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The M104 in the C36 is not a "factory" engine, but is hand built by AMG. We had a 1995 C36 that we sold with a little over 100K-miles on it. The buyer took the car to the dealer for a highly detailed inspection. The engine ran new spec compression on all six pots with no variation. It was tight and strong and had never leaked one drop of oil.
The transmission had been subjected to the drag strip and you'd never know it. It shifted perfectly and felt like it would last forever with care.
A 1997 C36 with the 722.6 and steeper final drive (than the 95/96 cars) will run right with a C43. Forget MB's published numbers. There was no way they'd publish C43 numbers that weren't an improvement over the C36.
BTW, most AMG cars get quicker with age. It takes forever for the engine to be broken in completely, and they just get stronger. Our 95 was taken to the strip with about 155K-km's (95K-miles) and it could break into the 5's in the 0-60 and get into the really low 14's.
A bone stock CL230 or C230K car will not come close to any year C36. One with a manny-tranny might beat the AMG across an intersection, but forget it if the cars are moving. On a demanding road, the C36 will also say goodbye. It's brakes are fade proof and can lay out the anchor from over 100mph a dozen times with no pedal feel change. The AMG suspension is sublime and the little W202 is one of the best handling cars with four doors I've ever driven. It will also outgun the Coupe with a straight long road as the AMG slams into the 250km/h limiter. Uncork it and it will run out to 270.
Of course, when new the C36 cost considerably more.
I would not hesitate to buy a well-cared for C36 of any year. BTW, the C36 has a completely different suspension set-up than the C43. The V-8 car is much stiffer with lower body-roll, but is also harsher. The C36 is softer, but has no less grip. It just doesn't "feel" as fast thanks to the additional body movement. For high speed touring the C36/C43 cars are tough to beat used values. Only a handful of cars with four doors are faster, aren't any more comfortable, and the AMG cars are deadly reliable, have a carved-from-an-ingot feel, and since most of the parts are off-the-shelf W202, easy to maintain.
Can you tell I miss ours?
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