn't seem interested in keeping my business. Strange.
So anyway I took option 3.
JamesD1 said:
How comes she's gone? was it a lease or is there soemthing else on order?
It came to the end of a 2 year PCP with Mercedes. I had 3 options:1. Buy the car
2. Trade it for something else
3. Hand it back
The problem was that I was never even offered anything close to the GFV, thus buying it would have been throwing money away. The trade in prices I got, even from Mercedes, were rubbish and MB just didn't seem interested in keeping my business. Strange.
So anyway I took option 3.
Bluehawk said:
So my question is, what are you getting as a replacement?
Next week I have an E300 Bluetech Hybrid coming. However this only replaces the practical side of motoring. For the fun side I have this Boobonman said:
Really want. Really, really want, so bad.
I reckon the fuel costs don't sound too bad the way you break them down. As a direct comparison my 5cyl VW transporter I use for work has done about 300 miles today and taken £85's worth of diesel as nourishment.
was thinking the same! £65 gets me 270-290 miles in my mk5 R32. so in comparioson i think £85 for 270 miles from a 6.3 V8 is really reasonable. I reckon the fuel costs don't sound too bad the way you break them down. As a direct comparison my 5cyl VW transporter I use for work has done about 300 miles today and taken £85's worth of diesel as nourishment.
i had my cousins car for the weekend and gave it a detail, a red C63 coupe. i absoultely fell in love with it.
and i also couldnt get over how much Sport+ mode changed the drive- it was absoultey savage! definetly my next car.
Cracking vids aswell OP!
I have been fancying one of these for a while. As an estate it would be the perfect car to take me on mountain bike outings. And the noise! I remember being at the F1 a few years back and they had one as the medical car and it sounded epic driving past on full throttle!
Good write up op
Good write up op
Very good write-up, OP.
I really like the videos too!
(Not to drag this off topic, but related to trade-in/residual values)
A mate recently sold his C63 PPP. The depreciation felt like a train in his behind - 2 years old, 33,000km on the clock, sold for €36K and he had to pay the VAT man about €5K out of that (EC VAT free purchase originally), so €31K net. (I reckon the depreciation was ~€40k).
The car also had a new engine under warranty after 1 year/20,000km as the spanner monkey found oil in the water on its 1st service. MB Lux said the engine was €47K to replace, but I'm not sure it would have been that much. If it was, it's a good thing it was paid for by MB/AMG!
I really like the videos too!
(Not to drag this off topic, but related to trade-in/residual values)
A mate recently sold his C63 PPP. The depreciation felt like a train in his behind - 2 years old, 33,000km on the clock, sold for €36K and he had to pay the VAT man about €5K out of that (EC VAT free purchase originally), so €31K net. (I reckon the depreciation was ~€40k).
The car also had a new engine under warranty after 1 year/20,000km as the spanner monkey found oil in the water on its 1st service. MB Lux said the engine was €47K to replace, but I'm not sure it would have been that much. If it was, it's a good thing it was paid for by MB/AMG!
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