RE: Mercedes-Benz CL600: Spotted

[Bladedancer]

A very lovely money pit.

[WCZ]

not that much power, not that fast and not that cheap with massive running costs
just simply not worth it imo

[greghm]

the CL of this generation is still my favorite Merc.

I wish there would be some companies that would strip all electronics and have it to run as a simple mechanical car... Are there any example of this? rebuilt VW Beetle, etc.

[howardhughes]

WCZ said:

not that much power, not that fast and not that cheap with massive running costs
just simply not worth it imo

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

[Bladedancer]

ArmaghMan said:

They don't all rust.
Some have absolutely no rust anywhere

Of course they don't ALL rust. Even by law of probability MB must have done a few of them right
But many, perhaps even most of them do. So, how do you fancy your chances?

[ivantate]

Didn't Clarkson buy one of these in one of the topgear challenges.

Luxury on the cheap or similar.

Thought it was fabulous, carried on driving it, but then had something go wrong just after the show.

[WCZ]

howardhughes said:

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

[swisstoni]

WCZ said:

howardhughes said:

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

Some of the photos in that ad - the car barely makes it into some of them.

[J4CKO]

WCZ said:

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

I sold my 8 years newer CLS 5.5 for five grand, I know the CL is a dearer car new but I just cant see these as being worth anywhere near this, really not sure who buys these now.

[ArmaghMan]

Fattyfat said:

ArmaghMan said:

Tommie38 said:

In a car like a CL, I agree that the non FI motors aren’t worth the bork risk.

That said, the NA 55 engine in other cars makes a lot of sense - it really is a fantastic motor. The trick is to buy it in cars that aren’t horribly complex (go for CLK, SLK, C) and avoid ones that rust (anything pre 2003 ish).

p

Every time a topic like this comes up some idiot will say ANYTHING pre 2000 or ALL W210s, or all 1990s Mercedes will be a total rust bucket.
They don't all rust.
Some have absolutely no rust anywhere

Do you still have that? I remember seeing it for sale, looked very very clean

Yes still do. Was all set to take it out on Good Friday for first spin of the year, and it absolutely lashed down so still in the garage.
Every so often think about an E55k or an E63, but I've put 4000 miles on this in 3 years so hardly worth the bother of changing.

[ArmaghMan]

Bladedancer said:

ArmaghMan said:

They don't all rust.
Some have absolutely no rust anywhere

Of course they don't ALL rust. Even by law of probability MB must have done a few of them right
But many, perhaps even most of them do. So, how do you fancy your chances?

i think you'll find I took my chances.
That is my E55 in the pic.

[NotFromSomerset]

I had a cl55 AMG and S65 AMG of this generation. Genuinely brilliant engines let down by awful build quality and shocking reliability. While I agree with some above posts that many jobs can be done cheaper by specialists who are expirienced with the ABC system etc they were the two most unreliable cars I've owned and cost a bomb to maintain to a decent level hence why they are now gone.
Some of the interior plastics and fittings were embarrassing by mercedes standards.

Only ones that will be worth money in the future are 65 AMG examples because of the scarcity but I think it's gonna take a long time for this generation to mature well.

[Bladedancer]

ArmaghMan said:

Bladedancer said:

ArmaghMan said:

They don't all rust.
Some have absolutely no rust anywhere

Of course they don't ALL rust. Even by law of probability MB must have done a few of them right
But many, perhaps even most of them do. So, how do you fancy your chances?

i think you'll find I took my chances.
That is my E55 in the pic.

Then luck favors you and may it continue to do so.

[sr.guiri]

406dogvan said:

We had a 2009 ML recently with an indicator fault - the ONLY solution was a new rear SAM from MB (over £2000 and an 8 week wait) which has to be coded by someone with STAR + subscription - that's the sort of thing you have to accept with cars like that, almost £3000 to make the indicators work

WTF - that'll be why my newest car in my small collection is 33 years old. I fking hate new cars - £3000 to fix the indicators, OUCH!!!

[Krikkit]

WCZ said:

howardhughes said:

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

You'd have to be soft in the head to think an AMG E-class is a replacement for a V12 CL. It's not about straight-line speed, it's about ride quality, refinement, smoothness.

The 211 E is a fabulous machine (that one not withstanding), but it's not comparable to a CL.

[J4CKO]

Krikkit said:

WCZ said:

howardhughes said:

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

You'd have to be soft in the head to think an AMG E-class is a replacement for a V12 CL. It's not about straight-line speed, it's about ride quality, refinement, smoothness.

The 211 E is a fabulous machine (that one not withstanding), but it's not comparable to a CL.

Wouldn't want that one though, it has had a comprehensive Barrification, but you wont get faster for the money.

[f1ten]

money pit

ive got m119 v8s and my sister still has a 216 cl500 - I can tell you from it run from knew. What an unreliable car. ABC I think 3 times... the bills are on par with my Ferrari, no joke...

my inlaws have got an S600 Bi turbo fully breathed on Brabus sv12 - guess what - its off the road. reason... electrics and its also had various engine issues. Im toying with rescuing it since its such a rare beast. But then again Im not sure I want to ruin myself!

ps. I love old mercs and I quite like new mercs

[anonymous-user]

Krikkit said:

WCZ said:

howardhughes said:

Just because it dosent't do 60 in 3 seconds and hit 220 mph doesn't mean it's slow...

correct but for £8k i'd rather have a 580bhp amg - https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I just don't think the performance justifies the running costs or poor fuel consumption compared to other available cars at this price

You'd have to be soft in the head to think an AMG E-class is a replacement for a V12 CL. It's not about straight-line speed, it's about ride quality, refinement, smoothness.

The 211 E is a fabulous machine (that one not withstanding), but it's not comparable to a CL.

The thing is, Twin Turbo CL600s do exist for less than 8k, and remap to around 600bhp without breaking a sweat. So you can have the ride quality, refinement, smoothness AND more power

[Bladedancer]

WorldBoss said:

The thing is, Twin Turbo CL600s do exist for less than 8k, and remap to around 600bhp without breaking a sweat. So you can have the ride quality, refinement, smoothness AND more power

What about handling? Or is it just capable of going fast in a straight line?

[BIRMA]

Bladedancer said:

WorldBoss said:

The thing is, Twin Turbo CL600s do exist for less than 8k, and remap to around 600bhp without breaking a sweat. So you can have the ride quality, refinement, smoothness AND more power

What about handling? Or is it just capable of going fast in a straight line?

I have a CL65 and also a little track prepared VX220 Turbo. Near where I live on the A272 are a series of left and right hand bends with clear visibility all round, for the last 30 odd years as a test I have driven all my motorbikes and cars on this stretch of road. my test has been to keep on the correct side of the road at all times, just after I bought the CL I did the test and in sport mode it was only 10 MPH slower that the VX with sticky tyres etc. I didn't attempt to go faster as it was fairly new to me but for a big car it certainly didn't disappoint.