R231 SL63 vs W205 C63
Discussion
An odd comparison perhaps - but after looking for a C63 W205, I saw that an older R231 SL63 isn’t miles apart in price.
Comparing the weight and dimensions the SL is actually shorter than a coupe (easier to garage, as a W205 coupe can fit with just an inch or two due to the length !), and although heavier it seems like there’s a good opportunity to get into what appears to be a seriously luxurious car for similar money.
Has anyone driven both? I’d likely be after a 5.5tt SL63 - not fussed about back seats. I know the SL55 could be ruinous, are the R231s similar potential for borkage? The folding roof mechanism looks like seriously impressive piece of engineering.
The only thing that strikes me is there is a fairly limited market should I wish to sell on a SL63. I don’t see a W205 dropping significantly below 30k whereas I wonder if an SL63 will go the way of an SL55 and be attainable for £15k in 5 years….
Any thoughts?
Comparing the weight and dimensions the SL is actually shorter than a coupe (easier to garage, as a W205 coupe can fit with just an inch or two due to the length !), and although heavier it seems like there’s a good opportunity to get into what appears to be a seriously luxurious car for similar money.
Has anyone driven both? I’d likely be after a 5.5tt SL63 - not fussed about back seats. I know the SL55 could be ruinous, are the R231s similar potential for borkage? The folding roof mechanism looks like seriously impressive piece of engineering.
The only thing that strikes me is there is a fairly limited market should I wish to sell on a SL63. I don’t see a W205 dropping significantly below 30k whereas I wonder if an SL63 will go the way of an SL55 and be attainable for £15k in 5 years….
Any thoughts?
Edited by carbonblack on Sunday 1st May 07:41
carbonblack said:
I know the SL55 could be ruinous, are the R231s similar potential for borkage?
In the February issue of the club magazine, the R231 SL Model Register Captain wrote: "A lot of the issues which R230 owners have experienced seem to have been designed out with the R231,..." ETA: And may be the various threads on how expensive the new SL is, and the fact that it doesn't have a metal folding roof, may mean that the R231 doesn't quite suffer the same depreciation as an R230 SL55?
Edited by trevalvole on Monday 2nd May 10:25
Thanks for the reply. Good to hear R231 may be quite reliable.
I’m probably one of a very few who’ve considered an SL63 instead of a W205.
The 4.0t V8 was great to test so it sounds like I need to try and 5.5tt to see what the difference is like.
The SL certainly makes for a slightly more unusual choice I think, I don’t see (m)any around really whereas a C63 is a slightly more common sight.
I don’t need back seats so it seems like it may fit the bill. Driving dynamics may not be quite at a C63 levels although I’m not super fussed, as an F80 M3 would probably trump the ‘63s.
I’m probably one of a very few who’ve considered an SL63 instead of a W205.
The 4.0t V8 was great to test so it sounds like I need to try and 5.5tt to see what the difference is like.
The SL certainly makes for a slightly more unusual choice I think, I don’t see (m)any around really whereas a C63 is a slightly more common sight.
I don’t need back seats so it seems like it may fit the bill. Driving dynamics may not be quite at a C63 levels although I’m not super fussed, as an F80 M3 would probably trump the ‘63s.
I've not driven the W205 C63 (I did try an older 6.2 one) but I've owned an R231 SL63 and sat in a few W205s of all flavours.
The 5.5TT isn't much of a rev monster but even the non-performance pack one makes 590ft lbs, which is an absolute mountain of grunt. With the revised ABC it can be hustled to an extent a lot of journos were surprised about when it came out. Mr Harris did two good videos (one a launch review and one a comparison with an M6) which confirms this.
Along with the surprisingly good handling, it's also a £120k+ list price motor, and the level of quality and fit and finish is miles above any C-Class I've sat in.
I actually tried an F80 M4 just before opting for the SL63. Personally, I thought it was a bit ordinary and the straight-6 a bit too samey compared to my old M135i. The motor has a nice top end but despite what the numbers say (and the sneers i got in the M-cars section of this forum) when on a roll the SL63 felt night and day quicker. Plus it made an epic noise.
On the flipside, it will spin its wheels in 4th on a damp road and the shape isn't to everyone's taste.
For info, I bought mine (13 plate with 43k miles) just before lock down for £32950 and sold it 3 months into the lock down before 'the furlough effect' for a 4k loss. The dealer sold it for what I'd paid, but within a few months, worse examples were going for £10k more! Oh for a crystal ball...
Mine:
https://youtu.be/gQ2o-sKr1fk
Edited to add - mine was reliable in the short time I owned it, but be wary of brake disc condition. They are quite hard to source and not cheap, esp the fronts. Pads were peanuts by comparison. The air charge hoses to the turbos are made of a strange woven reinforced fabric, one of mine had deteriorated in a way a plastic one wouldn't - but I recall there was commonality of the part across a few of the 5.5TT engined-cars so not mega-pricey.
I had a bit of water ingress in VERY wet weather via the passenger-side roof near the A-pillar, but not excessive to the point that it was an issue. Mine went in a standard garage door without problem. Mine is a twin-door double, so I could reverse in and egress the car very easily via the vacant other side.
They are also very tunable, but I suspect at the cost of drivability given the damp/wet weather traction situation!
The 5.5TT isn't much of a rev monster but even the non-performance pack one makes 590ft lbs, which is an absolute mountain of grunt. With the revised ABC it can be hustled to an extent a lot of journos were surprised about when it came out. Mr Harris did two good videos (one a launch review and one a comparison with an M6) which confirms this.
Along with the surprisingly good handling, it's also a £120k+ list price motor, and the level of quality and fit and finish is miles above any C-Class I've sat in.
I actually tried an F80 M4 just before opting for the SL63. Personally, I thought it was a bit ordinary and the straight-6 a bit too samey compared to my old M135i. The motor has a nice top end but despite what the numbers say (and the sneers i got in the M-cars section of this forum) when on a roll the SL63 felt night and day quicker. Plus it made an epic noise.
On the flipside, it will spin its wheels in 4th on a damp road and the shape isn't to everyone's taste.
For info, I bought mine (13 plate with 43k miles) just before lock down for £32950 and sold it 3 months into the lock down before 'the furlough effect' for a 4k loss. The dealer sold it for what I'd paid, but within a few months, worse examples were going for £10k more! Oh for a crystal ball...
Mine:
https://youtu.be/gQ2o-sKr1fk
Edited to add - mine was reliable in the short time I owned it, but be wary of brake disc condition. They are quite hard to source and not cheap, esp the fronts. Pads were peanuts by comparison. The air charge hoses to the turbos are made of a strange woven reinforced fabric, one of mine had deteriorated in a way a plastic one wouldn't - but I recall there was commonality of the part across a few of the 5.5TT engined-cars so not mega-pricey.
I had a bit of water ingress in VERY wet weather via the passenger-side roof near the A-pillar, but not excessive to the point that it was an issue. Mine went in a standard garage door without problem. Mine is a twin-door double, so I could reverse in and egress the car very easily via the vacant other side.
They are also very tunable, but I suspect at the cost of drivability given the damp/wet weather traction situation!
Edited by KPB1973 on Tuesday 3rd May 10:53
Edited by KPB1973 on Tuesday 3rd May 10:54
Thank you KBP for the info, really useful especially as a F80 was a consideration (or the M4 ‘vert)
The finish in the cabin does look really nice as you’d expect for a 120k list car. The SL seems to offer incredible value for money at 35-40k although the downside is the resale market probably isn’t that active, then again, not such an issue if it’s a keeper.
Given a W205 C63 is around 35k at the bottom of the market is seems like a bit of a no brainer, looking at an AMG warranty it’s around 2100/yr for an average 60k example, which is exactly the same cost as a W205!
I think I need to drive a 5.5 to see what they’re like, I like the looks although not as aggressive as a C63 coupe they look very classy to my eye.
My other consideration was an F-type but after reading about subframe rust which seems endemic, and the fact Jag don’t offer the chance to buy an extended warranty on c.2015 cars, it does seem to suggest that MB have more confidence in the longevity of their product (or they know they’ll make a good profit of a 2k warranty….)
The finish in the cabin does look really nice as you’d expect for a 120k list car. The SL seems to offer incredible value for money at 35-40k although the downside is the resale market probably isn’t that active, then again, not such an issue if it’s a keeper.
Given a W205 C63 is around 35k at the bottom of the market is seems like a bit of a no brainer, looking at an AMG warranty it’s around 2100/yr for an average 60k example, which is exactly the same cost as a W205!
I think I need to drive a 5.5 to see what they’re like, I like the looks although not as aggressive as a C63 coupe they look very classy to my eye.
My other consideration was an F-type but after reading about subframe rust which seems endemic, and the fact Jag don’t offer the chance to buy an extended warranty on c.2015 cars, it does seem to suggest that MB have more confidence in the longevity of their product (or they know they’ll make a good profit of a 2k warranty….)
carbonblack said:
Thank you KBP for the info, really useful especially as a F80 was a consideration (or the M4 ‘vert)
The finish in the cabin does look really nice as you’d expect for a 120k list car. The SL seems to offer incredible value for money at 35-40k although the downside is the resale market probably isn’t that active, then again, not such an issue if it’s a keeper.
Given a W205 C63 is around 35k at the bottom of the market is seems like a bit of a no brainer, looking at an AMG warranty it’s around 2100/yr for an average 60k example, which is exactly the same cost as a W205!
I think I need to drive a 5.5 to see what they’re like, I like the looks although not as aggressive as a C63 coupe they look very classy to my eye.
My other consideration was an F-type but after reading about subframe rust which seems endemic, and the fact Jag don’t offer the chance to buy an extended warranty on c.2015 cars, it does seem to suggest that MB have more confidence in the longevity of their product (or they know they’ll make a good profit of a 2k warranty….)
I had absolutely no problem selling mine to a dealer, and it was re-sold within a couple of weeks - whether the last person in the chain predicted the market rises, who knows. That said, I don't think the R231 will ever really have the cache to be of broad appeal (or even compete with the emotional draw of the R230 6.2), and you'd probably be buying into them at the peak of their prices. The finish in the cabin does look really nice as you’d expect for a 120k list car. The SL seems to offer incredible value for money at 35-40k although the downside is the resale market probably isn’t that active, then again, not such an issue if it’s a keeper.
Given a W205 C63 is around 35k at the bottom of the market is seems like a bit of a no brainer, looking at an AMG warranty it’s around 2100/yr for an average 60k example, which is exactly the same cost as a W205!
I think I need to drive a 5.5 to see what they’re like, I like the looks although not as aggressive as a C63 coupe they look very classy to my eye.
My other consideration was an F-type but after reading about subframe rust which seems endemic, and the fact Jag don’t offer the chance to buy an extended warranty on c.2015 cars, it does seem to suggest that MB have more confidence in the longevity of their product (or they know they’ll make a good profit of a 2k warranty….)
It's still a lot of car for the money though. I'd definitely recommend having a go in one, roof up and roof down, and in AMG mode. Preferably on a dry day on some sweeping A-roads.
I always thought the 5.5TT needed another 500 rpm to play with as it headbutted the limiter quite abruptly. I don't know if the 4.0TT is different in this regards. I assume you know that 2014 (?) onwards cars had the performance pack as standard, with 664ft lbs.
I also forgot to say, there's a lot of info about the SL shell being designed with audio harmonics in mind, but the standard ICE system was a real let down. If buying again i'd definitely get one with HK.
It's funny you mention the F-type too. I went to a Supercar experience day and tried a Gallardo and an F-type V8. The former really gave me the bug to get something with 'big power' (a journey which led to the SL63) but the latter, whilst quick and made a nice noise, felt quite sloppy and heavy. I can see why people think the V6S is a sweeter car.
Good luck with the car hunt. Please do report back on your progress.
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