EyeMallin

Which one of the two AMG's and why? Maybe even throw the GT in the mix. Thoughts on using them as DD's? Particularly keen to get insights from those having owned/driven any combo of the cars especially both AMG's.

mellowyellow

Between the C63 and CLK BS, the answer is pretty simple. If you don't mind the rougher ride of the Black, why would you not get it? Track beast out of the box, exclusivity, looks, still has many modern conveniences (nav, sat, ipod, phone + bt, power seats/lumbar). Why not? Higher part costs, no back seat, no MCT option.

I drove both (coupe was not out yet, but that would not have changed my mind) and ended up with the CLK. Several people on the BS forum use them as daily drivers.

2012C63AMG

Go drive a maserati, the transmission is **** in terms of performance and maintenance. Now when they put a dual clutch then I would consider a maserati.

stangxs

If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a CLK Black, since my c63 is not a daily driver. But if it was a DD, I'd stick with the C. Only downfall for me on the CLK is the tranny and lack of rev matching on downshift.

amg4rl

Surprisingly, C63 and CLK BS have very similiar performance (stock vs stock) ie: 0-60, 1/4 mile, slalom, braking. BS may have track advantage but for daily use on the road its hard to beat the C63. Throw a tune on the C63 and things change. I prefer four doors and a back seat. For me the C63 is the way to go...unless your talking the new C63 BS! Maserati is a beautiful car but this is an AMG forum and I love the AMG brand.

CELLryuu

i have a good buddy that has the maserati and its sweet. the sound cant be beat by any production car imo. plus it has the it factor. just about any semi serious sports car can blow one off the road, but thats not what they were made for. its a grand tourer.

c63 is kewl but under refined. fast, but for me that got old quick. after a while the fun factor wears off and i yearn for more.

clk63. nice car but i like the c63 and maserati much much better.

go with the maserati. classy and elegant. trust me. when you get over the ***** enlargement of my cars faster than your car, you wont regret it.

opinion of me lol

_AMG_

CLKBS for sure!

OlegKouz

It depends what you are going for. If you are trying to make a statement, get the Maserati GT, otherwise I would go with the C63 BS.

DuaneC63

The simple answer is check the resale value. The Maserati sucks.

farhadahmad

is that why i see lot of people driving them now?

Questions

I realize what board we're on, but let's be realistic here. What buyer is cross shopping these cars? From C63 to CLK BS to GT-S are totally different worlds.

I don't know who out there is actually comparing these, on sticker price alone it doesn't make sense. Can't draw too many lines between C AMGs and Maserati any more than you would an M3 with an Aston V8 Vantage. Or a 5 year old CLK BS with no rear seats?!

vessproms

you should go test drive and lets see what you like

Pickles

The Maserati is a beautiful car, but IMHO the 4.7L V8 is not up to it.
With a bigger & more powerful engine, with more low down torque, the Maserati would be a more attractive proposition.
I'm "old school"..."There's no substitute for cubic inches" as we used to say.....these days, I believe they say, "There's no replacement for displacement"?
Cheers, Pickles.

EyeMallin

Update: I currently own a c63 and had a chance to test the CLK63 BS but not the maserati. The c63 is an amazing car in so many respects, but I miss the feeling of driving a coupe. C63 is definately more practical than the clkBS but if I wanted practical I'd get a camry. The BS is a beast, and I would prefer to drive it as my DD. It's rough and rugged, which is exactly how a car of that pedigree should drive. Styling is out of this world in my opinion. You can tell it's a rarity by looking at it whereas the general population (with the exception of mb forum heads and valet) can't tell the difference between a c63 and regular c class. Exhaust note in the CLK BS is to die for. However, I bothers me a tad bit to see how some of the electronics and interior styling are dummed down vs my C63. For example, the clock isn't digital, seats aren't fully powered, and nav/sound system isn't up to C63's level. Since I'd have to pony up an additional 20 g's to get the BS, I would expect some of these things to be a bit more refined. Then again, even though the BS is 5 years old, there's less than 300 of them left in the US, and I value that more than an analog clock and *****ty navigation. I don't think I'm going to pursue the maserati yet due simply to lack of performance. //AMG > Maserati.

I appreciate everyone's feedback and look forward to getting more of your thoughts. I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing. Cheers!!

Patrick B

Hmmm....don't be so sure about that. Some of us tend to cross-shop cars that aren't in the same price range, or even the same type.

When I was moving back from Europe to Canada, I cross-shopped everything from a C63 sedan, to a Range Rover, to a 911 (997) Turbo, to an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, to a Maserati Quattroporte, to an E60 M5.

I went with the Range Rover initially, due to my perceived thoughts about weather, practicality (4-doors, wife prefers SUVs), exclusivity, etc. Then the wife bought herself an X6, and my requirement for a 4-door SUV largely went out the window, so I switched to the C63 Coupe.

Were it not for a work requirement that I appear at least somewhat customer friendly (ie, showing up in a $100,000+ automobile at your customer can be somewhat.....challenging), I would have gone with either the Aston Martin or the Maserati.

The Maserati would be the most frustrating, as things would just have that Italian 'fussiness' to them. But it's also the car that would stir your soul a bunch too.

Honestly, if there was a CLK63 Black Series available to me, I'd take that over the C63 Coupe any day. I love my C63, but the CLK63 BS is just taken to that much greater level. It's a great car (and by virtue of being 'just' a Mercedes, it's customer-friendly in that sense).

As a daily-driver, the Maserati probably would be the least sensible, but a lot of fun. The CLK-63 BS would be a ton of fun, and probably still pretty practical on a day to day basis.

The 'ordinary' C63 is probably the most pedestrian of the cars, which seems like an odd thing to say about a 451/481 HP car. Still more than enough fun for day to day driving, but I will be honest...it's not as 'special' as either the Maserati or the CLK-63-Black.

All things being equal, I love my C63. It's a great way to go to work every day.



Patrick

Questions

Yes and we are a rarity. Most people, don't.

The only reason the Maserati would be less sensible as a DD would be because of the cost factor. It's as easy to DD as the C63, and easily more comfortable. Also beats the C63 in everything but straight line, mash the gas acceleration. Especially feel, emotion. Both of these would be far beyond the CLK BS as DD. CLK BS would demolish them when it comes to the track experience, right?

I'm not as extreme as you. I wouldn't want a CLK BS. If I went to the track often, then I would like one. Fact is, people have different uses for the cars. You buying an Aston Martin or Maserati has a whole lot of social implications, which you yourself recognized and decided wouldn't work for you. At least at this juncture Had you picked up one of these cars, you would be rolling around in a work of art. Maybe you don't want that.

But this nonsense of "I'd rather have the C63 than the Maserati, C63 costs sooo much less but is sooo much quicker", doesn't make any more sense than a Mustang GT owner saying, "I'd rather have the Mustang than an M3, it's half the price and as fast through the twisties than the M3. Give me the Mustang and $xx,xxx in my pocket blah blah blah". How many of you were considering a Mustang GT before you bought your C63? I daresay none.

Lines like that mark a fundamental misunderstanding of the reasons for purchasing these cars. Sorry, but the average M3 buyer isn't even considering the Mustang GT, any more than the Aston Martin/Maserati buyer is considering the C63. These buyers just want different things, and a lot of it boils down to styling --> image. That's putting aside the $$$ issue, of course. You are an outlier, Patrick my friend.

Thanks for the discussion

khmergod

"How many of you were considering a Mustang GT before you bought your C63? I daresay none." -Questions. I love this quote lol.

Patrick B

Calling me an outlier is probably accurate, as my own approach to buying a car is likely different than what many people do.

I suspect the 'average' car-buyer is one who has a set price range, and a defined set of tangible requirements that are on their must-have list (ie, 4-doors or 2-doors, SUV or wagon, 40+ MPG or 30+ MPG, etc, etc). And from there, they would tend to shop via car reviews, car magazines, Consumer Reports and their own past experiences to guide them towards which car to purchase (my father-in-law is like this....he had a Nissan Altima which he loved, so when the lease was up, he bought another Nissan Altima).

I, on the other hand, tend to come up with a vague price range that I feel like spending on a car, and a relatively narrow list of potential candidates which may or may not have anything in common in terms of their features and functionality (see above example of my Range Rover vs Aston Martin V8 Vantage vs 997 Turbo vs Maserati Quattroporte). The only hard and fast rule I stick to is that I don't buy brand-new (I have in the past....not any more).

I tend to browse around Autotrader.com, see what catches my eye, and then start shopping for examples that may be worthwhile to contemplate buying.

My only other requirement for a car is that it has to be something that I'd want to get into every day to drive to work. If a car is just soulless transportation, then it doesn't matter how competent it is. My car needs to be something that I look forward to getting into it every time I do, and whenever I lock it and walk away....I want to anticipate the next time I'm getting into it to drive somewhere.

When I decided to downsize from the Range Rover to something smaller and sportier (and don't get me wrong I LOVED driving the Range Rover), I basically justified it by listing which vehicles I would actually enjoy living with as daily drivers if I didn't keep the Range Rover. That list came down to four vehicles: Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Porsche 997 TT, Maserati Quattroporte, and the C63 Coupe. The first three I eliminated due to the impact of driving those to customer meetings (only because customers tend to question how much money they're spending with you when you're driving exotic sports cars).

I also want something that is relatively unique. The AM V8V and Maser both hit that mark well....but the 911 is the next, default "step-up" from the standard Yuppie benchmark of the BMW M3 (even though most 911s and most M3s will never, ever, see a wheel turned in anger at a proper racetrack).

The C63 (IMHO) actually hits that mark relatively well (a C63 BS definitely does, though one doesn't find many used examples in Canada at all, which is why I didn't go that route). BMW takes a fairly competent chassis in the E90 to begin with, and then adds a fair chunk more power, better suspension, and a ton of electronics to it. Pretty standard approach, and BMW has done essentially that ever since the E36 (the E30 was the one M3 which I believe had more engineering go into it, and less marketing).

AMG, on the other hand, seem to be outliers themselves somewhat. They take a chassis, stuff a hand-built engine under the hood, and then make a few minor (or even major) adjustments to get the car to handle reasonably well.

If you're a track-day enthusiast, the default answer is to buy a BMW, or if you're better off, a Porsche. The Mercedes / AMG crowd has tended to come more from the drag-strip field, rather than road-course field. Given the crowd I hang around with, the default of an M3 or 911 was too common.

And you're right....the average M3 buyer isn't cross-shopping for a Mustang GT (and every Mustang buyer claims that the Boss 302 is quicker around Laguna Seca than the M3, so the Boss 302 must be the better car). I will admit that I did take a close look at a Boss 302....but as a daily driver....well....it's still just a Mustang.

As to driving a work of art.....ahhh....that's actually a big part of it. If it weren't for driving to customer meetings, I'd be daily driving a V8 Vantage (or the V12V) right now. And honestly, for the price of an Aston Martin V8V, I could buy two AMG C63s. The C63 is a good looking car....the Aston Martin is a gorgeous car.

Honestly though, the C63 is probably better performing in just about every aspect vs the Aston Martin as well. I'd still take the Aston Martin though, even at double the price. I am not, however, so sure I'd take the Maserati at double the price. That's just my personal preference though....big Aston Martin fan....not so much of a Maserati fan (Ferrari-lite, if you will).

I will definitely not sell the C63 short though. It's actually a pretty competent, and even soul-inspiring machine (I just love starting mine up....). I have to give Mercedes / AMG credit. The C63 has near supercar performance, for less than the price of most competitors. And it's not like AMG cars of old....which were straight-line rockets only.

Anyhow, too much beer....so I'm probably rambling.



Patrick

flomofo

Got a new c63 coupe but was contemplating a Z06, older air cooled Porsche, Aston Martin and looked at but was not serious about a Boss 302 Mustang.

I was trying to buy used too, but the C63 coupe had too many improvements with the update so I bought new...

You'd be surprised what you cross-shop when you dont limit yourself with pesky "requirements" lol