poorsod

I've been trying to decide what to get when my lease is up - either E63 or E550 4Matic. These are the issues:

1) Bad roads, bad traffic, cross GWB every day & cops everywhere. The AMG would be great but there is at most 10-15 minutes each way on my commute where the roads are clear of traffic. Almost might as well get a Prius, but the E550 should be adequate for stop and go traffic. *sigh*

2) A set of winter tires/wheels is a hassle to store (I live in NYC). There are about 5 days of the year where all season tires and RWD are a disaster. The 4Matic should be able to tackle these 5 days easily. Or should I get the E63 and store the tires in the trunk (which I hope can fit 4 wheel/tire sets). Alternatively is there a place in NJ that will store your off season tires for you?

3) I remember reading some posts where members in NNJ and NYC are not completely happy with their AMG's and I was wondering if it is for the above mentioned reasons or others?

Opinions?

ESIX3POWER

Are you talking about the W212 E63 ? or the older W211 ? I would take the new E550 4matic over the W211 E63.. Hell im returning my 08E63 for a 2010E550 (month end). I went to see it earlier and im completley sold on the new E, love it.

poorsod

W211 E63 and E550. The cockpit for the E63 feels more at home for me. Perhaps it is b/c it was more broken in. I prefer the styling of the W211 and I don't like the way the gear shift is mounted on the wheel on the W212. Why do you like the W212 more? It's hard to shift through all the flaming in your thread to see why you liked the W212 more.

The W212 sure has great toys but it made my build about $70k which is hard to justify. My dealer is asking me to test drive the W212, so I'll eventually try it out.

220S

Get a good Japanese daily for your miserable commute. And take public transport 2x or so a week.

Then get an E63 and stick it in the garage. Spend your weekends and days off driving in the countryside.

poorsod

The cost of said daily driver is the cost of garaging in NYC. Actually garaging costs more. You want me to pay for another garage spot?!

Yacht Master

Just based on the area of operation, we have seen many an AMG tire & rim succumb to the pot hole laden tristate thoroughfares. The tire / rim set up on the 550 may hold up better.
And on the topic of tires the 63 may need a winter set, but the 550 4M could go year round on some all season tires, and quite possibly a few ski trips to Vermont as well.
I understand the car you have now is a lease, will the next car be a lease as well?
IMHO, I would lease the 550 or buy the 63 and second set of tires & Rims (+$5K)

poorsod

It doesn't matter to me lease vs buy, it is whichever deal makes the most sense. I leased my current car b/c I had a 4% APR equivalent and an unusually high residual. I'm tending towards buying, particularly for used cars as the lease rates can be bad.

You are correct that my decision in 550 4M + all seasons vs E63 + extra rims. Decisions decisions. . .

Quadcammer

no way you get 4 amg sized wheels/tires in the trunk.

Euro tire in fairfield will store your winter wheels.

NCE500

+1. Get a good Japanese daily for your miserable commute.

I use my 03 5 series for all my business/commuting chores and take my toys out when I want to. Traffic, road quality, and climate are all better in my part of the country than the Northeast, but having that commuter to take and park anywhere is a significant quality of life enhancer.

Bellevue_E55

Problem solved

mthis

well if you get the 550 4M u can still beat a e63 from LIGHT TO LIGHT in the city. (the lights a short 1st gear only)

NDF55

Poorsod, don't want to threadjack but I'm currently facing a similar problem. I live on Long Island and drive an 06' E55. I can't decide whether to buy some snow tires and mount them on my stock rims or if i should buy an inexpensive all wheel drive daily driver. I even tossed around the idea of trading my car for a Grand Cherokee SRT8 for about five minutes. Maybe the first question we should ask is if a set of snow tires on a rwd AMG is enough to get us through a New York winter safely? Anyone who has any experience with this please chime in.

cahiil55k

Go for top of the class E63 - any year model. Like any premium car it comes with a high maintenance cost and requires some skill to handle it in all conditions, but my opinion has always been don't settle for less. No offense to any E550 owners, but E63>>>>E550 IMO.

poorsod

Thought about it. But styling stinks. Plus personal aversion to SUVs.

poorsod

Isn't LI relatively flat? If I were only getting around the city, it'd probably be ok. But NJ as quite the hills.

leojang

I think it's more practical for you to get E550 4matic. But if you wanna be drifting through the snow, you know what you need.

QuadBenz

Personally, I'd get an E63 over the E550. The E550 is a great car, but the E63 is a lot better/more enjoyable, IMO.

P.S. there's no way you'll be able to store wheels in the Es trunk. I can only fit 3 wheels in my MLs trunk (20 inch rims though).

jtc55

i drive my E63 thru winters. all u need is a winter set-up, get 18 wheels w/ 245/40/18 winter tires mounted them. also, add around 100 lbs of weight in the trunk during winter driving and ur ready to rock & roll.

E63 > E550

poorsod

I test drove the E63 the other day. I think the thing that clinches it is the steering wheel. I really like how the steering wheel feels. Now I just need to see if prices fall further.

Busta Riles

Did you guys know the new 550 has a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds? The W211 was 5.5 seconds.

Dr. G

Another vote for E63. For those '5 days in the year' you refer to, you would saddle yourself with a less powerful, less fun to drive awd ride the other 360 days? no brainer. E63!

SterlingE55

If you bought a E550 and saw an E63 on the road would you wish you had the E63? I doubt if you bought an E63 and saw an E550 on the road you would wish you had the E550. Buy the car that when you see the other one you don't get jealous.

poorsod

Terrible thing is now that I've tasted what power can be had during that test drive, I can't stop thinking about it. It's like a disease.

220S

Where'd you pick that figure that from? From MB's own W212 E550 website: "immediate power delivery whisks the E550 from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds."

Fantasm

The guy who said ML63 was right. Go drive one and take a closer look.
It would be the perfect mix of both. ML63 is one good looking and fast SUV.