acd683

Hi all,

I am close to achieving my dream of making an offer on a W204 C63. It is a 2014 Coupe with 69k miles and 4 owners. I ran a cold start video by some owners and none heard any cam adjuster issues. I would really appreciate any feedback on the VMI and Carfax. Does it seem like any major service might be impending? Anything I should ask about? I am having a PPI done at a Mercedes Benz dealer in the morning as well. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to weight in, I hope to join you all soon!

Adam

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...gj7hb0eg169014

AMGSPY

The PPI is a good idea. The lack of maintenance records from the 3rd owner makes me wonder a bit. I have a 2014 and love it.

Adam683

me too. I’ve never bought a used car with more than one owner. I’m definitely nervous about it. I have a little hope knowing the fourth owner seemed to do a thorough dealer service.

Edit: it’s actually owner 2 without records. 3 and 4 definitely have some. Which gives me hope because owner 2 was 20k miles away and two owners did dealer service since.

cloverfield

I think it's priced a little high considering the mileage. But this market is still insane even tho it's finally showing signs of softening.
You can decode the VIN to see equipment here: https://www.lastvin.com/vin/r1M9Wdwv6XqAqgNvD
Of note it looks like it's missing option 471 which is the mechanical limited slip differential. It's a $2030 option on W204 C63s. Expensive to retrofit and if you drive anywhere it rains you'll benefit from it.

It's also missing the leather package, so those seats are, I believe, power for driver only, and the MB-tex (fake suede) which is OK but previous owner care will tell you what kind of condition they're in.
If it doesn't have a window sticker you can plug the VIN into monroneylabels .com to get a pretty accurate estimate for original MSRP.

Cold start doesn't mean it doesn't have cam adjuster issues. Warm start with hot, thin oil can sometimes be more of a telltale. Factor in $2-4K for updated adjuster plates when the time comes on basically all cars with the M156 except *maybe* early builds which seem to have much better QC from the camshaft adjuster supplier.

blurred

Seems like a hwy commuter spec being complete base model but with Distronic. Price is too high for a base in my opinion.

acd683

Thanks for this detail! All very helpful.
I've done the Monroney Label and know the spec. It's definitely set up to be a commuter which is actually my intended use. I have a 911 for weekends in the canyons. That in mind, I live in Southern California and this car will likely never see rain, so not too worried about LSD.
The car is at Mercedes Benz Pleasonton as we speak being inspected. I'll post the results soon. Thanks again!

acd683

Is there a way to tell if it has the upgraded plates by the way?

cloverfield

Are you referring to the camshaft adjuster plates? No, they're internal parts under the housings at the front of the engine where they meet the valve covers. And even then, the "plate" is inside the adjuster itself.
A PPI will typically not include techs removing valve covers and checking any play the adjusters have relative to the camshafts, but that is one way to tell. Using a scanner to pull codes will only reveal extremely problematic adjusters, since they don't trip any codes when they are beginning to wear out.

Major things on these engines can be separated into normal expected maintenance items (PCV valve, fuel injectors, spark plugs, serp belt and related items)
and "M156-specific" maintenance items, like (deep breath) camshaft adjusters, valve buckets, valve cover gaskets (and the valve covers themselves), intake manifold gasket, and power steering fluid reservoir. Especially expensive but rarer replacement items are the camshafts themselves, the intake manifold and if you're really unlucky, engine removal for resealing of the mid-plate which is becoming increasingly "more common" as these engines age.

I've found that low mileage examples suffer the same or even more problems than those with 50k+ mi since "dry startup" is far more common on the garage queens given the lubrication issues the top end of these engines have.

blurred

Upraded plates are not oem and have just come on the market in the last few months, so it probably does not have them.

Adam683

Adam683

Well they made a mistake and didn’t bring the car in for the PPI. It now goes in on Tuesday and they are holding for me until then.