Can anyone lend me £56K? PH Blog

Dan runs into an old friend in the used listings of a Mercedes-Benz dealer

In this gig it pays to maintain a level of professional detachment to the cars we drive, if only to minimise the pain of separation when the man comes to take it away. Not so difficult when it’s five days with a Ferrari – fun while it lasts and all that – but the long-term loan presents rather more of a challenge. Emotional entanglements always bring risks and, I have to confess, when ‘my’ C63 AMG Edition 507 was finally prised from my grasp I wasn’t much fun to be around.

Dan's tear-strewn face thankfully out of shot

The last time I saw that car it was as the doors of a Mercedes transporter clanged shut before it was taken away. A contact in the Mercedes press office teased me in the weeks following saying he’d seen the car in the car park at head office, still bearing the smiley I’d so carefully applied to the rear screen. He also mentioned the state of the tyres…

Now KY63 ZRK has reappeared, as was inevitable on the forecourt of a Mercedes dealer. My dream now has a bottom line - £56,995, making it about £56,000 out of reach assuming a favourable part-ex on a slightly ratty Eunos would be acceptable. Which it probably wouldn’t. The most expensive of the 16 C63 wagons currently advertised in the Mercedes dealer network and the only Edition 507, would it make a good buy?

Tyres and brakes have been replaced, cough

Of course it would! There is an argument to be had about whether buying ex-press cars is a sensible proposition or not. We had it this time last year when Porsche GB’s delicious Riviera Blue 997 GT3 surfaced at an OPC in Glasgow. Fair to say, that car had been well used in its working life, winning the hearts of pretty much everyone who drove it. As such, and given the very public thrashings, there was a vigorous debate about whether it was tainted or enhanced by this exposure.

I accounted for nearly half of ZRK’s 14,605 miles so am better placed than most to comment than most about its history. Sure, there were moments of exuberance and some of those recorded in film or stills for posterity. And I wasn’t the only one. Some chap called Harris was a bit of a fan of the car and you can probably guess how that went. But the fact these cars live their lives in the public eye is, to me, rather more reassuring.

6.2-litre V8 left a lasting impression

If you buy any car showing more than zero miles on the odometer you’re taking a punt on how any former occupant of the driver’s seat may have treated it. Interrogations of the ECU are now possible and Porsche buyers in particular are getting very fixated about recorded ‘over revs’ and their implied impact on the value. Beyond that you’re simply living in hope the former owner didn’t have a habit of redlining it from cold every morning. I didn’t in the case of ZRK, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, in the case of an ex-press car I’d say the very public nature of their usage and the level of care they receive while on the fleet more than mitigate against the sideways cover shots and the like. You’re basically getting a car that’s been inspected and serviced between every loan, potentially every couple of weeks for an in-demand car. My man at Mercedes tells me a full ECU interrogation and detailed physical check of gearbox, suspension, diff and the rest are a matter of course, likewise replacement of brake pads, discs, tyres and suchlike. Chips and scuffs are also dealt with on the basis it has to look its best for photos too. In the case of ZRK it also got a new windscreen to deal with a couple of M25 chips picked up in my tenure.

Just £57K between Dan and reunion with C63

So it might be the most expensive C63 wagon currently in the dealer network but it’s also, I’d venture, the one that’s had the most attention. If there were any issues they would have been obvious by now. It’s also one of the very few wagons to be fitted with the optional locking diff, which in my experience transforms the way it drives. Worth it for that and the sinister matt paint alone.

Unfortunately for me this time around ZRK remains out of reach. But I’ll be keeping an eye open as the years tick by, hope whoever buys it enjoys it as much as I did and that, once they’re done with it, I might stand a better chance of making it a permanent addition to the driveway. I wouldn’t hesitate. And I know where it's been!

Dan

C63 wagons in the PH classifieds

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