Afinepoint

Considering one at a local lot. Other than the head bolt issue what are the concerns for this year and mileage? It is a one owner with no accidents. $25,000 asking price. Car is being wholesaled from non MB dealership. Very good feedback on dealer.

When is the mileage to high for a C 63?

I am an advanced home mechanic and have personally done major maintenance including head gasket replacements but do not want a "project car". Looking for a fun swing vehicle like my 84 911.

The salesman said he would get me the maintenance records.

Thanks for the feedback.

chrisridebike8

I'd say that if all the maintenance is good, the car could be considered middle-aged. Try and see how many times the tires were changed and that will give you an idea how hard the car was driven. 20k miles a year seems like a lot of highway miles, but then again I am averaging 18k/year and it's mostly mixed miles. Headbolts would be my only concern. They might have even been done. If they weren't, I would probably do them to save some headache down the road.

QWKSNKE

I agree with the above poster. If good maintenance records exist, buy it.
I did the same thing with my 08 I bought in October. It had 88k miles with good history

jrcart

These motors are stout, very well built and very dependable with just routine maintanance, even with high miles. The only thing you need to look out for is the headbolt issue. I am not going to go into all the details because there are already a million threads as well as a sticky thread but the headbolt issue is a known issue and a serious one. If headbolts have been changed already in the records then this car is a steal. If the work has not yet been done it is still a good deal but you may be able to use the headbolt issue as a bargaining chip to get them to drop the price another $1000-$2000. If the work has not been done I would suggest getting it done, it's not all that costly and definately less than a new motor should you have any sort of failure due to the headbolts.

I have posted a link to the headbolt sticky thread for you.

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

Good luck

rentzington

excellent point there, i'm in the effected range and it doesn't worry me THAT much but I did buy the extended warranty just in case.

For a car with that many miles the extended warranty isn't going to be a viable option, but if the headbolts havent been replaced i'd certainly get it done and you can even buy the kit from weistec to upgrade the headbolts.

the good thing about a car at that price and those miles is that if you aren't concerned with resale value too much you can take the extra money saved and throw upgrades at it all day long

Afinepoint

Sorry had to fix the thread's title. It's an 09 not 2010. Apologies.

HBC350

That car is a risk that I'd avoid.

abcut973

I would say for an 09 or 10 MY you could negotiate $3000 off the asking price. Assuming this car has been maintained properly this is a great deal.

ToXicXxX

Wow... Round here that would be considered a real cheapy... But I guess that's also 160,000km.

It's not so much the engine I'd be worried about... It's everything else.

Afinepoint

I spoke with the dealership. He looked through the records and says he does not see where the head bolts have been changed.

rentzington

if you like the car, you can talk that price down some i bet.
get a full checkout before purchase see if they are willing to do a coolant pressure test on it.

even if the headbolt problem does occur it's not the end of the world and you'll be saving enough to repair it.

craig.pulliam

I think if something major were to break on this car it wouldn't have taken 100k miles.

Afinepoint

Looked at car.

The good:

1. My MB dealership ran the VIN and all scheduled service has been done with no signs of serious issues.

2. Car is immaculate inside.

3. Things seem to work.

4. 90,000 mile service done 3000 miles ago.

5. Exterior paint looks good. No dings.

The bad/unusual:

1. Dealership does not allow test drives.

2. Sold as-is.

3. Grille misaligned. Salesman had no explanation.

4. I could tell front bumper was recently painted. Salesman said it was because rear bumper had deep scratches.

5. They are taking car into MB dealership Monday to have it gone over. Why if 90k recently done and he said car was inspected by them with no issues? Why third inspection?

6. Engine had light knock or tick. Not unlike a stuck lifter makes. This may be normal.

7. VMI shows this car is in the batch vulnerable for head bolt issue. But my MB says if it hadn't happened by now it is unlikely.

8. Unidentifiable deposits near valve covers. Engine not detailed but in their defense they are wholesalers.

9. Price is nonnegotiable.

This is the bulk of what I saw. It was raining when I looked at the car so I was not going to crawl under the car to look for leaks. What bothers me the most in all of this was not been able to drive the car. I'm an adult and I drove up in a Mercedes-Benz which the salesman saw. However I was only allowed to drive the car around the parking lot.

Tossing this one back. I won't buy a vehicle that I can't test drive.

black lavender

Pass.

Car was most likely in a front end accident that wasn't reported.

Also, why no test drives? I've never been to a dealership that wouldn't let me test drive a car that I was interested in purchasing.

rentzington

no test drives? what the heck...run away
it's a car if they want it sold they let you drive it

QWKSNKE

Yeah, the 'no test drive' concerns me more than the misaligned grill

Afinepoint

Re front end you're thinking what I'm thinking. Also the driver side headlamp enclosure has moisture inside.

As for the no test drives I can't explain it. Perhaps they're afraid of joy riders.

FYI the dealership is Alpha Motorsports in Fredericksburg, VA. Good google reviews for what it's worth.

rentzington

best advice I can give is to walk away and keep looking. another one will show up eventually.

cal45

No test drive of a used car w/100,000 miles....no thanks, as others said - run away

PeterUbers

Pass

abcut973

Suspicious! Don't waste your time anymore!

jcfay

no test drive is total BS. That's a deal breaker. That and the front bumper and headlight and recent paint makes me suspicious. But that's my take.

Cohen63

Run away from this car very quickly

Afinepoint

On a a final note the salesman twice mentioned wanting to buy the car himself, having approached the owner and having pre-qualified. Maybe not allowing test drives and the Monday inspection was all for that. Maybe it was just a lame sales pressure attempt. Who knows or cares. I've already moved on. This is now one for the archives.

Thanks for the help. Not just words. I really appreciate your time and thoughts.

Nuieve

Based on my experiences you walk into any used car lot and find out that absolutely each of the 400 cars they have on their lot will be bought for salesman/owner's children tomorrow if you don't buy it today and all of them were driven by their grandmother who's, of course, a non-smoker and changed oil every 30 days. Yep, their grandmother drove every single one of those 400 cars.