Mercedes CL500 – Experiences & Buying Advice
Discussion
Having seen how cheap early 2000 CL500’s are, I’m seriously tempted to go for one of these as my next car. It’ll be our second car so will only be used for weekend drives, so mileage will be minimal and the fuel costs hopefully won't break the bank. The only requirements I have is that:
1. I can fit two child seats in the back for children under 3.
2. It feels special and makes me smile everytime I drive it.
What are people’s experiences of owning these and are there any top tips you have in buying them? I’ve done some research on the net, but any additional help would be welcomed.
How much should I budget per year for maintenance? (I realise that it’s hard to say exactly as some bills can be very large, but I’m after a rough average per year over say three years)
1. I can fit two child seats in the back for children under 3.
2. It feels special and makes me smile everytime I drive it.
What are people’s experiences of owning these and are there any top tips you have in buying them? I’ve done some research on the net, but any additional help would be welcomed.
How much should I budget per year for maintenance? (I realise that it’s hard to say exactly as some bills can be very large, but I’m after a rough average per year over say three years)
Have a look here. Tiger Koi was most helpful when it came to me looking for mine.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I bought mine through a (very helpful) dealer in the North east and received a decent warranty, which was well used to sort some niggles out (keyless go - afm - door lock) originally.
Since then I've ran mine for around 7000 miles trouble free. I've got a ball joint on the way out. These can be repaired by a guy in Liverpool if caught early enough. If not, £1000 per corner!
New tyres went on mine soon after I bought it. Budget £1200 for a set. I reckon I'll get 10,000 miles or a little more out of the rears.
The car is sublime. I absolutely love it. I was tempted to sell it a while ago as I have a child on the way, but sod it! It's mine and I love it.
The thing I don't like on the car is a lack of iPod connectivity. I'm going to have to sort that out before too long.
I could be tempted to change it for a 550 (or 600) down the line though!
I average 22mpg over a tank. A decent run will almost get me 30mpg and a hammering on the motorway will still return 25. It's around town where you suffer. My work commute only gets around 8-10 mpg over 6 miles.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I bought mine through a (very helpful) dealer in the North east and received a decent warranty, which was well used to sort some niggles out (keyless go - afm - door lock) originally.
Since then I've ran mine for around 7000 miles trouble free. I've got a ball joint on the way out. These can be repaired by a guy in Liverpool if caught early enough. If not, £1000 per corner!
New tyres went on mine soon after I bought it. Budget £1200 for a set. I reckon I'll get 10,000 miles or a little more out of the rears.
The car is sublime. I absolutely love it. I was tempted to sell it a while ago as I have a child on the way, but sod it! It's mine and I love it.
The thing I don't like on the car is a lack of iPod connectivity. I'm going to have to sort that out before too long.
I could be tempted to change it for a 550 (or 600) down the line though!
I average 22mpg over a tank. A decent run will almost get me 30mpg and a hammering on the motorway will still return 25. It's around town where you suffer. My work commute only gets around 8-10 mpg over 6 miles.
Maintenance, it's hard to say.... I've got a couple of thousand in an account solely for the car. I use it every day though, so if something fails I need it fixing asap.
So far all I've done is clean it. Most parts don't seem any dearer than the usual Mercedes prices. I did price new window seals though and nearly fell over. I ended up fixing them myself.
I've got a B service due in around 3000 miles and I'm still debating whether to send it to Mercedes or not.
So far all I've done is clean it. Most parts don't seem any dearer than the usual Mercedes prices. I did price new window seals though and nearly fell over. I ended up fixing them myself.
I've got a B service due in around 3000 miles and I'm still debating whether to send it to Mercedes or not.
My old W215 CL (a 2003 CL55) was one of the best cars I have ever owned. Such a joy to drive with a luxurious cabin that made every journey a pleasure. Had it eight years until we traded it in a couple of months ago for a W216 CL63 at a MB dealer. Still sad it went though and this topic prompted me to look on Autotrader where I just found it for sale at a dealer in London! 
( http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Some points to watch for ...
These cars are aluminium and are prone to corrosion, particularly around the headlights (bonnet), rear wheel arches, lower part of doors and at the base of the C-pillar. I had mine repaired under warranty by MB about four years ago and that solved the problem. They also did some preventative work on the c-pillar to reduce future risk. Being aluminimum, the number of repair shops who can do this work is somewhat reduced!
The cars are also prone to ABC suspension problems, usually the pump or valves. A new pump is over £1k to replace so worth checking if any prospective car has had this done in the past.
Not sure about the 500 but the CL55 V8s have 2 plugs per cylinder. At a dealer this is around the £500 mark to have them changed - no doubt less elsewhere although the age of the car tends to mean "classic" hourly rates at MB dealers. The V8s and their gearboxes are very robust though and mine had no real issues during my ownership despite passing the 100k mile mark.
Mine had both lower wishbones replaced due to ball joint failure, around the 100k mile mark. £400+ each side from a dealer so the guy in Liverpool repairing these things is a bonus!
The windows are double-glazed which makes the car very quite but it does mean that many cars of this age are showing discolouration of adhesive around the edges.
Reality is these were £90k-£100k+ cars in their day and some of the parts prices reflect this.
Don't let these comments put you off though. TGet a good one and you will love it!
( http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...Some points to watch for ...
These cars are aluminium and are prone to corrosion, particularly around the headlights (bonnet), rear wheel arches, lower part of doors and at the base of the C-pillar. I had mine repaired under warranty by MB about four years ago and that solved the problem. They also did some preventative work on the c-pillar to reduce future risk. Being aluminimum, the number of repair shops who can do this work is somewhat reduced!
The cars are also prone to ABC suspension problems, usually the pump or valves. A new pump is over £1k to replace so worth checking if any prospective car has had this done in the past.
Not sure about the 500 but the CL55 V8s have 2 plugs per cylinder. At a dealer this is around the £500 mark to have them changed - no doubt less elsewhere although the age of the car tends to mean "classic" hourly rates at MB dealers. The V8s and their gearboxes are very robust though and mine had no real issues during my ownership despite passing the 100k mile mark.
Mine had both lower wishbones replaced due to ball joint failure, around the 100k mile mark. £400+ each side from a dealer so the guy in Liverpool repairing these things is a bonus!
The windows are double-glazed which makes the car very quite but it does mean that many cars of this age are showing discolouration of adhesive around the edges.
Reality is these were £90k-£100k+ cars in their day and some of the parts prices reflect this.
Don't let these comments put you off though. TGet a good one and you will love it!
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