Buying guide · 2008–2014 · M156 6.2 V8 · 457–487 PS
Mercedes C 63 AMG W204
Everything that decides whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
17-page guide, A4 and phone · 3-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included
In the guide
What the Mercedes C 63 AMG W204 guide covers
- 01Every fault this engine has, and how much work it is
- 02The head bolts: which engine serial numbers are affected, and how to find yours
- 03What a W204 shell does with age, and why it is not the story here
- 04What is simply fifteen years old — and can be left alone
- 05The inspection card: the whole viewing on paper, in order, to take with you
- 06What to say to the seller, and what to keep to yourself
From the guide itself
This is how it reads
This is what one of the eight looks likeLast Real Engines
3 · Engine mounts
Half a day · the part
Vibration at idle, a clunk pulling away. Feels structural, is not, and it is one of the cheapest items on this car. A rough, uneven idle is a different symptom; see 5.4.
And this is how the card readsLast Real Engines
- 2 · The coolant · before the engine is started
- 3 · The cold start
- 4 · The oil
- 5 · The read-out, at a specialist
- 6 · The test drive
- The two questions that decide it
What €24 buys, put next to what it saves
The repair for failing head bolts is a week or more in the workshop. Whether your car can have them comes down to an engine serial number — and reading it costs nothing. The guide is €24. It will not stop any of that from being needed — but it does tell you which of them you are looking at before you agree a price, and that is the whole of the difference between paying for a car and paying for someone else's postponed maintenance.
VAT included · sold by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record · questions first? buyersguide@lastrealengines.com
Start with the free guide
The six questions that decide whether this car is a good buy
- What is the engine serial number?
- Is the coolant level right, and what colour is the expansion tank?
- What mileage is on it, and have the camshafts been looked at?
- How much oil does it use?
- Is it a pre- or post-facelift, and which gearbox?
- Any brief limp mode that clears on restart?
Start with the free guide: what this car is, and the questions that decide whether the one you are looking at is a good buy or an expensive one.
Before you buy
Questions
What exactly do I get?
The full guide as a PDF, 17 pages in A4, plus a phone edition to read at the car; and the inspection card, 3 pages to print and take to the viewing. €24, VAT included.
How is it delivered?
Straight after payment you get a download link for the guide, the phone edition and the card. No subscription, no account.
Can I get a refund?
EU consumer law gives you fourteen days to change your mind. For digital content that right ends the moment delivery starts, provided you agreed to that at the checkout. If the file will not open, or you were sent the wrong car, write to us and we will fix it or refund it.
Who handles the payment?
Lemon Squeezy, who sell the guide to you as merchant of record. They charge the VAT at the rate of your country, send the invoice, and email you the download link. We never see your card.
Why are there no prices in it?
Because a price we cannot verify is worse than no price, and because a price would be wrong for most of the people reading it: workshop rates across Europe differ by a factor of two or three. What does not change is how much work a job is, so every point says whether it is an hour, half a day, a day, or a week in the workshop. Ask your own workshop for its hourly rate, and every hour in the guide becomes your own number.
Is this advice about a specific car?
No. A guide tells you what to look at; it is general information about the model and not advice about a specific car. Have every car inspected before you buy by someone who knows the engine.
More Mercedes-Benz guides
Going to look at a Mercedes C 63 AMG W204?
Take the guide and the card with you.
17-page guide, A4 and phone · 3-page inspection card · instant PDF · VAT included