ahadmer

Hello:

I am new to this forum and have a question about the C63. I owned a 2004 Mercedes E500, it has now been written off and am looking for a replacement. I will most likely get a '09-'10 C63. Is there any difference between the '12 C63 and previous models? Also how is insurance for the sedan C63 as I do not want to spend too much money on it. Lastly being the most important, how is maintenence and reliablity? I found my E semi expensive to maintain. I would appreciate anyones help on this.

Would anyone recommend leasing this vechicle, or financing?

rory breaker

Given that nearly every question you are asking is related to keeping costs down, keeping risk down...I suggest you look to take over someone's 10/11/12 lease.

An 09 at this point will have taken a large chunk of the depreciation hit already which is good, but clearly you are concerned with warranty/fixes/etc - and an AMG out of warranty will blow your mind if you think an E500 was expensive to repair. So unless you can find an '09 with a good long extended warranty (depending on how long you plan on keeping the car) you can probably score a good lease takeover and call it a day.

ahadmer

Yea thats what I was thinking to do.. But would you recommend just leasing a brand new one. Keeping costs down isn't much of the issue its mostly not having an issue on my hand as my previous Merc was far from reliable.

natman316

as far as the 2012 vs pre facelift goes, I think a 2012 is worth it....the MCT while I am not a big fan (prefer a manual or at least a dct) is much nicer than the automatic and the interior on the face lift models are alot nicer. also, if you are i believe the steering and suspension has been recalibrated. that is important for me because I plan to track the car.

and as far as maintainence goes...I've only owned my c63 for a couple months but prepared to spend alot of money on gas (duh) and seems like people are going through tires pretty quick. the brakes used to be an issue (price wise) but on non p31 cars I think the prices have dropped. the 2 piece replacement rotors are expensive though! for other long term ownership costs, hopefully other people will chime in

ahadmer

I appreciate your response on this post. Yea spending $100 a week on gas for me is nothing because my old car ran through gas like it was going out of style, I have been told that brakes cost around $2k but how much to the pads cost on their own? I do not drive too crazy so It shouldn't be much of an issue for me. I would have to agree with you I have driven the new 2012 C63 and loved everything about it from the seats to the power.

Fung63

easier for me to address the original questions then weed through what has been said so i apologize if some points have already been mentioned

the '12 models do run a bit more gas efficient... however you mentioned that gas is not a big deal here.. so really it is down to looks. for me I actually liked the pre-facelift ones more. although the interior of the new c63s are beautiful!

insurance is no big deal if you are a half decent driver with a good record. I am paying 1800ish a year.

maintenance and reliability... well with any car, the older it is the more chance for something to fail. since this is your biggest worry, you should gravitate to a newer car. As for costs... its a benz, so it'll be expensive.. and AMGs are even more so.

I suggest you to do a search for some of the costs associated to things our members paid. normal wear and tear stuff like brakes might surprise you

Good luck with the purchase!

ahadmer

Insurance isn't bad at all then but the issue with me is that im only 19 so I might get my mother to sign as an owner on the car.. But for the most part I am used to Merc's costs. I appreciate your response to this post.

natman316

not sure with the pads but I think the 1 piece rotors for the non performance package cars are under 200 a corner? dont recall correctly but I think replacement performance package rotors are like over 2k.

I say try to find a good deal on a 2012 on the lot or order and lease a 2013 with the options you want!

ahadmer

I might to that.. I test drove the managers car as the demo wasn't available 2k does seem steep and I'm not too big on the performance package. I might just go for the standard brakes and save some money.

Fung63

if you are not going to be heavily tracking the car and use it more as a DD like you mentioned in the other post, just skip the performance package then. You wont notice much difference if any under normal driving conditions

natman316

oh and insurance isnt bad at all for a car of this caliber.... I pay around 1600/ 6 months and I've had 2 accidents on my record (although they were 2-3 years ago). I am 20 and the car is titled and insured under my name.

infact the insurance is only slightly (about300/6 months) higher than my 1998 Acura Integra project car (which to them is worth like 3k? lol) and was about on par with I was paying on my Acura RSX I had when I was 16. I think being a 4 door car that is owned mostly by older people helps with the insurance rate.

ahadmer

Yea cause I'm not much of a tracking nut and I'm also a little to lazy to drive to Mosport.

ahadmer

LOL thats insane! My cousin pays a crazy amount for his M3 seeing I hate the M3 the insurance "deal" on this C63 is something to consider.