frostc63

Hey everyone,
I'm new to these forums, but have been impressed with what I've seen so far (especially compared to my normal M3post forums).

I currently have an 09 M3 (DCT) but have always been a fan of the C63. I had the pleasure of test driving a coupe yesterday and was blown away by the performance and interior redesign. Unfortunately it didn't have the Development Package, so that being said, my first question is:

Have any of you driven both, with and without that package? It seems to me it's worth the cost, but I'd like to hear from the pros.

I've been dealing with Fletcher Jones (Las Vegas) and would like to get feedback on them and advice on financing as well, if possible.

I plan on leasing and read a bit on other threads, but I want to make sure I'm getting the best deal. This particular dealership is offering a $1,000 incentive because I'm switching from a BMW, but I'm wondering if there is anything else I should be asking for? Someone mentioned the Costco Auto Program. Should I be going that route instead of negotiating with the dealership directly?

I found a car that has piqued my interest and I'm wondering if the $82,295 MSRP is correct:



I guess those are all the questions I have for now. Please bare with me because I'm sure there will be many more to come.

If anyone is interested, my M3 is currently on eBay here.

Thank you all for your time and I look forward to being a part of the C63 club soon!

cyberorth

I have owned both in sedan. I can say that P31 is worth having in terms of peace of mind. It's a kind of power upgrade you can do to a non dev package car with $900 to 2000+ with various tune, but you may have issues with warranty or (though extremely rare) issues with your car reading the added torque excessive and going into limp mode.

Aftermarket tune only upgrades give you very similar power addition to the P31, which many believe is around 50 hp rather than the stated 30.

If you plan on modifying with bolt on options, so to assume responsibility for potential warranty rejections anyway, you may as well start with a non P31 car and use the $ saved for the upgrades.

In general P31 is mainly about the power upgrade. Other upgrades are non performance oriented. The difference in brake material has only been noted in track use in terms of less fade.

Hope this helps, but you should run a search. As far as I know, you findings for the sedan should apply to the coupe for the most part.

frostc63

Thank you, cyberorth! All things considered, it would be nice to avoid the risk of warranty issues and also to pay that $6k over time instead of all at once.

I meant to ask this before, but how costly is a c63 to maintain? The dealer said it's $400 every 10k miles and everything else should be covered like my current BMW warranty. A friend of mine has an 08 S65 and it was somewhere around $5k for brakes. I was told the c63 brakes and pads are around $2k. Does that sound accurate?

Also, I've heard tire wear is quick (especially the back tires). How true is that and which tires do you recommend?

Thanks again!

cyberorth

Only thing I can tell you is rear tires every 3-7000 miles! I have not done any other maintenance other than fluid changes.

cz99

Um, it should be 2k, unless they changed the Conquest rebate for November.

There's nothing to lose in inquiring the costco price. Very few dealerships offer the costco program, so you may not even be able to find a C63 at one of them. You could get one custom built though if you don't waiting 5-6 months for delivery.

Sincity

I don't really like dealing with the sales department @ Fletcher Jones on W. Sahara. No issues with Service Dept nor Parts since they are great. You may want to wander to CA and see if you can get better pricing, unless you are trading in your M3 then you will get a tax credit to offset your purchase price. If you are buying outright without a trade-in, I suggest going out of state. I purchased mine at Southbay Mercedes in Torrance/Palos Verdes area. Good luck and hope to see you in our small gatherings.

BTW-Would you happen to know Riyatch from M3post?

PartyVan

I say go with PP package. For $6 grand it gets you the power (With Warranty) <--warrantys the most important part. 2 piece rotors and a piece of mind.

People with after market tunes do have problems it's just you don't hear about it here much. Some people are honest about it and post up the problems but as you can see the vendors are the sponsers and it usually gets deleted.

Check out this thread. This guy has a tune and the engine blow up on him but he deleted the thread pretty quick afterwards.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...ne-thread.html

frostc63

Is that something all MB dealerships offer? I'll ask them about it tomorrow. Thank you for the heads up!

frostc63

Yikes! What kind of tires do you guys recommend and how much are they?

frostc63

Hey Sincity. It's nice to meet another AMG enthusiast in town!

May I ask why you don't like dealing with their sales department? So far they've been good to work with. Tomorrow is the big negotiating day, so we'll see how that goes. I'm possibly trading in my M3, but it really depends on what they'll give me for it.

Sorry, I don't know Riyatch. I'm not really that active on those forums because they seem to argue with each other all the time. I haven't seen much of that here yet, so hopefully that's a good sign! Looking forward to meeting some locals.

Sincity

The two dealers are the only game in town and owned by Fletcher Jones. Pricing usually can be had for less out of state unless you are trading in. Though Vegas_AMG was able to secure similar pricing to what I paid from Southbay. When I was looking for a C63, I came in my 190e. Some sales people looked at me and turned the other way. They forget that the days of ficticious wealth in Vegas is now gone. Pretty sad....

Riyatch and I have been friends since the inception of e46fanatics. As a matter of fact, we had the first BMW meet in Vegas during the early days of internet car forums and only 3 of us showed up! LOL! We regularly meet along with a few other guys. Regardless if you get the AMG or not, most of us live on the Westside and let me know if you are interested in getting together. After all, we are car enthusiasts and it doesn't matter what we drive.....we'll it has to be Euro.

cyberorth

Though i agree with your warranty comment, I would still state that the software flash modification is done almost always without any problems. There are people that are unhappy with some aspects of their mods, but they are very few.

I have not seen a blatant removal of a post the way you describe. You can search and find many post that are critical of some sponsors and these post have not been touched. Post are locked or removed all the time due to op breaking specific rules of the board, but not because of stating opinions and concerns.

frostc63

Sorry to hear about your experience at Fletcher Jones. I hate when that type of thing happens. The irony is that the people with the condescending attitudes can't typically afford the product they're selling.

All that aside, I'm proud to say I found a c63 coupe and will be taking delivery of it next week once it's brought over from the port of LA. It's black on black and has every option except for parktronic. I was really keen on red/black interior, but I think the black will look nice. Very exciting!

That leads me to my next question. Are there any good shops around Vegas? Given that I have the development package, the only thing I want to do at this point is black out the chrome around the windows and the side reflectors and transfer my k40 rl360 radar detector. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. If there aren't any here I'm willing to go to California.

Thanks again for all of the info and I look forward to being active on these boards!

Sincity

I don't really know of any vinyl guy or electronics shop here in Vegas that I can recommend. Also, I entrust my installs with ACG in San Diego. Peter and James are great to deal with.

Looking forward to meet you and check out your coupe. You are a brave guy in getting black here in the desert. Congrats!

BTW-What pat of town are you in?

frostc63

Awesome, thank you for the referral! I certainly don't need another reason to go to San Diego, I love it there!

Thank you, I'm very excited about it! I hope the A/C is good! I'm located downtown (in the arts district) in one of the high rises. What about you?

frostc63

Does anyone here have the K40 RL360 (or another K40) system in your C63? I was talking to an installer and he wanted to make sure there aren't any issues with it, as some cars (I think those with active cruise control) can cause it to go off because the frequency is on the same band that police use (KA band in this state). As far as I know the C63 doesn't have any type of active cruise control (where it adjusts your speed automatically to maintain the same distance), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sincity

Most of us live in the Westside. One of us live by the M and another (BS owner) lives close to you near UMC.

frostc63

Nice! I have a couple friends in Southern Highlands and we go to the M once in awhile. Are you guys planning any meets or anything?

I haven't had any luck with shops in the area, so I e-mailed Peter at ACG in San Diego and will hopefully be able to plan a trip out there to get everything done.

Sincity

PM sent

frostc63

Given that my c63 coupe has the p31 package and I'm leasing it, is there anything else I can do that won't void my warranty?