Mercedes E63 AMG wagon

[RayDunzl]

And BTW, a BEV will be far superior at altitude.

I'd want one that is pressurized, i think.

 

[Dialectic]

@Dialectic about two years ago I went through a similar decision process on a 2013 SL63 AMG. My wife adores those cars, and a 30K mile, original senior citizen owner car came on the market, for sale by the owner in Newport Beach. I looked at it, and I thought I was looking at new car. All dealer serviced. The owner mentioned, apologetically, that it was in the rain a few times since he bought it five years before. I spent some time talking to one of the dealer's service writers about prices for maintenance and standard replacement stuff, like brake pads and rotors. Brake pads and rotors front and rear with MB parts was in the range of $3000, just to give you an example. An HID headlight replacement assembly was around $2000. Catalytic converters were about $5000. Fluid changes weren't bad, but anything that broke and needed replacement was pricey. My insurance company didn't care for collision or comprehensive on the car either, and the quotes were ridiculous. Have you talked to your insurance company yet? In the end my frugality overcame my desire to makes points with my wife and I walked away, but I understand the impulse. (If the car was for me and not her, and the SL wasn't so huge and impractical, I might have just swallowed the risk and bought it.)

Good points - I familiarized myself with the maintenance costs and have some idea what it must cost to insure.

I considered buying a mid-'90s 911 Turbo some years back, before '90s Porsche prices skyrocketed. I ultimately decided not to buy the 911 on the basis of the insane insurance costs. But I'm willing to swallow those costs now and would be eligible for a lower rate, as this car will not be a daily driver.

EDIT: My interest in the 911 Turbo predated my irrational opposition to turbos, which came about later...

 

[TankTop]

Deleted

 

[blueone]

I considered buying a mid-'90s 911 Turbo some years back, before '90s Porsche prices skyrocketed. I ultimately decided not to buy the 911 on the basis of the insane insurance costs. But I'm willing to swallow those costs now and would be eligible for a lower rate, as this car will not be a daily driver.

Try not to think about it. You would have made a lot of money if you still owned it. Air-cooled Turbo prices are insane.

 

[Dialectic]

Try not to think about it. You would have made a lot of money if you still owned it. Air-cooled Turbo prices are insane.

That 911 Turbo sold for all of $17K.

 

[blueone]

You are trolling me, annoying, off topic and disproportionate. Lately I am getting a lot of disproportionate replies. The Camaro SS is a great car. You sound jealous to me.

Okay, there's the Ron I thought I knew.

I said that I see some of the attraction of the Camaro. I'm not jealous; I was just putting your goofy comment into perspective, as the MB is more practical. Stop being so paranoid and overly-sensitive.

 

[blueone]

I've tried to convince my wife that I have good taste and that whatever I buy will appreciate.

That 911 Turbo sold for all of $17K.

Talk about the one that got away...

 

[Ron Texas]

Okay, there's the Ron I thought I knew.

I said that I see some of the attraction of the Camaro. I'm not jealous; I was just putting your goofy comment into perspective, as the MB is more practical. Stop being so paranoid and overly-sensitive.

You are being malicious and insulting.

There is nothing practical about that Mercedes due to it's age and high cost of operation. The most practical transportation the OP has is his monthly rail pass. That wagon is a big boy toy, rare, unusual and powerful. It doesn't grab me in the looks department, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

By the way, what makes you so special that your profile can't be viewed?

 

[Dialectic]

Has there been more butthurt on this thread since Thomas's warning?

I liberally availed myself of the 'ignore' button, so it's becoming difficult to parse.

 

[Trouble Maker]

I've tried to convince my wife that .... whatever I buy will appreciate.

Well then don't buy the C63.

That 911 Turbo sold for all of $17K.

I'm sorry for your loss.

I bought my S2000 a few years ago(for $8.5K), highish miles at 136kmi, but from Texas so it is very clean underneath. It's had a few fender benders, so by no means perfect but very good from 15feet away. I fully expect that I will be able to sell it for as much if not more than I bought it for, which is a nice bonus to having a fun car!

 

[Dialectic]

Well then don't buy the C63.



I'm sorry for your loss.

I bought my S2000 a few years ago(for $8.5K), highish miles at 136kmi, but from Texas so it is very clean underneath. It's had a few fender benders, so by no means perfect but very good from 15feet away. I fully expect that I will be able to sell it for as much if not more than I bought it for, which is a nice bonus to having a fun car.

It's an E63 wagon with the relatively rare NA V8 available from '07-'09. Fewer than 100 were sold stateside, and a lot of people love that engine.

 

[TankTop]

Just APR an RS6 wagon, you’ll thank me later

 

[Trouble Maker]

Just APR an RS6 wagon, you’ll thank me later

As far as I can tell the only RS6 that Audi ever imported to the US was the 2003. I'm a pretty big Audi fan, when I bought my S4 a few years used in 2003 they had an RS6 on the showroom floor that I probably literally drooled on. In general for me MB is at the bottom of the list for German automakers. I think I would pick the E63 AMG about 7 and a half days of the week over the RS6. The RS6 they sold in the US also wasn't a wagon, and seems to be notorious for transmission problems.

 

[blueone]

True, but I would have had to unload it soon after, when I moved to Lower Manhattan to work 80-100 hours/week in one of that area's heralded institutions. I doubt I would have made much on the sale. Less than three years later I moved to London.

Fascinating.

 

[blueone]

By the way, what makes you so special that your profile can't be viewed?

Perhaps I'm on double-secret probation.

 

[Trouble Maker]

If only I'd been less frugal, I could have paid $1K/month to garage it down there!

That makes what a work friend of mine said about SanFranicsco sound cheap! I think he said between his 2 spots at/near his place and 1 spot near work he was around $1k for parking. And that was within the last few years. Hell, I'm in what most people here consider the country side (city has roughly 0.5 million people, Tokyoites are snobby about city life) and our parking is something like $250~300/month for 2 spots. But, we are near the (bullet train) station and land is expensive near any station, even by Japanese standards of already expensive land no matter where you are. I'm really looking forward to building a bigger garage at our place back in the states within the next few (3-5) years.

 

[Wes]

Isn't Seinfeld's garage down there?

He might rent you a space...

 

[Ron Texas]

Perhaps I'm on double-secret probation.

You live in California, that's punishment enough.

 

[blueone]

You live in California, that's punishment enough.

I did on and off for a long time, but not for the past year or so.

 

[HedgeHog]

Hydrolock can occur on many cars. It happens when you drive through a alrge and deep puddle so water gets sucked into the air intake. It has nothing to do with head bolts.

In this particular case, it has EVERYTHING to do with the bolts. They stretch due do the stress induced by the block. The gaskets do nothing when the heads clear away from the block and coolant gets in. With a high compression motor, hydrolock is the resultant problem and is experienced rapidly.

It is a known problem with this motor and I have personal experience. So I don't need generlization of other hydrolock issue. It's a clear beware. MB addressed this afterwards with new bolts. However, my MB dealer told me only certified AMG tech can open this up so swapping it will be very costly (parts are relatively cheap) or one can seek out non-certified techs and do it. The tools may be specialized so not every garage can do it.