McDude

Hello,

I recently purchased a C300 and while I love the car I simply miss having a ridiculous amount of horsepower. A 2009 c63 has gone up for sale near me with 80k miles, I also see some fair deals on a c63 with 100k. How horrible of an Idea is this? The engine is N/A so I'm not too worried. How many miles do you guys have? What common problems are there with these cars or that you have experienced?



THANKS!

johnny--2k

The biggest issue you will see with the 08-10 (maybe early 11) is the Headbolt issue. Even then, it's not a super widespread issue, but it exists nonetheless. There is a thread on here that you can put in the VIN and one of the other users will tell you if it's in the affected range and possibly if it's been addressed already.

Otherwise, if maintenance is done properly, and the car was well cared for, mileage is not (or should not be) a big concern. These things are built pretty well and built to last if properly cared for.

Can you get any maintenance records for it at all?

McDude

The engine was actually lifted out of the car and had the headbolts done. I am going to request the details. I see from your INSTA you have driven yours in the snow.
How is it? I live up in Minnesota so snow is a big concern (I drive a truck in the winter) but I have had to drive my CTS-V a couple of times.

johnny--2k

haha, well I'm in Dallas, so that was a freak deal. All things considered though, running the crap P-Zero up front and a set of the Continental DWS in the rear, it did fairly well. I'd imagine with a set of decent snow tires it'd be great!

If the headbolts were done, I'd say that's a great opportunity to get that car for a steal assuming everything else is in order. My car was quite the opposite, I bought it just last July and it only had 17K miles on it, so it was a baby!

layzie12g

My car has 106k on it. No issues yet, but it is maintained very well.

kb24forlife24

Other than the headbolt issue, is there anything to worry about when looking for a 2008-2011 C63?

Exhibit13

Make sure the transmission service was done every 40k or 4 yrs and the torque converter was drained and refilled (should be 9 qts total if I remember right) this is one of those things that almost EVERYONE does wrong including most dealers believe it or not.

As for other things all 6.2l motors seem to have issues with intake manifolds cracking, there is one guy on the forum that has replaced his 3 times.

Other than that, tires and fuel will be consumed at an alarming rate so be prepared to pay to play.

kb24forlife24

I know that the 2012+ doesn't have a torque converter, so would it be worth it to just save up some extra money for a 2012+?

Exhibit13

Well it depends do you like the facelift interior/exterior better or do you like the prefacelift better? You would dodge the headbolt issues and not have to deal with service monkeys not draining your torque converter so that is a plus.

Facelift models have cooling issues when you track them or run them real hard so if you plan on tracking the car you need to upgrade to black series cooling or stick with a prefacelift.

In the end I would say buy as new as you can afford and buy the MB extended warranty, but that is just me. I don't know what kind of cars you are use to driving but I would say remember amg parts and maintenance are expensive. Well at least compared to a Ford, Dodge, nissan or Toyota but if you are used to maintaining and repairing Ferrari's, Lambo's and whatnot then the AMG is a cheap and great car!

kb24forlife24

I drove both a PFL and FL (not for long though unfortunately) and I don't think that the interior is a dealbreaker for me, but the FL interior is appreciated. Honestly, I think that the steering wheel in the FL is the best interior feature. But mechanically, is the MCT so much better in shifting that I would be behind in tech (mechanical wise) in getting the pre-facelift?

Exhibit13

The transmission is much better in the FL, it still sucks compared to that of a bmw, Ferrari, lambo and even the AMG SLS though. So again it depends on what you are use to driving, if you currently drive a camry then the PFL tranny is not going to be a showstopper.

Everything is relative and to those who don't know any better the transmission in my c63 is the best ever, however if you have played with a real DCT or even understand what a real DCT can do the tranny in my car is a joke.

I think you have to play with it yourself and see if the speed of shifts is a dealbreaker or not. But again the comparison is all relative to what you have seen and used. My first car didn't have power windows and it didn't bother me until I owned a car that had them, suddenly there was no going back.

johnny--2k

Hahaha! I 100% agree, the tranny is OK at best, but when I get into my car after driving the Macan S, it's a joke for the next trip. Thankfully, most weeks I am stuck in a rental car for 5 days while traveling, so when I do get back into my car after being gone, the tranny doesn't seem so bad after all!

JeffDL

i think i liked the preFL trans in my 09 better than the MCT in my new coupe.

Settthhh

@OP, are you looking at a silver C63 in Minnesota by chance?

thesaintusa

I drove my C63 this past winter with no issues, obviously with winter tires on.

Handling is not an issue and traction was better than I expected.

The hardest part is trying to avoid lighting up the winter tires on the cold pavement, but traction control keeps things in check.

I also have 4x4 and AWD vehicles (Wrangler, c300 and STi) but prefer (enjoy) driving the C63.

JeffDL

i drive mine in the winter. snow tires and don't really drive when it's actually snowing. we had a terrible winter last year too.

McDude

Yes sir!