GTS purchase checklist
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Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 127
Likes: 4
From: Seattle WA
AMG GTS
GTS purchase checklist
I am in the market for a GTS. Been scouring autotrader nationwide (though based on Seattle)
i have my own wishlist but outside of color (my preference seems to be white or yellow) i’m Curious how important the following options are in your opinion in my purchase quest...
1. Dynamic Plus
this is a must have on my list but should it be. Does it make a difference. Does it impact resale positively. Is it problematic?
2. Ceramic brakes.
i like the idea of those but currently. This is a nice to have. I am figuring longer life and better performance but higher cost to replace and any track use would be minimal for me. Should I prioritize.
3. Carbon interior
I love it but of all the ones I have seen the cup holder cover seems to stick when trying to close when it’s carbon.
4. Lemon law buy back
Foind two beauties I really liked but decided this is a no go due to resale problems in the future.
Any thoughts on the above or anything else i should be considering.
Scanning the the market it looks like I can buy well specced 25k-30k car for mid to high 80’s and lower miles 7k-15k for 90-95k
and of course if you’re selling a beauty. Let me know.
i have my own wishlist but outside of color (my preference seems to be white or yellow) i’m Curious how important the following options are in your opinion in my purchase quest...
1. Dynamic Plus
this is a must have on my list but should it be. Does it make a difference. Does it impact resale positively. Is it problematic?
2. Ceramic brakes.
i like the idea of those but currently. This is a nice to have. I am figuring longer life and better performance but higher cost to replace and any track use would be minimal for me. Should I prioritize.
3. Carbon interior
I love it but of all the ones I have seen the cup holder cover seems to stick when trying to close when it’s carbon.
4. Lemon law buy back
Foind two beauties I really liked but decided this is a no go due to resale problems in the future.
Any thoughts on the above or anything else i should be considering.
Scanning the the market it looks like I can buy well specced 25k-30k car for mid to high 80’s and lower miles 7k-15k for 90-95k
and of course if you’re selling a beauty. Let me know.
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AMG
From my experience having just gone down this road, this is what how I see it.
1. Dynamic Plus
Unless you test 2 cars back to back, you won't notice any difference in power delivery, but you are likely to feel a difference in ride quality between 2 in comfort mode. That reason alone is why I opted out of DP, as the roads around here are terrible.
2. Ceramic brakes.
Unless you track the car hard, or plan to keep the car for 3+ years, you aren't likely to need to replace the rotors, so as long as you are fine with the cost of pads, I would get them if you can. The only real benefit to these are the looks, if you like the color, and the lack of brake dust. Keep in mind, in day to day driving, they will take getting used to, as they grab hard with light brake input.
3. Carbon interior
Completely dependent on your taste, but I think it looks significantly better than the matte black plastic option, and the sticking lid is completely a non-issue for me.
4. Lemon law buy back
Again, your mileage may vary, but I would not risk it. Even if all issues have been sorted, it will likely cause issues when you go to sell the car.
Good luck!
1. Dynamic Plus
Unless you test 2 cars back to back, you won't notice any difference in power delivery, but you are likely to feel a difference in ride quality between 2 in comfort mode. That reason alone is why I opted out of DP, as the roads around here are terrible.
2. Ceramic brakes.
Unless you track the car hard, or plan to keep the car for 3+ years, you aren't likely to need to replace the rotors, so as long as you are fine with the cost of pads, I would get them if you can. The only real benefit to these are the looks, if you like the color, and the lack of brake dust. Keep in mind, in day to day driving, they will take getting used to, as they grab hard with light brake input.
3. Carbon interior
Completely dependent on your taste, but I think it looks significantly better than the matte black plastic option, and the sticking lid is completely a non-issue for me.
4. Lemon law buy back
Again, your mileage may vary, but I would not risk it. Even if all issues have been sorted, it will likely cause issues when you go to sell the car.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 127
Likes: 4
From: Seattle WA
AMG GTS
Awesome input and pretty aligned to my thinking apart from the dynamic plus. So you think the ride is harder even in comfort ? I thought this was more about dynamic mounts and power band at high revs.
What at did you end up getting and how much did you pay ? PM if you’d rather not post. But be interesting to know.
What at did you end up getting and how much did you pay ? PM if you’d rather not post. But be interesting to know.
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1-not needed, you will be extremely hard pressed to tell difference based on what it sounds like you are using car for.
2-not needed, ok if liking less brake dust, or don’t push car extremely hard at track(say you drive it 75% effort at track or less), but if looking to push car hard(80%+ effort at track) and/or have lower replacement costs, steel rotors are way to go.
I can debate the track guys all day on this, many think carbon ceramic is way to go, but that’s because they are not using them hard, and if they do, they’ll cook ‘em......
3-cool to have, not necessary
4-for you to decide your comfort level there
I will throw in, mine has the Burmester Premium sound system (I believe +$4,500 sticker), if I was spec’ing car, I would have most likely skipped this.....now having experienced it, could not go without, sounds great!
2-not needed, ok if liking less brake dust, or don’t push car extremely hard at track(say you drive it 75% effort at track or less), but if looking to push car hard(80%+ effort at track) and/or have lower replacement costs, steel rotors are way to go.
I can debate the track guys all day on this, many think carbon ceramic is way to go, but that’s because they are not using them hard, and if they do, they’ll cook ‘em......
3-cool to have, not necessary
4-for you to decide your comfort level there
I will throw in, mine has the Burmester Premium sound system (I believe +$4,500 sticker), if I was spec’ing car, I would have most likely skipped this.....now having experienced it, could not go without, sounds great!
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AMG
Awesome input and pretty aligned to my thinking apart from the dynamic plus. So you think the ride is harder even in comfort ? I thought this was more about dynamic mounts and power band at high revs.
What at did you end up getting and how much did you pay ? PM if you’d rather not post. But be interesting to know.
What at did you end up getting and how much did you pay ? PM if you’d rather not post. But be interesting to know.
If you find a great car, with all the other options you want, and the price is right, I honestly wouldn't let it sway you one way or the other, unless the ride quality bothers you. You really won't ever notice the power-band differences, or engine mounts, unless tracking it, and unless driving a DP and non-DP car back to back on track, you won't know the difference anyways unless chasing lap times.
I ended up with:
2016 Selenite Grey Magno
Non-DP
CF interior (silver cross bar and sills unfortunately)
Steel brakes
Saddle Brown interior
Night package
7k miles
$90k
I knew I was going to mod the exterior, so the interior leather/CF trim was more important to me, even though I wish mine had the upgraded Burmester for the aluminum covers, and would have been happy with ceramic brakes for the lack of dust and aesthetics alone.
2-not needed, ok if liking less brake dust, or don’t push car extremely hard at track(say you drive it 75% effort at track or less), but if looking to push car hard(80%+ effort at track) and/or have lower replacement costs, steel rotors are way to go.
I can debate the track guys all day on this, many think carbon ceramic is way to go, but that’s because they are not using them hard, and if they do, they’ll cook ‘em......
I can debate the track guys all day on this, many think carbon ceramic is way to go, but that’s because they are not using them hard, and if they do, they’ll cook ‘em......
Last edited by Orcbolg; Mar 26, 2019 at 07:32 PM.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 127
Likes: 4
From: Seattle WA
AMG GTS
This is really helpful. I was writing cars off as I thought DP might be an essential for resale further down the line.
Lemon cars out for me. Just rather not deal with the fact.
So so the hunt goes on...
currently a white with white black interior around 92k with 15k miles
a yellow with 9k miles and all the goodies but he’s asking high 90’s which seems to much
a yellow with all the goodies around 92k but has 28k miles which as I will put a lot of likes on it as a daily seems high
Lemon cars out for me. Just rather not deal with the fact.
So so the hunt goes on...
currently a white with white black interior around 92k with 15k miles
a yellow with 9k miles and all the goodies but he’s asking high 90’s which seems to much
a yellow with all the goodies around 92k but has 28k miles which as I will put a lot of likes on it as a daily seems high
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 1,432
Likes: 705
AMG
This is really helpful. I was writing cars off as I thought DP might be an essential for resale further down the line.
Lemon cars out for me. Just rather not deal with the fact.
So so the hunt goes on...
currently a white with white black interior around 92k with 15k miles
a yellow with 9k miles and all the goodies but he’s asking high 90’s which seems to much
a yellow with all the goodies around 92k but has 28k miles which as I will put a lot of likes on it as a daily seems high
Lemon cars out for me. Just rather not deal with the fact.
So so the hunt goes on...
currently a white with white black interior around 92k with 15k miles
a yellow with 9k miles and all the goodies but he’s asking high 90’s which seems to much
a yellow with all the goodies around 92k but has 28k miles which as I will put a lot of likes on it as a daily seems high
Thankfully autoflex is an option so I can change the color to what I want soon enough.
Hope you end up finding a great deal, as these cars are phenomenal! A month with mine, and I love everything about the 1k miles I've put on it already.
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From: Florida
18 AMG GTC and 22 F150 Limited. Past owner 16 Maybach, 17 Brabus Smartcar, 06 Ford E150, and 22 G70
I have an 18 GTC with every option you could get. The ceramic brakes are amazing if for no other reason they leave NO dust. The carbon fiber body kit REALLY makes the car look good. My car is white I suspect if it was a black car the carbon fiber option would not look that great.
The High end burmeister sounds good and this is coming from a gal that has a 16 Maybach with the 3d Burmeister which is amazing. The GT version is not as stellar but still sounds good.
The High end burmeister sounds good and this is coming from a gal that has a 16 Maybach with the 3d Burmeister which is amazing. The GT version is not as stellar but still sounds good.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 127
Likes: 4
From: Seattle WA
AMG GTS
is that accurate on 16 cars? I heard earlier ones had driveshaft issues but was a recall repair?
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AMG
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Designo White AMG GTS
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From: Houston
2016 C63S AMG
I’m not an expert on this but I thought MY 2015 was basically the Edition 1 with very few non Edition 1’s produced and production basically rolled over to MY 2016. That’s how it was when I bought my C63S back in the summer of 2015. I got a MY 2016 since the MY 2015 was only produced for like 4 months.
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2018 Solarbeam Yellow AMG GTS
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Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 217
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From: PA
2020 S63 Coupe, 911, BMW 760 2022 SL55 2024 Range Rover
When this car was announced a lot current MB owners (many older like me) said I want one and ordered one without ever sitting in one let alone driving one. I honestly believe they thought it was a hardtop version the SL. The seats and not as forgiving if you are wider, the ride is not like a GT car and the steering and sound are like that of a sports car. Owners thought there was something wrong with the car, some lemon cars were bought back because of battery drainage (owners let them sit because they were not GT cars), some had check engine lights, others because the ride was too rough. I bought one of those cars (it was in like new condition, with every option but ceramic brakes), at half of sticker last August and I have had 0 issues (they even gave me a extra year of warranty). Of course I could car less what a car is worth to the next person, I only care about what it is worth to me today. I have cars with ceramic brakes and unless you are going to track the car it is not something you really need.
