Why I traded my C63 for M3 and M3 for MkVII GTI

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Jun 24, 2014 | 04:39 PM
  #1  
So you might wonder, why the hell would anyone trade a 500 HP C63 AMG(modded) for a 414 HP M3(stock) for a 210 HP GTI(stock…)

Here in lies my experience, reasoning, and opinion, none of which should be interpreted or read as factual claims. Feel free to disagree…

To give you some context for my point of view, below is a list of cars that I have experienced intimately and thus, have informed my point of view.

My point of view/Cars I’ve driven hard:

C63 AMG
Gallardo SuperLeggera
R8
Cayman S
Boxster S
C7 Corvette
SLS AMG
SL63 AMG
E92 M3

Part 1: Why less is more

In our reality as car aficionados, we often get caught up in things that really don’t matter.

Things like zero to sixty times, drag races, slalom times, lateral G’s, and the list goes on and on and on…

Most commonly this tendency manifests as the obsession with horsepower and the desire for more and more.

I’d like to call this The Ultimate Blue Ball Phenomena

I say that because more often than not, more power = more frustration, more pressure, and less, and less enjoyment…

On top of that, its actually less and less value, because we are typically paying more money for more power and more potential, yet because of a myriad of factors, we are actually able to USE less and less of the car.

This is because the reality is that:

1. Rarely if ever do we actually get to apply that power. In 99% of street driving performance to totally irrelevant. Usually what ends up happening is we turn into kind of a crack addict where we are always looking for that opening in traffic or that empty back road so we can try to get our fix.

2. The majority of us lack the skills, experience, and environment to adequately and safely extract all of that extra potential we have paid so much money for.

So basically we are paying money for something we rarely, if ever, actually use.

Maybe the car has a potential performance of lets say 100 units, but based on the constraints of skill and environment, we only ever see or experience 10%-20% of that. So that leaves us paying for an 80%-90% of something we don’t use.

How many of us would live in or do live in a house that is mostly empty and not used?

Does that make sense? Is that just the American way of excess and overconsumption? Does it even matter?

But on the other hand, let’s say a car has a potential performance of 50 units and because it is less intimidating and less powerful, we are able to more comfortably experience 75% or more of its actual potential.

This would mean that we are actually paying less AND getting more.

***On a side note, I understand these numbers and analogies are rather arbitrary and anecdotal. Their purpose is to illustrate a principle, not be taken literally.

So then why would someone knowingly subject themselves to this?

A few possible reasons:

1. Because it looks cool to other people.
2. To provide bragging rights.
3. Because they are actually a highly skilled driver.
4. Because they just love what they have and don’t give a **** about money.
5. Because they are a passionate enthusiast with a budget to support the habit.
6. To win stop light drag races.

These are a just some of the reasons and none of which are mutually exclusive.

So in short, sure numbers and statistics are interesting and they give our brain something to chew on.

But reality, I think they are pretty ****ing irrelevant to the real world, felt presence experience of driving.

A car may have 500 HP, but what if it weighs 4,000+LBs? While another car may only have 250 HP and weigh 3,000+LBs, how might that change things?

So this concludes part 1 of this series…Part 2 will be posted up later with comparisons and reviews based in my experience of owning each of these 3 cars.

Also, it should be noted that I live in the USA and that if I had the autobahn or Nurburgring near by, this article would have an entirely different tone…

Thanks for reading..
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 04:43 PM
  #2  
Thanks for the wall of text, justifying your downgrade...err, I mean purchase....

I hope you enjoy full potential of your 250 hp ride.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 04:52 PM
  #3  
Quote: So you might wonder, why the hell would anyone trade a 500 HP C63 AMG(modded) for a 414 HP M3(stock) for a 210 HP GTI(stock…)

Here in lies my experience, reasoning, and opinion, none of which should be interpreted or read as factual claims. Feel free to disagree…

To give you some context for my point of view, below is a list of cars that I have experienced intimately and thus, have informed my point of view.

My point of view/Cars I’ve driven hard:

C63 AMG
Gallardo SuperLeggera
R8
Cayman S
Boxster S
C7 Corvette
SLS AMG
SL63 AMG
E92 M3

Part 1: Why less is more

In our reality as car aficionados, we often get caught up in things that really don’t matter.

Things like zero to sixty times, drag races, slalom times, lateral G’s, and the list goes on and on and on…

Most commonly this tendency manifests as the obsession with horsepower and the desire for more and more.

I’d like to call this The Ultimate Blue Ball Phenomena

I say that because more often than not, more power = more frustration, more pressure, and less, and less enjoyment…

On top of that, its actually less and less value, because we are typically paying more money for more power and more potential, yet because of a myriad of factors, we are actually able to USE less and less of the car.

This is because the reality is that:

1. Rarely if ever do we actually get to apply that power. In 99% of street driving performance to totally irrelevant. Usually what ends up happening is we turn into kind of a crack addict where we are always looking for that opening in traffic or that empty back road so we can try to get our fix.

2. The majority of us lack the skills, experience, and environment to adequately and safely extract all of that extra potential we have paid so much money for.

So basically we are paying money for something we rarely, if ever, actually use.

Maybe the car has a potential performance of lets say 100 units, but based on the constraints of skill and environment, we only ever see or experience 10%-20% of that. So that leaves us paying for an 80%-90% of something we don’t use.

How many of us would live in or do live in a house that is mostly empty and not used?

Does that make sense? Is that just the American way of excess and overconsumption? Does it even matter?

But on the other hand, let’s say a car has a potential performance of 50 units and because it is less intimidating and less powerful, we are able to more comfortably experience 75% or more of its actual potential.

This would mean that we are actually paying less AND getting more.

***On a side note, I understand these numbers and analogies are rather arbitrary and anecdotal. Their purpose is to illustrate a principle, not be taken literally.

So then why would someone knowingly subject themselves to this?

A few possible reasons:

1. Because it looks cool to other people.
2. To provide bragging rights.
3. Because they are actually a highly skilled driver.
4. Because they just love what they have and don’t give a **** about money.
5. Because they are a passionate enthusiast with a budget to support the habit.
6. To win stop light drag races.

These are a just some of the reasons and none of which are mutually exclusive.

So in short, sure numbers and statistics are interesting and they give our brain something to chew on.

But reality, I think they are pretty ****ing irrelevant to the real world, felt presence experience of driving.

A car may have 500 HP, but what if it weighs 4,000+LBs? While another car may only have 250 HP and weigh 3,000+LBs, how might that change things?

So this concludes part 1 of this series…Part 2 will be posted up later with comparisons and reviews based in my experience of owning each of these 3 cars.

Also, it should be noted that I live in the USA and that if I had the autobahn or Nurburgring near by, this article would have an entirely different tone…

Thanks for reading..
While I agree with the part about not using the car's to the full potential 90% of the time, but getting to feel that "throw me back into my seat" acceleration does happen enough for me, even when accelerating to just 45 mph. The sound I experience when doing that is also something I love. The ability to easily pass up cars on the freeway when needed, safely getting out of the way, is nice to have. The sound of the throttle blips when downshifting.....I could go on and on.

Lastly, when I do get the chance to open it up that's when paying for it all becomes really worth it (even though to me it's already worth it for all of the above).

To put this in context, I used to drive a Toyota Highlander before this. Sometimes I have to drive it again or when I drop my car off for service and get a C250 loaner, I can't tell you how much I wish I was back in my car. It doesn't come down to 100% performance or bust all the time. It comes down to the whole package (and given that I let alot of my friend's drive my car and afterwards the comments are "man I need to get an AMG" or "I hate driving this thing because after I have to get back into my own car and it makes me feel so bad about it (power wise)" I'd say that most other people want to be in the AMG boat rather than the underpowered-but-I-use-all-200-horses boat.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 04:59 PM
  #4  
I get what you're saying which is what tempted me to test drive the cayman S (and yes that knocked my socks off). the C is a great sounding instrument but its a caged animal in day to day life.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:07 PM
  #5  
Quote: So you might wonder, why the hell would anyone trade a 500 HP C63 AMG(modded) for a 414 HP M3(stock) for a 210 HP GTI(stock…)

Here in lies my experience, reasoning, and opinion, none of which should be interpreted or read as factual claims. Feel free to disagree…

To give you some context for my point of view, below is a list of cars that I have experienced intimately and thus, have informed my point of view.

My point of view/Cars I’ve driven hard:

C63 AMG
Gallardo SuperLeggera
R8
Cayman S
Boxster S
C7 Corvette
SLS AMG
SL63 AMG
E92 M3

Part 1: Why less is more

In our reality as car aficionados, we often get caught up in things that really don’t matter.

Things like zero to sixty times, drag races, slalom times, lateral G’s, and the list goes on and on and on…

Most commonly this tendency manifests as the obsession with horsepower and the desire for more and more.

I’d like to call this The Ultimate Blue Ball Phenomena

I say that because more often than not, more power = more frustration, more pressure, and less, and less enjoyment…

On top of that, its actually less and less value, because we are typically paying more money for more power and more potential, yet because of a myriad of factors, we are actually able to USE less and less of the car.

This is because the reality is that:

1. Rarely if ever do we actually get to apply that power. In 99% of street driving performance to totally irrelevant. Usually what ends up happening is we turn into kind of a crack addict where we are always looking for that opening in traffic or that empty back road so we can try to get our fix.

2. The majority of us lack the skills, experience, and environment to adequately and safely extract all of that extra potential we have paid so much money for.

So basically we are paying money for something we rarely, if ever, actually use.

Maybe the car has a potential performance of lets say 100 units, but based on the constraints of skill and environment, we only ever see or experience 10%-20% of that. So that leaves us paying for an 80%-90% of something we don’t use.

How many of us would live in or do live in a house that is mostly empty and not used?

Does that make sense? Is that just the American way of excess and overconsumption? Does it even matter?

But on the other hand, let’s say a car has a potential performance of 50 units and because it is less intimidating and less powerful, we are able to more comfortably experience 75% or more of its actual potential.

This would mean that we are actually paying less AND getting more.

***On a side note, I understand these numbers and analogies are rather arbitrary and anecdotal. Their purpose is to illustrate a principle, not be taken literally.

So then why would someone knowingly subject themselves to this?

A few possible reasons:

1. Because it looks cool to other people.
2. To provide bragging rights.
3. Because they are actually a highly skilled driver.
4. Because they just love what they have and don’t give a **** about money.
5. Because they are a passionate enthusiast with a budget to support the habit.
6. To win stop light drag races.

These are a just some of the reasons and none of which are mutually exclusive.

So in short, sure numbers and statistics are interesting and they give our brain something to chew on.

But reality, I think they are pretty ****ing irrelevant to the real world, felt presence experience of driving.

A car may have 500 HP, but what if it weighs 4,000+LBs? While another car may only have 250 HP and weigh 3,000+LBs, how might that change things?

So this concludes part 1 of this series…Part 2 will be posted up later with comparisons and reviews based in my experience of owning each of these 3 cars.

Also, it should be noted that I live in the USA and that if I had the autobahn or Nurburgring near by, this article would have an entirely different tone…

Thanks for reading..
😑
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:09 PM
  #6  
indeed, there is no arguing that the M156 is one of the greatest, most charismatic engines of all time!
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:16 PM
  #7  
I'm not a professional driver by any means, but I do know that I would enjoy my C63 over any 200hp car on a closed track.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:19 PM
  #8  
Reply 0

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Jun 24, 2014 | 05:25 PM
  #9  
@ swagkingcole - have you considered therapy?
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:31 PM
  #10  
While a Gti may ruffle some of the ladies feathers, the C63 leads to some serious moisture.

Haha, I can agree to much of what has been said here. You're in it for the drive and if you can have fun and use all of the power of a Gti why not?

Enjoy!
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 05:34 PM
  #11  
I had a GTI in high school. I loved that car.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:09 PM
  #12  
400HP 92 VRT Syncro is the daily, C63 on weekends, nights around town. C wins hands down
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:11 PM
  #13  
You make very good points. Even driving my sisters MINI JCW feels more than enough for city driving (208bhp/206btq). Maybe you are just getting old and looking for more convenience in cars rather than performance? Like getting more than 200miles on a full tank of gas..

I think a lot of the guys here can agree that owning a C63 is a lot more than just owning a 500hp beast, the whole AMG thing comes along with it. You also don't get the fit and finish quality you would get in a MB when you drive a GTI.

Oh and the screaming V8 does help a bit..
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:23 PM
  #14  
TL;DR - I like the feeling of a go-kart.

You should take a look at a lotus.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:42 PM
  #15  
There is no right or 'better' choice
It's preferences, needs, wants and priorities
I don't drive a car to get laid: those kinds of women I do not want
I drive it to get point A to point B and want some entertainment while doing so
I like the heritage and the engineering
But I don't make character assumptions about others choices
If all a guy wants is a honda accord beater who am I to judge?

It's a frickin' car lol
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:47 PM
  #16  
My question for the OP is what happens when you hit your car's full potential?

Sure, you can upgrade it but you're always going to crave more and more. Why not just have it to begin with. Especially when you can afford it.

Though I agree that less is sometimes more, I'd rather have more while using less, than having less when I need to be using more.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 07:51 PM
  #17  
Quote: There is no right or 'better' choice
It's preferences, needs, wants and priorities
I don't drive a car to get laid: those kinds of women I do not want
I drive it to get point A to point B and want some entertainment while doing so
I like the heritage and the engineering
But I don't make character assumptions about others choices
If all a guy wants is a honda accord beater who am I to judge?

It's a frickin' car lol
And this. +1
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:02 PM
  #18  
Quote: You make very good points. Even driving my sisters MINI JCW feels more than enough for city driving (208bhp/206btq). Maybe you are just getting old and looking for more convenience in cars rather than performance? Like getting more than 200miles on a full tank of gas..

I think a lot of the guys here can agree that owning a C63 is a lot more than just owning a 500hp beast, the whole AMG thing comes along with it. You also don't get the fit and finish quality you would get in a MB when you drive a GTI.

Oh and the screaming V8 does help a bit..
Im still under 30 and deciding to spend less on cars and instead put more in investments and savings. Just makes a bit more sense to me in the long term as I have the rest of my life to buy as many cars as I'd like.

Between the higher payments, insurance, warranty, gas, oil, maintenance, brakes, tires, etc...The savings was pretty significant and hard to ignore.

IMO, the interior fit, finish, and features in my 15 GTI is vastly superior to my M3 and the C63. Obviously a subjective thing...

At the end of the day, its still just a car and in the grand scheme of things, pretty irrelevant.

The negativity directed towards me thus far is kind of interesting, given that life must be pretty good when getting a brand new 32k car is grounds for insults and negativity...
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:04 PM
  #19  
In the performance 'equation' the equipment and driver are 2 main variables
Most drivers (even those who fancy themselves good) are mediocre at best
Down right dangerous at worse
The car is seldom the limiting factor and the driver can't make use of the machines potential
Even more so on the street

The 'performance' arguement is a straw man
If you use cars like the AMG OR GTI anywhere near there limits on the street you are asking for trouble...ask and you shall recieve

I drive an AMG (or similar) for much the reasons I wear a Rolex vs Casio or own a Pollock rather than some 'posters'
They are objet d'art and can be appreciated
The fact that they are 'status symbols' pisses me off lol
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:13 PM
  #20  
Going to the AMG, them the M, then the GTI cost more than sticking with the AMG
Depreciation
Interest
Etc
Changing cars is usually a losing prpopsition
Buy used
Buy CPO
Buy unique or rare
Drive for at least 5 years after paid off
Maintain well with records
Private sale, no trade in unless you can swing a good deal

You may have you reasons but financial isn't a realistic one
The difference saved is moot, if any, may cos you in the end
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:16 PM
  #21  
Hey by all means to each their own

and as much as I would love to wake up every morning with a list of exotics in my driveway you are correct.

Rarely can we push the full potential of the vehicles on the public streets safely.

But then again doesn't mean we don't try.

Plus your saving on gas !
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:18 PM
  #22  
OP, I can appreciate what you're saying regarding using more potential of the car more of the time. I also appreciate you going to a more fuel efficient vehicle. I plan on driving my massive V8 around for quite a while, so let's keep this jungle juice cheap! Thanks for taking one for the environmental team!
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:32 PM
  #23  
I had a tuned Holden HSV Clubsport V8 (think GTO or G8).

I sold the HSV and whilst looking for my next long termer V8 I bought a VW Polo GTi and put a tune in for 150kw at the flywheel. Punchy little care with great grip and balance - so light.

I bought a C63 and handed the Polo over full time to my son.

I still drive the Polo occasionally and marvel at and enjoy its light balance. Current gen VWs have impeccable cabins and trim but would I want to drive one everyday rather than the C63 - no way even though the bulk of the travel is suburban. I do not have to take my C63 anywhere near its limits to enjoy the V8 performance of what is one of the great engines of the modern era.
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 08:38 PM
  #24  
BRZ?
Reply 0
Jun 24, 2014 | 09:34 PM
  #25  
When you go down the road of "things that don't matter" you can boil down your point to a new Kia with a 10 year 100000 mile warranty to being the car you should own.

Practical means of transportation from A to B with the security of a long lasting warranty.

I don't buy AMG for what I can do without. I buy it because of how it makes me feel when I press the fun button.....pretty damn good every time.

Good luck with your decision on half a car in every way. i prefer the whole enchilada. No panties have ever been dropped by a GTI

Sounds like somebody is trying to justify a bad decision to himself
Reply 0
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