Greetings! First post here! I test drove a 2010 C300 Sport 6-speed a few weeks ago and it seemed like a pretty nice drive. Perhaps not as sporty as I would've thought, but it felt luxurious and smooth, and like it had a capable chassis. Unfortunately the example I drove was not quite up to snuff (it had pretty obvious accident damage, interior wear, and also badly worn rotors that I think was causing a groaning sound under medium speed braking).

I'm trying to buy a W204, and right now on the top of my list is the 6-speed manual C300 Sport, but am having trouble finding one in the area (it's not really worth it for me to fly out to buy and ship a $8000 car across country), but am also considering a W204 C63 AMG which is seemingly much more common and easier to find a good example. Obviously the C63 is much more expensive than the C300 Sport, but I think the extra power and noise could be worth it. Seems like in the 60k miles range for a 2010-2011 C63 AMG prices are around $22-25k, which is not bad at all. I am aware of the head bolt issue. Currently I am driving a 2018 Honda Accord 6-speed that I can't wait to get rid of. It's just had way too many quality problems and they are not worth my time to try to get the dealer to fix (I tried to lemon law it but failed). That being said, buying a C300 would leave me a lot of cash for future maintenance costs.

Having not driven a C63 yet, my main concern is that the paddle shifters appear to be very slow in the videos I've seen. I've seem some discussion about whether this delay between hitting the paddle and executing the shifts is isolated to the MCT and not the 7g, but I had trouble following the discussion because some people kept saying the shifts were 100ms and others said it was still really slow. I am generally going to be using this car just for commuting, but perhaps with the occasional weekend blast through the twisties. I really like manual transmissions, but have had some pretty good paddle shift actions with other cars before (mostly Jaguars) and used them heavily, especially when a crackly V8 exhaust was involved. There is a 2011 C63 at Carmax near me but I'm not sure if this has the MCT or the 7g transmission.

Currently I am driving a 2018 Honda Accord 6-speed that I can't wait to get rid of. It's just had way too many quality problems and they are not worth my time to try to get the dealer to fix (I tried to lemon law it but failed). That being said, buying a C300 would leave me a lot of cash for future maintenance costs. Buying a C63 would be a more costly proposition but if the shifting action is good I could probably justify the extra cost. Plus I bet it will hold its value since the ones I'm looking at are already 10 years old.

So my question is, should I just keep looking for a C300 6-speed, or do you think the C63 AMG is engaging enough to drive with the paddles? I have never had much fun just leaving an automatic in auto-mode. Kickdown and the lack of downshifts/engine braking when I want/need it really kinda ruins the experience for fun driving IMO.

Appreciate any advice here!!

 

Lmao c63 unless you need AWD, which manual doesn't come with anyways

 

Go test drive that C63 at Carmax as this will answer most of your questions and lead you to a decision.

 

That does sound like a logical course of action! I'll do that and report back.

Is there a certain transmission mode you're supposed to put it in to get the quickest paddle shift response?