Merc CL55 - (supercharged Version) (2003) Advice Required :)

[MADT350]

i'm just looking for a bit of advise, i have a good friend who is looking for one of these at the moment and i wondered if any one can give any pointers of the things he needs to look out for so i he does not buy a lemon. He is looking at 2003 models with aprox 50 /65 K on the clock.

Your help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Edited by MADT350 on Tuesday 10th February 10:07

[steve_amv8]

First and most expensive would be the ABC suspension. Prone to all sorts of faults within the pump and valves (just google +abc +cl +"drive carefully" and you'll get the idea!). New ABC pump can be £1200+ and faults are difficult to diagnose properly.

Also prone to corrosion around the arches and at the base of the C-pillar. If the car has been MB serviced through its life, then fixing this may be covered by the MB 30 year anti-corrosion warranty.

Check prop shaft for noise. The rubber in the joints has a habit of going hard and becoming noisy - in turn this can damage gearbox if left untreated. New shaft is £1000+ and joints aren't replaceable apparently.

Check double glazing in the opening windows as some delaminate.

Check condition of the catalytic converts - also rather expensive.

Some electrics can be a bit iffy.

Tyre condition - they are unique to this car and come in at around £350 each on the rear

Service history - make sure it's got a good one and check when spark plugs last changed. The car has 16 of them and they aren't cheap. In fact, get an MB dealer to do them and they could charge as much as £400+!! Engine is reasonably bullet proof though.

I get between 24 and 29mpg out of my NA 2002/2003 CL55, depending upon where I am driving.

All said though, great cars and one of the most comfortable you could ever drive. Just don't expect it to be cheap to run!

I love my car though and they are surprisingly rare in the UK. Even the more common CL500 is a rare sight.

[MADT350]

Steve, many thanks for the heads up on this...... its very much appreciated...i think he is off to see one this weekend so we will see.