C63 - a good buy?
Discussion
Hello all,
I am trying to decide on my next car purchase. Budget is up to £30,000.
I am currently between a C63, Porsche 911 997 and Jag XKR.
Could any C63 oweners advise on living with one day to day. Real life costs (inc MPG which i'm guessing will be around 15?) and if you have any experience of the other two and how it compares?
I appreciate in the Mercedes section views may be slightly biased, but just trying to do my research fully as never been able to spend anywhere close to this on a car before.
Many thanks in anticipation,
Paul
I am trying to decide on my next car purchase. Budget is up to £30,000.
I am currently between a C63, Porsche 911 997 and Jag XKR.
Could any C63 oweners advise on living with one day to day. Real life costs (inc MPG which i'm guessing will be around 15?) and if you have any experience of the other two and how it compares?
I appreciate in the Mercedes section views may be slightly biased, but just trying to do my research fully as never been able to spend anywhere close to this on a car before.
Many thanks in anticipation,
Paul
tch911 said:
Completely agree with Big Brin. I was looking at a 997 C4S to have alongside a plodder for my wife. Once I had driven the C63, it was easy to settle on just having just one car. It is so accomplished.
If you want to do lots of track days or scorch around B roads at warpspeed on Sunday morning at daybreak, the 911 will be hard to beat.
My PPP does everything. it trundles to the supermarket and swallows shopping, it took us from London throughout Norfolk with two racing bikes in the rear seat compartment, it carries my in-laws in "abject luxury" (their words, not mine) to lunch, my wife falls asleep in the heated passenger seat to the thrum of the V8. It'll hopefully also carry my newborn child (see other thread!!).
But it also makes you grin on so many occasions. Door open as you start the engine, pricking your ear as your wife drives off having dropped you off somewhere, the obscene noises that it makes on hard acceleration and lift off, the lusty grrr of a half throttle mid-range acceleration, the whipcrack noise of a quick stab of the exhaust at idle.
I am not a trackday hero (but I like the idea of trying a day possibly), it's a heavy old car if you tried to chase a 911 down a B-road. But I ran it down to devon and back the other weekend and it was perfect, thrumming along at speed, so comfortable, incredible dolby sound, heated seats.
Am I worried about servicing, Petrol and tyres?
- No, Mercedes does a very good value service plan which also gives you superb breakdown assist, replacement car etc
- Petrol is going to be nice and cheap for a long time. Over 40,000 miles, my car is showing 20mpg. On a motorway run, I see 24-26 mpg. Given that our other car knocks out about 10mpg on the motorway, this has been christened the Eco-Merc!
- Search about and tyres are cheap-ish, not to mention doing a few less 'skids' will help. I imagine if you drive it like a fool, it will munch fuel at an alarming rate and burn through tyres. But then, so will the Porsche.
I personally think the pre-facelift looks the best with real aggression but still to the punter looking like a sensible four door saloon.
Gripes, I would add to the wheel argument, having replaced all 4 of my 19" wheels recently but I got a very good deal on them. It can also be a bit embarrasing when the exhaust goes "RARRRRRRRGH" when you are trying to be a little lower profile.
If you're a similar person to me. I cannot recommend the Eco-Merc enough. If you want to thunder through Wales every weekend sideways, perhaps go for the 911. Measnt in the politest possible way BTW.
Good luck. Tom
Hi Tom,If you want to do lots of track days or scorch around B roads at warpspeed on Sunday morning at daybreak, the 911 will be hard to beat.
My PPP does everything. it trundles to the supermarket and swallows shopping, it took us from London throughout Norfolk with two racing bikes in the rear seat compartment, it carries my in-laws in "abject luxury" (their words, not mine) to lunch, my wife falls asleep in the heated passenger seat to the thrum of the V8. It'll hopefully also carry my newborn child (see other thread!!).
But it also makes you grin on so many occasions. Door open as you start the engine, pricking your ear as your wife drives off having dropped you off somewhere, the obscene noises that it makes on hard acceleration and lift off, the lusty grrr of a half throttle mid-range acceleration, the whipcrack noise of a quick stab of the exhaust at idle.
I am not a trackday hero (but I like the idea of trying a day possibly), it's a heavy old car if you tried to chase a 911 down a B-road. But I ran it down to devon and back the other weekend and it was perfect, thrumming along at speed, so comfortable, incredible dolby sound, heated seats.
Am I worried about servicing, Petrol and tyres?
- No, Mercedes does a very good value service plan which also gives you superb breakdown assist, replacement car etc
- Petrol is going to be nice and cheap for a long time. Over 40,000 miles, my car is showing 20mpg. On a motorway run, I see 24-26 mpg. Given that our other car knocks out about 10mpg on the motorway, this has been christened the Eco-Merc!
- Search about and tyres are cheap-ish, not to mention doing a few less 'skids' will help. I imagine if you drive it like a fool, it will munch fuel at an alarming rate and burn through tyres. But then, so will the Porsche.
I personally think the pre-facelift looks the best with real aggression but still to the punter looking like a sensible four door saloon.
Gripes, I would add to the wheel argument, having replaced all 4 of my 19" wheels recently but I got a very good deal on them. It can also be a bit embarrasing when the exhaust goes "RARRRRRRRGH" when you are trying to be a little lower profile.
If you're a similar person to me. I cannot recommend the Eco-Merc enough. If you want to thunder through Wales every weekend sideways, perhaps go for the 911. Measnt in the politest possible way BTW.
Good luck. Tom
Excellent comments. Thanks so much! Pretty much cemented my decision!
developer said:
Just a heads up - there was a head bolt modification (a different type) from engine number ending in 60658.
Earlier ones have the potential to fail resulting in a coolant/oil mix with expensive consequences.
It's rare, but worth knowing - you'll find plenty on Google about it.
The V5 will show the engine number.
ARP studs can be fitted as a one for one swap out and some on here have had it done.
I had the heads removed and new bolts/gaskets fitted, but it's expensive.
Very interesting - thanks!Earlier ones have the potential to fail resulting in a coolant/oil mix with expensive consequences.
It's rare, but worth knowing - you'll find plenty on Google about it.
The V5 will show the engine number.
ARP studs can be fitted as a one for one swap out and some on here have had it done.
I had the heads removed and new bolts/gaskets fitted, but it's expensive.
Edited by developer on Wednesday 4th February 20:03
MagicMike said:
Thanks, a great read. Never better than 14mpg??seawise said:
I am a serial 911 nut (had most over the years, still got 3) but the car I choose as my daily driver is a 2013 C63 wagon - I absolutely love it. Much more fun than a C2S 997 believe it or not ! You never hear a bad word spoken about them from owners either, which is more than can be said with 996/977 Carreras and M3's etc.
Wow that's interesting. I must say apart from the questionable MPG, don't appear to hear a bag word about them on here either which is great. moffat said:
Depends on 1) your driving style and 2) type of roads
Over 18k miles I averaged 18.3mpg with my high being 27mpg on a drive from Nottingham to Heathrow and my low being a 40min x-country blat where I got 9mpg.
A normal small journey would be 17-22mpg.
To average 14 mpg you need to drive like a lunatic or live in central London
That's reassuring to hear. I don't live in London and will be able to manage the enthusiastic driving to the regular to aim close to those figures Over 18k miles I averaged 18.3mpg with my high being 27mpg on a drive from Nottingham to Heathrow and my low being a 40min x-country blat where I got 9mpg.
A normal small journey would be 17-22mpg.
To average 14 mpg you need to drive like a lunatic or live in central London
1Addicted said:
Really I can't say anything notably bad about my Coupe as I went into ownership with my eyes wide open.
For example, the ride (even without PP) is pretty damn harsh with 19" wheels on bad roads and those sodding lateral ridges you sometimes get on motorways where surface material meets surface material but, I have always owned cars with large alloy wheels, small tyres and sports suspension so I knew this.
The car has a lot of torque, pushed through relatively narrow (255) rear tyres so, exiting corners with throttle can be "fun" on anything but warm and dry Tarmac. Again, this has been my experience with all of my RWD cars, all have been high performance.
Fuel economy is low but, then again I have always owned performance cars where low-mid-20's mpg has been the norm. What I've found is that as technology has progressed, large engines (such as the M156) are about as fuel efficient as smaller engines were 8-10yrs ago and to be honest, not far away from some newer performance turbo engines than that. The MPG in this is not far off what you get in the Focus ST2/3, Impreza WRX or Mitsi Lancer Evolution so, it's not like we're clutching at a 10mpg average or anything.
Tyres? Again I've always been in this boat. They're only expensive because you should never be tight when it comes to buying rubber. Therefore you're limited to premium brands, especially since you want to stick this car to the road.
Servicing is incredibly reasonable. I have a service plan but I wouldn't cry at the dealership if I had to pay. Brakes again are reasonable except for the PP composite front discs which will maybe draw a tear from your eye come time to pay up.
Reliability has been absolutely (touch wood) perfect; far less complicated than any of my turbocharged cars. The engine, by itself, is built to make raw power with no forced induction complexity needed. It just does what it does.
I smile every time I start the car, let it run down through the gears on the over run in S+ and M modes, full throttle straight line acceleration, throttle blip coming to a stop etc etc. It's deceptive to drive as you are always going faster than you feel. With the later MCT gearbox at least there is less delay between shift and power-on so, watch the speedo if you dare and there is literally no let up in the ferociousness it builds speed.
No doubt that a Porsche could hand it a thing or two in the bends but, don't believe that this is just a drifting machine as it's not. It's very taut, pointed and stable on its feet. Command it to drift and it will but it won't do it unless encouraged and is otherwise still a very well cornering car capable of doing everything.
If you ever forget how nice it sounds, drop the back seats, crack the windows open and go for it. Public reception of the car in general is positive, gestured with thumbs up, smiles and conversation sparked by genuine interest. Creep up along side a sporty car and see him drop his window, likewise for truck drivers. I also tend to get little aggression on the road and very little people trying to intimidate me.
The only bugbear I have right now is the limitations set by the weather. I really cannot wait to be able to hook the rear tyres again, with windows fully open.
Great input - thanks very much!For example, the ride (even without PP) is pretty damn harsh with 19" wheels on bad roads and those sodding lateral ridges you sometimes get on motorways where surface material meets surface material but, I have always owned cars with large alloy wheels, small tyres and sports suspension so I knew this.
The car has a lot of torque, pushed through relatively narrow (255) rear tyres so, exiting corners with throttle can be "fun" on anything but warm and dry Tarmac. Again, this has been my experience with all of my RWD cars, all have been high performance.
Fuel economy is low but, then again I have always owned performance cars where low-mid-20's mpg has been the norm. What I've found is that as technology has progressed, large engines (such as the M156) are about as fuel efficient as smaller engines were 8-10yrs ago and to be honest, not far away from some newer performance turbo engines than that. The MPG in this is not far off what you get in the Focus ST2/3, Impreza WRX or Mitsi Lancer Evolution so, it's not like we're clutching at a 10mpg average or anything.
Tyres? Again I've always been in this boat. They're only expensive because you should never be tight when it comes to buying rubber. Therefore you're limited to premium brands, especially since you want to stick this car to the road.
Servicing is incredibly reasonable. I have a service plan but I wouldn't cry at the dealership if I had to pay. Brakes again are reasonable except for the PP composite front discs which will maybe draw a tear from your eye come time to pay up.
Reliability has been absolutely (touch wood) perfect; far less complicated than any of my turbocharged cars. The engine, by itself, is built to make raw power with no forced induction complexity needed. It just does what it does.
I smile every time I start the car, let it run down through the gears on the over run in S+ and M modes, full throttle straight line acceleration, throttle blip coming to a stop etc etc. It's deceptive to drive as you are always going faster than you feel. With the later MCT gearbox at least there is less delay between shift and power-on so, watch the speedo if you dare and there is literally no let up in the ferociousness it builds speed.
No doubt that a Porsche could hand it a thing or two in the bends but, don't believe that this is just a drifting machine as it's not. It's very taut, pointed and stable on its feet. Command it to drift and it will but it won't do it unless encouraged and is otherwise still a very well cornering car capable of doing everything.
If you ever forget how nice it sounds, drop the back seats, crack the windows open and go for it. Public reception of the car in general is positive, gestured with thumbs up, smiles and conversation sparked by genuine interest. Creep up along side a sporty car and see him drop his window, likewise for truck drivers. I also tend to get little aggression on the road and very little people trying to intimidate me.
The only bugbear I have right now is the limitations set by the weather. I really cannot wait to be able to hook the rear tyres again, with windows fully open.
Edited by 1Addicted on Wednesday 11th February 11:18
findtomdotcom said:
Then there is the customer service. I'm sure others will contradict my experience (and maybe rightly so), but I found Mercedes Customer Service to be extremely poor, where as Porsche have been amazing, one of the reasons I keep going back.
I met a dealer last Sunday who wouldn't let me test as didn't have my paper counterpart with me (my fault) and then said he would contact me on Monday to re-book. Never heard back despite an email and leaving a further two messages. Not impressed.Edited by findtomdotcom on Sunday 15th February 22:33
HotJambalaya said:
I figured the c63 part out! PPP or not, facelift, years?
I'm vaguely, sort of thinking of selling my 2010 car
Haha sorry, wasn't sure if you had read the opening post.I'm vaguely, sort of thinking of selling my 2010 car
Open minded - the best I can get for my money for 25-30k quite simply, with as many toys and as new/low miles as possible. I personally think I prefer the pre-facelift look.
Obiwonkeyblokey said:
I've had my Coupe nine months
Its not the best track car ( 12 laps of combe - new set of boots)
its not the best at carrying 4 people and luggage
Its not the flashiest
It has rubbish fuel consumption.
The media system was designed by a skilled torturer
Other than that, Its the best car I've ever owned and I really can never see myself parting with it.
I've had better track cars (911) flashier ( F575), more practical (Audi S4 avant), worse fuel consumption ( E60 M5, and F575) and I've had better media systems.
but the C63 is my favourite of all of the above. bloody great thing.
What have you found your average MPG over the last nine months?Its not the best track car ( 12 laps of combe - new set of boots)
its not the best at carrying 4 people and luggage
Its not the flashiest
It has rubbish fuel consumption.
The media system was designed by a skilled torturer
Other than that, Its the best car I've ever owned and I really can never see myself parting with it.
I've had better track cars (911) flashier ( F575), more practical (Audi S4 avant), worse fuel consumption ( E60 M5, and F575) and I've had better media systems.but the C63 is my favourite of all of the above. bloody great thing.
wilwak said:
I've been through a selection of AMG's over the years. Never had a Porsche.
The car that always makes me smile the most is my trusty 2007 XKR that I still have today.
Other cars have come and go but I'd never thought of selling the XKR.
I've actually just ordered one of the Run-out XK Dynamic R's to get a minter while I can. I've still not sold the old XKR!
The AMG's are great cars and seem excellent value but personally I find there's just something special about an XKR.
Whatever you choose... You'll be getting a fabulous car so don't worry to much.
Half the fun is in the looking.
Thanks. The XKR is also very much on my radar. The car that always makes me smile the most is my trusty 2007 XKR that I still have today.
Other cars have come and go but I'd never thought of selling the XKR.
I've actually just ordered one of the Run-out XK Dynamic R's to get a minter while I can. I've still not sold the old XKR!
The AMG's are great cars and seem excellent value but personally I find there's just something special about an XKR.
Whatever you choose... You'll be getting a fabulous car so don't worry to much.
Half the fun is in the looking.
Test drove an approved used C63 today. 2012 and 4,000 miles on the clock. Was amazed by the sound it produced. Stupidly quick on sport plus mode in a straight line.
Drove a 5 litre XKR yesterday. Really stuck and confused. I know they are different cars. Loved both. Only need two seats.
Honestly don't know which way to turn. Loved both!!
Drove a 5 litre XKR yesterday. Really stuck and confused. I know they are different cars. Loved both. Only need two seats.
Honestly don't know which way to turn. Loved both!!
alxce said:
Was that the red 4-door at Ridgeway, Porstmouth? I have been watching that among others for some time now, what sort of condition is it in? Should be immaculate with only 4k on the clock but that's not always guaranteed based on an experience I had viewing a similar one.
Yes that's the one. Base spec with no packs attached. Had a flat battery when I went. Is pretty much like new as you would expect!Gassing Station | Mercedes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff