dwells

Hi everyone, I currently drive a BMW 335i and I've about had my fill with the car. After three high pressure fuel pumps, VANOS solenoids, waterpump and thermostat, overheating oil, bad engine software, three defective turbos, carbon buildup, interior rattles, and more, I've had my fill of fighting with dealerships and am ready to be done with BMW for good.

While browsing for alternatives, I found a low-mileage C63 coupe with decent options and CPO warranty until 2017 for $49,900. Seems like a hell of a deal and was enough to pique my interest on a car I've always admired. That said, I would be using it as a daily driver, and I'm aware it's a bit more hardcore than my BMW two door is. So I'm hoping people with ownership experience can chime in with some feedback.

• How's the car at the track and driving events? Does the weight begin to bother you and make it more of a highway monster, or is it more precise than you'd expect?
• Reliability and build quality - how has the car held up? Both in terms of major engine stuff and little bothersome things like rattles, trim coming off, whatever. The car would be under warranty, but I value my time as well as my money and I've had enough of going to the dealership constantly.
• Is it usable in the winter with some decent dedicated winter tires and wheels? The 335i has actually been a trooper during the winter with Dunlop Winter Sports on 17" wheels - I'd probably run a similar setup on the C63. For reference, I'm dealing with new England winters which can suck.
• I'm not expecting an economy car, but just how bad is the gas mileage in real world use? With combined city and highway driving and still having fun with the car, I'm getting about 21mpg right now. How much worse am I looking at?
• On the topic of daily driving and commuting, how is the car in that aspect? As much as I'd like to pretend I'm a track star and will be spending every weekend at Lime Rock, the overwhelming majority of the time I spend in the car will be commuting. I'm used to a rough ride in the 335i on 19" wheels and sport suspension, and I can firmness as long as the car isn't flat out uncomfortable. Any other issues like transmission mapping or anything that make it unsuitable as a daily driver?
• How quickly do the brake pads get eaten and what can I expect to pay for a brake job at a Mercedes indie shop? I do have to give the 335i credit for giving me 30,000 miles or so out of my pads despite throwing more dust than an Arizona windstorm.
• One more "responsible purchase" question: I know the stock rear tires manage to shred themselves within 10,000 miles or so, but what can I expect out of a less aggressive summer performance tire? Say something like a Hankook V12 Evo.

Sorry to badger you guys with questions, just trying to do some research to help me narrow down the search. On paper I think a more GT-oriented car (I've had my eyes on a Jag XK R) makes more sense, but ever since I saw a C63 coupe in person again recently, I can't get my mind off it and I owe it to myself to look into it a bit more seriously.

Thanks!

CPBRI

15-16 mpg.

Illegal Machine

1) Dunno. Only had mine for a month and it's too hot in Houston to take it to the 1/4 mile.

2) Seems pretty stout. Dash rattles because the suspension (I've got a P30) is pretty stiff. Expected.

3) In Houston. What's a "winter"?

4) Eurocharged V5: 11.55mpg is my best tank.

4) Again, no tracking for me, but trans settings out side of full manual mode would probably be a little weird on the track. The transmission thinks it's smarter than you and will ignore downshifts and sometimes upshifts, even in Sport.

5)Haven't done a brake job. I do my own, so i just look at cost of rotors/pads. Looks like there was a GROUP BUY just posted for a "discounted" price of just over $2000 for parts (rotors/pads). So add lots of $$ to that plus labor.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...group-buy.html

6) No idea

dwells

Is that in your 507? That's actually pretty impressive. I can live with a 5mpg hit if it means I've got a snarling 6.2L V8 sitting in front of me...

Unfortunately I just heard back from the dealership and the steal of a car I had my eye on just sold. Somehow that makes me just want one more.

Great feedback - much appreciated.

Autosport7

I too came from BMW.
I did not have any of the issues you speak of with yours, but that is because I had a 330xi. I was "SpmnE9zero" over on E90post, if you're familiar.
I was highly aesthetically modded and loved that car, but since I have gone to the AMG, I HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK!
This car is so much more sound and 'feels' like the money you spent on it, unlike the BMW.

I do not daily drive mine, but when I am in it (weekends mostly - I have had it about 8 months and have put a measly 2,500 miles on it I think), I drive it! As of yet I have had no issues minus my airbag sensor going bad which will not get replaced, ever - I think it is $1200.00! I will deal with the light. I never have passengers so Im not worried about a faulty air bag at this point.

As for MPG's, if your worried about it, buy another car as you will not see better than 13mpg if you are heavy footed.

Maintenance is about the same as the BMW as far as normal wear and tear items, with the exception of tires. With the amount of torque this car has, you will eat tires every 10k. Oh and brake jobs are far more expensive, especially if you get a P30/31 package with 2 piece rotors.

Also, if you are a "modder" prepare to spend a lot more on mods in comparison to the BMW.

Hope this helps a bit. GL with your decision.

jmueller

1) I haven't taken the C to a autocross or circuit course yet, but I manage to toss the car around some turns pretty fast. Its a heavy car, but almost all large motor cars are these days. Its fun on back streets and the highway.

2) I have owned the car for 5 months now and so far I have had to have the following items done at the dealer. 1) Sunroof switch snapped off, 2) rear shelf tab broke causing the mesh shelf to lift up and rattle with bass, 3) O2 sensor failed on left bank, 4) cup holder spring broke. Other than those things (sunroof switch was broken when I bought it used), there have been no issues what-so-ever with the car. I feel as if it is built very very well and will hold up to years of absolute drive-it-like-its-stolen abuse. That said, the interior has some rattles, but open a window and mash the loud pedal and you cant hear them.

3) I live in Florida... So I can't comment.

4) I previously had a G37 with an automatic and was averaging 23mpgs in that. I bought the C63 and I average 17mpgs. My drive to work is 24 miles round trip on the 35mph beach road. Its a quiet smooth cruise. But, when i'm not on A1A, I gas this thing hard. When really pushing it, I can average as bad (or good depending how you look at it) as 9mpgs. Don't buy this car if you don't want to know your local Shell gas station attendant on a first name basis.

5) As mentioned above, I drive this car to work daily. Its harsh on rough roads and manhole covers. It won't beat you up too bad and the seats are an absolute dream to sit in. My friend had a 335i coupe with sport package and the C63 is noticeably firmer than his car. You'll quickly learn how to dodge rough patches of road and manholes covers.

6) Brakes are expensive if you get the Performance / Development Package (P31) (red brake calipers is an easy way to spot it). For a full brake job at all corners it will likely be in the 2k$ range. That said, the rotors last a pretty long time. I know that some people have original OEM P31 rotors at 80K miles.

7) 10K miles? Whew, I'll be lucky to get 6k miles out of the set I have and I consider myself a pretty calm driver most of the time. Honestly, 3/5 throttle in 2nd gear and this thing is lighting the rears up. Too much fun to worry about this though.

rediesel

I had a 335 before the C63; no comparison the C63 eats it's luch performace wise - you woln't be dissapointed in any category. While I didn't have the problems you did, I felt the 335 was a ticking time bomb, and Benz is more well made. The 6.3 is a great daily driver with it's torque. Both the 335 and C63 were toys and things such as bad MPG and tire life were the cost of admission. The C63 has big brakes so a winter setup may be limited in choice.

Starky_

I say go for a test drive and see how you like it (you'll probably end up loving it).

I've had my 2010 for almost 2 months now and no serious problems; the power folding mirror sometimes makes a noise when folding/unfolding but I believe it just needs some greasing.

Also..don't let the bad mileage get to you. Just drive the car and have fun with it. If you can afford something like this as a daily you should be able to afford some extra gas! I noticed that when I constantly looked at my gas gauge I would drive like a granny..now I just throw her in M and enjoy.

CarHopper

I got a calculated 21mpg on a road trip that was ~800 miles. No, not the read out but actually using the math.

On the other hand, I've also been able to watch the gas needle dip as I drove.

It all comes down to how you drive but you can get an honest 16mpg if you're just driving around.

As for winter driving, I'm in upstate NY. You'll be fine on winter tires. You're in NE and know how to drive in the snow. Take normal precautions and don't worry.

I also came from a 135i. Car was a little monster, had none of the issues you speak of.

alexmtl

Came from a 135i, here are my answers:
1) Don't know yet. It's a lot of fun to drive in twisty roads though, but then my 135i was no slouch neither. Some people have complained about limp mode on the track (overheating), look it up.

2) Only have it for 6 months, but I had to refill the oil twice (minor), and the rattles in the interior are very annoying. I didn't have any in my bimmer, but I have performance pack so harder suspensions I believe.

3) Winter was OK with the AMG winter pack I received. I have LSD so that helps also. I suspect it can be better with some proper snow tires instead of the performance winter that I have (Pilot Alpin 3 I believe)

4) 22-25L/100 in city driving. I redline it every day . 11L on the highway

5) Very nice as a daily driver. I really wish the ride wasn't that harsh though (Canadian P31 package with 19 inch wheels)

6) Don't know yet. I use engine braking all the time to save on brakes lol, the engine braking is surprisingly effective with a 6.2L engine

7) I drive pretty aggressively every day and I'm surprised how the stock summer tires hold up.

dogbreath1

We've had ours for about a month and came from a CTS-V. Both muscle cars, but completely different. The Benz had 2000 miles on it when we bought it. Now about 2800. It's not a daily driver, but gets driven more because it is the new toy.

Dunno about winters, but I can tell you that the V refused to move if even a flake of snow was on the ground with regular tires. I expect the Benz to have a lot of garage time in the winter. I've got a truck to get around.

So far no issues although it is going in to have the hood aligned. Looks like it wasn't done properly at the factory.

Fuel economy. Depends on how you drive. We took it on a ~200 mile trip and got 23+ all highway. Through town with any shenanigans and it pulls to the right when it sees a gas station. Drive it like you stole it and the entire Persian Gulf will stand up and cheer. Way better highway than the V. Similar in town.

For the bit of commuting I've done it seems fine - better than that actually. A year or so ago my DD was an MR2. Talk about feeling every bump...

Brake longevity - given the amount of dust that they make it can't be that long. Again similar to the V.

Grin factor - The only thing that gives me a bigger one is my motorcycle. I've never owned a car that is this much fun.

grendel88

My only two insights:

1. Gas mileage is directly linked to the weight of your left foot. Drive it like a Prius and get low 20s. Drive it like a German Muscle car and get mid-teens.
2. Torque is the best cure for a boring commute, and this car has crap loads of it, and is delivered very linearly.

I do shortish commute of 20 mins mix between highway and street twice a day.

coladin

Daily driven my 2011 and now 2014 507 coming up to 4 years, it is a very good daily driver. Good in all conditions, weather, on track or road and gas is as stated.

You will love it

D C

I picked up a CPO 2009 C63 from Sacramento/Rocklin 2 months ago. This is my DD and also my first Mercedes. I'll probably put 15-20k on it per year.

Fuel Economy- On my drive back to Portland, I averaged almost 22.5MPG over 700miles. At home, my drive to/from work is 30mi each way, all highway. For that, the car indicates 20.5mpg at the end of each trip. At fill up though, I usually average 17-18mpg, with about 80% highway driving. I've got about 3500miles on the long term trip meter, and that shows I've been averaging 18.4mpg for that time.
If I do my normal drive routine in "S" mode, I'll drop about 2mpg per tank. Around town, it's very low teens. I can easily see how most find low-mid teens typical with this car.

Performance- I come from the modified Subaru world, and I also autoX and road race. I've done 1 autoX with it, on (crappy) 500TW Michelin A/S 3s. Through tight and twisty sections it seems to drive better than the 4000lbs would lead you to believe. The quick steering rack definitely helps in the transitions. The F/R weight balance is close to 53%/47%, so that really helps things.
Mine just has the open rear diff, but it had no problem lighting up both rear wheels. But that was also a hindrance. It has so much torque, it was easy to break them loose. A LSD and sticky tires would obviously help, but don't expect to be super fast regardless. This isn't what this car was built for.

Maintenance- So far I've had 1 warranty repair (Intake Manifold Gasket leaking) and 1 oil change. I obviously didn't pay anything for the warranty work, but the glorified oil change was $425 for my 60K mi "B" service and to have the engine air cleaner replaced. I've looked up parts, and the dealer price wasn't too far off what I could get them for, but the labor is where they nail you. I don't know that I'll have them do the future services, since I can do most all on my own.

Plan on replacing the rear tires 2-3:1 over the fronts. I'm planning on replacing the Michelins with Federal 595s or RS-Rs because they are so cheap. I've used Federal RS-Rs numerous times on my Subaru's and they are great tires. I could get 1 set of fronts and 2 sets of rears for the same price it would cost to replace JUST the rears I've got now.

abcut973

As everyone knows the C63 does not handle like a BMW at the track but you probably can tweak that with some mods. Now the only problem the FL has at the track is the limp mode due to excessive heat of the transmission. As well there is a cure if you upgrade to the black series coolers but as mentioned every single mode has a cost!

These cars are reliable, build mechanically and structurally strong. You might have a few rattles here and there but which sport car is perfect?

I do not have winter experience living in the south but there are a lot of C63 owners in Canada so that should answer your question. Just have a winter tires set up ready.

As far as mpg goes it all depends on your driving behavior. I daily drive my car to work normally. Not spinning wheels at every single traffic light. I can do 310 miles on a single tank. Highway mpg can reach 22 and city as bad as 13 in traffic.

Daily driving the car is possible even on 19" and lowered.

As well brake pads will depends on your driving habits. Assuming you have new rotors/new brakes you shouldn't be looking at changing pads before 20k + miles. Unless you track the car often. In this case I would buy a set of dedicated track pads. I've put almost 20k miles on my OEM pads and I still have life left out of them. Rotors are even better. You shouldn't be looking at changing them at all! lol ! They will last long depending on your usage. Don't believe dealership telling you to change pads and rotors at the same. You can bed new pads on old rotors. But if you change rotors you better change pads as well. And by the way brake job on this car is a simple DIY.

Finally rear tires will last as long as you have a good alignment, you have a good compound and you do not wheel spin every single time. 10k miles or more with normal driving. 6k miles for spirited driving. Michelin PSS are pretty good street summer tires. Bridgestone are better track tires.


I hope this will help you decide. This forum is a good source of information sometimes to the extreme. You got it right to post questions here.
GL and happy hunting

Thrilla

Adding on the great advice from everyone on here. I daily drive mine and it never fails to put a stupid grin on my face. After a long day at work, the drive home makes it all go away.
I live in Michigan and winter driving is fine. I have a set of Blizzaks, so it handles as well as any rear wheel drive car in the snow. Just ease on the throttle and it drives just like any other car.
Goodluck with your search!

alexmtl

+1!!

gravfed

Had my c63 about a month and I drive it to work pretty much daily. It has been great so far. It is great on the open road with no traffic and behaves normal in traffic as well. It's a great car.

GRP

Great daily driver. On 19s running Michelin PSS the ride is firm but not back breaking. More than acceptable for a performance vehicle.

Much better fuel economy than my LS1.

LSD a MUST have - go Wavetrac or Quaife. This will no doubt be real benefir if you have serious winter driving.

Rear tyre milegae not great - have not kept track of the distance.

Service costs are modest if you go outside the auth MB dealer network. The MB Melbourne Australia auth dealer gave me a quote of A$1,100.00 plus for a major B0 service - my independent did it for A$450.00 including full fill of Mobil1 0-40.

My build quality is flawless.

Tune can be had at a very modest price.

dustinian

My girlfriend and I each have a C63 and we both daily drive the cars. A few things to be aware of:

(1) Expect to replace the rear tires every 7,500 miles or so.
(2) Expect to hear interior pieces rattling - I have had the dealer look at the issue a few times, but once they "fix" one rattle, they create another one.
(3) Your MPG will depend on your driving style, but expect the figure to be in the teens. My girlfriend has an aggressive driving style and gets 14 MPG - I do not, but only manage to get 15-16 MPG. I was able to get 22.5 MPG on a road trip once, but that was all highway.
(4) Brakes are expensive.
(5) We have both had our cars frequent the dealership for both minor and major problems (she had her intake manifold replaced and I had my car towed back to the dealer for misfiring cylinder; the rest of the issues were relatively minor, i.e. defective LEDs, broken switches, blown fuses, etc.). Our service rep knows both of us by name - sometimes, I wish I kept my IS-F (which was bulletproof).

But, other than those considerations, you'll fall in love with the C63. I know my girlfriend and I both love ours.

-Marlin-

I would not buy a C63 as a daily driver/only car. I would have it as a second car.....with atleast some sort of beater.

It's terrible in the winter and wet
Tires and break pads are expensive to replace
The suspension is stiff and sometimes you want a break from it
If I had to drive it everywhere all the time, I would worry about it
CEL's are not uncommon and extended stays in the service bay aren't either

Bardman

Its a great car, but make sure you test drive one first. Things to check you can live with:

- The transmission. Change it to manual and drive around manually upshifting and downshifting. Allow it to change itself down from 2nd to 1st as you slow for a corner or a stop sign. Experiment with downshifting and note the responsiveness of downshifting. This is a real weak point so make sure you know what this feels like before buying
- The oil cooling fan. Build the temp up and then idle around with the window down (also stand outside and listen to it if you care what your car sounds like to others). Can you live with the sound of the cooling fan?
- Try a few quick launches, from a traffic light or in particular turning into another street and coming up to speed with other traffic. Note how you have to modulate the throttle carefully in order to prevent the traction control kicking in.

If you are ok with these 3 things you will love this car.

-Marlin-

I forgot to mention. The seats are made for girly men. I'm, as the French say, fat. I wedge my fat *** into the seats. Sometimes, after a big meal, I have to unbolt the seat from the floor when getting out. I then have to wear the seat around the house/office and hope no one notices my AMG back pack.

alexmtl

LOLLL I was really surprised at the seats in the sedan, I'm not huge but i felt compressed. The seats in the coupe are much better!

Case1906

• How's the car at the track and driving events? Does the weight begin to bother you and make it more of a highway monster, or is it more precise than you'd expect

The car is a blast on road courses. A bit of a pig, it doesn't like to turn. But the lap times are there. You'll be unique representing Merc at these events.

• Reliability and build quality - how has the car held up? Both in terms of major engine stuff and little bothersome things like rattles, trim coming off, whatever. The car would be under warranty, but I value my time as well as my money and I've had enough of going to the dealership constantly.

Fortunately, I have had no real mechanical issues. I did replace differential gears when I had an LSD installed because of some unusual gear wear. The issue did not affect driveability. Solid, no little things or rattles for me.

• Is it usable in the winter with some decent dedicated winter tires and wheels? The 335i has actually been a trooper during the winter with Dunlop Winter Sports on 17" wheels - I'd probably run a similar setup on the C63. For reference, I'm dealing with new England winters which can suck.

Garage queen during bad weather...not a DD.

• I'm not expecting an economy car, but just how bad is the gas mileage in real world use? With combined city and highway driving and still having fun with the car, I'm getting about 21mpg right now. How much worse am I looking at?

Reverse the 2 and the 1 if you put your foot into it.

• On the topic of daily driving and commuting, how is the car in that aspect? As much as I'd like to pretend I'm a track star and will be spending every weekend at Lime Rock, the overwhelming majority of the time I spend in the car will be commuting. I'm used to a rough ride in the 335i on 19" wheels and sport suspension, and I can firmness as long as the car isn't flat out uncomfortable. Any other issues like transmission mapping or anything that make it unsuitable as a daily driver?

Again mine is not a DD and hard to imagine as a DD on urban area roads. That's just me.

• How quickly do the brake pads get eaten and what can I expect to pay for a brake job at a Mercedes indie shop? I do have to give the 335i credit for giving me 30,000 miles or so out of my pads despite throwing more dust than an Arizona windstorm.

A couple of weekends for pads if you track.

• One more "responsible purchase" question: I know the stock rear tires manage to shred themselves within 10,000 miles or so, but what can I expect out of a less aggressive summer performance tire? Say something like a Hankook V12 Evo.

No experience. R compounds and soft streets go fast as you already know.



Let us know if you do the deal.