Hi All,

I currently have a 2015 S550. I'm looking to get into a AMG. I test drove the E63 AMG S and found it to have a very harsh ride! Almost as harsh as a Porsche 911. When I went over stone pavers it was like "bump, bump, bump" and a lot of noise. How is the S63 in terms of ride stiffness compared to the S560? I'm hoping that its more soft than the E63 AMG S. I don't have any to test drive in my state so I was hoping some forum members could weigh in.

 

I have a stone paver driveway (~80ft). I don't recall hearing that much driving over them. Or I put it in sport+ too soon and the exhaust overwhelmed the cabin. I don't remember feeling anything either? It wasn't enough to cause a distraction, but there is a distinct sound of driving over them at speed. Never driven a 560, but if it has airmatic suspension then it feels soft.

 

Ok, looks like I'm off to socal. I don't have any S63 AMG to test drive in AZ. Might do a day trip tomorrow. Will have to look at flights.

 

Get the S65 so it doesn't have a huge mouth like the S63 lol. I find myself picking leaves out of the huge opening on this car after every drive. The lower bumper and side intake is what I'm referring to. It doesn't have the honey comb (560) or mesh grill (S65) to protect itself from little things like that. Good luck on your search, I searched nation wide to get the most optioned blk/blk 2018.

 

Good to note. I love my AWD to much to go for a S65. Sounds like I could buy some chicken wire and black spray paint at home depot to fix that problem

Random Question: Did you try the Porsche Panamera at all? Going to test drive that one too.

 

I have limited experience comparing the E63 to the S63, but my impression was that they were two completely different rides. The E63 was very rough IMO.

 

My thoughts exactly, just need to know how to make it look good. If you look inside, there seems to be tabs for the mesh grill on the S65 if you could get the parts and attempt to install.

I did not look into Panameras. It was shorter and although nicer than the first gen, the center stack did not appeal to me. I've also been spoiled by 4 W220 (55, 65) and 2 W221 (both 550).

 

Hey, Kevin...I had waited for the E63 for months and my dealer in Toronto had an S63 demo I drove (2017) and made me a deal that was scarcely more expensive the 2018 E63 would have been. Then, about two weeks ago I went and drove the E63 2018 for the experience. I can tell you there are LIGHT YEARS difference in the ride between the two cars. The E63 is a great car, but a ROUGH ride. The S63 is totally different. It's a very smooth but robust as a Boeing 757 takeoff. VERY SMOOTH. My compromise or best of all worlds: I just ordered a 2018 S63 coupe to get the new more efficient engine (cylinder deactivation, for example), new transmission, and far better intelligent drive (and indeed this new 2018 generation of electronics is FAR better). But, for a smooth ride, the S63 is FABULOUS.

 

Thanks for the very detailed information. This is exactly the feedback I was looking for. I have tickets booked to do a round trip to CA tomorrow to try this car. In the meantime my wife suggested that I try competitors models to this car. The feedback is listed below for others that might be in a similar situation. I figure the more knowledge in the community the better.

2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo -
Rough ride even in comfort mode with the adaptive air suspension. Not as rough as the E63 AMG S but still this is a sports car first and a luxury car second. Given that 80% of my driving is mundane and only 20% is fun I need the reverse. Also the quality of the car is not that great. Fake leather, No soft touch materials, hard center armrest, etc. Only one large cup holder... I could go on...

2018 Audi S8 Plus -
Could not try this car as there is only very few left nationwide. I would have to travel 1,000+ miles to try the car and could not order it. They are converting the A8 to the new body style and the S8 won't be ready for pickup until mid 2019 (ouch!)

BMW B7 Alpina -
Amazing Car! This car rides like my current S550 in comfort mode and the sport mode is a lot of fun! Has a lot of the same features of the S-Class and some unique features to the B7 like rear wheel steering which makes a HUGE difference. This makes the car feel much smaller than it is.

In short its going to come down to the B7 or the S63. I'm leaning towards the B7 as its about 20k cheaper (when loaded) and something different. I won't be able to make a final decision until I try the S63 though. Will update after the test drive. For anyone else looking at the S63 try to find a B7 this is a super wonderful car and should be considered.

 

Try M760ix, V12 Twin turbo is hard to beat, S65 competitor but with AWD and about $60k cheaper (on par with S63)

 

We had a 2015 S550 and had similar car selections. We ended up with an E63s launch edition which is quite stiff coming from the S but not that much stiffer than our SL. No rattles here btw. only the seatbelt hitting the passenger seat when nobody sits there.

We ruled out the Audi since it was EOL and we'll have to see how the new one is actually performing in terms of reliability - lots of new Audi-first tech in there.
The Panamera we were thinking about was the 4S but feels so slow and the Turbo was just too much money for the car.
I really liked the B7 except the traditional Alpina wheels which make a poor match with the cars design.

Not sure if you were planning to buy or lease. Leasing the B7 will be the cheapest alternative for you. Heavily discounted just like all 7 series and much cheaper to lease than the S-Class; it's cheaper to lease than the E-Class for that matter. Lower MF than AMG and better residual than the S-Class (which is beyond horrible - the lowest of any AMG) This issue may also be a consideration for purchase. Better plan to keep the car for a long time...
Same with the Panamera. Unlike the 911 GT cars, the Panamera's resale value is nothing to write home about. The MF is also pretty dramatic. Porsche's are better purchased.

If the S63, I would only look for the MY18. It's a dramatically better car than the pre-facelift. Not because of the electronics (which are nicely improved) but the engine, much better suspension and AWD, and of course the much improved MCT. It's not just more gears but along with changed gear ratios they dramatically improved the software responsible for shifting.
I believe the new S63 will be very similar in its suspension and drive "feel", but the 2018 E63s will be closest to the transmission, engine and AWD. Just drive the E again and back to back with a MY17 or older S63 in city traffic and highway. That may give you a bit of a comparison with the actual car.

Good luck!

 

Good call on the Audi, I felt the same way.
Agreed on the 4S feeling to slow and for the interior that comes with the Turbo its just way to much money. To fully spec it like a B7 or S63 AMG you are pushing 200k.
I don't mind the wheels. One could always change them. I'm sure there are many after market solutions.

I was looking to lease as it protects the money I spent if my car was in an accident and repaired (AKA has a dirty car fax) and if the market just tanks like it did on my S550 then I made money. For example my car is only worth 50k-55k and the residual was 65k. It was 15k cheaper to lease than to buy at this point.

You are correct with the AMG having a horrible residual. It was only 50% for 36 months and 43% for 48 months. I was also shown the rate sheet for the MF and all AMG's have a STD (for standard rate) where the S450, S560, S560 4matic, etc all have special rates. I was quoted a 6.8% APR for the S63 where I can get a S560 at the buy rate that was under 3% APR. I was also asked to pay MSRP and they said as I was a returning customer (to Benz) they would not do a market adjustment of $5,000 over MSRP. That CA market is crazy. I just got back after test driving the car and I have to say it's very nice. The GUI is a lot more crisp, it rides nice, has a nice sound. It's everything I want and would probably be my first choice but man do you pay up the A$$ for this car. It's hard to justify a $3,000 lease when I could get 95% of this car in the B7. Also the B7 did handle better. i'm just more comfortable with the S class platform. If I was a first time luxury buyer I would already have the B7. I'm just hesitant to switch brands after spending so much time learning one. In short I have a lot of thinking to do. B7 or S63 AMG.... I will update when I pull the trigger on a car.

PS. When seeing the data on Porsche you are correct. 100% better to purchase. There leases suck from a value perspective.

I did a round trip on american airlines today and test drove that 2018 S63 AMG. Hence where the above information is coming from.

Good luck!

 

I think the B7 is a killer car. If you listen to 100 people, you'll get 100 differing opinions. On a MB you're not going to get a lot of B7 lovers over the S63. I've owned 8 BMW's and only got a 2008 and then a 2012 S63 because I simply didn't like the interior or exterior on the newer 7 series as much as the S63's. I owned 3 7 series in a row as my last BMW's and loved them all.

I'd consider a new Alpina B7 instead of another S63 for sure (when they're about 3-4 years old, so I can afford one - maybe a 2018 in 2021). I'm more of a BMW guy by far and read the Roundel magazine cover to cover 4 years later after not even having a BMW anymore.

I looked at this one lately. Stunning.

 

A bit more info on leases. The residual on the S63 should be lower than you stated. At 3 years/15k miles it was 46%, so even with the lowest miles (7.5k miles) it would be 49%. Unless for some miraculous reason they upped the residual in the last couple of months. Don't recall the standard MF but think it's .0026 which you can take down to something like 0.0023. Either way, residual has a bigger impact on the costs of the car.

Discounts should be 5% at minimum right now but perhaps varies by region. I remember visiting Scottsdale and stopped by Schumacher's. I told him that I would get a discount on an E63s (I week before I bought one last month) and they were laughing. Not only no discount but they were selling above sticker.
Normally I wouldn't touch a current S-Class sedan for less than 10% off.

The B7 we looked at was $155k or so. Typical discounts would be 12%-15% on a 2018. MF is 0.00152 and the residual is 55% (as of a month ago). You will only want to lease a BMW to be sure. That car will not be worth 55% after 3 years. Regular 7 series easily go for 15%-17% off (at least in Dec) with all available discounts but I can tell you that there is a reason these things don't move. Low demand due to less than desirable design (too conservative) and they are still somewhat troubled with issues (oil use, coolant loss, etc.). Check on BMW forums first before pulling the trigger.

Good luck!

 

I was seriously considering the car. If any 7 series, the B7 is the best bang for the buck performance-wise. Was looking for Azurite Black with Tartufo Full Merino Leather.

That said, the message on the instrument cluster isn't too promising though

 

2018 S 63


2018 S63


2018 S63


2018 S63
I have a 2018 S63 that I just hit 900 miles. I have had it for 2 months and love it. It is very soft and quiet unless you have it in sport plus thats when the suspension tightens up and you feel more of the road. I have done a few modifications to mine. I have added forged wheels and kept the stock tires. I have also lowered it a little bit with Renntech handheld suspension module. I also deleted most of the chrome and added the Renntech carbon fiber rear spoiler and carbon fiber mirrors.

 

Thanks for the great information. Do you have a dealer that was in that 12%-15% off range? If I get could get 15% off a customer order with a 0.00152 I would ship them a non-refundable deposit today! The car I want has a MSRP of $155,845 and would end up only costing me $1,762.40 with tax included. Any S63 lease is going to push $2,676.08 even with 10% off due to the high MF, low residual, and higher MSRP. IMHO the S63 is not worth ~1k a month more compared to a B7. My wife is looking forward to getting my S550 too

Research tells me that most people that have leased a 2018 S63 so far are in the 3k a month ball park (if they put no money down). Candidly that is a little more than I want to spend. My current S550 was a great deal with 17.3% off MSRP and a MF 0.00054! Payments are under $1,100 a month with tax... I don't think I will ever get a deal like this again. Also dealer paid my first two payments! The car was amazingly specked with 3D sound, Nappa, etc but they had it listed incorrectly online as a E class. Hence why it sat on the lot for over a year lol.

 

 

So just to understand. If my payment was lets say $2,500 with tax, depreciation, etc. I give them $2,500 X 10 = $25,000 and they hold onto this until the end of the lease (when all successful payments are made, they give it back to me). This is just an "insurance" from you walking away from the vehicle (even though the credit hit should be enough to dissuade people). Forgive the ignorance just trying to see from google. Learn something new everyday!

Warm Regards

 

You got it! Lookup Monthly Security Deposits for more info. BMW used to be the king of MSD's and then killed the program. Still worth checking if they made it available again.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. This forum and the MB community are very special to me. I was able to get X% off a custom order for a B7 with the buy rate for the MF. This took talking to many dealerships and some HARD negotiation but I should have the new car in 6 months. A special call out to wolfman for helping me know what I should be shooting for. According to my research, input from others, and the slew of dealers wanting MSRP or near it for a custom order I think I got a great deal.

 

Congrats. Just to make sure I understand this, as I may be interested in doing something similar at some point "soon", you wrote: "The car I want has a MSRP of $155,845 and would end up only costing me $1,762.40 with tax included."

How long is the term length, how much do you put down on it, and how many miles do they give you per year? Then at the end of a lease, you simply give the car back and part ways, and that's it?

 

Congrats on your car! Looks great. Since you lowered the car I would suggest getting spacers to push the wheels out a bit and make it look a bit more balanced from an angle.

 

Glad to hear! This sounds like a good deal on BTO B7. Happy New Year!

 

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