2008 cls advice

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Discussion

covmutley

Original Poster:

3,025 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
hi all

Im looking at a 2008 CLS, 320 cdi on Friday. 100k miles and full MBSH apparently. 2 owners. £6.5k

Checking the MOT history reveals advisories for play in suspension, which I understand is fairly normal and not overly expense to fix.

This might sound bizarre, but i do 22k miles a year and am putting this car head-to-head against a new BMW i3 which I am test driving on Friday also.

The conetst is: low car cost/high fuel vs high car cost/low fuel. Comfort and how much I like the cars are important too.

The i3 is more expensive per month including all costs, but this is on the basis of allowing a £60 month (£720) year repair pot for the CLS. Is that enough or am I underestimating repairs?

I had considered getting a £7k civic or similar, but ideally I want to own something i will enjoy.


r129sl

9,518 posts

203 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
I tried an i3 recently. I am intrigued by electric cars and was open minded. I found the ride very stiff. I wouldn't fancy long distance in an electric car just yet.

£720 is not enough to run a 2008 model CLS for 22,000miles. It's going to need a set of tyres which alone will run you the thick end of £500. There will also be minor repairs required, inevitably, which might together make that budget very tight. If you're looking at high mileage cars, then it will almost certainly have been neglected with backlog maintenance (such as the front lower suspension arms you advert to). The sad fact is, cars in Britain don't get maintained: they get sold.

covmutley

Original Poster:

3,025 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
So a £6.5k cls may cost as much to run (give or take £50) as a brand new i3 with current tech, but the cls is likely to be more suitable than the i3 for my mileage.

Honestly, as much as I like cars, I f**king hate them. It's not easy making decisions!

J4CKO

41,530 posts

200 months

Sunday 30th April 2017
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I love mine, there is price and value, the I3 is a decent car but cant imagine it munches miles like a CLS.

The suspension stuff is very cheap to buy, mine is in bits currently, I tried to change a ball joint and failed, mobile mech coming to do it, but minor issues, they are so lovely to drive.


AREA

497 posts

225 months

Monday 1st May 2017
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covmutley said:
hi all


The i3 is more expensive per month including all costs, but this is on the basis of allowing a £60 month (£720) year repair pot for the CLS. Is that enough or am I underestimating repairs?

I had a 2007 CLS 320CDI for 7 years and 100,000 miles. Excellent car and it was a sad day when I replaced it with W218.
But -- at 100,000 it was suffering old age ailments. Ball joints/suspension arms, turbo, driver's window mech had all been done but there was more to do to keep it taut.

Don't want to put you off, but I'd recommend you have a few grand accessible should things need doing in a hurry. Then budget £1,000/year for repair pot.


MarcelM6

539 posts

106 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2017
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Have you considered buying a lower mileage or petrol CLS? I bought a 50K miles CLS500 for £8000 little less than a year ago, similar diesels were more.

There are a few on Autotrader with lower milage for £7K at the moment.

My mileage is similar to yours (80% motorway), tyres and brakes last forever. And its very very comfortable.

I've looked into leasing and thought the cost for anything over 10000 miles are year are punitive. So my strategy is to buy something comfy with less than 50K miles every 2 years.

55palfers

5,908 posts

164 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2017
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22K miles - all day, the Mercedes.

Find a good indy and keep it serviced.