► Car Shopping Part 1: M4 Vs. C63

[hl0m4n]

I have 4 months left on my e92 M3 lease and started car shopping. Having seen a C63 in person for the first time today, here are my thoughts:

Feedback below are based on my opinion .

Exterior:
The dealer had one C63 in stock and my god walking up to it, I was very impressed. The car was white, sitting low, and very sexy. A heavy BMW enthusiast and having owned only BMWs prior, this C63 made an M4 look like a toy car. The front end was so muscular in comparison and the side profile looked great. My only gripe was the back, the S class tail lights were not doing it for me.... feeling old and didn't suit the car well. The car looked so good, it was the only car I would accept getting in sedan form (I always had coupes). Overall, very impressed and well executed.

+1 C63

Interior:
The C63 in stock had the optional sport seats, which I would definitely option. They were actually really comfortable and I don't see any issue on a long drive with them. Compared to the M4 seats, the C63 was definitely more firm and supportive, needless to say better looking too. The Burmester speakers were far better than the M4 with HK. The quality and materials used was also far superior and for the love of god a flat bottom steering wheel from factory! BMW interior is really starting to show its age now compared to the newly designed C63. Steering was great size/feel and a racing stripe added a nice touch. The analog IWC clock was a nice touch as well. The only downside (probably from being used to I-Drive) was their Command system. I was very confused by the dual layout (rotary + touch) and the menu was not as intuitive and seamless as BMW. Again, probably something I will get used to over time but not a big deal.

+1 C63

Performance:
The fuck is up with the old school lever shifter to change gears? Once we started rolling, first thing noticed was the sound. No artificial sound going through the speakers and man does the V8 sound good with the side whistle of the turbos. I would be further amazed once I put an aftermarket exhaust. The M4 sounds like a vacuum cleaner and ASD is the first thing I would disable. I found response better on the C63 than the M4, most likely from the turbo V configuration they use but needless to say power was ample and the car had plenty of pull. The biggest downside is the transmission; BMW is at least 2-3 years ahead in the transmission field. Absolutely no comparison to the DCT. Even though the brakes are bigger on the C63, I found braking performance and feel to be the same as the M4, most likely due to weight difference. Steering feel was good but not great and definitely a noticeable difference compared to the M4. Ultimately, from the precision and amazingly quick DCT in the M4 to the raw power and feel of the C63, both cars have it's positive & negatives.

+1 Tie

Lease (36 Month/12k Year):
M4
Residual: 62%
MF: .00135 (3.24%)
MSRP: $80k
Out of Pocket: Only doc fees, first month payment, etc
Monthly Payment: $970

C63
Residual: 52% (C63S 49%)
MF: .00220 (5.28%) * MF reduced to .00210 (5.04%) if Autopay is setup *
MSRP: $77k
Out of Pocket: Doc fees, first month payment, etc + taxes
Monthly Payment: $1,200

What a huge difference and this was a major dealer breaker for me as for $1,200/month I am definitely looking into other cars. Keep in mind the C63 monthly payment is with me paying taxes up front! It makes absolutely no sense to lease this car.

+1 M4

Conclusion:
If the C63 had a better lease program, I would without hesitation pull the trigger on it. For the amount, there are simply other car options I would be looking at. Benz did a really good job and it was refreshing to see this. I would prefer the coupe but due to limited time, I am not able; nonetheless it will probably take a few months after initial launch to even get an allocation with no markups. Again, maybe I have been with BMW too long but after seeing the C63 it just made the M4 look outdated. Ultimately, because of the lease price, the M4 is still my top contender.

The search continues...

[auf Deutsch]

One person's "children's toy in design" opinion is another's super aggressive, this ain't no 4 series. I have a hard time differentiating between a C63 and C450, not so with the M twins and their series counterparts. But like you said, it's all subjective opinion.

Bottom line, AMG residuals and MF completely suck ass. For $1200/mo you can get into a $90k+ M5, if you're so inclined. Not many people are so, have you considered the Competition pack M4?

[visi107]

Well if you like the C63 so much then why don't you buy it . . . that way don't have to worry about residual and MF

[Jojipoji]

Yo hit me up, I prob can get you a pretty sick deal if you can deal with black!

[pikkagtr]

Droopy sad face back end and grandmama's 90s style minivan shifter plus the dismal autotragic no thanks
I'll keep my vacumn cleaner sounding car with a proper transmission

[Never Convicted]

Easy decision. Drivers car vs Riders car. You're obviously impressed by radios, shiny buttons, flat bottom steering wheels with cool red stripes, and optional "racing" seats. For your needs, I'd buck up and get the C63. Just think about how cool you'd look revving it outside the Starbucks on Saturday mornings. You'll be a stoplight killer, and your dream will be real.

[RobbyMack]

Just my $0.02, when driving into the MB dealership with my wife during our car search she turned to me and said "exactly how old are you?" If that's what you're into go for the MB.

[trey100]

I do like the interior of the C63, the exterior has some nice angles and sometimes a bit weird, and of course I am sure the engine is top notch. That being said my biggest complaint was going to be the lack of a manual transmission but then I can't even imagine the car in those photos with a manual. Maybe it's the stigma of MB and old people or maybe it's just the design but it doesn't seem like it would even work with a manual.

[clutchdj]

OP you forgot to mention the fake exhaust tips

The rear end is a disappointment.
Sat in one the other day. The slushbox is a letdown. I agree with most of your observations. The MB just does not seem special. Definitely a vehicle I respect but not special. It is more of a cruiser imho.

[Stryder]

I'd rather pick up one of these, but I'm most definitely biased.

[damnitBobby]

If you thought the C63 sedan looked good, I think you'll be blown away by the new C63 coupe. You should check one of those out in person.

[zer0cool]

I don't like current gen MB C sedan's rear... it just looks terrible to me... don't know why, but I think it looks like a squeezed pig face. Thus I wouldn't choose a MB C sedan. I love everything else about the C tho.

This is the thing, why lease? With these kinds of cars, which generally have very strong resale, why not just buy? You can most likely sell it in 3 years with less overall expenditure then if you lease... due to significant interest savings.

For the MB, the lease rate makes 0 sense. At 1200/m, you can simply buy the car and finance it at 100%, at the super low rates that exist today.

[///Pip]

I really hate that iPad ...

[Blksnowflake]

You need to get the AMG, and wait for the coupe, it looks ten times better.
Toy design...? no....aggressive styling...yes.

With styling representing it's performance, a real transmission, and shifter mounted at least where normal young humans reach, the choice was easy for me. But my priorities are different than yours. Cannot accept that weak back end so the styling is a loss. Cannot accept a standard full on auto transmission in a sports sedan, another loss. Cannot accept shifting like an F 150 truck when I need to on certain occasions, another loss. The price...obviously another loss. Ceramic brakes, but only on the fronts...loss. The interior is a toss up for me but the AMG wins but could go either way as I find the M interior a nice place to be. The sound is a definite objective loss for the M car but I can adjust it to some extent, win for the AMG.

That's one win for the AMG on my metric scale of priorities and three of those are severely important to me, like looks. I have to look at it everyday and a person like me who stares at their car as I walk away a million times, I would be pissed to stare at a car that now essentially looks the same as the standard car.....and E Class and S class. The transmission is another thing that would drive me bananas and I would interact with that way too often to not want to shoot myself in the head.

The new AMG coupe fixes the looks somewhat with it's muscular lines front and back and if I didn't like the "driver's" attitude of the car so much I'd go for the AMG. Your priorities seem to lead you straight into the AMG coupe and I think you'll be happier there. Good luck.

[nicknaz]

those IWC branded clocks in the AMGs

[-JLT-]

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

If you thought the C63 sedan looked good, I think you'll be blown away by the new C63 coupe. You should check one of those out in person.

I agree, don't like C63 sedan much but LOVE the coupe! if leasing rates were same as BMWs I could see myself getting C63 coupe

[dkhm3]

don't buy it either, the depreciation on those AMG's are pretty serious.

price will probably continue to drop towards the year end.

10k off msrp i've heard right now.

have you tried the ats-v?

[dkhm3]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

I agree, don't like C63 sedan much but LOVE the coupe! if leasing rates were same as BMWs I could see myself getting C63 coupe

I agree the coupe looks much much better than the sedan.

the coupe will likely be 10k-15k more than the sedan. the lease rates will be more likely 1300-1500 a month min down 3 yr 10k a yr, at least for now.

it's priced in a different league than the m3/m4.

makes the m3/m4 very cheap by comparison.

or you can get a C43 AMG. hehe.

[dkhm3]

Originally Posted by Blksnowflake

Cannot accept a standard full on auto transmission in a sports sedan, another loss. Cannot accept shifting like an F 150 truck when I need to on certain occasions, another loss. The transmission is another thing that would drive me bananas and I would interact with that way too often to not want to shoot myself in the head.

When I had my C63, it was a daily test of my frustration levels with that MCT tranny.

Car sounded great. The tranny ruined the car for me. And the handling was a disappointment as well.

Loved the engine.

The new car has the improved MCT, but no amount of looks can get me to consider that car again, until they have a DCT and a proper stick in between the seats.

[Ian1973]

Wouldn't even consider the mercedes, so much wrong with the styling and the automatic turn me off immediately.

[Valentino_f82]

One thing I will give the c63s credit to is that v8tt rumble. Other then that I love my M !

Plus the c63 looks too close in comparison to the c300 16 year old girls drive around the neighborhood

[polly]

It's amazing here in South Africa, every time I drive past a merc dealer I always see 2 or 3 63 in their showroom and that car was only launched last year.
M3 on the other still has to be ordered as their is never stock available.
That alone speaks volume.

Btw on a lighter side I took my yas m3 to show it off to a buddy of mine that's works for Mercedes last week. After a few minutes the dealer principle came out and jokingly asked me to go home cause he said all his clients are "running outside" to look at my car.
He said its bad for his business lol.

You need to seriously test drive a 63 for at least 200 km. Like mentioned above you will be disappointed with a lot of the tech especially the mct, command online, handling and steering fell, etc.