C63 AMG - run away?

[anonymous-user]

Just spotted this C63 for sale. It's priced reasonably well, good spec (remapped to 560bhp, LSD, PP) . It's also priced at £18500 which is reasonable.

I am interested in it but there are a few things that make me wary so I'm starting this thread. (I am interested in owning a C63 Estate as my next car)

- It's a 2008 model that has been facelifted (why?!)
- It has an Alacantara steering wheel, which I'm worried won't be able to cope with up to 20,000 miles a year (contracted work)
- I will be the 7th owner.
- Untaxed since May.
- Last MOT was a fail and it did 1,000 more miles before passing.
- 85,000 miles

Save a bit more cash or bite the bullet?

Ad:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...






Seller has plenty of C63's to choose from, but I can't tell if he's a bit dodgy.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 14th August 23:50

[FlabbyMidgets]

I know not a lot about a c63 sorry, but if anyone asked me for advice about buying a car and said some of those points, I would suggest looking elsewhere. I'd say your head isn't fully in this car and you may always be worried. If it was me I'd rather spend more and have a better car/piece of mind

[HannsG]

I heard one of these roar away on the motorway yesterday. What a noise. Jesus...

Enough to buy one for the noise alone. Stunning

[briang9]

Apart from the points you make..the shouty caps ad and a £99 “indemnity fee” (what is that) would put me off..then the seat bolster looks knackered, the tyres look a bit stretched..are you sure the mileage is genuine? How long do you plan keeping it for..it’s done 85000 and you plan 20k per year, add all that to what Flabby Midgets says and I would walk away I think..

ETA..reviews not great either

https://www.facebook.com/pages/A6-Motor-Company-Be...

Edited by briang9 on Tuesday 15th August 00:24

[anonymous-user]

briang9 said:

Apart from the points you make..the shouty caps ad and a £99 “indemnity fee” (what is that) would put me off..then the seat bolster looks knackered, the tyres look a bit stretched..are you sure the mileage is genuine? How long do you plan keeping it for..it’s done 85000 and you plan 20k per year, add all that to what Flabby Midgets says and I would walk away I think..

ETA..reviews not great either

https://www.facebook.com/pages/A6-Motor-Company-Be...

Edited by briang9 on Tuesday 15th August 00:24

There are rather large holes in the history..
No MOT from 2011 to 2013, then irregular MOT's when the car would go without an MOT for months (yes I know I make it sound like it's starving and dying of hunger). Also changed hands SIX times in 5 years, if I do purchase it, I will be the 7th owner...



Also I'm suspecting accident damage as it has a brand new front end fitted ?



Also the interior in the 2007-2011 C Class is naff!!

[anonymous-user]

FlabbyMidgets said:

I know not a lot about a c63 sorry, but if anyone asked me for advice about buying a car and said some of those points, I would suggest looking elsewhere. I'd say your head isn't fully in this car and you may always be worried. If it was me I'd rather spend more and have a better car/piece of mind

Thanks, that's a valuable piece of advice, it's much appreciated.

[anonymous-user]

HannsG said:

I heard one of these roar away on the motorway yesterday. What a noise. Jesus...

Enough to buy one for the noise alone. Stunning

Worth it for the noise til it falls apart

[RudeDog]

They are amazing cars and if you're happy with 18mpg for 20k per year then I wholeheartedly recommend one. Don't buy this one though. It's not right.

[Monkeylegend]

sleepera6 said:

There are rather large holes in the history..
No MOT from 2011 to 2013, then irregular MOT's when the car would go without an MOT for months (yes I know I make it sound like it's starving and dying of hunger). Also changed hands SIX times in 5 years, if I do purchase it, I will be the 7th owner...



Also I'm suspecting accident damage as it has a brand new front end fitted ?



Also the interior in the 2007-2011 C Class is naff!!

Do you really need to ask

[anonymous-user]

Agree with the above, there are two many question marks over its history. Some people do facelift the older model for the styling (or to try and make people think they own a newer model), but I would question the motive with this particular example.

There are not exactly thousands of C63s around, but they aren't uncommon either. My advice (as an SL55 owner) is to pay good money for the right example rather than pay low money and try and fix any issues as the latter will always cost your more. Parts and labour on these cars are expensive.

[irfan1712]

would personally walk away from that.

As mentioned above, poor history, 6 owners, high miles and look at the state of that front drivers seat leather. The wheels look like replicas too.

and it could just be me but the exhausts dont sit quite right in the cut outs of the pic of the rear of the car, but that could just be me. i havent noticed them being a bit squint of the cut outs on mine when looking at the rear face on like that anyway.. could just be the angle of the pic though.

save your money, save some more and buy a better example

[Monkeylegend]

Read a few online reviews, that should make your mind up.

[andy43]

Run.
I'm guessing it's had a new front end 'cos it, erm, needed a new front end. Whoops. You wouldn't bother otherwise - the earlier nose looks better imho.
Engine number will be well before #60658 at that age so it will have the dodgy head bolts which can lead to hg failures, note quite a few pre facelifts from mid 2010 had the newer bolts so are ok.
Drivers seat bolster has easily done 85k. Plus it's been 'mapped' - I'd rather have a standard one to be honest.
To top it off it looks like it has st tyres which tell me all I need to know.
I'm looking at these too The fake wheels I've seen are missing the amg logo cast into them - the ones on this car look correct for the PP, but until you look for the part numbers on them you can't be sure if they're genuine..
Pluses - lsd/PP (PP brakes aren't cheap), black/black, the advert doesn't state "leathers", errr, nope, that's it. 25k min for a decent wagon imho.

[anonymous-user]

Yeah, I prefer the old front end too..

Did all C63's have the facelift rear with the LED lights?

[Mark83]

When I see older cars face lifted, it shouts to me it has had a shunt and been repaired outside of insurance.

[Jamesgt]

I have a 2008 estate. IMO I would bank on spending money on head bolts. My head bolts were done under warranty fortunately. I think the bill may have been 3k-ish. I think MSL may swap the bolts out for studs at a much lower cost if none of the original bolts have failed as a precautionary measure.

I also cover 20k a year in mine. I love driving it. They really are an addiction. I recently wrote the advert for it on pistonheads and then pulled it a day later.

[p1stonhead]

Id run a mile personally.

What would a remap do to a N/A engine anyway? Can it really add that much power?

[Mikearwas]

p1stonhead said:

Id run a mile personally.

What would a remap do to a N/A engine anyway? Can it really add that much power?

Err yes, it adds about 70 bhp. The engine in the standard C63 is electronically restricted to 60% throttle above 4k rpm. Mapping it takes this off and gets you to E,CLS,CL 63 power levels.

But agreed, OP do not buy that car, it isn't right. Also don't take this the wrong way but if you're struggling to reach for a better example, you may find doing 20k miles a year rather unpalatable. As an owner you can take it from me that they are truly awful on fuel. You'll literally be filling it up every day.

Also the 550bhp claim is bks unless it's been fitted with long tube headers.

Edited by Mikearwas on Saturday 19th August 01:12

[Mr M]

Monkeylegend said:

Read a few online reviews, that should make your mind up.

Always a good idea. I should have done that for SH car sales in Wyboston (now shut down).

[Mercky]

Main problem is the alacantara steering wheel, put a furry cover on, problem solved