C63 Estate - the "sensible" family car
Discussion
sam303 said:
So, hang on, are we saying it's possible to get 3 kids seats in the back of a C63?
I'd always assumed this was impossible due to the width of child car seats. If someone can confirm that it's not, then the C63 may just have shot to the top of my 'next car' list...
Indeed, 3 kids in the back is totally possible. I have 1 stage 2 - and two on mifolds, but can equally do 1 stage 2,1 booster and 1 mifold. You won't get 3 stage 1/2's in a row in a C class. You'll need two of them to be more than 15kgs I'd always assumed this was impossible due to the width of child car seats. If someone can confirm that it's not, then the C63 may just have shot to the top of my 'next car' list...
krisdelta said:
Indeed, 3 kids in the back is totally possible. I have 1 stage 2 - and two on mifolds, but can equally do 1 stage 2,1 booster and 1 mifold. You won't get 3 stage 1/2's in a row in a C class. You'll need two of them to be more than 15kgs
I see. I'd never heard of mifolds before. Thanks! Only just seen this thread. I had an Opal Fire Red C63 Estate a few years ago. Absolutely fabulous! The awesome sound when you put your foot down hard cannot be beaten. However, after a couple of years, I came round to the view that it was a bit "in your face" for me - all that noise AND bright red (nothing against red cars at all, just a bit much for an estate with all that noise) - so I sold it.
However, like some other posters on PH, I have a weakness for fast estates (M5 Touring anyone?) and I also really missed that fabulous 6.2 litre V8. On the basis that there will never be any more huge capacity NA engines like that again, I decided that I needed to have another one, so earlier this year I bought an E63 Estate - a 2011 W212 with the 6.2 litre V8 - quite a rare beast, given that, soon after the W212 came out, AMG replaced the 6.2 with the smaller turbo charged V8 - apparently a great engine, but not the same! While the C63 "only" had 457 bhp, my E63 has 525, which takes two and a half tons of massive estate car to 60 mph in about the same time as the 997 Carrera S I had! And the noise!!
Glad to hear you're enjoying the C63 as much as enjoyed mine and am now enjoying my E63!
However, like some other posters on PH, I have a weakness for fast estates (M5 Touring anyone?) and I also really missed that fabulous 6.2 litre V8. On the basis that there will never be any more huge capacity NA engines like that again, I decided that I needed to have another one, so earlier this year I bought an E63 Estate - a 2011 W212 with the 6.2 litre V8 - quite a rare beast, given that, soon after the W212 came out, AMG replaced the 6.2 with the smaller turbo charged V8 - apparently a great engine, but not the same! While the C63 "only" had 457 bhp, my E63 has 525, which takes two and a half tons of massive estate car to 60 mph in about the same time as the 997 Carrera S I had! And the noise!!
Glad to hear you're enjoying the C63 as much as enjoyed mine and am now enjoying my E63!
A long overdue update on the family friendly beast. We're now 26 months into ownership and 46k miles in total. The car remains rock-solid, the engine still stops with the beautiful immediacy of well balanced internals and it soaks up school runs, tip trips, moving furniture about, all without any fuss.
Last March I had the resonator deleted from the exhaust, which has given it a healthy boost in noise, still very sensible (proportionally) around town but far more vocal when using the performance, nice cracks and bangs on downshifts in S+. Just what it needed as from the drivers seat it seemed terribly reserved. Insurance impact? £0 MOT impact? None - cats all remain in place.
After being disappointed with the (very nice looking) 19" wheels and them eating the tyres thanks to skimming the very inside edge, I'm 14 months into the standard 18" wheels with Eagle F1 tyres and its far far nicer all-around, with very little wear on the tyres to boot, despite enthusiastic use of the power at times.
Besides the scheduled service at Mercedes Guildford (pain free and not too horrific price-wise) last March, I've had one fault, which caused the rad fan to run at full pelt in December. It was diagnosed within an hour despite no codes being thrown, down to the refrigerant pressure sensor and a princely £396 changing hands as it involved draining / refilling and general piddling about in a shiny workshop.
In early June it took me over to spa for a track day in a friends F-Type, in June it transported me and a mate in comfort and ease to Le Man, it's so so nice to cruise in - and effortless when the opportunity to press-on appears.
In November it got put into service as a Wedding car - my sister wanted some spectacle and a thorough clean made it a very elegant, if noisy way to get to a wedding reception.
In the cold it's been managing a very tidy 15mpg, with a lifetime average of 17.3mpg. However, on a run - it will reach the heady heights of 23mpg if you need to justify it to someone.
I didn't bother taking it out in the snow as the wide wheels make it almost impossible on compacted ice vs the family bus.
To make long journeys more palatable for young passengers I've got two Wanpool iPad mounts for the hard back seats, they velcro to themselves so no holes or glue. Recommended! https://www.amazon.co.uk/WANPOOL-Universal-Headres...
As my little-uns are getting bigger my thoughts have gone to what it could be replaced by, but I'm struggling for what would be pragmatic given how capable it is. I don't like the current E-Class, the GL63 appeals a little but its H-U-G-E, Panamera - lovely but not enough seats, Rapide - lovely but not enough seats.
For now we'll "manage" with what we've got, its still a thrill to drive at any pace.
Oh and price wise these have dropped a good amount in the last year, so a nice facelift estate with @50k miles is only about £25k - super value in my book.
Last March I had the resonator deleted from the exhaust, which has given it a healthy boost in noise, still very sensible (proportionally) around town but far more vocal when using the performance, nice cracks and bangs on downshifts in S+. Just what it needed as from the drivers seat it seemed terribly reserved. Insurance impact? £0 MOT impact? None - cats all remain in place.
After being disappointed with the (very nice looking) 19" wheels and them eating the tyres thanks to skimming the very inside edge, I'm 14 months into the standard 18" wheels with Eagle F1 tyres and its far far nicer all-around, with very little wear on the tyres to boot, despite enthusiastic use of the power at times.
Besides the scheduled service at Mercedes Guildford (pain free and not too horrific price-wise) last March, I've had one fault, which caused the rad fan to run at full pelt in December. It was diagnosed within an hour despite no codes being thrown, down to the refrigerant pressure sensor and a princely £396 changing hands as it involved draining / refilling and general piddling about in a shiny workshop.
In early June it took me over to spa for a track day in a friends F-Type, in June it transported me and a mate in comfort and ease to Le Man, it's so so nice to cruise in - and effortless when the opportunity to press-on appears.
In November it got put into service as a Wedding car - my sister wanted some spectacle and a thorough clean made it a very elegant, if noisy way to get to a wedding reception.
In the cold it's been managing a very tidy 15mpg, with a lifetime average of 17.3mpg. However, on a run - it will reach the heady heights of 23mpg if you need to justify it to someone.
I didn't bother taking it out in the snow as the wide wheels make it almost impossible on compacted ice vs the family bus.
To make long journeys more palatable for young passengers I've got two Wanpool iPad mounts for the hard back seats, they velcro to themselves so no holes or glue. Recommended! https://www.amazon.co.uk/WANPOOL-Universal-Headres...
As my little-uns are getting bigger my thoughts have gone to what it could be replaced by, but I'm struggling for what would be pragmatic given how capable it is. I don't like the current E-Class, the GL63 appeals a little but its H-U-G-E, Panamera - lovely but not enough seats, Rapide - lovely but not enough seats.
For now we'll "manage" with what we've got, its still a thrill to drive at any pace.
Oh and price wise these have dropped a good amount in the last year, so a nice facelift estate with @50k miles is only about £25k - super value in my book.
Edited by krisdelta on Tuesday 5th February 13:44
How odd - as previously mentioned on this thread, I have a C63 estate, same specs, same wheels, same mileage, etc. Mine had the radiator fans stuck on issue in the summer on a family trip to the Isle of Wight - luckily for me there is a Merc garage on the island and the same part you replaced was also my problem!
It seems like you are running a few months ahead of me... please let me know what problems to look out for!!
Resinator delete in on my list but I need to hear one to make my mind up
It seems like you are running a few months ahead of me... please let me know what problems to look out for!!
Resinator delete in on my list but I need to hear one to make my mind up
Kris, great update.
I’m planning on selling my estate and ironically we have had a baby so have had this car at the wrong time in life.
However, planning on getting a smaller car for the wife to drive and still be fun eg s3 or RS3 and then get another w205 c63 estate in a couple of years
R
I’m planning on selling my estate and ironically we have had a baby so have had this car at the wrong time in life.
However, planning on getting a smaller car for the wife to drive and still be fun eg s3 or RS3 and then get another w205 c63 estate in a couple of years
R
I love these and think that they are better looking than the saloon or coupe, big brawny estates rock! Having just got into an XFR myself I think that an XFR or XFR-S estate could be worth a look if you do decide to change.
My friend had a saloon C63 with secondary decats and that thing sounded mental!!
My friend had a saloon C63 with secondary decats and that thing sounded mental!!
Thanks for the thread. Helped my make my mind up. Just picked up a mint w204 14 plate estate. What a car. Very happy so far. It’s just one of those cars that feels right from the off. Characterful but not tiring. Fast but practical. Might be a long termed. Looking forward to some fun this year 
Castor said:
How odd - as previously mentioned on this thread, I have a C63 estate, same specs, same wheels, same mileage, etc. Mine had the radiator fans stuck on issue in the summer on a family trip to the Isle of Wight - luckily for me there is a Merc garage on the island and the same part you replaced was also my problem!
It seems like you are running a few months ahead of me... please let me know what problems to look out for!!
Resinator delete in on my list but I need to hear one to make my mind up
PM me and I'll email you over an "after" vid of the resonator, if that helps? No other problems to report so far, interesting you've had exactly the same problem - not what I'd expect on a non-servicable item so soon in it's life - but hey ho! It seems like you are running a few months ahead of me... please let me know what problems to look out for!!
Resinator delete in on my list but I need to hear one to make my mind up
Carlton Banks said:
Kris, great update.
I’m planning on selling my estate and ironically we have had a baby so have had this car at the wrong time in life.
However, planning on getting a smaller car for the wife to drive and still be fun eg s3 or RS3 and then get another w205 c63 estate in a couple of years
R
Congratulations to you both! Whilst it’s a pretty practical car, the rear doors and hard back seats aren’t ideal for a Stage 0 seat – as much as it would be nice. I've not fallen for the 205's interior with the large lump of shiny plastic down by the knee and the afterthought main screen. If they can emulate the new 3 series integrated look in the next design - it would look far tidier, IMHO.I’m planning on selling my estate and ironically we have had a baby so have had this car at the wrong time in life.
However, planning on getting a smaller car for the wife to drive and still be fun eg s3 or RS3 and then get another w205 c63 estate in a couple of years
R
Carlos24 said:
I love these and think that they are better looking than the saloon or coupe, big brawny estates rock! Having just got into an XFR myself I think that an XFR or XFR-S estate could be worth a look if you do decide to change.
My friend had a saloon C63 with secondary decats and that thing sounded mental!!
My friend in Germany had an XF Sportbrake, I found the touchscreen and general stuff I’d use every day to be frustratingly difficult to access – the XFR does sound good though. Plus the ministry thinks Jaaagggs are for old men, which apparently, despite being grumpy I’m not. My friend had a saloon C63 with secondary decats and that thing sounded mental!!
e46m3c said:
Thanks for the thread. Helped my make my mind up. Just picked up a mint w204 14 plate estate. What a car. Very happy so far. It’s just one of those cars that feels right from the off. Characterful but not tiring. Fast but practical. Might be a long termed. Looking forward to some fun this year
Nicely done! I used “last of a breed” to justify my E46 M3, My V8V and my C63 – if it stays into 2020 it’ll be my longest owned cartinnitusjosh said:
I have the saloon and am thinking of trading in for something bigger. Agree that I am absolutely stumped as to what to replace it with... Best option at the moment for the budget seems like an ML63 from the same era (although without the 6.2l engine 
)
Perhaps the answer is to invest to keep it bang up to date, the GL63 is worth a look, the noise (5.5l turbo) is insane for the size of car. )ZX10R NIN said:
Great read OP the OH still misses her C63 luckily we still get to enjoy the 6.2 in the form of my CLK63 which has had a bit of fettling engine wise.
The engine is up there with the S54 in the M3 / Z4M I’ve had, just so so much brawnier. If I ever have to replace it, I hope I can just by another car – rather than sell it. Here is a pic from yesterday - not bad for a 6 y/o car.
Edited to add pic and missing text
Edited by krisdelta on Sunday 10th February 12:02
I would class that as very reasonable balanced against what you have on tap! My personal best was 31mpg driving back from getting my car in snow and ice! I am not sure if your friends XF was a facelift or not but I was concerned about the multimedia interface but on my facelift I find it intuitive and very easy to use and the meridian stereo is mega.
I love the C63 on 18’s it’s the very definition of a car guys car I think, you could so easily mistake it for a normal C class if you don’t know!
Keep up the good thread!
I love the C63 on 18’s it’s the very definition of a car guys car I think, you could so easily mistake it for a normal C class if you don’t know!
Keep up the good thread!
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