New member, new (to me) 2014 C63

[T9JVG]

Evening all,

Long time lurker first time poster here.

I've long been a petrol head, fairly certain having a father in the motor trade through my entire childhood contributed to that. I lived in London throughout the majority of my twenties and so went without wheels for a long time. I eventually puckered up and bought a vx220, it was completely impractical (could barely clear the speed bumps in the road I lived in and would often shed it's front number plate) but I loved it. Owned it for two years before buying a house forced it's sale. I was comforted at the time by the fact it had lost no money during my ownership, however it has probably now appreciated somewhat due to their rarity.

Following that I ran a 2008 Z4 coupe 3.0 SI for two and a half years. It was a great car and I enjoyed owning it immensely. That engine is a masterpiece (for it's size and power) and I think it is the best looking bangle-era car to come out of BMW. The coupe shape also made it surprisingly practical at times, if you ignore the fact that it had no rear seats. Anyway, it was getting to the point where it was about to start costing me money - it developed an exhaust rattle, the clutch was on its way out, was due 4 new tyres and a service, it was on it's original brakes (80k miles) and was generally feeling a little loose/vague on the handling front - so probably needed new bushes (best case scenario). So the decision was made to change, which brings me onto the next car...

Since the E9x M3 was released in 2007 (I know, contradicts the thread title) I've always wanted one, so the decision was made that Mrs T9JVG and I would go and look at a couple that a local BMW garage had up for sale. After driving two different examples, whilst I thought the car was great, it was only great when you were really, really pushing on. I had a fairly lengthy test drive and only twice managed to get it beyond 4k RPM, such is the nature of the congested roads in the south. I just had this nagging feeling that I wouldn't be able to use it properly and it would therefore feel like a regular 3 series the majority of the time I was in it. There were also questions about how "future proof" a two door coupe would be given our ambitions of starting a family, I didn't want to spend £30k plus and then have to shift it on in a years time.

So the only logical move from there was the C63. I'd never driven one before considering it, but they have a bit of a reputation for being a hoot and outrageously outrageous! I drove a couple at a local merc dealer but didn't like either for varying reasons (mainly spec and condition) - but I loved the car. The following day one cropped up in Surrey, I made the phone call, did some bartering over the course of a Sunday and put a deposit down over the phone. I got a reasonable trade on the Z and was looking forward to collection. That was a month ago.

Fast forward four weeks and I'm smitten - it is an amazing car. The engine is incredible, pulls like a train from 1500RPM and the noise is filthy. It has all the toys I need (benefit of buying a range topper) and has a massive Q Car factor. From the front it looks like a C180 with AMG trim, the only major giveaways are the brakes, side badge and quad exhausts. Cue lots of hilarious traffic light moments and giving an unlucky older gent an apparent heart attack (the noise) when pulling off from a pedestrian crossing. One thing that really makes it stand out from the M3 is, despite being a far blunter tool, you can have more fun more often. I use it to drive a fairly dull route to work and it puts a smile on my face every time I get in it - that alone is well worth the expense. I also think I got it for a very good price, looking at the classifieds, 3 year old versions of the same car are trading hands for 2/3k less, so I don't stand to lose a lot (oil availability dependant).

I don't really dislike anything about the car, apart from fuel consumption - but I know that would be the case before I got involved so I can't have any complaints. Although 15mpg on the work run does hurt a little. The best I've seen is 23 on a long motorway run....
Spec wise it is a little "standard", silver exterior, black interior and 18's - but it doesn't bother me - I did look at a nice grey one on 19's but it was a year older, 10k more miles, in worse nick and 3k more - no brainer really

Anyway, some pics (hopefully this works, never been to hot with photo uploads on forums):







I'm afraid I don't have any of the interior, you can google it to get an idea

I reckon if you get as excited as I do about a wheel, caliper and disc, then you are a true petromanic \



And lastly, some hairy off-roading trying to park at Ashridge on a busy summers day



Planned future mods are stripping out the 2nd cats to free up some of the noise - get's very good reviews, and I quite like the look of the carbon rear diffuser, but both can wait until the manufacturers warranty expires.

Hope you like it

J

[Terzo123]

Love it.

I would like to be in the position to chose between an M3 and a C63 AMG as my next car.

Maybe in a few years. Ha.

[Otter Smacker]

Great story and fantastic piece of kit!

Welcome

[BHML]

I regret selling mine. Enjoy your new car OP.

[roadman]

Looks fantastic, I live nearish Ashridge and MTB that side a bit so ill have a listen out for it

[T9JVG]

Thanks for the feedback chaps, it does seem to be a car that always generates positive response.

@Terzo123, I do consider myself quite fortunate, although there was a significant amount of man maths involved when making the purchase. That said I wouldn't be too unhappy with a V8 Monaro...

Thanks Otter Smacker

@BHML, I cant even contemplate the prospect of selling it - such is the impression it's made on me.

Thanks Roadman, we're often at Ashridge (although live in St Albans), feel free to say hello if you see it/me about

[Ollie C]

Subtle for an AMG, silver really suits these. Think I prefer the 18's (?) over the larger multi spokes too. Something about performance cars on smaller wheels I think! Enjoy OP.

[T9JVG]

Morning all, thought I'd provide a small update on my blossoming love affair with this car...

I'm five months and 3k miles into ownership and it has been an absolutely pleasure to own. I really appreciate the jekyll and hyde personality to this car, does the boring commute so well yet the moment you're feeling mischievous it becomes a different beast all together. I also really like the subtlety of it, no unwanted attention is attracted but you still get admiring glances and compliments from people in 'the know'.

It's been fairly uneventful ownership period thus far, apart from having a fairly major service completed on Wednesday. I'm not sure if being on the Service Plan had any influence over this but I had a very positive experience from MB Watford, which contradicts a lot of what I've read online. Dropped the car off, they provided a taxi onto work, a taxi to bring me back etc and were very communicative throughout the day. I had also noticed that some of the gear changes could be a little bit violent at times so they installed an updated map which has completely transformed the 'box, particularly in manual mode. The changes are so much crisper, it's like having a new gearbox

Also, chosing this over the M3 has proven particularly prudent as Mrs T9 and I are now expecting a new addition to the family, due in March

Merry Christmas all

[GrantB5]

Certainly a nice car.

Any plans for it?

[Trollied]

Great car & thread OP. Love the sound of these. Never been in one though unfortunately.
Congratulations on the addition to your family!

[stevec33]

The car looks very nice op, i am totally with you with your thoughts on the e90 m3's, great car if you drive like a total loon above 5k rpm everywhere but if your a bit more on the sensible side you struggle to ever use the power as you would hope, yes there 420 hp or whatever but it only feels it for the top 3k rpm. I recently had a c63 come in at work and i am very tempted to get one.

[T9JVG]

GrantB5 said:

Certainly a nice car.

Any plans for it?

Thanks Grant. Plans at this point in time are fairly limited, once the manufacturer's warranty expires however I plan to modify the exhausts (strip out second cats) to free up some more noise. I'm also planning to change the rear diffuser, either buying a carbon one, c.450, or getting it dipped/wrapped with carbon effect - haven't decided yet.

Trollied said:

Great car & thread OP. Love the sound of these. Never been in one though unfortunately.
Congratulations on the addition to your family!

Thanks, most kind. Sound is awesome - my only complaint is that the car is SO well insulated you don't always hear it. Hence above mentioned exhaust mod. As for never being in one, if you're local to St Albans I'm always happy to share the love with a fellow petrolhead.

stevec33 said:

The car looks very nice op, i am totally with you with your thoughts on the e90 m3's, great car if you drive like a total loon above 5k rpm everywhere but if your a bit more on the sensible side you struggle to ever use the power as you would hope, yes there 420 hp or whatever but it only feels it for the top 3k rpm. I recently had a c63 come in at work and i am very tempted to get one.

Cheers Steve, the M3 is undoubtedly a fantastic car but I just couldn't gel with it, and I've always been a BMW fan, I think it was mainly down to the engine - it felt unremarkable unless you were gunning it - whereas the 63 is thrilling regardless of how you're driving it

T9

[GrantB5]

Look forward to it!