So, my name is Mitch, and I am addicted to AMG.

The past few weeks have been a wrestling match in my head, as my '07 E63 began its rapid approach to the 100,000 mile mark after years of ownership and road trips, I knew that I needed to get something else to help take the mileage burden off of my beloved steed. Then, as we left Indiana en route to our Canadian holiday home for Christmas, and the mileage crossed that epic 100,000 mile mark, the urge to buy another car hit high gear. But what do I buy?

Let me give some background. Being in my 30s, with a wife and young daughter, cars have always been important in my life. From as far back as I can remember there have always been fast cars around me. From my grandfather taking me for flat out rides in his blown Chevelle SS when I was only about 8 years old, to the migration into Porsches and my first NSX soon after I got my drivers license. My viewpoint on cars has always been that they are an exciting outlet, relaxation point, and a gift to be able to enjoy ones that make you happy just from looking at them. I have never been terribly uptight about cars, and have always tried my best to appreciate good fortune, and share the cars with people whenever possible. In college I was lucky enough to enjoy a couple of NSXs, 911s, a 348ts, an Esprit S4, and some other more normal cars, as commuter cars for school, and always let responsible friends try out their time behind the wheel so that they could get the same smile on their face that I enjoyed every day. Many people thought I was nuts when I showed up driving a 348ts in the snow, but I had fun, so who cares? LOL!

Fast forward to graduation from college, getting that first job where you feel like you are on top of the world, and my rush to spend those first pay checks as fast as humanly possible. LOL! I almost immediately went down to the dealership and ordered a silver M3 and loved it. Another NSX, an S2000, and a second M3 after that, and I met my wife (who had an S2000 and is a 'car chick'), and we both agreed that we could never own boring cars. Years passed and we had our daughter, and I refused to let her first ride home being in my mother-in-laws boring Toyota Camry….it would be in my M3. Nothing less.

Then 'Daddy mode' kicked in, and I decided I needed to transport my child in something the size of a bank vault….and the 7-Series was purchased on a whim. It was huge, built like a tank, and rode wonderfully. But something was missing. Oh yeah! FUN!! When I got in the car, I felt like I should be retired, and I was only 32 years old. So the 7-Series was promptly dumped and I started looking for M5s. I went to drive the E60 M5 and decided I hated it. So what the hell else could I get that would be safe enough to survive a nuclear blast, yet not boring, and would have the ability to burn fuel with the quickness by simply tipping the gas pedal forward? 'Well….I hear Mercedes AMG cars are pretty quick…maybe I will check one of those out,' I said to a friend.

I started searching online and there was all of ONE Mercedes E63 for sale in a 150 mile radius of Indianapolis…and it was black. No way in hell was I buying a black Mercedes. Nope. Not in a million years. 'But, there is a white E63 for sale in Texas, so maybe I will go drive that black one and see if I like it…but I probably won't like it,' I remember thinking. Mentally I had (on impulse) figured I would just order an Audi S5 for the all-wheel drive capability and would call it a day. No way would I buy a Mercedes. They are for retired old guys at the country club, right?

So I took a friend with me and went to drive the E63. He asked me if I suddenly joined AARP because I was too young to have a Mercedes, he said. I agreed. We walked up to the menacing black E63 on the lot with its tinted windows and immediately I remember thinking, 'Wow….that looks pretty good in person…hmmm…I wonder how it sounds,' and moments later I was sitting in the driver's seat with the ignition key and pushing the start button on the gear shift and listening to the growling bark of the engine and exhaust note. 'Woah….that sounds pretty damn good,' and my friend agreed.

About 10 minutes later after entering the highway and punching the gas and feeling like I had been hit from behind by a freight train from the brutal acceleration of 507 hp being unleashed all at once, my friend and I were giggling like school children and agreeing that this was NOT what we had expected. I went home, signed on to MB World and researched the car, found the safety ratings showing that the E63 was built from pure granite almost, and had so many airbags and crumple zones that if it hit a bus the bus would probably lose….oh, and it did 0 - 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds….hehehe…yep, this will work just fine. A few days later, the car I had no intention of buying was in my garage.

Fast forward to now. The search for a new car. I thought to myself, 'You know…maybe we should check out what else is out there,' and I looked into other cars. I went to drive the all new Lexus IS-F, the BMW M3, and some other more 'normal cars', and kept coming back to one very unavoidable factor: AMGs are addictive. Once you own one, you don't want to own anything else.

I looked at the offerings from Japan, and they were all great value for the money. There is NO doubt that they would cost much less to own over the long run, and they are less expensive to buy. But driving them I felt like I was in a coma. No pulse rise on start up, and damn near falling asleep while driving.

I stopped in to look at Maserati and quickly determined that it sounded amazing, but I would be afraid to drive it 50 feet without concern that it would break down.

Audi and BMW….interesting, but their interiors were so numb and antiseptic
that I could not imagine spending large periods of time in them. Plus, the dealer network from my previous experience with them was NOT favorable at all. Mercedes has ALWAYS treated me like a king, and treated my family and I like we were part of their family.

So the decision was made….another AMG is the ONLY answer. We started looking into the C63 and E63, and then decided that we cannot go backwards on power or size. So the E63 is the only choice. Having narrowed it down to two particular cars, we expect to have another E63 in the garage right around the first part of the new year.

So we will have a W211 and W212 E63 AMG taking up residence next to each other in our garage….there is no other answer. It packs a magical balance of power, style, safety, reliability, amenities, innovation, and elegance that is unmatched for the price. Backed by a wonderful dealership (at least ours is), and a feeling that you are on top of the world when taking it in for service….there is no way to go backwards. The car commands respect, and there is nothing else I would rather have my family in, especially if they were involved in any sort of accident. Protecting my family made me choose to buy the absolute safest car that I could afford….it just so happens that the car also puts a smile on my face every time I start it up, or see it in the parking lot. AMG ownership really is something special, and a gift that anyone who owns one should take time to appreciate. It is a world class luxury car hiding the soul of an off the hinges wild race car underneath slightly understated skin. Once you own one….there is simply no way to go back to any other car. Everything else is just less than this in every other way. Enjoy my friends. We are all very blessed to have these keys in our hands, and cars in our driveway. All the best.

 

Nice write-up! I hear you on AMG thing. My wife has also become like me with the cars, so we had to trade her Srt8 Jeep for a ML63. She refuses to drive anything slow now.

 

Hi Mitch. Thanks for sharing, i had a stupid grin on my face through your whole post. That´s the kind of stories that car enthusiasm is all about!

Enjoy your AMG:s!

 

AMG! I would love to jump into a biturbo amg next!

 

Haha Mitch , this reminded me of the time when I was in market for my E55

I had driven M5 V10 before that and heard good things about M3 but when I drove the E55

I put a deposit down lol

Maybe go up a notch and try S63 or S65 lol

 

No way in hell was I buying a black Mercedes.


that made me LOL, haha!
I have a black Mercedes and it's hell


nice story man, enjoy that AMG: nothing like it

 

Nice write up, and I know what you mean. My wife enjoys driving the AMG also, and earlier this week I heard of another one for sale locally which I called about so there's a good chance we may have a his and her's AMG shortly?

 

Nice write up Mitch. With a respectable pedigree of performance cars under your belt, I'm glad to hear you speak highly of the E63

 

LOL! Yep....driving equals addiction.

I actually went and drove the S63 and S65 and decided against them for two reasons.

1.) I preferred the handling of the E63 over the two S-Class AMG cars.

2.) The sensation of speed in the S63 and S65 is just too isolated and quiet for me. In the E63 you feel a little more 'kick', and hear the roar much more...I like that.

 

Thank you. I did not intend to buy ONE black Mercedes, and now I may end up with TWO of them. Go figure. HAHAHA!

 

I appreciate it. Life has been good to me. I have owned many dream cars, and driven even more...but the E63 is just special. Mercedes and AMG crank out some amazingly special cars.

 

I love my AMG I realty don't want to drive anything else. Since getting the car I have had a chance to go to Laguna Seca for an AMG Private Lounge event. There we were able to be close to the brand with tech talks on new models. A hot lap in an SLS with a pro driver around the track. We were able to drive auto cross course in a new SLK55. I just loved flogging their cars for free just for being an owner!! I met some cool people and every AMG owner really cares for their cars.

 

My wife too came out of a GC SRT8 to get in to a C63. She was done with the carpools and lacrosse practice. The GC was (and still is, we kept it) very very quick, but with a coarse ride.

The C63 is blisteringly fast and does have a harsh ride, but a huge improvement over the Jeep.

I believe that the AMGs are very addictive. A lot about our going forward will be determined based upon our success with these cars. Enjoying the cars is all part of it.

 

nice write up love every bit of it !

 

You're right, there is no going back. I bought my AMG on a whim long distance because I thought it looked cool, so I was caught completely by surprise! It rekindled my teenage love for cars, then it saved my life when I slammed into a moose at 60mph. Not by crumple zones and gadgetry, it was simply strong enough to take the hit! What else can you drive after that.

 

Glad you are okay! The funny thing is that one of the stories I read before buying our E63 was of a gentlemen and his family that were in a head-on collision in their E63 at approximately 60 mph and they were able to walk away from the accident. Evidently the police officer responding to the scene of his accident said something to the effect of, 'I have seen many accidents in my time, and if you had been in anything else other than a Mercedes, you would not have survived that accident,' and that stuck with me when I was making a buying decision.

 

Wonderful post man. I hear you on the addiction. The combination of brute force, plush ammenities, and rock-like safety make these things the perfect vehicle. It's so bad that my friend who is a "Vette Freak" and was determined to get a Z06 has COMPLETELY written them off after driving my E55 and wll accept nothing less than an SL55 at this point. He's been vicariously bitten by the AMG bug through me. It's awesome
Enjoy the new ride!

 

Cop and tow truck driver said something very close to that.

 

Thank you. That is pretty funny about your Corvette friend switching from wanting a Z-06 to an SL55. These cars just jump up and surprise people because they usually think of Mercedes as sedate cruising cars, and then the AMGs jump up and blister the roadways with brutal torque and horsepower! LOL!

 

I looked and saw the post about your encounter with the 800 pound moose. Lucky you were in a Mercedes, and glad that you are okay.

 

Yeah, I was a bit irritated last summer when my sending unit started leaking, but I figured I'm alive... Mercedes doesn't really owe me anything in the grand scheme of things. Wrote a halfway decent song out of it too. (The moose thing not the gas leak
Everybody said that I shouda been dead but I'm not

 

great write up - i am in the same boat - having owned many dif vehicles over the years the AMG brand is where its at - having 2 211's - 55 and 63 wagon its a nice feeling that whatever you get into you know it's not the normal car that is running your kid from point A to B. I am in the boat where we have a 2nd kid on the way and am thinking the 55 may have to go away and either get a 212 AMG wagon or just go back to a GL for functionality -

 

This thread needs more discussion about the CTS-V.
























-G

 

 

The CTS-V.....not even in the same class. I drove one late last year and could not believe how cheaply it was made. It felt like a Cobalt.