AMG Mercs and Planning for the Future

"Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna" (lukielauxd) 01/07/2014 at 00:27 • Filed to: PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

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Second semester of college is rolling over for me and my friends while all of us are trying to get back to school with Snowpocalypse eating the left-top 65% of the continental United States. Among the studying for my first semester where I'm taking some Engineering classes, I find myself using some goals other than worrying about things like saving for a down payment on a house or accounting for my future children's 529 college fund to motivate myself to keep working and the subject of my rant is my car related goal.

My parents have yelled at me several times to not plan to spend a ton on a car before I start paying off a house, but even with this in the back of my head, I find myself thinking about how the first car I really want to buy for myself would be a used E63S Wagon because AMG and because Wagon. I graduate 2017, I plan on doing graduate studies too, so by the time I'm really out of school it'll be 2019 and if there's a E-Class, there's going to be a complete redesign of it by then, and even after that I'd probably have to save for 3-4 years to get enough money for that wagon, so that puts me in 2022, and by then I guess I'd be getting like a 2016 Mercedes E63S Wagon which by then should have enough power to be able to put the SpaceX rocket into orbit.

But are AMGs destined to cost a ton to repair, even the newer ones now, but 6 year older into the future? Can I baby it every mile I own it to prevent it from turning into a cash hole? Or will the awesomeness and ridiculous nature of owning a AMG Mercedes always be overshadowed by it being at the butt of high repair cost jokes?

His Stigness > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 01/07/2014 at 00:36

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What's the point of saving for a E63 Wagon if you're just going to baby it and not drive it like it was meant to? If you want an AMG and know they can POTENTIALLY cost a fair amount to repair, then budget for that. While the car is under warranty make payments to yourself that will cover potential costs after the warranty is up.

RyanFrew > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 01/07/2014 at 00:44

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2nd semester senior here. I could probably name 700 reasons I think an E63S would be a bad choice. I could probably name a few reasons it would be a good one. But who cares? You shouldn't be seeking advice on whether or not you're going to be babying a hypothetical AMG wagon in 8-9 years. If the E63S is your dream car and it's what gets your ass out of bed and into the library, then that is all that counts. Set it as your background, watch a video of one hooning, tell yourself it's going to be yours soon, and then hit the books. Repeat process with different car if your dream car changes.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > RyanFrew 01/07/2014 at 00:53

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The background of a laptop definitely helps the motivation. :D

Doug DeMuro > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 01/07/2014 at 01:16

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My AMG wagon (6 years old when I bought it) cost boatloads to own. But I strongly suggest you reconsider the idea of buying a home before a nice car. Be sure to check the particulars for your exact situation. Buying a home doesn't always make the same sense it did to our parents' generation.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna 01/07/2014 at 02:24

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Chemical Engineer - UVA class of '04 here. One important factor you might not have considered (I didn't) is that a lot of banks don't like to give a proportionately large note to someone without any car buying history. I went after something that, with a five year note, was only 10% of my income/month. No other debts at the time besides student. I was denied. Based solely on my lack of history. My credit score was excellent, but it didn't matter. It all ended up fine because I bought something I ended up liking more for 5% of my income.

That was with a new car, they're even less accommodating for used cars (harder to get back the money if you default). Then there's maintenance. The naturally aspirated M156 in the previous E63 is mostly bulletproof and proving to last a good long time with just preventative and scheduled maintenance so far. I'm a bit leery of the turbo'd M157. It's a direct injection turbo, so expect significant carbon buildup on the valves after 60-70k miles. With the increased pressures you're going to be replacing gaskets more often in the long run and the stresses related to turbocharging tend to increase the points of failure.

Don't give up the dream, but unless you're buying a CPO with extended warranty, or end up banking thousands for the inevitable large repair bills that will come.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Battery Tender Unnecessary 01/07/2014 at 02:44

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But when you can do 0-60 faster than a GT500 and the 1/4-mile faster than a C7 Vette...in a station wagon, logic tends to go out the window.

blackbodySTi > Doug DeMuro 01/09/2014 at 17:06

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This presents a good point. Real estate today isn't viewed the same as it was in the past, and homes come with their own set of large expenses and responsibilities that you are largely insulated from as a tenant.

I currently drive an AMG sedan and can attest to the fact that its true cost of ownership is high. They are all pricey to own regardless of the body style, but you have to pay to play if you want one. I purchased mine as a CPO for the extended warranty, but beyond that did TONS of research into known issues around the car I had chosen. In my case, I discovered the known top end issues around the M156 motor and diligently inspected each one I test drove for any symptoms to help further decrease my chances of having to shell out cash for repairs in the long term.

If you are looking into financing, yes your credit score is important, but more important than that is credit history and the overall debt:income ratio the loan will create when all of your other expenses are factored in. The more cash you can bring to the table upfront, the better off you will be all around.