Advice, purchase of a C63
Discussion
Fairly new to these forums so just looking for advice before I purchase a c63, I’m looking to buy a c63 but unsure of the year of car I should get, I’ve had a look at a few forums saying to get the facelift version, my budget is around the £20k mark, I’m unsure of when the sport and sport+ mode was introduced Which I’m looking for, any advise? Any help will be much appreciated!
Buyers guide https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-gui...
20k will get you a into a facelift car.
I went with a pfl as I preferred the looks and mine being a 2011 car had the revised headbolts, although the head bolts issue seems to be slightly over stated esp3cially in the uk.
Don't be put off by a high number of owners especially at the age of car you will be looking at. A lot of people run them for 6 months and move them on as the they dont fully appreciate the running costs.
Double check the cars history and ensure the servicing checks out.
Happy hunting.
20k will get you a into a facelift car.
I went with a pfl as I preferred the looks and mine being a 2011 car had the revised headbolts, although the head bolts issue seems to be slightly over stated esp3cially in the uk.
Don't be put off by a high number of owners especially at the age of car you will be looking at. A lot of people run them for 6 months and move them on as the they dont fully appreciate the running costs.
Double check the cars history and ensure the servicing checks out.
Happy hunting.
No real difference performance wise unless you get a performance pack version.
Facelifts have a better looking interior, updated gearbox which is meant to be better and the slightly less aggressive looking front end.
If you buy direct from Merc you should be able to get a 2 year warranty. But for your budget you would be looking at pre facelifts only.
They were facelifted in 2011. Mine must have been one of the very last, being registered March 2011.
It's all down to personal preference. No matter which one you chose, as long as it's a straight honest car, you'll love it.
Facelifts have a better looking interior, updated gearbox which is meant to be better and the slightly less aggressive looking front end.
If you buy direct from Merc you should be able to get a 2 year warranty. But for your budget you would be looking at pre facelifts only.
They were facelifted in 2011. Mine must have been one of the very last, being registered March 2011.
It's all down to personal preference. No matter which one you chose, as long as it's a straight honest car, you'll love it.
Edited by Terzo123 on Monday 25th February 18:37
Facelift gets Sport Handling mode which loosens off the traction control, allowing a bit of slip. For me, this was the cruncher and why I ended up with a facelift version. It’s a tonne of fun. Having to turn the traction fully off to get any slide would be a little scary in this car!
noodleman said:
Facelift gets Sport Handling mode which loosens off the traction control, allowing a bit of slip. For me, this was the cruncher and why I ended up with a facelift version. It’s a tonne of fun. Having to turn the traction fully off to get any slide would be a little scary in this car!
Pre facelifts have this also, well mine does. It's just the traction control system. It's either on fully, or you can select sport handling mode which allows some slip, or if your brave, fully off.
Are you thinking about the difference in the gearboxes as the pre facelifts don't have a sport + mode?
Edited by Terzo123 on Monday 25th February 20:03
Join the c63 amg uk facebook page, some really well priced stuff pops up there especially in the colder months. This one is owned by a member and is very good value for a late low mile coupe. A very reliable machine considering the performance, certainly compared to its bmw and audi competition.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
sbk1972 said:
How come the Ml63 has 500bhp but the 6.2 in the C class only has 467 ?
I have a Ml55, keep looking at Ml63's as i love the engine although the head bolts / cams situation is a worry.
Mostly marketing but also to some extent space in bigger cars for free-er breathing inlet and exhaust I have a Ml55, keep looking at Ml63's as i love the engine although the head bolts / cams situation is a worry.
Some CLS had 514 and E63 something else again!
Standard is 457, although the PPP has 487 and there are other special editions with more.
I believe more power is readily available from just a remap although even more can be liberated by the usual means e.g. aftermarket exhaust.
I'm 6 months into my C63 being a daily driver.... I recommend it as a car to anyone. There are a few squeaks from the interior to be sure, but the car is wonderful.
My advice - if you want more power, get a remap. I'm about to move to 18" wheels as the ride isn't the greatest on the 19" (plus I don't like the colour/design I have currently), I'm also going to investigate updating the stereo etc.
My advice - if you want more power, get a remap. I'm about to move to 18" wheels as the ride isn't the greatest on the 19" (plus I don't like the colour/design I have currently), I'm also going to investigate updating the stereo etc.
The C63 has less power as standard because Mercedes didn't want to let the cheaper (lighter) C63 be faster than the E63. The main restriction is artificial as the map doesn't allow the throttle to open more than about two thirds. Above 5krpm this lack of air limits power and a simple remap that opens the throttle all the way adds about 60hp, mainly over that last 2krpm.
The Performance Pack engine with about 30hp more is a different state of tune allowing a bit more throttle opening. The fact it has some forged lighter internals from the M159 SLS engine is irrelevant to the power. It simply allows the engine to rev up more freely although I can assure you the standard engine has no difficulties in this respect. You don't need the strength of the forged components to support a remap at 510-520hp and there are even people running stage 1 supercharging on standard internals without issues.
The SLS engine has a completely different intake system that allows it to make more power than any E63 or C63. If you want more power on a C63 and staying NA then the standard manifolds are restrictive. Adding long tube headers can allow you to make around 550hp but you lose the cats unless you buy some sports cats (which nobody does as they're expensive).
The gearbox modes affect nothing more than the gearbox and the throttle sensitivity.
- C (Controlled Efficiency) always starts in 2nd gear and provides a very smooth shift not far off the slushiness of a torque converter. Tends to change up at 1.5krpm unless asking for more power.
- S (Sport) starts in 1st gear and offers faster shifts. Tends to change up at 2krpm under modest throttle applications and kicks down under lighter throttle applications.
- S+ (Sport Plus) starts in 1st gear and is very aggressive in it's gear selection. Kicks down very easily and holds gears for longer.
- M (Manual) starts in 1st gear and gives full control without automatic change up. Doesn't let you change up as early as C. Can be a little frustrating at first as there's a delay between pulling a paddle and the shift happening but the actual shift is still very quick.
- RS (Race Start) launch control that uses Sport traction control and S+ gearbox settings.
The traction control is either:
- Fully on where it is very effective at stopping wheelspin or slides.
- Half on with Sport where it allows enough slip that a small amount of corrective lock is needed but it still kills wheelspin/slides pretty quickly.
- Off where the car can become a hooligan and you realise just how much the electronics were intervening.
I bought a 2013 C63 Estate from a Mercedes dealer with 2 year AMG warranty with 40k on the clock for £27k in December 2017. The 2012 still has the fat indicator stalk below the cruise controls, which I don't like as the indicator doesn't fall to hand when driving quarter to three. If you can I'd get 2013 onwards as there aren't any further revisions beyond that.
The Performance Pack engine with about 30hp more is a different state of tune allowing a bit more throttle opening. The fact it has some forged lighter internals from the M159 SLS engine is irrelevant to the power. It simply allows the engine to rev up more freely although I can assure you the standard engine has no difficulties in this respect. You don't need the strength of the forged components to support a remap at 510-520hp and there are even people running stage 1 supercharging on standard internals without issues.
The SLS engine has a completely different intake system that allows it to make more power than any E63 or C63. If you want more power on a C63 and staying NA then the standard manifolds are restrictive. Adding long tube headers can allow you to make around 550hp but you lose the cats unless you buy some sports cats (which nobody does as they're expensive).
The gearbox modes affect nothing more than the gearbox and the throttle sensitivity.
- C (Controlled Efficiency) always starts in 2nd gear and provides a very smooth shift not far off the slushiness of a torque converter. Tends to change up at 1.5krpm unless asking for more power.
- S (Sport) starts in 1st gear and offers faster shifts. Tends to change up at 2krpm under modest throttle applications and kicks down under lighter throttle applications.
- S+ (Sport Plus) starts in 1st gear and is very aggressive in it's gear selection. Kicks down very easily and holds gears for longer.
- M (Manual) starts in 1st gear and gives full control without automatic change up. Doesn't let you change up as early as C. Can be a little frustrating at first as there's a delay between pulling a paddle and the shift happening but the actual shift is still very quick.
- RS (Race Start) launch control that uses Sport traction control and S+ gearbox settings.
The traction control is either:
- Fully on where it is very effective at stopping wheelspin or slides.
- Half on with Sport where it allows enough slip that a small amount of corrective lock is needed but it still kills wheelspin/slides pretty quickly.
- Off where the car can become a hooligan and you realise just how much the electronics were intervening.
I bought a 2013 C63 Estate from a Mercedes dealer with 2 year AMG warranty with 40k on the clock for £27k in December 2017. The 2012 still has the fat indicator stalk below the cruise controls, which I don't like as the indicator doesn't fall to hand when driving quarter to three. If you can I'd get 2013 onwards as there aren't any further revisions beyond that.
Facelift PPP estate owner checking in.
I bought the estate for practicality, to fly under the radar and, well, fast estates are cool, right? Took ages to find the right specifications though. It's a buyers market but the right car will hold a premium or sell quickly.
I genuinely can't think what to replace it with yet. I've yet to own a car with the sense of theatre when you open it up.
My reasoning for a PPP car was a number of nice extras that come as standard therefore insurance is more straight forward. I like the extra power, red calipers, SLS internals and the steering wheel etc. Brake pads and discs are spendy though!
The standard 19s crack if you drive over so much as a pebble so check for cracked wheels or expect to have to replace a wheel occasionally. I swapped my 19s for two sets of standard 18s, one for summer tyres and one for winter tyres. The ride has improved considerably and helps with the flying under the radar a little.
It likes a drink and to transfer its rubber from the tyres to the road at an astonishing rate that surprised me. Just put on a new set of Pilot Sport 4s yesterday so looking forward to driving again after the past few months on winter tyres.
I bought the estate for practicality, to fly under the radar and, well, fast estates are cool, right? Took ages to find the right specifications though. It's a buyers market but the right car will hold a premium or sell quickly.
I genuinely can't think what to replace it with yet. I've yet to own a car with the sense of theatre when you open it up.
My reasoning for a PPP car was a number of nice extras that come as standard therefore insurance is more straight forward. I like the extra power, red calipers, SLS internals and the steering wheel etc. Brake pads and discs are spendy though!
The standard 19s crack if you drive over so much as a pebble so check for cracked wheels or expect to have to replace a wheel occasionally. I swapped my 19s for two sets of standard 18s, one for summer tyres and one for winter tyres. The ride has improved considerably and helps with the flying under the radar a little.
It likes a drink and to transfer its rubber from the tyres to the road at an astonishing rate that surprised me. Just put on a new set of Pilot Sport 4s yesterday so looking forward to driving again after the past few months on winter tyres.
Edited by Mark83 on Tuesday 26th February 18:03
Mark83 said:
<snip>
It likes a drink and to transfer its rubber from the tyres to the road at an astonishing rate that surprised me.
It likes a drink and to transfer its rubber from the tyres to the road at an astonishing rate that surprised me.
My C63 is less economical than the CLS63 I had before. Not expected.
On tyres. I didn't check them before the MOT, I hadn't noticed anything bad when washing the car...
... fail, oops, down to the cords on the inner edge of one of the rears, other not far behind.
They were MPSS, replaced with MPS4S.
Anyone else notice more wear on the inner edges of the rears?
C63 2013 Mercedes dealer about 4 hrs from me, loving it, std car, only had 17000 miles on it, one owner, really looked after the car. Just over £30,000.00.
2 year AMG warranty, Full dealer service history.
Purchased Nov 2017. Still get it serviced at that dealer to hopefully help keep its value up.
May get it mapped, but like the idea of it being totally original👍
Good luck sourcing a car✊
2 year AMG warranty, Full dealer service history.
Purchased Nov 2017. Still get it serviced at that dealer to hopefully help keep its value up.
May get it mapped, but like the idea of it being totally original👍
Good luck sourcing a car✊
steve_n said:
I bought a 2013 C63 Estate from a Mercedes dealer with 2 year AMG warranty with 40k on the clock for £27k in December 2017. The 2012 still has the fat indicator stalk below the cruise controls, which I don't like as the indicator doesn't fall to hand when driving quarter to three. If you can I'd get 2013 onwards as there aren't any further revisions beyond that.
That was a good price from a Merc Dealer back then.Mark83 said:
It likes a drink and to transfer its rubber from the tyres to the road at an astonishing rate that surprised me. Just put on a new set of Pilot Sport 4s yesterday so looking forward to driving again after the past few months on winter tyres.
Interested to hear your thoughts on the 18" PS4 (non s I assume).Edited by Mark83 on Tuesday 26th February 18:03
I changed from Bridgestone S001s and the front ends gone west. Bit too soft the michelins imo.
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