robl45

Considering going from 2008 Corvette Convertible to 2010 E63 for practicality reasons (2 young kids). Besides the incredible expensive extended warranty and higher insurance rates, is there anything else I should know? When in full sport mode is it somewhat like a sports car? I would be getting one with Distronic and premium 2 package if I get one. Unfortunately finding one that has distronic and parktronic seems impossible as well as finding one with the panoramic roof.

Thanks

faz492

Full sports mode just makes the gear box more aggressive and keeps the car at a high rev range and making it "pokey".
With the 2010 you do have the electronic suspension button stiffens the suspension up.
To be honest going from a LS motor to an AMG its just a different driving experience.
P.S welcome to the costly repairs when something screws up xD

robl45

By full sports mode, I mean suspension at sport plus and tranny in sport plus or manual, is it like driving a sports car? Don't want to give up everything. Ideally I would like to be able to drive nice and comfortable until I put in sports mode. I drove a CTS-V and really couldn't tell the difference between tour mode and sport mode on the suspension, it was either rough or rougher.

PeterUbers

What do you define as sports car?

It's a 4400lb sedan... No it doesn't perform like a sports car that is a svelt vette but it also is a rare super sedan that can outperform most other sedans on the planet compared to the plethora of sonatas and camrys out there that can't do anything but get you from a to b with the kids strapped in the back

In sport trans and sport suspension mode I'm still incredibly aware I'm driving a sedan ... Test drive and see what you think

kart125

Agreed that it is not a sports car. I wish the sport plus mode could shave 1000lbs of weight! But i'm glad with the "comfort-to-performance" ratio it offers. I don't think any other car offers such a good compromise between the 2.

faz492

Perfectly said.
I drove my mates C63 amg, the c63 amg feels a lot sportier to drive as a sedan probably because the size of the car is a little smaller than the E63.
but the e63 just has its own comfortable feel like its the perfect "sleeper".

robl45

I'll be test driving hopefully this week. I have high hopes.

homeofstone

Look for a 2011+ due to head bolt or run VIN check for the head bolt problem.

jim911

I have a new Stingray, a GT3, Boxster Spyder and the E63 is just as enjoyable to drive in a different way. A little more civil , you can certainly feel the suspension changes, but they are not harsh. These cars are a great compromise for hauling the family. After a lap or two on a racetrack you forget how big they are, similar to the Panamera.

robl45

Thats comforting to hear. I really want to cruise in luxury and then be able to go into sports mode when I'm feeling like getting crazy rather than just all out feel every bump in the road.

As for the head bolt issue, I can't afford a 2011 and I don't see that many of them, I will have a 5 year 125K warranty so hopefully it breaks during the warranty period.

homeofstone

Will the warranty cover the cost of front brake rotors which are 800.00 to 1000.00 each and pads at 100.00 to 200.00 a set for the front? Transmission service of 500.00. 9.3 quarts of 0w40 Mobil 1 oil for each oil change. If you have not owned a premium luxury car before then you should read up on maintenance cost before buying since you stated that a 2011 may be too expensive for you to purchase.

AMGJAY

Just out of curiousity, what is faster, the C7 or the E63? I've ran a Grandsport C6 and it was dead even so I was wondered about the C7. Just thought Id ask since you had both vehicles.

robl45

Insulting much? Brakes are no where near that cost unless you like to pay through the nose, I will get the brake parts from the same place I got them for my Corvette and they are no where near those prices. I change the oil myself so I'll need an extra 3.3 quarts over the vette, that 15 dollars extra is really going to hurt me. The transmission service I'm sure can be done far cheaper by an independent mechanic.

cnolke

While Im not sure about his tone, he does have a point. I've got an E63 and a C6 Z06. The "care and feeding" between the two is, unfortunately, very different.

I regularly put the Z06 in the air. I've had several LS motors in and out of C5's, C6's, and I'm past the point where anything on the car intimidates me other than the ring/pinion and paint work.

I've replaced brake parts and worked with a qualified technician to learn how to pull the oil out of the M157 (which may be different to your M156). Both of our cars use two-piece front rotors, for which rings are not available (either you place the rotor/hat with a stock pair repeatedly or you purchase a new set of rotors form RacingBrake which allows you to replace rings only.) You will not find a pair of those two-piece rotors other than in some kind of weird liquidation sale for less than $1200 a pair. I've tried. Decent (and I mean a good balance of rotor wear/bite/dust) pads are $300+ for the front set.

The oil of the M157 is taken out the top of the engine using a vacuum pump. Its not impossible for a home mechanic, but one certainly needs several hundred $'s worth of tools. Changing the oil in the Z06's dry-sump setup is really easy in comparison. The transmission service and rear-end service (for the LSD) are things that I want the dealer to do in order to preserve my warranty.

If you plan on learning how to do these things and acquire the tools, I wish you good luck and hope you will share your experience with the community. But with my level of experience, the E63 is still a car with a very, very different cost of ownership than the Corvette. Its one reason I have hesitated for a long time to trade my Z06 for an M157 SL63 or 991 Turbo. The price of the car is only part of the financial hit.

robl45

I admit I may have gotten a bit defensive as everytime over the years that I have visited a BMW forum it usually ends up with a lot of elitist people paying way too much for things. At any rate, I did research on the brakes and those front rotors definately are more expensive then I'd like. I noticed you can by the rings from the Racing brake place, but I wonder by the time you'd need them if they'd still have them or be in business. How often would you need rotors anyway? I needed them in my Corvette but that was only because I literally was riding metal to metal before I changed the brakes. Are these rotors really changed that often? From what I understand from reading, the m156 engine can be changed from the bottom or done through the dipstick. Oil evacuators are 50 bucks through 100 dollars for nice ones, I'm not sure what tools you are talking about that are very expensive? As for the transmission fluid, I was trying to read about that and seemed to find that its supposed to be good for the life of the car, is this incorrect? How often would I need to change that? I believe at least the car I'm looking at doesn't have the limited slip, so the rear end should be okay I believe. While on the subject of the costs, I assume this thing is supposed to be run on premium gas, what happens if its run on regular gas? I always used to run premium for years and years and when gas prices shot up I started using regular. Even went back to premium in the vette for a time but noticed no difference so saved the money. Tires still break loose just fine with regular.

homeofstone

Transmission service per my manual and the MB web site is to be done every 40,000 miles. It is a sealed transmission with double wet clutch and the fluid is suppose to be changed at a particular temperature then checked at a higher temperature. I am not sure of the procedure but good Indie shops with star diagnostic equipment can do it and of course the dealer. Rear end oil has to be changed but it is easy and 75w140LS synthetic is fine even in non LS diff. The 6.3 amg REQUIRES Premium gas. It is stated in many places in the manual due to the compression setup of the engine. Some car manuals state they recommend premium, but AMG requires it.


Here is a link to the maintenance manual http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalA...nce_Manual.pdf

robl45

great, thanks, the car I'm looking at has about 45K miles so I'll see if the tranny fluid has been done if not I'll see if I can get them to do it.

otakki

Even if you suck out the oil from the top for the M156 engine, you might still want to drain the oil cooler which still holds a good amount of oil. You might want to swap out the headbolts to prevent future problems and also change the tappet while you are at it. Depending on where you live, make sure you don't get slapped by the insurance but I can't imagine it being higher than a Corvette. Speaking of panoramic roof--it seems there are more cars with it than without it.

homeofstone

Here is a good discussion on E63 front brakes. https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...25k-miles.html

AMGJAY

Bueller?

robl45

Insurance is higher, about 400 dollars every 6 months. Higher than the Cadillac CTS-V too. That was only about 100 dollars higher.

hyperion667

MB commands a higher price........once you get used to it, it's not so bad


have fun in the E class, I had two, they're great cars

robl45

Test drove one today. It seemed nice. Not quite sports car like but would do the job nicely. I was a little disappointed that like the Cadillac CTS-V, there wasn't a huge difference in the suspension modes. I really wanted to float on a cushion of air when in comfort mode.

Anyway, the interior was a little rough, the unlock button on the drivers side was essentially worn off and the on button in the middle of the radio/navigation section was wearing too. Are these easy to replace?

homeofstone

[QUOTE=robl45;6319487]Test drove one today. It seemed nice. Not quite sports car like but would do the job nicely. I was a little disappointed that like the Cadillac CTS-V, there wasn't a huge difference in the suspension modes. I really wanted to float on a cushion of air when in comfort mode.

Anyway, the interior was a little rough, the unlock button on the drivers side was essentially worn off and the on button in the middle of the radio/navigation section was wearing too. Are these easy to replace?[/QUOTE


Since you mentioned the ride, you may like the E550 with the sport package. I came very close to getting the E550 when I was shopping. And a 2011 E550 sport or maybe 2012 E550 sport will be about same price as a 2010 E63.

robl45

It seems the unlock/lock button is pretty cheap, not sure if its an easy replacement, but only seems like 25 bucks. Does anyone know if the ON button in the center console is replaceable?

Also when driving and manual shifting, I noticed sometimes it seemed like I had to click the paddle twice to downshift, was I just clicking them too quickly? I was trying to drop as quickly as possible from 7th to 3rd or so.