Anyone regret selling their C63?

[Riverside Red]

If you do opt for winter tyres, I would get other quotes as well as from the dealership. I was quoted £1900 for a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's from the dealership and found them on Camskill for £1215.

Winter - Snow - Cold Weather - Car/MPV Tyres - 19"

Got a set of 19" MP Alpin PA4's coming up for sale when I return from my hols in a couple of weeks time, used on my W205 C63 for one winter, really good tyre in snow or just generally on cold wet surfaces. No good to me now as the car has been replaced!

RR

 

[Ierton]

Before we go into that one. Yes some do have problems with the head bolts and it is known issue. However let me point out that people that have no problems, I would guess the majority, don’t tend to come on the forum and post about how their car is performing flawlessly day in day out.

I'm not referring to headbolts but complete engine failures and top-end rebuilds. My brother was a Service Manager for MB (not a franchise) and the number of cars repaired under warranty was quite ridiculous. His own C63 has had a rebuild twice. I'd stick with the 55K or the later BiTurbo myself.

 

[Will]

I think it’s fair to say that although the M113/K is undoubtedly a very durable engine the M156 was sold in much larger numbers hence the number of issues may appear to skew the overall perception of reliability.

I mean how many W204 C63s V8s were sold compared to say W203 C55s or even W202 C43s?

If there’s ten times as many sold you’ll see ten times as many faults, etc.

 

[Ierton]

I think that's the other way round Will - the M113 has sold far more than the M156.

 

[Will]

I think that's the other way round Will - the M113 has sold far more than the M156.

In AMG guise?

Certainly in terms of C-class I’ve seen shed loads more ‘63s out and about compared to the very unusual sight of previous models.

 

[Ierton]

Across all models - not just the C-Class. Sure the C63 is more common than the old C43/55 but we're talking about engine reliability.

 

[Will]

Surprises me if I’m honest - how many AMG M113s were produced compared to M156?

Both were in production for several years but I’d have guessed the M156 found itself into more cars overall as Mercedes seemed to be selling a lot more cars (and AMGs) from the late 2000s compared to the late 90s/early 00s?

 

[Riverside Red]

Sad to say I'm not really missing my W205 C63, due to a change in family circumstances meaning a regular trips across the Pennines on the M62, I chopped the C63 in for a new BMW530d MSport Xdrive.

TBH all I'm missing is the V8 performance and engine noise on a fast A road. The straight 6 diesel is silky smooth and nearly silent, even on 20" run flats the interior of the BMW is so quiet and comfortable on the motorway, and the quality and fit and finish of the cabin is miles ahead of the C Class with no rattles or buzzes from the dash. The icing on the cake is 45mpg average instead of 26mpg too.

So I'm missing the V8, but not the C63 at the moment.....a bit down the line I can see me changing my Boxster for a nice low mileage 65 plate SLK55 if one comes on the market, so I can get my V8 kicks once again!

RR

 

[Ierton]

The 55k was in production for almost twice as long as the 63.

 

[AMGeed]

The 55k was in production for almost twice as long as the 63.

Are you sure?
The 55k engine was first used in the 2002 SL55 AMG and was last used in the 2010 SLR.
The 63 engine was first introduced in 2006 with the E63 among others, and last used in the 2014 model of the C63

I make that 8 years each

 

[Ierton]

M113 first appeared in 1998 with the supercharger added in 2001 for MY2002 and the G55 used it until 2011 so 14 years. Adding the supercharger is a bit of plumbing - not much else is different IMO.

 

[Will]

You specifically stated the 55k was in production for almost twice as long, then refer to 1998 when the 55k wasn’t available, then try stretching it a bit at both ends. Roger was closer to the mark - it’s not 14 years is it?

No one is denying the greatness of the M113 in all flavours (I’m definitely a fan) but the M156 was by no means a a bad engine despite some of the documented issues.

Sounds better than a M113 too!

 

[Ierton]

The M113 is the foundation of the 55k which is just a variant so 14 years is right.

The M156 is a great engine if you ignore the lack of simple tuning capability, low torque, fuel economy and reliability compared to the 55k it replaced. This is the reason they went back to forced induction with all models since.

BMW went through the same thing with the V10 - glorious sounding but ultimately flawed.