aprikh1

Hi Folks,

I am on the fence about a 2012 E63 wagon I am about to purchase. The price is right, I love the color combination, and the selected options. The only wrinkle is that the vehicle does not have the Driver Assistance Package. I work from home so my long distance highway driving is somewhat limited; however, I do get stuck in DC rush-hour traffic with regularity.

With my use-case in mind, should I pass and continue searching for an E63 wagon with Distronic, or should I pull the trigger on the one available to me now? My concern is that the wagons are rare, and finding one with the every option catered to my specification may prove difficult. Furthermore, if I spend another 6 months looking, many 2012s will reach the end of their warranty, which will make it difficult for me to purchase an extended Mercedes warranty.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers, Alex

ERC4

I'd pass. Distronic is the must-have option for me. You'll probably find another that has it. I understand your concerns re finding yourself still searching 6 months from now. But, in that case 2013's would be cheaper than they are now and you could get one of those with an extended warraty. No matter what year you get you'll be spending a lot of money. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it should have what you want.

cctoronto

I just made my vote two months ago on the same question, I picked up a 2013 CPO S212 w/P30 Package, with 12,300 miles on it. One of the Canadian MB exec's car for several months. Absolutely mint, everything I wanted, however, no Distronic. I believe your concerns regarding opportunities are warranted: I have seen only one like mine for sale on the West Coast in the past two plus months.

I don't miss Distronic at all—I didn't buy this car too be less actively involved in the driving, and I love Distronic.

The 2014s and on are 4matic. So the 12s & 13s S212s are the last of the rear wheel drive AMG longroofs to be sent to NA, ROTW is a mixed bag: for instance, the UK is still getting RWD AMGs—engineering challenges with respect to the RHD is the reason apparently, but I digress.

As I opened with, I have voted—where it counts—I'm currently smiling all the time while driving, never once missing the magic MB cruise control.

What a car. A weaponized wagon.

¿Distronic?—nah, I want to operate the pedals myself as much as possible.

That is all... thank you!

o7—carry on!

Quadrobenz

I feel it depends on the type and location of the driving you do. In SoCal it was completely useless except in the car pool lane. Set to the shortest following interval it still left a large enough gap that other drivers constantly cut in front, setting off the alarm. I ordered our newest E63S with lane change assist but not Distronic. We are much happier with that setup.

cctoronto

There you go—never mind being forced to make that choice on a CPO car, Quadrobenz selected to not have it at all on a new one!

aprikh1

Sigh, I hate decisions like this. Sitting here staring at my computer monitor and debating on whether to pull the trigger and hit send on a deposit for the hammer wagon.


I am leaning towards, "Yes" mainly because I love the combination of the white exterior color, tan interior, and black interior CF accents.

grimesch

I wouldn't ever forego the Distronic feature, particularly due to my propensity for lead footing. We drive VT to FL twice a year and it makes the drive a piece of cake. I have every assist option on my 2015 wagon, without shame.

aprikh1

Well I put the deposit down. Now it's PPI time. Followed by a long trek from the West to the East coast. No Distronic for me.

Ultimately the color combination, low miles, and a single owner history swayed me. The cars that have been available on Autotrader for the last three months had either too high of miles, questionable history, or outrageous prices. So I decided to pull the trigger on a car that meets my needs 90%, instead of looking for a 100% perfect match.

beegee227

FWIW, I have Distronic on mine and I hardly ever use it.

vdubpower

its worth it on drives that are long...

c32_amg

I use it every single day and wouldn't buy a car without it now.

cnolke

Well, I'm glad you got your answer. Sorry for not seeing this sooner. I have an opinion, but I don't think it will help now.

Question: How are the values for '12 E63 wagons holding up? What's normal?

Thanks,
Chris

Vrodman

For whatever its worth,

I think you made the right decision! Follow your heart ( I know, a bit cliche!)

Anyway, I recently bought my 2011 and it does have distronic.

I am in No Cali and actually have opportunities to use it more often than I do. But . . . .

I reallistically only see benefit in long drives (Tahoe, So Cal, etc)

And those trips are once or twice a year at most.

I wouldnt sweat not having it too much.

Enjoy that new beast, finely engineered charriot!

Cheers.

robl45

I use mine every day every drive everywhere. I just wish it worked better sensing stopped cars. Its a real pain to get in the wife's lexus and actually have to drive the car.

vdubpower

the only way it will actually stop with gap is in cruise control mode. with the set gap.

otherwise i dont think it can be relied on to stop if u going full speed and expect it to do everything

vdubpower

also i know if u have the car in Sport mode esp , the cruise control will not engage

robl45

Yea, cruise control with set gap, problem is, it doesn't see stopped cars in front of it, which makes no sense, if the cars are slightly moving then it sees it. I've gotten used to it, but the system could be much better. It also won't stop in time if cars slam on their brakes which is a common occurrence on the freeway.

vdubpower

Yeah so I don't know how they make their claims. For example latest motor trend video Jonny Lieberman got the s65 to stop in emergency

robl45

Beats me, mine beeps like 10 feet behind another car, no way emergency braking going to stop it. Will have it looked at when tranny is serviced.

cctoronto

Excellent decision-making, very realistic take on what you want vs. what's available. Life is invariably about compromises, ya gotta make 'em good ones!

You won't miss it.

NickyBlack

We lived previous to these new generation vehicles without it and survived. Both my current cars have it as they were fully speced when i bought them new. If i were to choose the options on both i would leave the distronic off. It's a pointless option that i find interferes more with my daily driving than helping it.