RE: Mercedes C63 AMG (W204) | The Brave Pill

RE: Mercedes C63 AMG (W204) | The Brave Pill

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Discussion

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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Hoppum said:
Have a 507 estate. Does everything I need it to and more. Not had any scary bills but the warranty has had a workout. Can't fault the Mercedes extended warranty, had a seized offside front caliper and Mercedes replaced both fronts under warranty at I'm told £5.5k a side. On the flip side if I didn't have the warranty, the work would've been done at an independent and the caliper would've been refurbed rather than both replaced.



The gearbox isn't the best compared to a modern dual clutch, but put it in Sport+, wind the windows down and you'll forget all about it.
£11000 to replace 2 front calipers? Do you mean £1100?

Northernboy

12,642 posts

257 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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I had one of these, and absolutely loved it. I sold it after renting a hot-hatch in France and realizing that I’d moved further down the line to “dragster” than I wanted.

It was a lovely car though, and I really kiss the engine. A 6.2 litre V8 shouldn’t rev like that.

urquattroGus

1,847 posts

190 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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Dad has a 2010 Estate with the LSD and Performance Package Plus, he's kept it despite moving on to a C7 RS6 a few years ago, he can't bare to part with it!

big_rob_sydney

3,401 posts

194 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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ddom said:
You drive an LS rofl
The LS was world car of the year. Thanks for bringing it up.

ddom

6,657 posts

48 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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big_rob_sydney said:
The LS was world car of the year. Thanks for bringing it up.
And the motoring equivalent of anaesthetic.

HTH

Jaroon

1,441 posts

160 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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Can't speak to the mooted slow handling C55 compared to the C63, mine was an estate but was stuck to the bumper (in a friendly way) to 1st gen C63s, regardless of the regularly manipulated stats, especially aimed at the amonalously speedy C55. Ripper of an engine, galvanised unlike the C32, 120 in the country. Special little estate that, miss it.

leglessAlex

5,434 posts

141 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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s m said:
£11000 to replace 2 front calipers? Do you mean £1100?
You never know with Mercedes main dealers, but it does rather sound like they’re telling porkies to their customers.

My E63 has just had two new callipers at £650 a side, and I believe they’re the same as the C63, even the 507s.

Hoppum

134 posts

98 months

Sunday 20th June 2021
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s m said:
£11000 to replace 2 front calipers? Do you mean £1100?
As above, that's what I was told it would cost by the Service Advisor, supplied and fitted plus VAT.

Nothing in writing though as warranty work doesn't generate any paperwork. They might've been exaggerating, who knows.

myhandle

1,187 posts

174 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Jeff1976 said:
I dont think so! the ev infrastructure is light years away and hou will also find ev is not the only answer there is more than a few manufactures not developing any more ev cars and technology further like toyota etc. Hydrogen will be a big player.

As for petrol stations in demise i build them for a living and we have never been busier and with a tank life of 30 years they wont be going anywhere over night i can assure you. And the last 9 petrol stations ive built in the last three years one garage had one ev point in it (and thats already outdated) dont believe all you read
Thank you. You build petrol stations, they last 30 years, and you are busy. You know what you are talking about, and so this has made my day. 100%

Tommie38

758 posts

194 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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cobraBLACK said:
Have any owners on here had trouble with the cam adjusters, etc?



Edited by cobraBLACK on Saturday 19th June 12:54
I was waiting for somebody to post this.

The thing to remember is that these issues are generally linked to mileage (adjusters, tappets, camshafts) and age (head bolts for early cars). As these cars get older, the issues will pop up more frequently. I’d have loved to have bought one but I’d be thinking about a big bill being around the corner.

ETA: No question the engine is a masterpiece. I have in the past considered going in with eyes open to the fact that a big bill might be a risk and just accepting it.

Edited by Tommie38 on Monday 21st June 08:03

FastEdd11e

200 posts

56 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Darn it..
I'm seriously looking at one of these and lo and behold find it splashed across the headlines!

Fingers crossed prices stay good until the end of summer.

An estate with the silver wheels is the ultimate family Q car.

British Beef

2,210 posts

165 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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richinlondon said:
I always worry about the treatment from previous owners when they make awful mods like this
Yes, driven to within an inch of its useful life!

I dont think there has ever been a more average car with a more outstanding engine. I could never work out if one was worth tolerating the other......

With Autobox, my decision was no.


cerb4.5lee

30,491 posts

180 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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All the lovely photos on the thread are making me want one of these even more! smokin

I need this engine in my life big time for sure. cloud9

martin mrt

3,770 posts

201 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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cerb4.5lee said:
All the lovely photos on the thread are making me want one of these even more! smokin

I need this engine in my life big time for sure. cloud9
Get one bought Lee, you won’t regret it

Northernboy

12,642 posts

257 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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big_rob_sydney said:
Due to reliability concerns, I wouldn't buy a new merc, let alone a 10 year old POS. And as they get older again, things will only be more and more prone to failure. You don't need a clairvoyant to tell you these will be ruinously expensive to run.

I'd love to hear from someone who has the balls to actually tell the truth about how badly these things have bitten them.
Mine had nothing at all go wrong with it. Zero. No warnings, no lights, nothing extra needed at the services.

I think that you probably just have a different idea of "expensive" to others if the servicing could be described as ruinous.

Fetchez la vache

5,572 posts

214 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Northernboy said:
I think that you probably just have a different idea of "expensive" to others if the servicing could be described as ruinous.
If it's anything like £11k for a pair of callipers listed earlier, then yes, I also have a different idea of "expensive"...

Northernboy

12,642 posts

257 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Fetchez la vache said:
If it's anything like £11k for a pair of callipers listed earlier, then yes, I also have a different idea of "expensive"...
That price isn’t right though, it seems to be either a mistake or warranty shenanigans.

Even if Mercedes were charging that much, an independent wouldn’t.

HocusPocus

881 posts

101 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Why the w204 was written up in PH as brave pill is lost on me. Mine has been regularly serviced since 2014 and only non regular item has been a front abs sensor.....a cheap fix. The rest is fuel, tyres and normal consumables.

Also had C32 wagon and E55 wagons in long term ownership before this which were not prone to failure, just normal expensive regular servicing. Now with a reliable indie specialist, the servicing costs for the w204 are pleasingly modest.

The regular MBs we've had in the family have thrown up more failures, in particular the ML280. However that is worked hard when deployed.

That is 20 years of AMG ownership first hand experience for the doom and gloom Internet believers.

Muska_

83 posts

59 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Another facelift C63 estate owner here.









Mine is completely standard, although I do wonder what the stage 1 remap must be like with an extra 50 bhp!

As mentioned above, I love how with the 18's it can fly a bit under the radar a bit, yet still elicits a nice reaction from those that know.

I'd lusted after one for quite a few years as an attainable dream car and I've not been disappointed (like I was with a B6 S4 Avant) I love the muscle car look from the driving position. The cracks on up/down shift when pressing on a bit, the engine really is an incredible experience, even just 2-3k rpm on a country road and enjoying the overun.

No major bills here, I have a service plan over 2 years, I've bought a set of MP4's when they were on offer for £400, they'll likely be fitted in the next 2 months when the wheels are refurbished and the front bumper could do with some attention for a few stone chips. Even the economy is not ruinous, I've returned 23mpg over almost 6k since taking ownership and travelling to Santa Pod at the weekend saw 27mpg with ease (I managed a 12.9 quarter mile), just setting the cruise at the posted speed limit.

Where I get stuck is what on earth I'm going to replace it with one day! I would love a 981 S or a Nissan GTR, both of which are nearly double what this car cost me. Nothing else out there is pulling me in like this car has, I still shake my head in disbelief at it on occasion.

If you're on the fence, so was I. I asked myself, if not now, when? I don't regret my decision one bit smile

https://youtu.be/cZuvbJ4Qdbc

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Monday 21st June 2021
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Northernboy said:
Fetchez la vache said:
If it's anything like £11k for a pair of callipers listed earlier, then yes, I also have a different idea of "expensive"...
That price isn’t right though, it seems to be either a mistake or warranty shenanigans.

Even if Mercedes were charging that much, an independent wouldn’t.
Yeah, I reckon that must be an extra zero surely???

I reckon it could only be between £1k and £2k even at a Merc dealer