Turbo upgrade affect on reliability?
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C63S
Turbo upgrade affect on reliability?
I am considering purchasing a used C63S that has some modifications done by the prior owner. The most major of which is the Pure Stage 2 Turbo kit. He also did the Eurocharged ECU tune, Dime Racing transmission tune, and pedalbox throttle adjuster (along with some suspension changes).
There was a point in my life when I would have been all about these mods, but at the current point I'd probably rather have stock to avoid the potential time and financial hassles that come up with having a modded car. I'm trying to figure out how much risk there is of a major mechanical issue as a result of the mods. From looking around a bit it seems like the shop that did the work is very highly regarded. And the prior owner generally babied the car. It's a 2015 with just 20,000 miles and in immaculate condition. However, I know doing a major mod like the turbo upgrade can certainly affect short and long term reliability. The salesman basically told me he wouldn't want to own the car for 10 years, but for the next 3-4 years it should be fine.
So I'm just trying to figure out whether I should just move on from this specific car since I'm not into modding (to this extent) anymore and am a bit concerned about the worst case scenario of the engine blowing or something. And I assume insurance wouldn't cover anything in this case. So I know my audience here is a lot of people that have done just these types of mods, but I am curious of general thoughts about my risk here buying a car like this?
There was a point in my life when I would have been all about these mods, but at the current point I'd probably rather have stock to avoid the potential time and financial hassles that come up with having a modded car. I'm trying to figure out how much risk there is of a major mechanical issue as a result of the mods. From looking around a bit it seems like the shop that did the work is very highly regarded. And the prior owner generally babied the car. It's a 2015 with just 20,000 miles and in immaculate condition. However, I know doing a major mod like the turbo upgrade can certainly affect short and long term reliability. The salesman basically told me he wouldn't want to own the car for 10 years, but for the next 3-4 years it should be fine.
So I'm just trying to figure out whether I should just move on from this specific car since I'm not into modding (to this extent) anymore and am a bit concerned about the worst case scenario of the engine blowing or something. And I assume insurance wouldn't cover anything in this case. So I know my audience here is a lot of people that have done just these types of mods, but I am curious of general thoughts about my risk here buying a car like this?
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I am considering purchasing a used C63S that has some modifications done by the prior owner. The most major of which is the Pure Stage 2 Turbo kit. He also did the Eurocharged ECU tune, Dime Racing transmission tune, and pedalbox throttle adjuster (along with some suspension changes).
There was a point in my life when I would have been all about these mods, but at the current point I'd probably rather have stock to avoid the potential time and financial hassles that come up with having a modded car. I'm trying to figure out how much risk there is of a major mechanical issue as a result of the mods. From looking around a bit it seems like the shop that did the work is very highly regarded. And the prior owner generally babied the car. It's a 2015 with just 20,000 miles and in immaculate condition. However, I know doing a major mod like the turbo upgrade can certainly affect short and long term reliability. The salesman basically told me he wouldn't want to own the car for 10 years, but for the next 3-4 years it should be fine.
So I'm just trying to figure out whether I should just move on from this specific car since I'm not into modding (to this extent) anymore and am a bit concerned about the worst case scenario of the engine blowing or something. And I assume insurance wouldn't cover anything in this case. So I know my audience here is a lot of people that have done just these types of mods, but I am curious of general thoughts about my risk here buying a car like this?
There was a point in my life when I would have been all about these mods, but at the current point I'd probably rather have stock to avoid the potential time and financial hassles that come up with having a modded car. I'm trying to figure out how much risk there is of a major mechanical issue as a result of the mods. From looking around a bit it seems like the shop that did the work is very highly regarded. And the prior owner generally babied the car. It's a 2015 with just 20,000 miles and in immaculate condition. However, I know doing a major mod like the turbo upgrade can certainly affect short and long term reliability. The salesman basically told me he wouldn't want to own the car for 10 years, but for the next 3-4 years it should be fine.
So I'm just trying to figure out whether I should just move on from this specific car since I'm not into modding (to this extent) anymore and am a bit concerned about the worst case scenario of the engine blowing or something. And I assume insurance wouldn't cover anything in this case. So I know my audience here is a lot of people that have done just these types of mods, but I am curious of general thoughts about my risk here buying a car like this?
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C63S
Yeah, that's my lean. However, I should have mentioned what's complicating this for me is the color. I do not want black or white exterior color and that seems to comprise like 90% of C63 production volume. I've been intermittently looking for a 3ish year old CPO C63 for about a year and have yet to find anything because of the color restriction. So this was the first one that I came across that fit my color, price, and mileage restrictions.
Last edited by jherm; Jan 24, 2020 at 01:37 PM.
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2023 Urus Performante 2018 Huracan Perf. - 2017 Ferrari 488 GTB
Yeah, that's my lean. However, I should have mentioned what's complicating this for me is the color. I do not want black or white exterior color and that seems to comprise like 90% of C63 production volume. I've been intermittently looking for a 3ish year old CPO C63 for about a year and have yet to find anything because of the color restriction. So this was the first one that I came across that fit my color, price, and mileage restrictions. Man, I wish the car was just stock because it's selenite grey which I love.
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From: Miami
2019 E63s
Yeah, that's my lean. However, I should have mentioned what's complicating this for me is the color. I do not want black or white exterior color and that seems to comprise like 90% of C63 production volume. I've been intermittently looking for a 3ish year old CPO C63 for about a year and have yet to find anything because of the color restriction. So this was the first one that I came across that fit my color, price, and mileage restrictions. Man, I wish the car was just stock because it's selenite grey which I love.
good luck
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From: NV
,
Yes, increasing boost will decrease reliability. That's just fact. Good thing is that DME is a reputable tuner that tune the car recklessly.
It sounds like you don't really care about modding, so no reason to purchase that car however.
It sounds like you don't really care about modding, so no reason to purchase that car however.
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From: DFW, Texas
2017 AMG C63
I hate to say it, but a Turbo upgrade is definitely going to affect reliability. You just have to be willing to accept it. The Turbo chargers themselves no matter who you buy from, will not last near as long as factory Turbo chargers. Also the extra power is going to wear out drive train components in other stuff quicker, just basic physics. Also you typically are getting into needing extra fuel support, which can come with its own set of headaches potentially.
If you want the power its the only way, you just have to be willing to accept the trade offs. That said, if it's just a weekend toy that you only put 2000 miles on every year, and you run conservative boost, you may never see any reliability issues.
If you want the power its the only way, you just have to be willing to accept the trade offs. That said, if it's just a weekend toy that you only put 2000 miles on every year, and you run conservative boost, you may never see any reliability issues.
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Thread Starter
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C63S
Also the extra power is going to wear out drive train components in other stuff quicker, just basic physics. If you want the power its the only way, you just have to be willing to accept the trade offs. That said, if it's just a weekend toy that you only put 2000 miles on every year, and you run conservative boost, you may never see any reliability issues.
It wouldn't be a weekend toy, but I do put very little mileage on my cars. Bought my current one in 11/16 with 10k miles and currently have 22.5k on it. Man, now that I see that typed out it is amazingly little mileage. That's what happens when you live 5 miles from work and don't take it on road trips.
As far as accepting the trade-offs for the extra power, I don't even need the extra power. Stock C63S power is sufficient for me to have fun with the car. I'm not trying to track it or anything. I guess the trade-off I'd be accepting is not for the extra mod power, it's just actually finding a local C63 packaged how I want and in one of the few colors I want.
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I wouldn’t hesitate buying a modified car as long as I knew the history and it was well cared for. Pure Turbos and Eurocharged both have good reputations and do quality work. The modifications themselves aren’t going to effect reliability. The only time that extra stress is put on the engine and drivetrain components is when you mash the pedal! Day to day driving a vehicle modified like this one doesn’t add any additional stress.
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C63S
So it's a confluence of factors (the specific parts, the install shop, the prior owner) that is making me think about this much more than I normally would. It's just about as good of an example of a modified car as there could be.
I had the selling dealership look into third party warranties and the best they found for this type of car was via Integrity and it'd be $4300 for a 4-year up to 70k miles with $100 deductible. Not too terrible cost-wise assuming I don't run into problems with them should something happen. I do wonder about resale though. The car being modded certainly makes the market smaller. If I ended up wanting to trade it in to a dealer would they balk?
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Dodge Charger
Is the car your looking at located in Marietta,Ga? Car sounds like a car I’m currently interested in, but I’m hesitant of purchasing because of the mods. Only reasons I would think of purchasing it is because that dealer has a very good reputation.
Last edited by valdo 392; Jan 23, 2020 at 06:52 PM.
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C63S
Agreed on the dealer, but at the end of the day he's not going to have anything to do with the big downside scenario here. He or anyone can guess what ends up happening with the car mechanically. But there's no way of completely mitigating the risk of running into a massive repair bill caused by the mods. My auto industry friends basically said the same as most people on here. The risk is not worth it since there will always be more cars coming on the market that fit what I'm looking for and don't have this risk.
Last edited by jherm; Jan 24, 2020 at 12:22 AM.
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From: NV
,
So that is the case here and the only reason I'm considering it. I normally would shy away from a modded car given the unknowns. But from some diligence/research, the parts seem to be high quality and respected brands and the local shop that did the installation work is also very highly reviewed and known by my friends in the industry. And the prior owner was a wealthy 70something retired doctor that was supposedly OCD about everything being perfect and clearly took extremely good care of the car. I cannot believe how amazing the paint condition is. It's a 2015 and I haven't seen paint look that good on some newer cars. I wish my wife's 2019 Cayenne's paint looked that good.
So it's a confluence of factors (the specific parts, the install shop, the prior owner) that is making me think about this much more than I normally would. It's just about as good of an example of a modified car as there could be.
I had the selling dealership look into third party warranties and the best they found for this type of car was via Integrity and it'd be $4300 for a 4-year up to 70k miles with $100 deductible. Not too terrible cost-wise assuming I don't run into problems with them should something happen. I do wonder about resale though. The car being modded certainly makes the market smaller. If I ended up wanting to trade it in to a dealer would they balk?
So it's a confluence of factors (the specific parts, the install shop, the prior owner) that is making me think about this much more than I normally would. It's just about as good of an example of a modified car as there could be.
I had the selling dealership look into third party warranties and the best they found for this type of car was via Integrity and it'd be $4300 for a 4-year up to 70k miles with $100 deductible. Not too terrible cost-wise assuming I don't run into problems with them should something happen. I do wonder about resale though. The car being modded certainly makes the market smaller. If I ended up wanting to trade it in to a dealer would they balk?
Never understood the "it was owned by a wealthy old doctor so it was driven super lightly" trope. Look at the facts: the previous owner tuned the ECU, transmission, throttle, and even upgraded the turbos. The only reason to upgrade the turbos is because the stock turbos can't be tuned to the boost levels the owner desires. Does anyone really think the owner spent thousands on performance mods to drive the car like a grandpa? While I think it's awesome that someone made the car their own and enjoyed the crap out of it, but performance mods have a reliability impact. That's unavoidable.
You said it yourself that you don't care for the mods and place no value on them. Therefore, literally no reason for you to pay more for a modded car.
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C63S
And yeah, certainly no reason to pay more for a modded car. I think the car is actually priced at a discount because of the mods and the unknown mechanical future. As you and others have stated, it's unavoidable that such performance mods impact reliability and all parties (including the seller) are aware of that fact.
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From: New York, NY
2020 C63S Coupe , 2014 BMW M5
it really doesnt matter if the previous owner was a 92 year old grandpa. a car modded this much was not babied at all no matter what the seller says. if it really is a 70 something year old wealthy doctor, he might have bought it for his son, which is even worse lol. as far as long term reliability, its a dice roll. doesnt matter what any of us say. you can buy the car and a week later its lifted to the shop. its your call. personally, id pass and not because im against modifications, id rather be the one to mod and drive it myself after the modifications if i bought a CPO car
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GLC 63 AMG, Trackhawk, X3M
I always shy away from buying modded cars from others no matter who they are. I myself have upgraded turbos (Weistec W3) and it really comes down to upkeep. I’m not romping around everywhere I go but it is there when I want to.
it comes down to the tuner and how he cared for the vehicle. How aggressive they are on the tune, whether he has multiple files for different situations like drag racing, what fuel he is using on a daily basis, making sure air filters are oiled and clean so less turbo wear.
These M177 motors are lots of fun when built properly. I wanted more juice out of the car so I did this route. Stock housing utilized and a jump of a little over 100-115whp over a stage 2 tune.
hope this helps
it comes down to the tuner and how he cared for the vehicle. How aggressive they are on the tune, whether he has multiple files for different situations like drag racing, what fuel he is using on a daily basis, making sure air filters are oiled and clean so less turbo wear.
These M177 motors are lots of fun when built properly. I wanted more juice out of the car so I did this route. Stock housing utilized and a jump of a little over 100-115whp over a stage 2 tune.
hope this helps
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C63S
as far as long term reliability, its a dice roll. doesnt matter what any of us say. you can buy the car and a week later its lifted to the shop. its your call. personally, id pass and not because im against modifications, id rather be the one to mod and drive it myself after the modifications if i bought a CPO car
i still enjoy my current car and i've got another 14 months on the factory warranty. so i'm in no real rush to buy something. just happened to come across a good deal locally but i think it's a good deal because of the risk involved.
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Joined: Feb 2016
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From: Oviedo, FL
2015 C63s Sedan
Car has 21k, around 10k with mods
pure stage 2
custom on site pump gas tune by Kevin @ Labworx
weistec intake
downpipes
remus exhaust
wager tuning upgraded heat exchanger/trans cooler
pure stage 2
custom on site pump gas tune by Kevin @ Labworx
weistec intake
downpipes
remus exhaust
wager tuning upgraded heat exchanger/trans cooler
Last edited by Schulminator; Jan 24, 2020 at 04:40 PM.
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From: Pearland, Tx
2020 AMG GTC Coupe & 2018 Macan Turbo
Ask yourself this question: Imagine you had owned a car like this. You had been driving it for a while. But you want more power. It wasn't fast enough stock. You go BIG: you mod it just like the car is today. How would you drive it right after you had picked it up and for the next few months? You goose it a few times? You drive it like a crazy man sometimes? That's what you are considering buying. Get something with lower miles with the options and colors you want. Then take your time and tune it yourself. Lots of good products out there if you want to go crazy. GL.
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17 C63S Coupe
I've owned some super heavily modified cars. The most important thing is to have one (or both) of the following:
- A garage with a broad set of tools and a lot of personal knowledge about the platform and cars in general.
- A local shop with platform expertise who you trust to do good work and not take advantage of you.
- A lot more money to spend than you would think you're going to spend on the car.
