Yes I can afford the 09 C63 AMG I picked up earlier this year but no im not bankrolled enough not to care. With that out of the way, I am trying to understand where the real costs lie in owning a car like this and how much value I would save by keeping a few thousand miles off the odometer per year.

I don't drive many miles day to day but visiting my parents is a 600 mile round trip drive. I can rent a car for $60 a weekend when I do this. In the long run would this save much or is it not worth it?

The savings would be fuel cost, lower maintenance cost, and less mileage for resale versus the daily cost of owning the car even if it were just sitting there due to depreciation, insurance, etc.

I looked at some online calculators but they don't really answer this question.

I think the 600 mile round trip you're looking at ROUGHLY 3-4 tanks of gas which is what, about $120-150 in gas alone.

That alone should answer your question if its $60 for a whole weekend in a car with good gas mileage.

A C63 will be able to get 20 mpg on the highway for your 600 mile road trip. That should require about 30 gallons of gas. You should just drive your own car, as depreciation will happen regardless of whether or not you drive it. It's simple math to factor the actual cost of the trip.

The resale value of your car 2-3 years down the road is a variable dependent on the demand in the secondary market and the supply available. A C63 costs a lot to drive and it's not cheap to own. Just drive your car and enjoy it.

imo... like with most things there are fixed costs and variable costs

gas is variable as you only use if you use the car
fixed costs are like the average maintanence per year, any licensing fees, insurance etc

an economist will tell you that because there is a fixed cost component, the more you drive the car, the less $$ per miles it costs for ownership as your fixed costs are spread over more miles

if you want to add in your sunk cost (buying the car, mods you put on it)... the argument for driving it more is even more sound.

of course this is a simplistic example but should give you an idea. I clock 30-35k kms each year and love every mile/km i spend in my car.


btw, you should also consider a baseline number. what is the cost for you to own a snore car... a car to just get you from A to B. this cost when deducted from the C63 cost is the premium you pay for the fun.

Depends on a lot of variables. My truck gets about the same milage as my car, about 22mpg. For trips prior to owning the C, if it was over 500 miles total driving, it was cheaper to rent a car that got great gas mileage vs. driving my truck. Kept the miles off my rig (it was more than my 63 lol ) and nothing handles like a rental !!
Another thing to consider is the type of roads you would be travelling. Lots of gravel etc? Stone chips in the hood/grill/windshield/bottom rockers etc get spendy to repair as well. Are they "fun" roads to drive? Lots of cops en route? That would make me want to drive the C regardless lol.
How many of those trips a year do you make? Monthly? If so then an extra 7-8000 miles per year is a lot of depreciation involved too..

I understand the simple math and difference in fuel cost. Car rental + fuel would be near break even with the AMG fuel cost alone. I guess the part I am trying to nail down is how much the extra mileage on the odo depreciates the value and increases maintenance costs.

A new set of tires will run around $800 and will last around 8,000 miles. Thats 10 cents/mile just in tire wear - enough to completely offset your $60 rental cost. You'll use about 30 gallons of $4.00 premium in the C63 and about maybe 20 gallons of $3.50 regular in a rental - another $50 savings. Impact on maintenance costs and resale are pretty small (unless you plan on doing this weekly!) but the economics tell you to rent a car.

The flip side is that the trip won't happen quite as fast and won't be nearly as much fun. I'd take the C63.

To get a rough and dirty idea check ebay and see what cars with varying levels of mileage are set at for price, assuming similar builds...
Not sure there is a "set" formula for depreciation as every selling market is different. For example I'm in a mining/logging town, so roughly 60% of vehicles here are pickups, not a huge market for resale on a hotrod German sedan, whether it has 3,000 miles or 10,000 ...

I recently drove mine 550 miles each way over a 3 day weekend. For the entire trip there was not a single car that I saw as gorgeous as mine or as fast as mine. I was the king of the road for ALL 1100 miles. Priceless.

drive it!

well you bought it used after its main 3-4yrs worth of depreciation. ya in like 2-3more years itll be worth high 20's-mid 30's based on condition. will few 1000 extra miles kill the value? no. With the new c-class coming out next or so it'll hurt the value even more, but if they put some wimpy tt v6 motor in there. there is always the chance the big n/a 63 motors will hold value better.

That's such a depressing thought once you read it and really think about it, isn't it? lol

i recall reading a book which was published each year called "complete car cost
guide" which broke these issues down into quantifiable components. this was
done for specific cars. i haven't seen this around much but i remember being
quite impressed with the bar graphs etc.

aside from those factors already mentioned, note also that by driving sparingly,
you'll also not be jacking up the costs for maintenance based on mileage, wear
and tear, may get further discount if you purchase 'seasonal' coverage etc.
so these and others will offset the rapid decline of standard depreciation, also.

I know this isn't what you want to hear but I think the same way and honestly, if you're going to own a horrible investment like this, a depreciating asset with no financial upside, scrutinizing to the degree you are isn't going to get you anywhere. Just a friendly recommendation from someone who suffers from a similar need for analysis...you bought this car because its fun to drive. Drive it.

If you review a selection of similar vehicles with variable miles on them on cargurus.com you can figure $.15-20 per mile is the depreciation cost. So the 600 miles would run you around $100 in depreciation. Rental car is cheaper. In fact, it would be cheaper any time you are racking up a lot of miles.

Please don't take any offense, but a C63AMG is not for anyone who likes applying logic to purchases.

Gas mileage - horrible
Tire eating capacity - horrible
Depreciation - horrible
Interior - horrible (compared to 2012 standards)
Track Performance - don't even think of it.

Now forget all that and go crank that engine like i do at 5AM every morning and drive it for 20 miles. And your jaw will start hurting from smiling.

Exhaust - heavEnly
Torque - amazing
Right pedal - irresistable
Downshifts - addicting
Fun factor - highest

You'll be happy as long as you don't bring $ into the equation.

I paid mine off this year. And plan on keeping it till End 2017. I am gonna enjoy every minute for the next 5 years.

must admit, i have never thought about the cost. Whatever it is, its worth it to hear the exhaust as you drive along.

According to my company, anything past 325 miles requires a rental car. They will not expense mileage past 325 mi. That alone should answer your question.

Counter question...do you have a corporate discount code? I have a couple for Hertz if you like

To the OP: I just returned from a 1000+ mile roundtrip from las vegas and all i can say is the C63 is a mile cruncher like nobody's business. I usually dont prefer very long trips and I had promised myself that i wont be driving long distance again but boy, did i have fun! if you rent a car, you might gain a few more mpg's but you will miss the sole purpose of buying your C63. On a side note, i was surprised that not everyone recognizes and knows what an amg is! i had a guy walk upto me at the gas station that he didnt expect the 'c class' to be this quick and loud. he told me that i had overtaken him a few miles earlier and the sudden burst of acceleration left him stunned. i dont fret over mpg's but i was def satisfied.

Averaging more than 20 mpg for over 1100 miles is an achievement in itself.

the biggest surprise for me was tire life w the rears.. everything else is has met expectations of a wasteful, illogical vehicle . i have burned burn rears every ~5k miles. fronts have lasted 15k. so thats an extra $1k every 12-15 months for me

I can't believe this is a serious question.

You bought this awesome fun car and now you don't want to drive it to save a few hundred bucks here and there?

You want to spend 600 miles in a ****box rental?

I don't get people.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000

Nice post...

Did you every consider flying, may be your cheapest way?
Not driving your AMG, would be like not making love to a beautiful woman because your afraid messing up her hair. YOLO!

Clearly, you have been talking to my wife as she subscribes to this theory.