Any Merc C63/C43/full blown AMG owners on here?

welshboyo

Testing the Water with buying a C63 as a daily driver - my round trip to work is now only 30 miles a day  - the days of me hurtling up and down the M4/M5 are long gone so its time I think to get something completely mad..

Anybody on here run one of these as a daily driver and how do you find it?

I know the MPG is almost comedy and its costs £570 to tax it so no surprises there, its just how practical are they in the real world.

Looking at the 08-12 plate type of range (so W202 I think)

revsorg

You've really brought into this Extinction Rebellion thing haven't you.

theflyisback

Not a merc but i had something similar with a BMW M3.

Superb on a quick country lane (cornering at 70mph with no fear of going off the road) but negated by the 20 mins crawling at 5mph round my housing estate to avoid destroying it on the speed bumps. 

MPG was about 30mpg so not too bad.  I don't remember the tax being so high though.  Servicing costs were ridiculous though, random filters costing five times a normal one etc.  And no fun parking at your local morrisons and trying to get out of the thing with a massive driver door when you're so low down like trying to climb out a manhole.

Irony is you ideally need to be doing upwards of 50 miles a day to keep these things running efficiently - though thats the same with any car really, traffic lights and rush hour are your biggest enemy.  And you only get the noise you get these cars for by giving it a bit of beans which isn't an opportunity that comes round near enough to enjoy it.

That said, i had a PT Cruiser covertible which did about 16mpg, full price tax, massive money pit, slow and had the turning circle of the queen mary so the M3 was definitely not my most expensive motoring period by a long chalk.  


I couldn't do that thing anymore.  My back isn't ageing very nicely so my days of my arse being 6 inches off the road are long gone.  Give me a nice big Volvo 4x4 any day!


Go for it I say.  Driving can be fun and for the cost of keeping ANY car on the road its nice to get something back.


 


  
 

Lodious

I don't know much about Merc's but I'm driving one of the V8 M3's and even with a warranty, it's been pretty chuffing expensive to run. Tyres (nearly £1500 spent in 12K miles), brakes, servicing, oil, tax.....it all mounts up. Commuting in it where I live is just pointless, the roads are too busy and if they were quiet you have to worry about the police. Getting stuck in traffic is grim as the economy drops to less than 7mpg. 

That said, taking it out in the evening  / early morning is a hoot. I did a road trip across Wales a few weeks ago, and the roads in Wales are so much more fun than in the UK, so maybe your experience will be better.

I dunno what Merc's are like for reliability, but I got a 2 year warranty with mine and honest to god...9 hours after the warranty expired the engine management light came on and it's off to BMW on the back of a low loader. I guess AMG will be the same as M cars, in that although they are (relatively) cheap to buy secondhand, when they go wrong, you are buying parts for something that would have cost 70-100K, and that's how the spares are priced. 


Also, you have to let the oil warm up, in the M3, it's about 10 miles till the oil gets to temp, so the rev's have to be kept under 3k for short journeys. If the AMG is similar, the car won't be warmed up until you have got to work, so it will be slower than a diesel and cost 4 times as much to run for your commute. 

Do it!

theflyisback

Lodious said:

I don't know much about Merc's but I'm driving one of the V8 M3's and even with a warranty, it's been pretty chuffing expensive to run. Tyres (nearly £1500 spent in 12K miles), brakes, servicing, oil, tax.....it all mounts up. Commuting in it where I live is just pointless, the roads are too busy and if they were quiet you have to worry about the police. Getting stuck in traffic is grim as the economy drops to less than 7mpg. 

That said, taking it out in the evening  / early morning is a hoot. I did a road trip across Wales a few weeks ago, and the roads in Wales are so much more fun than in the UK, so maybe your experience will be better.

I dunno what Merc's are like for reliability, but I got a 2 year warranty with mine and honest to god...9 hours after the warranty expired the engine management light came on and it's off to BMW on the back of a low loader. I guess AMG will be the same as M cars, in that although they are (relatively) cheap to buy secondhand, when they go wrong, you are buying parts for something that would have cost 70-100K, and that's how the spares are priced. 


Also, you have to let the oil warm up, in the M3, it's about 10 miles till the oil gets to temp, so the rev's have to be kept under 3k for short journeys. If the AMG is similar, the car won't be warmed up until you have got to work, so it will be slower than a diesel and cost 4 times as much to run for your commute. 

Do it!

Oh aye, I forgot, yes tyres aren't going to last long when there's like half an inch to rubber to content with.  I replaced both rears twice in the 18 months.  think i got away with the fronts.       

I could have sworn i got fairly decent mpg but thinking back i think 30 is over egging it.  I was doing a lot of motorway miles though.   

Lodious

theflyisback said:

Lodious said:

I don't know much about Merc's but I'm driving one of the V8 M3's and even with a warranty, it's been pretty chuffing expensive to run. Tyres (nearly £1500 spent in 12K miles), brakes, servicing, oil, tax.....it all mounts up. Commuting in it where I live is just pointless, the roads are too busy and if they were quiet you have to worry about the police. Getting stuck in traffic is grim as the economy drops to less than 7mpg. 

That said, taking it out in the evening  / early morning is a hoot. I did a road trip across Wales a few weeks ago, and the roads in Wales are so much more fun than in the UK, so maybe your experience will be better.

I dunno what Merc's are like for reliability, but I got a 2 year warranty with mine and honest to god...9 hours after the warranty expired the engine management light came on and it's off to BMW on the back of a low loader. I guess AMG will be the same as M cars, in that although they are (relatively) cheap to buy secondhand, when they go wrong, you are buying parts for something that would have cost 70-100K, and that's how the spares are priced. 


Also, you have to let the oil warm up, in the M3, it's about 10 miles till the oil gets to temp, so the rev's have to be kept under 3k for short journeys. If the AMG is similar, the car won't be warmed up until you have got to work, so it will be slower than a diesel and cost 4 times as much to run for your commute. 

Do it!

Oh aye, I forgot, yes tyres aren't going to last long when there's like half an inch to rubber to content with.  I replaced both rears twice in the 18 months.  think i got away with the fronts.       

I could have sworn i got fairly decent mpg but thinking back i think 30 is over egging it.  I was doing a lot of motorway miles though.   

I got 35 out of mine once on the motorway! 22-23 is more normal though :-(

brucegill

A friend had one. Service intervals were crazy. Just the oil change was eye watering. AMG service center only and AMG oil (liquid gold mixed with unicorn seamen judging by the price of it)... that was in warranty, hence the silly serving I guess.

Bloody fun though. 

That said, he did loose his license......

iseverynamegone

Do you want it for the performance or the badge? 

Stevepage

Considered a Mustang? You'd get something newer for the same price and servicing wouldn't be as expensive. You'd still get a thumping great V8 too. Maybe not as prestigious as a Merc but just as fun

dano

My mate has the C43 estate and it's truely awesome. Driven 'sensibly' it's 30mpg, loads of space for the family and immense fun on your own to drive.  He's had it 2 yrs and servicing  and tyres are expensive but you go into AMG ownership knowing how that

Lodious

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/w212-e63-end-of-term-report.250018/

blobb

e92 335i and remap it.

SouthpawMark

I’ve got an E63S. It’s jolly good fun. It’s the new 4.0 V8, rather than the 6.2 V8, but it still loves petrol just as much. I’ve had it just over a year, done 18,000 miles, and it hasn’t bankrupted me yet. 

Stevepage

SouthpawMark said:

I’ve got an E63S. It’s jolly good fun. It’s the new 4.0 V8, rather than the 6.2 V8, but it still loves petrol just as much. I’ve had it just over a year, done 18,000 miles, and it hasn’t bankrupted me yet. 

One of my dream cars. Lovely interior and quicker than most things you see on the road today. I'd only ever take a Range Rover SVR over it. But I cant afford either so I'll just keep dreaming 

Dominic

Had a proper AMG years ago and it was great fun although I would prefer an Audi RS6 or RS4 these days
In the real world you will be able to hustle a little 3.2 Caymen around a lot faster on the road and they corner far better

revsorg

I plan to order a Tesla Model 3 in July.  We invested in a solar array 8 years ago so a lot of the time we should be charging it off our roof.   At this stage it's a toss-up between the standard and long range versions.

FX_Munkee

A freind of mine had a C63 AMG, ridiculously fast thing. Comfy and fairly practical but servicing costs were eye watering though. He's now got a 5.0 Mustang, similar noise and he gets to keep his kidneys.

welshboyo

Thanks for all your help guys - went to see 1 last night at a local specialist, what a car!!  however, the guy thought I would be mad running it as a daily driver (it was his own car) as it eats tyres (its hard not to spin the tyres, even in reverse), petrol (he was averaging 21) and it took 10 litres of oil every change - it didn't help that this had the Performance Pack on it (so 480 bhp, LSD and Composite Brakes)

Don't fancy a Beemer and I've driven Mercs for years - the 350 E Class I have now is a wonderful car, I just feel though that I am pushing money into something (PCP) that I'll have nothing to show for it at the end of the 4 years (coming up next year) - I'd rather cut the ties now and invest in something that will be mine.

Gassage

I've had a C43 and a C55 Amg. Would go past anything except a petrol pump.

revsorg

https://youtu.be/a3yFiz5mbeE

FastEddie

A left field alternative......Impreza Wagon with the Prodrive performance pack.
Ours has 270 bhp, weighs nothing and go's like a scalded cat. Sounds great too.

Tyres are less than £800 all round and if you get a standard one you will have a super reliable car. Cheap to service and parts are great.

I've driven the STI and standard WRX and the Prodrive Performance pack is the pick of the bunch. 
A wagon is also super practical. 

I use ours daily for the gym and school run, 30 miles round trip. I work from home. It's great. Comfy, leather, heated seats, everything you need.

Ok it's not the super refined AMG but it's light, smallish, cheap to run in comparison and will give you a cracking sound track when boost comes in.

Left field is a great hunting ground.