C63 AMG Estate - Final report

C63 AMG Estate - Final report

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ghibbett

Original Poster:

1,900 posts

184 months

Thursday 28th August 2014
quotequote all
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 biggrinbiggrinbiggrin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyYct3dnec&in...

SwissJonese

1,393 posts

174 months

Thursday 28th August 2014
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Great write up, thanks for sharing, one day I will get around to upgrading my C350 to one of these beasts.

Mosdef

1,733 posts

226 months

Thursday 28th August 2014
quotequote all
Again, great insight into C63 ownership.

Your engine sounds no less efficient than the 5.5 TT in my E63 - makes me want to go back to the M156!

Lynch91

471 posts

138 months

Thursday 28th August 2014
quotequote all
Cracking write up, IMO these are the best looking wheels to have on the estate or saloon. What are you going to be replacing the C63 with?

ghibbett

Original Poster:

1,900 posts

184 months

Friday 29th August 2014
quotequote all
Thanks all.

Replacement is an E300 Bluetech Hybrid, coming next week. Am still in the excited stage, however we'll see how long that takes to wear off!

PD1

147 posts

203 months

Friday 29th August 2014
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Great write up. Can't wait for Wednesday 3rd for the delivery of my C63 507.

HotJambalaya

2,023 posts

179 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
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Total cost of lease including options, over the 2 years?

I've now had mine 2 years, bought second hand, would be interesting to work out the comparable cost of ownership.

marky1

1,045 posts

195 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
No disrespect but don't know how you can go from that to a hybrid. I suspect you won't keep the hybrid for too long!! Great burn out video on that link. Love the noise.

ghibbett

Original Poster:

1,900 posts

184 months

Saturday 30th August 2014
quotequote all
marky1 said:
No disrespect but don't know how you can go from that to a hybrid. I suspect you won't keep the hybrid for too long!! Great burn out video on that link. Love the noise.
Fully understand your point however I also have this in the garage biggrin


marky1

1,045 posts

195 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Ah! Fair enough!

crosseyedlion

2,170 posts

197 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
HotJambalaya said:
Total cost of lease including options, over the 2 years?

I've now had mine 2 years, bought second hand, would be interesting to work out the comparable cost of ownership.
I'd be very interested in this too!

PD9

1,994 posts

184 months

Monday 1st September 2014
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Helpful thread and detailed write up. This my favourite colour in the C63. Do you think the fuel & road tax are justified for the complete satisfaction the car offers? I am trying to justify to the missus that it is! Will be looking into serious C63 ownership next year.

ghibbett

Original Poster:

1,900 posts

184 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
PD9 said:
Do you think the fuel & road tax are justified for the complete satisfaction the car offers?
Basically no, although that is more a reflection of our crowded roads and limited opportunities to use the performance rather than a negative reflection on the car itself.

However the other side of looking at it, as I did, was the fact that I've had the pleasure of owning a large capacity naturally aspriated V8, most likely the last of its kind. Yes it has cost a lot of money, but I won't be worried about that when I'm on my death bed looking back over my life.

PD9

1,994 posts

184 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
I guess the latter is the best way to look at C63 ownership. If I'm questioning the costs why am I even bothering sizing up the car..


Basically because it's a monster! And as you say; the end of an era.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
ghibbett said:
Basically no, although that is more a reflection of our crowded roads and limited opportunities to use the performance rather than a negative reflection on the car itself.
And there in lies the problem with performance cars in the UK. st roads (south of England) and other road users!