R63 Buying and Running Advice

[tjrundy]

Hello,

given the number of these cars sold in the UK, I appreciate response might be thin on the ground here. So basically, I have put a holding deposit on an R63 advertised for sale recently until I can get up to see it next week.

I have a B5 RS4 at the moment, but I have another kid on the way and I can't fit 3 kids seats on the rear bench of the RS4. I looked at the V10 M5 and it's the same problem - only two isofix seats.

This R63 seems to tick all the boxes - height adjustable 4wd for trips to the countryside, 6 seemingly real seats with 4 isofix points and a few more hps than my RS4. Agreed it's not pretty, but who cares from the inside...

My only concern is the history for this one (have yet to get from MB) and maintenance costs which seemingly vary between little and absurd depending on what goes wrong, when. The RS4 has cost me about £7k in the last 2 years, but then again I got a lot of preventative maintenance done (cams changed etc), as I was planning to keep it for a while.

This particular R63 is fully loaded and has around 73k miles on the clock. Last minor services was done at 65k miles 1 year ago. I understand that the next service is likely to be a major one.

Any thoughts / advice / suggestions on members who I can contact for their own experiences?

Any advice about what to look for when I go and look it over?

Finally, any advice about keeping the car maintained? The RS4 crowd advised never to go to the main dealer, and in fact there were a few specialists (MRC and Unit 20) which is where everyone went. Are there any decent specialists or MB for AMG's in the London area?

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks, Tom.

 

[gaz_l]

Greetings, Tom.

That's a left field choice, but exclusive - you're not likely to ever see another one.

The R is a massive beast - my old FD had an R320 CDI that I drove a couple of times. It wasn't bad to drive, just huge - clearly designed for the American market. I never had to try a multi-storey car park in it, I think it would have been challenging and I'm not scared of big vehicles - I'm quite happy in a 7.5 tonner.

Performance of the R320 could best be described as "adequate", it wasn't a quick car but not exactly a slouch either. The handling was OK, thanks mostly I think to the 4matic, but you knew you were driving something that was the wrong side of 2 tons. A sports car it ain't.

Obviously the R63 will be a different kettle of fish with another ~300bhp, but even the AMG guys "cannae change the laws of physics". I would imagine it'll be a hoot in a straight line (de-badge it for extra points humiliating spotty oiks away from the lights) but it'll never make a good track day car. I'd also imagine it's going to be fairly ruinous on a) fuel (a given on any AMG, really), b) tyres and c) suspension parts. See "Physics".

With regards to maintenance, there's lots of good indies about but the R is rare in itself, let alone the R63. Specific knowledge is going to be thin on the ground, but TBH I think that's going to be just as true in the dealer network as well..

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[BFT]

Acid @ MSL and Paul @ Eurocharged are your two main Unit20/MRC in the MB World from my experience mate.

What year is your car?

 

[Howard]

Don't discount Olly at PCS , he knows AMG's inside out

Where abouts are you based ?

 

[kingdave]

Just a thought - 3 kids doesn't necessarily mean you need a bus. Check out multimac, we have one in our a-class.

 

[tjrundy]

Hi guys,

thank you for the feedback so far.

@Gaz, I'm used to expensive fuel and tyres from the RS4, so my concern is focused mainly on repair / failure costs. I'm an electronics engineer so I have most of those issued covered, and I own an engineering company with an electronics lab, so I'm sure one of our techs can make even board repairs, that the main dealer would otherwise junk.

Funnily enough I found an R63 owner on mbworld.org that lives within 1/2 a mile of me in south central London - what are the chances?!? I've asked if I can see his car before I take a look at this one for sale.

@BFT, I haven't bought it yet, but it's a 2006 - the only year that I think they made this model. MSL is in Birmingham, so that's a bit of a trek for me, but Eurocharged are in Watford which is much closer.

@Howard, PCS is Mercedes Benz & Smart Specialists | Prestige Car Service | Horndean, Hampshire ? If so, that's close enough, especially if he's a specialist. Would it be fair to say that service from PCS is going to be better than from the main dealer?

@Kingdave, thank you for the recommendation, I didn't know about the multimac before. However my kids are 10, 8 and -2 months so I think a multimac has a limited shelf-life before the older kids are too large.

Thanks,

Tom.

 

[kingdave]

@Kingdave, thank you for the recommendation, I didn't know about the multimac before. However my kids are 10, 8 and -2 months so I think a multimac has a limited shelf-life before the older kids are too large.

Definitely - we tried to put a 10 yr old cousin in ours a couple of months ago and he wasn't too comfortable - he is a big lad though. Eldest of my 3 is 5 and slightly built so multimac is ideal for us generally.

 

[jotter22]

Wayne Gates - Specializing in mercedes benzUnit F3, Phoenix Industrial Estate
Rosslyn Crescent
Harrow
HA1 2SP
Tel: 020 8863 9233
Mob: 07989 321638



Tony.

 

[BTB 500]

The R is a massive beast - my old FD had an R320 CDI that I drove a couple of times. It wasn't bad to drive, just huge - clearly designed for the American market. I never had to try a multi-storey car park in it, I think it would have been challenging and I'm not scared of big vehicles - I'm quite happy in a 7.5 tonner.

My in-laws had an R350L (petrol V6) as a daily driver for many years and size-wise it was OK. Certainly no problem in multi-stories, but then the Vito/Viano isn't either. Parktronic is a big help of course

My wife used to drive the R Class quite happily when her parents were staying here, and her car at the time was an Audi A4.

 

[TrickyTrev]

Hi.

I know nothing of the r63 but I have say I have the dirty love for these things.

The r63 looks brilliant in my view and is an impossibly impressive sleeper. It would be cool to tear off the lights in one and embarrass many more sports cars. That never gets old....either that, or I never grow up!

The RS4 is widely agreed to be the best RS Audi ever made. I love my merc, but bear this in mind. It is a nailed on classic and it's value will be stronger in a few years than the r63 which is extremely niche

I can get 3 kids in my e55. Mostly because my 10yr old doesn't want even a booster seat these days.

If you can get to r63 for the price you want, then good, but keep the RS.

Have fun whatever you do.

Cheers

Trev

 

[Howard]

Hi guys,

thank you for the feedback so far.

@Gaz, I'm used to expensive fuel and tyres from the RS4, so my concern is focused mainly on repair / failure costs. I'm an electronics engineer so I have most of those issued covered, and I own an engineering company with an electronics lab, so I'm sure one of our techs can make even board repairs, that the main dealer would otherwise junk.

Funnily enough I found an R63 owner on mbworld.org that lives within 1/2 a mile of me in south central London - what are the chances?!? I've asked if I can see his car before I take a look at this one for sale.

@BFT, I haven't bought it yet, but it's a 2006 - the only year that I think they made this model. MSL is in Birmingham, so that's a bit of a trek for me, but Eurocharged are in Watford which is much closer.

@Howard, PCS is Mercedes Benz & Smart Specialists | Prestige Car Service | Horndean, Hampshire ? If so, that's close enough, especially if he's a specialist. Would it be fair to say that service from PCS is going to be better than from the main dealer?

@Kingdave, thank you for the recommendation, I didn't know about the multimac before. However my kids are 10, 8 and -2 months so I think a multimac has a limited shelf-life before the older kids are too large.

Thanks,

Tom.

Hi , that is indeed the PCS I was talking about !

Specialists in the best sense of the word , they really know their onions. Service will far surpass a main dealer.

There are those of us who drive from London to let Olly at PCS do the work on their cars , he's that good.

 

[JRH30]

Hi , that is indeed the PCS I was talking about !

Specialists in the best sense of the word , they really know their onions. Service will far surpass a main dealer.

There are those of us who drive from London to let Olly at PCS do the work on their cars , he's that good.

Seconded!!

 

[timwood2000]

To the OP - did you buy it? It has disappeared from Autotrader.....

 

[Conquistador]

A rare beast indeed. Fewer registered than any Veyron, Zonda, Enzo etc.

I can see why they didn't sell well when launched, I've always loved the R63 though and would love to be brave enough to run one now!

Anybody know what the price was when new?