CL 65 a fast barge.
Discussion
This car is a bit of a departure for me as I’m usually lurking and contributing to the Best Barge Bargains £5-20K having decided some time ago not to spend my money on a £40K Cayenne Turbo S or similar and buy a £10K VW Phaeton and have a decent wedge just in case. The gamble has paid off because I’m in my 4th year of ownership without major expenditure or having something major go wrong that would necessitate me having to throw the car away.
Having an eye for a future purchase I’d decided I liked the 216 series Mercedes CL. Having owned an SL 63 and loved the wonderful N/A 6.2 engine I started off my test driving with that model, I then tried the later turbo model both fantastic cars. As a wildcard I also tried the CL600 and was very impressed, which got me thinking what must the AMG version be like. I then read the July 2007 EVO review by Jethro Bovingdon on the CL65 and was hooked, only problem was there were only 26 registered in the UK so I knew it would be a task.
Well this car came up and I checked it out and in a very rash moment bought it. I’m only about a month into ownership but do I love this car. OK the running costs are, as you would expect high and I have had this Sword of Damocles feeling lurking in the background, Having purchased the excellent Service Plan that Mercedes offer the car has just had a B service at Brooklands for about £800. The company I bought the car from did not mention that to me when buying it so they are off my Christmas card list for sure.
There is the issue of coil packs with these cars which is something I think should be acknowledged by Mercedes and at the very least be replaced free of charge or a 50% contribution as a goodwill gesture, after all someone parted with £150K plus for this car when new.
So I would say to any potential owner interested in these fantastic cars be aware that they could go and cost you about £1200 a side. There can also be issues with the ABC suspension again this is an expensive issue to sort out but I’m not sure how common.
Driving this car which is what it’s all about is truly something to behold it is silent, it gains speed in a way I can only describe as cartoon like but still silent, I’m beginning to see what AMG set out to achieve with this car. You might think this great barge is way too big and unwieldy but you’d be wrong.
Near where I live is a stretch of road I’ve been driving and riding my motorbikes for coming up to 30 years, there are two sweeping left and right bends with good clear vision ahead. My test has always been to keep to the absolute correct side of the road, my current track prepped VX220 Turbo does this well but to my surprise the CL65 in S mode was only 10 MPH slower and that was me being cautious as I’d only had the car a couple of days.
My plan is to update my ownership experience with actual facts from an owners perspective because when I was in the process of getting my facts about the car I did read a great deal of what you might call third hand unfounded tales about them. For an outlay today of about £40K they are in my opinion a real bargain, there are other cars around that are equally desirable that have also fallen off a cliff edge value wise and most seem to be in immaculate well looked after condition.
Apart from £500 plus road tax and an average of 16 MPG this car has a lot going for it. Although when I picked it up from the dealer just opposite Heathrow I did get caught in M25 traffic and a worrying 8 MPG was recorded.
I like the fact that the original owner had the car de-badged although the V12 Bi-Turbo is still on the front wings. Also the car has been to Birds to get a Quaife limited slip diff fiited.
Having an eye for a future purchase I’d decided I liked the 216 series Mercedes CL. Having owned an SL 63 and loved the wonderful N/A 6.2 engine I started off my test driving with that model, I then tried the later turbo model both fantastic cars. As a wildcard I also tried the CL600 and was very impressed, which got me thinking what must the AMG version be like. I then read the July 2007 EVO review by Jethro Bovingdon on the CL65 and was hooked, only problem was there were only 26 registered in the UK so I knew it would be a task.
Well this car came up and I checked it out and in a very rash moment bought it. I’m only about a month into ownership but do I love this car. OK the running costs are, as you would expect high and I have had this Sword of Damocles feeling lurking in the background, Having purchased the excellent Service Plan that Mercedes offer the car has just had a B service at Brooklands for about £800. The company I bought the car from did not mention that to me when buying it so they are off my Christmas card list for sure.
There is the issue of coil packs with these cars which is something I think should be acknowledged by Mercedes and at the very least be replaced free of charge or a 50% contribution as a goodwill gesture, after all someone parted with £150K plus for this car when new.
So I would say to any potential owner interested in these fantastic cars be aware that they could go and cost you about £1200 a side. There can also be issues with the ABC suspension again this is an expensive issue to sort out but I’m not sure how common.
Driving this car which is what it’s all about is truly something to behold it is silent, it gains speed in a way I can only describe as cartoon like but still silent, I’m beginning to see what AMG set out to achieve with this car. You might think this great barge is way too big and unwieldy but you’d be wrong.
Near where I live is a stretch of road I’ve been driving and riding my motorbikes for coming up to 30 years, there are two sweeping left and right bends with good clear vision ahead. My test has always been to keep to the absolute correct side of the road, my current track prepped VX220 Turbo does this well but to my surprise the CL65 in S mode was only 10 MPH slower and that was me being cautious as I’d only had the car a couple of days.
My plan is to update my ownership experience with actual facts from an owners perspective because when I was in the process of getting my facts about the car I did read a great deal of what you might call third hand unfounded tales about them. For an outlay today of about £40K they are in my opinion a real bargain, there are other cars around that are equally desirable that have also fallen off a cliff edge value wise and most seem to be in immaculate well looked after condition.
Apart from £500 plus road tax and an average of 16 MPG this car has a lot going for it. Although when I picked it up from the dealer just opposite Heathrow I did get caught in M25 traffic and a worrying 8 MPG was recorded.
I like the fact that the original owner had the car de-badged although the V12 Bi-Turbo is still on the front wings. Also the car has been to Birds to get a Quaife limited slip diff fiited.
Fantastic car and be great to read more about your ownership experience. I clicked on the title thinking maybe this could be an enticing prospect for me (very much an intriguing curve ball to what is currently on my short list), but within a few lines I started to sweat at the ownership costs 
Hope it brings you many more smiles and very few unexpected bills!
Hope it brings you many more smiles and very few unexpected bills!
[/URL]Cudd Wudd said:
Fantastic car and be great to read more about your ownership experience. I clicked on the title thinking maybe this could be an enticing prospect for me (very much an intriguing curve ball to what is currently on my short list), but within a few lines I started to sweat at the ownership costs
Hope it brings you many more smiles and very few unexpected bills!
Thanks, ownership costs can be a bit scaryHope it brings you many more smiles and very few unexpected bills!
[quote=sshenton1975]Congratulations!! An awesome bit of kit
Here is my lowly 600 but with AMG pack
Im 6 months in and already spent 1200 quid on coil packs!!!
Enjoy!
Thanks, it was driving the CL600 that made me change my thinking. They are so smooth and power delivery is so seamless.
I have been given the full details of the coil pack breakdown from a very helpful knowledgable chap on an MB forum. By all accounts the later ones are a better design. I still think MB should replace them with a contribution at the very least.
Here is my lowly 600 but with AMG pack
Im 6 months in and already spent 1200 quid on coil packs!!!
Enjoy!
Thanks, it was driving the CL600 that made me change my thinking. They are so smooth and power delivery is so seamless.
I have been given the full details of the coil pack breakdown from a very helpful knowledgable chap on an MB forum. By all accounts the later ones are a better design. I still think MB should replace them with a contribution at the very least.
Here is a photo of the interior, I'm a sucker for the quilted leather. The car has very few toys, no distronic, night view or fridge. but it does have those lovely cooled active seats which is all I wanted anyway.
Nice bit of carbon fibre on the engine cover
Nice bit of carbon fibre on the engine cover
Edited by BIRMA on Saturday 17th June 15:58
The power is surreal, you never get the feeling you could do with a bit more oomph.
The manual mode is sheer madness and really does defy the cars grand wafting appearance.
The manual mode is sheer madness and really does defy the cars grand wafting appearance.
milu said:
You guys are killing me with these cl's.
I've been looking at 63's but am yet to convince myself it's a sound idea. Not least because I suppose the values is going to continue downwards quite quickly. Or maybe not?
The value is falling and will level out I'm quite sure as they get older. What I would say though is that you can still pick up a good one for a reasonable price. Many are lowish mileage and in immaculate condition and have yet be ruined by say a cheapskate buffoon thinking you can run them on the cheap which I'm sure is inevitable. I've been looking at 63's but am yet to convince myself it's a sound idea. Not least because I suppose the values is going to continue downwards quite quickly. Or maybe not?
Edited by BIRMA on Sunday 18th June 08:32
Edited by BIRMA on Sunday 18th June 08:33
Hey, lovely car, i have two kids (one yearold, sitting in a car seat) and a four year old, in a booster seat.
Have you ever put kids (or even adults) in the back seats?
I am thinking of the CL for a weekend car, so it doesnt need to be super practical, but it does need to pass the two kids test.
Of course i recognise that a two door car is less than optimal, but if the kids want optimal, they can buy their own car1
Cheers,
Greg
Have you ever put kids (or even adults) in the back seats?
I am thinking of the CL for a weekend car, so it doesnt need to be super practical, but it does need to pass the two kids test.
Of course i recognise that a two door car is less than optimal, but if the kids want optimal, they can buy their own car1
Cheers,
Greg
BlueHave said:
16 mpg is shocking for a modern car. Most supercars return 20mpg if you really thrash them hard nowadays.
Really...? I spent a day driving a friend's 599 a few years ago in a "spirited," manner; from memory I got just under 8.5 to the gallon and he got just under 11 to the gallon from the car he was driving.ruprechtmonkeyboy said:
BlueHave said:
16 mpg is shocking for a modern car. Most supercars return 20mpg if you really thrash them hard nowadays.
I don't think they do. For example, the official figure for an Aventador is 11 mpg in town driving so probably worse than that in reality.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff