CLS 55 or 63?
 

Okay, I have come to the point of where I want to move to a AMG. My choices, which I have looked into and spoke with some tuners, mechanics, friends that own 55's/63's, I have heard a mix of things.

So..the 55 has the supercharger, balls out torque, and my friend that owns a 55 Kleeman Stage 4, says get that and not the 63.

The guys at Buckhead Imports (excellent shop) says the 55 is awesome, but the 63 is newer and NA. That I may like the feel of the 55 better than the 63, but both are excellent choices.

Last, I don't want the new body style (2012) sticking with the 2006-2011 range. I have spotted some 55's black on black in between 30-45K miles on them in excellent shape. At the end of the day, which one should I get? Which would have more issues from the owners out there?

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome, thanks in advance.

I bought my 55 couple months back & love it. I got the opportunity to drive a e63 this past saturday, awesome car but I honestly really did like my 55 better. Now the e63 did have a crap magna'drone muffler & cut stocks but I couldn't think while cruising at 40, 50, 60, 70mph due to the fkn drone…maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it were oem or had anything other then a pos magna'drone on it. Both are awesome rides either way, by far the 55 has been one of my favorite cars I've owned.

Good one, it may have been the drone , thanks for the post. I know damn well others could chime in here. :p:

Like most will say, it depends on what you are looking for. If appearance is top on your list, a 55 looks the same as the 63s until 2009. 2009 you get newer side mirrors, steering wheel, tail lights, and other things I'm sure. (Could always swap these things out in the 55 though). If you plan to mod, I'd say go the route of the 55. Sure your buddy can vouch for that. I just added a tune to my 55 and JESUS did it make a difference. Torque is unbelievable. Uh what else? 55 is more rare due to it only being out for one year..Hope this helped a bit.

I absolutely love my CLS55. I've yet to drive a CLS63, but I'm sure it's a hell of a car as well. Whatever decision you make won't be the wrong decision.

Found a 55 with 23K miles on it, Renntech tuned @ $39K it is tempting...damn it is tempting! Looking at a few 63's, they have more than 23K miles on them but are in the 07-10 year range.

I think I may go the 63 route, for these reasons:

Brakes are full hydraulic, no SBC as on the 55.
Newer engine tech
I don't plan on modding the car engine wise.

The 63 I am looking at is in great condition, only 30K miles on it. CarFax and Autocheck are clean, full service history, service A just completed on it. Driving up to take a look at it.

Any comments or feedback with the 07 CLS63's are welcome.

I was going the 55 route and my friend had one. But I opted for now, since I had a budget of $35k to get a 550 instead until I can get some more money for a 63 MY2008 or newer. Reason being, the 55's have to many issues with what I have encountered. My friends 55 dashboard would lite up like a Xmas tree at times. His engine would cut out when driving it heavy. And I have also sold a few 55's at work and they al seemed to have issues. Plus bare in mind it was the first year it was offered and I try to stay away from first year production cars and that's why I want an 08' 63 and not 07! Sure the 55 would be a hell of a lot more fun than the 550 but I have no issues with it. It's mint. And I know there is members that have had no issues with their 55's but I been on here long enough to read about them and have dealt with them in person at work.

Good points, I am talking with a dealer tonight about an 09 63, all I am looking for. I think I have come to what I want.

Mine is an 09, I love it thus far.

Depends what you want..I've had a 55 in both the SL and E, and just overall wanted a "63" . Yes the little things at the time I bought meant something..Sound ( i wanted the crackle/pop) and paddle shift OEM, the emblem IMO love it vs "kompressor", engine goes either way. It was maybe a psychological thing but I wanted to "feel" like I bought something newer..maybe MB marketing works that evil magic..

The 55 is more seat kick for sure and most likely faster , but i thought to myself the 63 is already fast enough and how many times did I really run into a car equivalent to 500hp. Not much and most of time traffic, etc..so I the 63 won out.

Go for it! I'm aching for one!

i am looking at an 06 with 56k miles, this is at a dealership. what are the thing I need to look at for? how much is a ppi at mb dealership?
thanks

I'd say Airmatic is the most important to look at. My local MB charged me $225 for a PPI which I think it's definitely worth it.

I was going to get a 63 but opted for a 55k because of the parts. Parts are MUCH cheaper on 55k and aftermarket items are easier to come by.

how about engine reliability and maintenance?

Got the 63, LOVING IT. The 55 is not that much cheaper on parts, the pads and rotors are the same price, which is one of the highest maintenance items. Besides that, with 55 super charger you have to look at the pulley, supercharger, etc. The 63 is NA, newer, and I opted to not get the first year edition (07).

I was on the fence, scrutinizing, but I just said what the hell and pulled the trigger. The dealer knocked off another $2K just to appease me. :rolf:

Congratulations! Enjoy in great health.

Congrats :y
did you get an extended warranty? how much?

Thanks! It is a 09 Designo Edition, Platinum Black on black and loaded. Price was a little less than $43K (dealer asked not to tell about price but read between the lines LOL) only 36K miles on it, and it has an MB CPO warranty until 2016 or 100K miles. I didn't even have to get a warranty. Then to boot, the iPod hookup had an iPod in the glove-box, I guess the doctor that had it before left it? :nix:

As he said..at that price it was really a steal.

Perhaps it was the conversations we had about Brazilian women with nice racks, partying in Miami, and his dogs. Convo helps at times?

:zoom:

Hmmm good pick up but when you go do you brakes, you will spend at least $2500 in parts alone on 63s where 55k, you can walk away with parts/labor for under $700. That was my biggest drawback in not getting the E63 :(

I would take the 55k engine over the NA 63 in all areas besides sound. 63s sound so ****ing bad ass!

55 more reliable? even with sc?

(sound can be modded) = artificial:)

Thanks, the 63 does sound bad ass, and hauls it!

Perhaps, the front brakes and rotors will be higher on the 63 tis true. Price is actually around $2300 on the parts which is rotors and pads. On the 55 however, $700 is a stretch even by an indie it will be a little higher than that. Check on Pelican Parts, the rotors/pads for the front are a little over $700 on parts, where are you getting your pads/rotors from? On my 500 the front brakes were around $800 with pads/rotors/labor with an indie. Dealer, around $1100.

I don't know about reliability, but I heard conflicting stories from tech's. Some said the 55 is better, some said the 63 was better and more efficient, and you would not need to worry about pulley/sc. The SC needs service too, and that is not cheap. After consulting with performance shops, indies, MB techs/service managers, it was a toss up as there were pro's/con's to each.

At the end the consensus, it was if get the 55 you have older technology, easier to mod. 63, newer technology, if you don't care about modding the engine, fine. I don't want to do any mods on the engine..so there it was.

One of the main issues I heard about on the 63, is to make sure you get the oil changed when required and service the transmission. This is a no brainer, you should get that done on ANY car. (Some stink was made about ticking or valve issues back some time ago.)

Let's not forget about the thread where some lady's S550 (or 63?) seized from not changing the oil until 68K miles. WTF?

On the airmatic..Arnott guys. Saves a bundle, and you will have a lifetime warranty on the struts when replaced. They offer MB World members discounts to add. Even with a PPI (which I get on all cars), all of the struts and pump went haywire on my R500. ALL of them, starting from 20K-75K miles period. Pump went out first, then the left front, right front, then the rear left. On the rears, I just got both replaced at once. DONE.

On my CLS500, the front right went around 80K miles or so..if I recall. Lasted a long time on that one.