Experiences/thoughts on a MB AMG C32? (02-03 model)

[R-Audi]

As most have seen.. I am selling my beloved S4... and busy looking for a replacement. One car that has caught my interest is a MB C32 AMG.
I am going to test drive one this weekend, but was interested in hearing others experience with these cars...

Negatives:
-Am I too young to drive a MB??? (Im 29)
-Tiptronic (or whatever they call it)
-USed to driving AWD during the winter

Positives:
-Decently fast..
-A few decently priced mods
-Good looking...

Thoughts?

[Sorath]

i dunno seems almost like ur downgrading to me, if i were u i`d look at a newer s4? :dunno:

[benyl]

Doesn't the C32 have a lot of gremlins?

[schocker]

Originally posted by Sorath
i dunno seems almost like ur downgrading to me, if i were u i`d look at a newer s4? :dunno:
:werd: I would look at the B6 S4 or E46 M3 before a C32. Just my two cents.

[Canmorite]

Originally posted by schocker

:werd: I would look at the B6 S4 or E46 M3 before a C32. Just my two cents.

Agreed. Much rather have those too. C55 would be a tougher choice...

[R-Audi]

B6 S4? Yeck. Not for me...

The reason I am selling my car is because the mileage is getting up there, and Im just looking for a change. My original plan was to grab a friends S4 that is a year newer and has 70km less.. but it doesnt look like he wants to sell anymore..
It was my first choice.. but change wouldnt be a bad thing... i have had 3 different B5 style A4/S4's in the past 6 years.

Looking at the E46 and B6 though.. the C32 is quicker then both of them....and has a few reasonable mods that provide some good bang for your buck. (Certainly wont be modding to the same extent of my S4..) There is also a lot less of them rolling around. Besides, there arent many M3's or S4's in the <25k category...

[tentacles]

Didn't rage2 use to have a SLK32 where the engine was blown up all the time? That's the same engine as the C32 right.

[R154]

whats your budget man?

[bubbley]

I didnt know cars had an age limit :rofl:

[R-Audi]

Looking to spend < 25k....

I find MB are generally an older age range....

[R154]

How do you feel about BMW?

330Xi? (AWD) an e46...

Lexus IS250 (under powered but AWD)

G35x?

You could find a deal on an older (02-03) M3.

[R154]

And I dont think you should buy a MB. Out grown the s4?

What about saving up for an RS4 ;)

You know you want one.

[R-Audi]

I really dont care for 330's, Dont like IS', and the Infinity's dont really appeal to me.

If I coudl find a deal on an 02/03 M3 I would consider it.. but I have yet to see any in that range since our dollar shat the bed.

My first choice is still my buddys 01 S4.. but not sure if that will work out.


Keep in mind I am coming from ~450 hp car.. so Im not going to be happy with a slouch. I know its tough with only wanting to spend <25k.. but it can be done with some searching..

[R154]

Originally posted by R-Audi
I really dont care for 330's, Dont like IS', and the Infinity's dont really appeal to me.

If I coudl find a deal on an 02/03 M3 I would consider it.. but I have yet to see any in that range since our dollar shat the bed.

My first choice is still my buddys 01 S4.. but not sure if that will work out.


Keep in mind I am coming from ~450 hp car.. so Im not going to be happy with a slouch. I know its tough with only wanting to spend &lt;25k.. but it can be done with some searching..

Are you buying Brad's S4?

http://www.buysell.com/root/detail/Calgary/2002_Domestic_Cars/2010/71365374/2002_BMW_M3_55000KM_The_BMW_M3_is_the_M.aspx?noflash=1

Check out that m3?

[The_Rural_Juror]

Love the car. Would not touch it without warranty.

[adamc]

e39 M5?


They just came out with a supercharger kit for $8400ish


zoom zooom

[J@Tuner]

Couple members here have C32 AMG's.

Too young? Never, get what your heart desires, one member is 22 with one, age doesn't matter, but I guess I drive grandpa's car everyday so maybe I'm the wrong one talking :)

Power? Loads of it! Spank E46 M3's all day long without even breaking a sweat. Highway cruising is very fun through the mountains with it. Couple small mods make it a very very fun car.

Reliability? Every car has it issues, and since you are coming from the Audi family of vehicles, I am sure you know every car has its hiccups.

Buy a mint, well maintained vehicle, paper records, from an older guy and you will be fine.

C55 AMG is just a N/A V8 so you will not have the supercharger power/whine, and the C32 can be modded to surpass the C55 specs very easily as it only has 13 hp and 44 tq more than the C32.

[max_boost]

No no not too young. I bought mine when I was 24. There's really no age limit unless it was a Jag or Lincoln lol

The auto probably shifts faster than most people can with a manual anyway unless you are one of those who 'prefer' manual.

RWD is fine, get snow tires.

Only thing I am worried about is if it breaks, it'll break your wallet lol No fun in buying a car you have to put $$$ into fixing/maintaining right?

[911fever]

Not a great car for the money, I've driven two of them, found the tiptronic really not that great or fun to drive, they are unreliable, wasn't as comfortable to drive as you'd think, and on a whole, I found the E46 M3 a lot more engaging and a better car IMO.

[core_upt]

I love the styling of the C32, but it ends there. I think the lack of performance, especially compared to your S4, and the bitchstick will make you regret it.

Here is a R&T shootout between the S4, M3 and C32:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=913&page_number=1

How about a 99-02 911??

[911fever]

Originally posted by core_upt
I love the styling of the C32, but it ends there. I think the lack of performance, especially compared to your S4, and the bitchstick will make you regret it.

Here is a R&amp;T shootout between the S4, M3 and C32:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=3&amp;article_id=913&amp;page_number=1

How about a 99-02 911??

that's a great option!! I 'm looking at buying one of those when I'm done school, they are super cheap in the US too.

[R-Audi]

Originally posted by R154


Are you buying Brad's S4?



Not sure who Brad is.. or what his S4 looks like.. but I would certainly like to look. The S4 Im looking at (IMO) is heads and shoulders above any other in the City... Im sure Rob @ Tunerworks could vouch. The owner flew up a top tuner from Cali to tune it...

I think the C32's power isnt that bad... especially after a few mods. .

Unless the 911 is a C4, I dont think I would be that happy driving it in the winter..

[911fever]

Originally posted by R-Audi


Not sure who Brad is.. or what his S4 looks like.. but I would certainly like to look. The S4 Im looking at (IMO) is heads and shoulders above any other in the City... Im sure Rob @ Tunerworks could vouch. The owner flew up a top tuner from Cali to tune it...

I think the C32's power isnt that bad... especially after a few mods. .

Unless the 911 is a C4, I dont think I would be that happy driving it in the winter..

I drove a 02 911 C4S two weeks ago, what a car that was. Yeah it wasn't blazingly quick (5 to 5.5 seconds), but it had nice low end torque and it felt fast! The 911 had an H & R kit on it, so it handled very very tight, but I think stock alone you'd see that the 911 has more feedback on the road than the M3. The 996 is actually pretty reliable for electrical issues, brakes, etc. HOWEVER, some of the 99-2001 911 engines had oil leaks and catastrophic engine failures, so its a good idea to look at one with a full PPI. The GT3 is a better engine if you could afford it, its the most reliable Porsche ever made (996 GT3). This is why I'd look at an M3 or S4 over the Porsche.
http://www.devwebsphere.com/porsche/2006/08/engine_failed.html

[rage2]

Originally posted by R-Audi
-Am I too young to drive a MB??? (Im 29)
I bought my first MB when I was 23. You're never too young to drive a MB.


Originally posted by tentacles
Didn't rage2 use to have a SLK32 where the engine was blown up all the time? That's the same engine as the C32 right.
No, the car was rear ended twice which caused a lot of problems. The engine was putting out 420hp without much problems. There was an intercooler leak which was messy to fix under warranty, but that happened when the engine was stock.


Originally posted by R-Audi
Keep in mind I am coming from ~450 hp car.. so Im not going to be happy with a slouch. I know its tough with only wanting to spend &lt;25k.. but it can be done with some searching..
You're going to hate the E46 M3 (or anything NA) coming from a boosted 450hp car. I found my M3 to be boring as fuck when it was stock. People talk about how smooth the powerband is on the M3, that's just a clever way of saying how boring it was.

To this date, the SLK32 is probably the best all around car that I've owned. Most of that has to do with the engine. That '32 motor is fucking awesome.

[rage2]

Originally posted by max_boost
Only thing I am worried about is if it breaks, it'll break your wallet lol No fun in buying a car you have to put $$$ into fixing/maintaining right?
I've owned MB's pretty much most of my adult life until recently. Lemme tell ya, it's WAY cheaper for MB parts than BMW. MB parts is comparable to VW parts. It's painful to fix anything small on my M3. Everything is so fucking expensive. Once I'm bored of my M3, I'm going back to MB.


Originally posted by 911fever
Not a great car for the money, I've driven two of them, found the tiptronic really not that great or fun to drive, they are unreliable, wasn't as comfortable to drive as you'd think, and on a whole, I found the E46 M3 a lot more engaging and a better car IMO.
C32 is one of the best bang for the buck out there. I've spent a lot of time with C32/SLK32's and M3's, and the M3 just feels boring as a day to day driver. The M3 is WAY more uncomfortable than the C32 (I drove 3000km's in 2 days in my M3) and in the twisties, unless you're driving over 9/10ths, the C32 is just as awesome as the M3. The only complaint with the C32 in this comparison is at the track... it's a little sloppy when you're driving over the limits, getting some oversteer, etc. The M3 is way tighter in that dept.

[911fever]

Originally posted by rage2

I've owned MB's pretty much most of my adult life until recently. Lemme tell ya, it's WAY cheaper for MB parts than BMW. MB parts is comparable to VW parts. It's painful to fix anything small on my M3. Everything is so fucking expensive. Once I'm bored of my M3, I'm going back to MB.


C32 is one of the best bang for the buck out there. I've spent a lot of time with C32/SLK32's and M3's, and the M3 just feels boring as a day to day driver. The M3 is WAY more uncomfortable than the C32 (I drove 3000km's in 2 days in my M3) and in the twisties, unless you're driving over 9/10ths, the C32 is just as awesome as the M3. The only complaint with the C32 in this comparison is at the track... it's a little sloppy when you're driving over the limits, getting some oversteer, etc. The M3 is way tighter in that dept.

You're right, MB is a little cheaper to fix, and usually doesn't break down as much, although the C32 i've heard isn't reliable.. didn't they have tons and tons of intercooler/intercooler pump issues?
but you'd rather have a tiptronic over a manual? Its not even as quick as BMW's SMG-II system.

[rage2]

Originally posted by 911fever
You're right, MB is a little cheaper to fix, and usually doesn't break down as much, although the C32 i've heard isn't reliable.. didn't they have tons and tons of intercooler/intercooler pump issues?
but you'd rather have a tiptronic over a manual? Its not even as quick as BMW's SMG-II system.
The 32 engine is fairly reliable, but ya, the weakpoint is the intercooler (older models leak because of weak welds, newer ones don't), and the IC pump does go, and you can replace it with a much cheaper GM one which is the exact same part but with a different plugs that 5 minutes of soldering will work with the car.

As for the transmission, SMG2 is claimed to be faster, but it really isn't. For upshifts, there's no loss of power on the Speedshift auto. There's a 60ms shift time or loss of power on the SMG. Also, BMW claims that it's full throttle shifts, I thought it was too but they neglect to mention that it's an electronic throttle and even though you're flat out on a shift, the electronic throttle lifts on every shift. I couldn't tell until I got the turbo kit, every shift the BOV's go off hard. It's a lift shift.

As for downshifting, the SMG2 is a bit faster, but downshifts times don't really matter as long as you're in the right gear before a corner.

The AMG speedshift transmissions IMO are "faster" than the SMG in real world situations. It's only slower if you're measuring shift speeds the way BMW does it.

[R-Audi]

Hmm all good information!

It seems like there are several affordable upgrade for the 32 from Code 3, including an IC, heat exchanger, pulleys, and upgraded IC pump. All very reasonable in comparison with the competition.
Does the 32 really need a chip to work 100% with an upgraded pulley? Renntech and Evosport proivide them.. but Code 3 doesnt. pretty large price difference between the two. (3k vs 700usd)

As for the C4S.. my Mom has one.. so thats not high on my list! ha ha


Anyways.. Im going to test drive the C32 tomorrow.. so we will see. The owner is asking 23,999 so we will see how flexible he is. Its an 03 with 90k.
Im still holding out for my buddy S4.... but realistically the C32 would be a better financial decision as it is bone stock and would be easier to sell in teh future.. The S4 has more mods then mine does!! (but also wouldnt require me putting out as much $$) I think a lot of people underestimate how much fun a Stage 3 S4 is to drive..

[Idratherbsidewayz]

I almost got a C32 from the States instead of my WRX. If only I could have afforded the import fees. The C32 is such a classy, good looking car. So hot in red...

Definitely give us a little write up on how it drives.

[rage2]

You don't need the chip for the pulley upgrades. The stock ECU is speed/density (MAP) with long term fuel correction using it's wideband O2 sensors so after a few drives it'll hit the stock AFR targets.

The Renntech software changes the AFR targets a little as well as ramps up timing a little and is good for about 15hp if you have the pulleys installed. You can get about 10 of those horses by going to the dealer and requesting them to turn on the 93 octane maps. Here are the step by step instructions as to how it's done.

http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00100.jpg
http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00101.jpg
http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00102.jpg
http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00103.jpg
http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00104.jpg
http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/misc/renntech/DSC00105.jpg

I used that little trick to stay in A Stock class for Solo2.

[911fever]

Originally posted by rage2

The 32 engine is fairly reliable, but ya, the weakpoint is the intercooler (older models leak because of weak welds, newer ones don't), and the IC pump does go, and you can replace it with a much cheaper GM one which is the exact same part but with a different plugs that 5 minutes of soldering will work with the car.

As for the transmission, SMG2 is claimed to be faster, but it really isn't. For upshifts, there's no loss of power on the Speedshift auto. There's a 60ms shift time or loss of power on the SMG. Also, BMW claims that it's full throttle shifts, I thought it was too but they neglect to mention that it's an electronic throttle and even though you're flat out on a shift, the electronic throttle lifts on every shift. I couldn't tell until I got the turbo kit, every shift the BOV's go off hard. It's a lift shift.

As for downshifting, the SMG2 is a bit faster, but downshifts times don't really matter as long as you're in the right gear before a corner.

The AMG speedshift transmissions IMO are &quot;faster&quot; than the SMG in real world situations. It's only slower if you're measuring shift speeds the way BMW does it.

Interesting.. so would you say the M3 is overrated vs the C32 for daily driving and/or modded on the track?

[rage2]

Originally posted by 911fever
Interesting.. so would you say the M3 is overrated vs the C32 for daily driving and/or modded on the track?
The M3 is one of the most overrated cars I've ever driven/owned. The BMW fanboi power is even bigger than Civic Nation lol. The SMG was cool, but I got bored of the car after a month of owning it, especially when I was getting walked by 335's.

The SLK32/C32, I never got bored of those cars. I was itching to drive 'em every single day. The torque in the 32's made it feel a lot faster than the M3. In reality, the M3 is only a bit slower than the SLK32, and pretty damn close to the C32 (C32 is still a tad faster).

That's why I was selling my M3 last year, till I turbo'd it. Now, it's addictive fun, what the M3 should be.

[R-Audi]

Well I went for a test drive of a stock one... left me quite... bored?
Interior I felt was quite plain... power was decent but certainly nothing special.. and I really just didnt get excited at all about it. We pulled up behind a Viper, and all I could think of was that I wished I was in my car!


Moving forward, It looks like I am going to end up with a 2001 S4...Not sure when I will get it, but sometime this spring/summer. It may sound a little silly to go through all of this for a car which is the same model and color, only a year newer.. but it also has 70,000km less, and a few more large modifications! (Can't wait for the Recaro CS Seats!!)