First time potential Mercedes here!
After looking at some 2019 C43 lease options i stumbled across a 2016 C63s Sedan for sale at a non MB dealer (Porsche dealer to be exact)

Some details on the car

1 owner
25k miles
clean history
bought and owned in Florida
warranty ends about October this year
Asking price ....around 47k (can still be negotiated)

Checked it out in person, looked amazing and drove even better!
Was really interested in reading what you guys think about this deal and what i should know and or look for when purchasing this beast.
Thanks!

 

Very important. What are the options it comes with? It makes a big difference as to the value and desirability of the car. Not to mention, your overall experience/enjoyment of the vehicle. I had a 2015 and clocked 24k miles on it and currently have a 2018. I know the car very well. This might help you to check a few things so you know. Here is the spec on my 2018. It has every option except for the rear power window shade and front carbon ceramic brakes.

19" Amg Black Cross-Spoke Forged Wheels
Advanced Lighting Package
Amg Carbon Fiber Trim
Amg Performance Exhaust System
Amg Performance Seats
Amg Exterior Carbon Fiber Package
Driver Assistance Package
Head-Up Display W/Amg Specific Content
Led Logo Projector
Multimedia Package
Night Package
Panorama Roof
Parking Assist Package

 

Sorry i forgot to post options, thank you for reminding me.

I did not take a picture of option sheet that was in the car so i will go by from what the dealer website has posted.


19 AMG Cross-Spoke Forged Wheels
Designo diamond white metallic
Carbon Fiber Interior Trim
AMG performance exhaust
Amg night styling
heads up display
power rear window shade
panorama roof
Lighting package
Multi media package
parktronic with parking assist

I cant remember if the seats were AMG performance , not listed in the description so maybe not.

 

Seems well optioned. I would have liked the power trunk but that’s a nitpick.

For $47K asking I think it’s a great price if you can get it for $45K. For comparison my 2016 sedan with similar but slightly less options than yours and 19K miles was valued at $51K just a few weeks ago.

 

Try a cold start with the car having sat overnight so engine and transmission temps are at their lowest. There are “issues” with the transmission slipping on initial gear selection with several vehicles detailed on this website. Mercedes don’t appear to have any great interest in addressing this issue. Walk away if the transmission slips.

 

Seems well optioned and a great deal for an S model. I recently grabbed my 17 non-S for just a little less than that.

Might be worth grabbing a Carfax unless you have already seen it since you said clean history...usually the better deals seem to have accident or damage reported

 

I happen to own both a well-optioned 2016 C63 S (bought used) and a well-optioned 2017 C43 (bought new), both with fewer than 22K km (about 13.5K mi).

In multiple respects, they are actually quite different cars. On the surface, they're the same car except that the C63 S has the V8 with much more power/torque instead of the V6, a 7-speed wet-clutch transmission instead of the torque-converter 9-speed and a locking differential and larger brakes (but weighs a bit more). If it's well-optioned, the C63 S will also have the dynamic motor mounts, of value if you track the car. The 2019 C43 also has some slightly newer tech and likely has the larger infotainment screen(s).

The C43 isn't actually that much slower from 0-100 because of the 4Matic system (and, in the rain, it's likely faster) but the C63 S is seriously faster once things get rolling and especially from about 80 kph (50 mph) and up. On both cars, I use an individual setting programmed with sport mode for the drivetrain and comfort mode suspension. The C43's performance exhaust has glorious pops 'n crackles even during normal/sedate driving, in this mode ... but the C63 S does not. The C63 S needs to be in sport+ mode for the performance exhaust to exhibit the pops 'n crackles. Driving in sport+ mode raises the idle speed and shift points beyond what I want in normal "daily" driving (and plays hell with fuel mileage, if you care). Clearly, the C63 S has a lower-frequency growl compared to the C43's higher-pitched bark ... think 1/2 a V12? ;-)

The steering on the C63 S is significanly heavier than on the C43 and the C43 is extremely forgiving, due to its tenacious traction. That's true both in normal driving and on the track. The C43 exhibits a fair amount of understeer, on the track, but can still be signficantly fast and is both a serious hoot and moderately challenging. The C63 S, if you're not very careful, can be very prone to oversteer ("tail happy") and is much more challenging, on the track, than the C43 ... which can make it both more rewarding and fun (or expensive, if you make an error).

For "daily driving," I actually prefer the C43 and on long/highway trips, the C43 gets significantly better fuel mileage (again, if you care). Both cars have about the same level of comfort with a slight edge going to the C63 S. The leather in the C63 S is a bit higher quality and is a bit more comfortable (both cars have standard/non-performance seats). Both cars have 19" wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport PS 4 tires and the C63 S's ride is slightly better, likely due to the extra tire width being able to soak up some kinds of bumps more easily. Neither is what I'd call a soft ride, but I like it that way. FYI, I drove both cars, for a short time, with their original run-flat/MO1 OEM/horrible tires (Continental SSR on C43 and Dunlop Sport Maxx RT on C63 S) where the ride was brutally harsh and completely unacceptable and the traction on the C63 S was pretty bad.

Of course, both cars allow sub-10 second highway passes in virtually any situation and you're only seconds away from "impound speed" wherever you drive on public roads (i.e., if your country has "so-much over the speed limit gets your vehicle impounded" laws). While it's pretty difficult to get into trouble with the C43, due to it's 4Matic drive system, it's very easy to find yourself well out of control in the C63 S (just watch various "stupid driver" YouTube videos). In either instance, getting some high-performance driving lessons and spending some time on the track will help you both appreciate the vehicle more and become a better driver.

FYI, there are various sites that will give you a vehicle's "build sheet" from the VIN, so you can see exactly what options it has -- e.g. (not all sites work for all VINs):
https://www.mercedesvin.com/
https://mbworld.org/forums/vindecoder.php
https://www.datamb.com/
https://carinfo.kiev.ua/cars/vin/mercedes/vin_check

Note that any engine-related repair costs on a C63 S are likely to be significantly higher than on a C43, due to the fact that the C63 S has the hand-assembled engine. In addition, the C63 S's engine is significantly more "crammed" than the C43's and there are likely to be many equivalent service jobs that take longer on the C63 S because things are harder to get at, more stuff has to be removed, etc. (not to mention the premium price that seems to come with anything associated with the hand-assembled engines).

If you're looking to modify the car to get additional performance, there's a reasonable amount of work going on with both these engines and there are some <$1K USD piggyback controllers that will yield significant performance increases without "going crazy" or overstressing the engine (given that both engines are delivered in configurations where they're factory-tuned to deliver more horsepower).