jeremyf0923

Looking for thoughts and opinions regarding build quality concerns and retention of value.

So first off the most expensive car I have owned to date is $60K, which is my current Audi S5 which has been flawless inside and out, and held it's value quite well (worth about $50K after 2 years). My evaluation of the C63S has now gone to the next level. I love everything about the car physically and mechanically - from quality/beauty of interior and exterior to ferociousness of the twin turbo V8 and wonderful exhaust note. Next level of evaluation is justifying spending $90K on a vehicle. For whatever it's worth, I can definitely afford it - what I am struggling with is if it is a fiscally smart purchase. If it held it's value fairly well then I would check the box and be able to justify to myself that owning/driving the vehicle everyday was worth the cost. My concern is that I keep reading - and even hearing from dealership directly - not to expect the value of the car to be greater than 50% three years after purchase. Taking a $45K hit on value in just 36 months would be pretty painful. Assuming that you are all not multimillionaires and money is no object, I would love to hear how you all justified the purchase if in fact the 50% depreciation number is accurate. If I planned to keep the car for 10 years, this may not be as big of an issue, but knowing my track record with car ownership, I would likely not keep the new MB for longer than 3-4 years. I also did check into lease rates on this car and they were horrible. With $5K down, it was in the neighborhood of $1,800/month on a 36 month lease. That is absurd - but justifies my concern because Finance Mgr at local dealership said residual value on AMG cars are pretty bad.

Secondarily, I have read a number of threads about exterior fit/finish build quality issues. If I am spending $90K on a car, it better be perfect. Just wanted to also get opinions regarding the vast majority of these issues being rectified with the 2016 model - assuming the production line quality issues are tweaked and resolved using learnings from the 2015 model.

As always, thanks in advance for your thoughts and feedback.

Jeremy

YellowJacket

Buying a new AMG, particularly if you are going to load up the options to $90k+, will certainly take a gigantic hit on depreciation. Probably worth low $50ks in 3 years easy. I know I could not do it.

Why not buy a slightly used 2012+ C63 with Performance package? Those will certainly hold their value much longer since they already took the big hit, and there are many more buyers in that $50k price range to help hold its value.

Nobody is going to be buying used C63's in the 80k range, so they will drop big.

HBerman

I don't believe that most MB cars "hold" their value much more than 55% over 3 years. My 2013 E550 had a MSRP of about $72,500+ in November of 2012 (I certainly didn't pay MSRP) and the residual on the 3 year lease was set to $44000 or 59.5%. The residual set by MBFS for a C63S with 12K miles per year is 51% However, the C63S is a special type of vehicle which has its own set expenses associated with it that go way beyond a more normal MB vehicle and the buyers of this car know and accept these costs in return for the "fun" of driving. These cars are certainly not investments.

Will617

The first couple of years you will take a big hit but the longer you keep it the less you will lose year after year. I plan on keeping the car for 6-7 years myself. It's the price you have to pay if you want the newest model.
I'm hoping the demand on the new c63 will remain high which will help its resale value.

TTA850

Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are synonyms for depreciation - but can also be some of the most enjoyable cars to drive. The higher you run the sticker up the more your loss can be. A $90k C63 will always be compared to the base price of $63k/$71k and will be harder to justify $20-30k in options on the second hand market. Same applies to the S5, at $60k your at or just above base prestige/dct which puts you in a good position vs someone who loaded their S5 to near $70k.

I don't like to purchase these types of cars for various reasons but from a lease point of view here's how some residuals compare. My 2013 C63 coupe P31 had a 58% residual (3/36 lease, $79k sticker, $44k residual). A 2014 S5 has a 56% residual (3/36 lease, $60k sticker, $33k residual) and my 2015 E63 S has a 59% residual (3/36 lease, $120k sticker, $70k residual). For comparison a 2015 M5 has a 60% residual on a 3/36 lease.

Do I the my E63 will be worth $70k in 3/36 absolutely not because it will be compared to the so called "loaded" E63's on the market that had $100-105k stickers rather than the truly loaded $120-130k sticker E63's. That said none of it bothers me and I love my E63

Will617

It still has to do with how popular some of the options are.

HBerman

Yes, and how useful is the option. Things like the Drivers Assistance package are additive to the value, but decals, trim options, etc are not.

jeremyf0923

When you say it has its own set of expenses associated with it that go beyond a more normal MB - what are you referring to specifically as I want to make sure I factor this into my analysis.

BTW - thanks to all for the responses. I need to make a decision if I want to invest this much money in a sports car. Sadly, I am having second thoughts. Figure this is a 50% increase in cost over my current car so I am doing even more due diligence. Even if I can negotiate down to the low 80's, with 7% sales tax here in GA I am still looking at close to $90K for the car. What's crazy is that my wife has said if I can figure out a way to do then she is fine with it as she is sick of my S5 always sitting in the garage since it won't fit our entire family!

HBerman

For example, pre-paid maintenance is $1300 for 2 years on the C63S and $775 for 2 years on a C300. Plan on new tires for the rear every 10K miles vs 40K miles. I'm certain that the front tires will go before 20K too. The cost of insurance is significantly higher as well for this "performance" vehicle vs that of a comparable sedan of the same cost. Those are the main items that come to mind.

jeremyf0923

Thanks. Prepaid maintenance is very expensive - no doubt. My Audi Care for my S5 was $900 for for all service thru 50K miles. Maybe that was just the deal of the century. Tires I would expect. Interesting thing is that I called my insurance company and for full coverage (including full replacement), it was only $250 more/year compared to my S5. Thought that was great. So really at this point I need to decide if I want to spend a few thousand dollars on prepaid maintenance plus make sure I am okay owning a very quickly depreciating asset.

PeterUbers

If you're asking these questions you should not be buying a new $90,000 car, let alone an amg

Grab any one of hundreds of used c63s's in a couple years that will take the price tumble ....

jeremyf0923

You very well may be right, but needed to do the due diligence to come to that conclusion.

HBerman

The value of these cars is really not something for which you can create a reasonable spreadsheet for the cost of ownership. A three year lease for a C63S at an MSRP of $90K will be about 1800+/month. Unless you can just buy the car for cash and be prepared to drop $50K+ after three years, I would look elsewhere for a "fun" vehicle.

amanuuh

If you want a fun to drive sports car that won't depreciate a lot get a Porsche

TTA850

Ouch if that's true go get an E63S, my lease is about $300/month less on a $120k MSRP - better value lol

PeterUbers

These guys don't want a piggy E63S with restrictive AWD... they wanna drift in their svelt C63S's... lol

PeterUbers

so true... just not a boxster

profi

Same mind here!

betrezra

I worked with a guy who bought cars based on cents/Mile calculations... he had this huge aggie spreadsheet............ he is a masters level engineer from ATM.

You know his final calculation ended up saying.... get a 1994 Oldmobile Bravado SUV.
...

You just don't buy a car like this with that calc in mind. This is more based on what move's you physically and emotionally.

HBerman

Well said!!!!!!

jeremyf0923

Okay - no more number crunching for me as that will undoubtedly do me no good. I do like what you said above - assuming you can truly afford it then decision doesn't boil down to money, it is all about whether or not it moves you physically and emotionally.

Thanks all for your candid feedback.

irablumberg

Quite correct. Or as they say on the street, "you gotta pay to play." This car is about enjoying every mile you drive (when not jammed in traffic) whether screaming down a twisty back road or cruising on the interstate. OP, if the cost of that enjoyment is too high, then this is definitely not the new car for you.


The reports of quality and quality control problems are worrisome. In my first 1,000 miles the only problem I have had is a squeaky performance passenger seat. However, it appears that the squeak was coming from the new and stiff leather rubbing against the metal parts of the seat. With some careful squeezing at key points, the squeak seems to be gone.


You might want to wait another month or 2 until additional new owners can share their experiences. Loose trim is certainly annoying, but I would mostly be worried about serious mechanical issues.


Finally, if I feel the need to swap cars in 3 years, I can always give the C63S to my wife and trade in her 2012 C63 ;-).


OP, good luck with your decision.

Iceman II

+1. As been said before, you are getting a AMG GT engine in a modded C-Class body. I think the engine is the best and perhaps most reliable part of this car. The issues you experience will likely be minor in my opinion (squeaks, rattles, etc.). My music is normally so loud that I rarely hear some of these things. I'm sure my last 5 new cars had minor issues -- I just never heard them.

RPM99

Is the BMW M3 more reliable or less reliable than C63s? Is the depreciation the same or worse?

jeremyf0923

Cars.com pulls leasing data directly from the Automotive Leasing Guide. It appears that ALG ranks BMW higher in relation to retention of value - but not by much...just 3% higher. 3 year lease on a 2015 C63 has a residual value of 50% vs. 53% on an M3.

Here's link - http://www.cars.com/go/alg/index.jsp...LASS&year=2015