Vince_H

Hi all,

Shopping for a convertible and am choosing between these models. I am not someone who is going to wrench my own stuff, but have access to those who can competently assist. I’ve owned a 2019 CLS and currently own a 2021 G550 so the maintenance of these vehicles is not something that horrifies or surprises me.

I’m leaning towards the S63 but am concerned about the brakes and not being able to find one (looking for under 35k miles) with CBB. I will not be taking this to a track and doubt I’ll ever attempt to push it to its limits. I want something cool and fun and with a bit of prestige. Am I better off getting a newer model non-AMG?

Any advice is welcome. I’m concerned about 2017 and potential mileage rollbacks. I’ll only buy if there is a clean CARFAX to go along with a nice VMI. I’m currently considering a 2017 s63 with 28k miles. If anyone is lurking around the typical listing sites and sees anything nice, I’m all ears.

Thanks all!

Viper98912

Hello, a couple of things stood out in your post that I'd like to help answer or clarify -

1) Concerned about the brakes - are you saying that you are concerned that the standard steel brakes are not good enough because it's a high HP AMG and it needs CCB? This is false - the steel AMG brakes are fantastic and will stop the car without issue. The CCB's are honestly more of a prestige/look/cool item; are the CCB's better on the track? Of course they are. How many people actually take an S-class to a track and really rag on it hard to make the CCB's worthwhile? Nearly never.

2) Potential mileage rollbacks - do you live in an area or state where this is common? This is somewhat hard to do, but if it's common in your area, it could happen whether you buy a Toyota or a Mercedes. So I'm not sure what the concern is.

3) Prestige - AMG's and Maybachs normally carry more prestige than a "standard" Mercedes (even though any S coupe or S cab are far from standard). Go with the one that you like best - the one that has the color combo you want along with the one that drives the best.

Vince_H

Thanks for this.

1) To clarify the brake concern, I had read that CCB’s last longer than the steel brakes, which I understand need to be changed approximately every 15k miles. Maybe that is wrong. Trying to factor in maintenance costs to determine whether I should hold out to try to find out with CCB as opposed to steel.

2) Mileage: It’s common in my area (I do practice criminal defense so I’m jaded here - naturally suspicious). Didn’t know if this was a common issue among users here.

3) Thanks for the advice.

Quadrobenz

Vince, I think you may be overlooking some key differences in the cars you list that could make a difference in your longer term ownership experience. First, a 2018 car is a post-facelift. They will have a completely different Comand system and different engines/transmissions. The 2017 does not have Carplay, the 2018 and newer do. There are also some minor styling differences. Second, a 550/560 is rear wheel drive, an S63 is all wheel drive. I recommend spending a little time with the MB brochures, they are all on line.
We just went though this purchase 3 months ago. We had sold my wife's SL convertible so she only had the E63S to drive. I was not sharing my SL65. She wanted an S65 Cabriolet. I wanted it to be an '18 or '19 but in the month I spent looking could not find one. There are a lot more post facelift S63's. We bought a 2017 S65 fully optioned including CCB's with 24k miles. The colors were what she wanted. We just gave the serial number to our MB service advisor and he pulled up the complete history on the car. The local MB service manager reviewed the service records and told us it looked perfect. Had an S65 not always been serviced at an MB dealer I would have walked away from it. This is also how you know the exact mileage on the car.
The 2017 SL63 has the 5.5L with a 7speed MCT, plenty of torque but a fairly harsh shifting transmission. The 2017 S550 has a 4.7L with a 9G-Tronic transmission, I have never driven one to comment on it. The 2018's both have a 4.0L, the S560 is 463hp and still uses the 9G-Tronic transmission. The S63 uses a 9 speed MCT, engine is rated at 603hp.

Vince_H

Thanks Quad.

In order, I'm ok with the pre/post facelift vehicle designs. Both are aesthetically pleasing and I'm not particularly attached to either design. I'm aware of the carplay issue on the 2017 as well as the drivetrain differences between 550/560 and s63, and do not plan to drive this vehicle in inclement weather or during the winter (I'm in Michigan). It's a Sunday car/sunny ride for me. All wheel drive won't be the dealbreaker for me.

I've driven a 2017 s550 for about 1000 miles (rented one last year while on vacation) and enjoyed it. Would have loved a bit more speed, but it did the job for me and it was a fun ride to put my daughters in.

I'm mostly concerned about the pitfalls of ownership here.

Quadrobenz

Nothing like driving one. A downside to the S550 is CCB's were not available. Most other items were available as options on the S550 so it is just a matter of looking at the build sheet to make sure it has what you want. If the seller does not have it your MB service advisor can print one out with the serial number.
If the car has low mileage and has been fully serviced per the MB schedule there are usually not any issues. I bought the S65 Cab from Ohio unseen. When I got it I discovered the touchpad had a crack in it, the same as our E63S developed. I just had it replaced, not expensive, although it works fine with the hairline crack in it. I drove it 30 miles on the expressway on delivery, it was apparent the alignment was off even though it had been aligned just a month previously, but not at an MB dealer. Our dealer fixed that as well, now it drives perfectly. After a couple of weeks we started to get some notices of items not working, even though they were. I realized all the items were connected to the Aux battery. Had the dealer replace the Aux battery, that eliminated the random notices. Turned out it was the original battery, they usually only last 5 years. I had to replace the Aux battery in my S65 sedan at the 5 year mark. Both my S65 and SL65 have been trouble free, pretty much just scheduled services. The Cabriolet is now perfect after those three fixes.
The all wheel drive system introduces some additional repair items. We have had two of them, AMG versions. It seems harder to get and keep the wheels aligned and the front tire wear seems much more severe compared to the RWD models. As you can tell, we are addicted to the AMG V12's.
We can usually put the top down one or two days a week here at the beach in south OC. It gets up into the high 60's a few days most every week during the winter. My wife is from Midland so I get a number of opportunities to tour through Michigan in the summers, we try to avoid visiting in the winter.
Let us know what you decide.

Viper98912

In regards to the brakes, yes, CCB's should last much longer than steel brakes. But you shouldn't need to change pads and rotors at 15k miles - if anything, 15k on the pads and change rotors on the second time around (yes, I understand some will disagree with me on this, but if your rotor thickness is not below the minimum spec that is stamped on the edge of the rotor, and if you have no major cracks or warping in the rotor, then you should be fine on keeping the rotors). I'd honestly be more concerned about changing the CCB rotors, which cost at least 5X the cost of the steel rotors. But, there's a potential that you'll never change out the CCB rotors for the life of the vehicle, so essentially that cost could be zero.

Also, I'm not sure if this also occurs on MB cars (since I do not personally own the CCB rotors), but does anyone have experience on whether they squeal at low temps and slow driving?

Nonetheless, as stated in the other posts, I think there are much more important things to worry about on this car, such as the color spec, whether you want post-facelift Comand or pre-facelift, and whether you want the 5.5TT, 4.7TT, or 4.0TT and their associated transmissions.

Quadrobenz

Our CCB's have never squealed but it does not get cold where we live.

wheatswake

Imagine your perfect build on a low production car with low mileage, color combo, base/designo leather, different packages and all the different options you want. Now find that perfect build with the CCB brakes. I think it will be very hard. Non CCB brakes are great with red stuff pads. I opted for the 2017 S550 is for the softer suspension and engine/trans combo like no other year. Like others said, not tracking a luxury coupe. I wanted to enjoy the ride as much as possible suspension wise, knew the M278 fairly well and did not want the post facelift due to haptic controls and buttons moving/disappearing into new command. Also some std. features became
options on post facelift. I know I saw heads up display as an option on 2018/2019, prob due to chip shortages. Also more 550s out there on the market makes a better chance at finding your ideal build or one you can live with. Good luck!

Vince_H

Gents,

Very pleased to update that I ended up purchasing a 2017 S63 with just over 18k miles this past week. Triple black with black piano trim, which was my most desired option. Didn’t get the designo seats, but with the limited number of examples available, I’m comfortable with the purchase.

I’ll update with photos and some thoughts after I take delivery. Plans for now are to upgrade the grille for the 2018 look and to get the naviks CarPlay installed.

Thanks to all for the help here.

Fly by night

Nice choice. We are in the same dilemma trying to decide on a 2017 S63 convert or a 2018 S560 convert any input would be great. Thx

Vince_H

I test drove both. I may be a bit biased, but I would say to go for the AMG. My rationale is rather simple. For the “wow” factor, the AMG is simply superior. It is faster, more rare and a nice conversation starter. I chose mine based off of the specs it had, the CARFAX/history, and the mileage. It’s been a blast. I’ve been burning guys on the road while alone, having fun cruises with my 6 and 7 year old and really enjoying the date nights with the top down with the wife.

After my research, I couldn’t discern which car would hold value better or have less maintenance issues. The cliche of choosing the model that has your desired specs (color, interior) was really the best advice.

Shockingly, this is the only photo I have saved on my phone of mine. My final piece of advice: Pull the trigger! The four door convertible is, in my opinion, the only convertible! It’s a boss ride that commands respect!

E: one other piece of advice. Keep it stock. I purchased but have not installed the kit to allow Apple car play and the new style grille. Just can’t get myself to the point where I actually want to install either. Buy the car and drive it a bit before you spend the money on those extras. I thought I’d want them but ended up loving the vehicle in its stock condition.