I Need One of These in My Life.

"Branden J -Reading the Manual" (intakelake)
07/25/2015 at 21:53 • Filed to: None

(Maybe Someday.)The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Such Power. Such opulence. Such a price. Not many places would you get 604 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque for less than $30,000. I can’t afford it but I want one. I want one bad.

DISCUSSION (43)

Vicente Esteve > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 22:00

A CL is the ultimate Mercedes to show wealth. Even if it is 10 years old you have to commit yourself to paying the repair bills.

CB > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 22:12

There was a guy on here who had one and three other really nice cars. Apparently worked on some old cars, too.

But seriously, it would be cool, but massively expensive to maintain.

JR1 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 22:17

The CL is the embodiment of Mercedes luxury. Power, prestige, and luxury. If it wasn't for the ABC issue it would be the next car in my garage

Branden J -Reading the Manual > CB
07/25/2015 at 22:22

Yeah, you could probably make payments on 2 cars with the repair bill costs

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Vicente Esteve
07/25/2015 at 22:23

I feel like its one of the best F-you-I’m-rich cars to exist.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > JR1
07/25/2015 at 22:25

I would love to have one if I had the money to maintain it.

JR1 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 22:54

That's why you have to buy one for 15k for a Cl600 and have the budget for a 30k car

Vicente Esteve > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 23:08

That and a decade old E-Class wagon smelling like a Saint Bernard

Branden J -Reading the Manual > JR1
07/25/2015 at 23:11

true haha

JGrabowMSt > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 23:13

Just buy an S600 with the M120 V12. Closer to a Zonda.

JGrabowMSt > CB
07/25/2015 at 23:19

If you go to Benz for service, yes. My SL600 has not been bad, I let a custom shop do it because they were confident about it, and their confidence proved quite successful in some work on the car. The newer cars have more complicated electonics, but are certainly no more difficult than the older ones.

The SL class is the ultimate show of wealth though. The CLs are awesome though, but the top doesnt come off or fold down. I wouldnt mind a CL at all, but realistically, I wouldnt want to hve nagging backseat drivers or have to deal with getting people in or out of the back. Thats just plebian.

Either way, the CL shared the power plant with the SL, so its just down to if you want a folding top or back seat.

DoYouEvenShift > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 23:26

Ive had the pleasure of driving one of those. Luxurious acceleration. Makes wonderful noises.

Frank Grimes > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/25/2015 at 23:48

I love these. I think the roof is just so gorgeous the way it curves back and gets slimmer and also curves down to the sides. its almost a bubble top and makes the whole car look slimmer and elegant. Also brute force torques.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Frank Grimes
07/26/2015 at 00:04

It has more Torque than some modern diesel pickups. It’s beautiful.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > DoYouEvenShift
07/26/2015 at 00:05

Lucky! When did you get the chance?

Frank Grimes > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 00:07

tell me more is there some blog describing a guys experience maintaining one? if I were rich I would do such a thing and document it all on a blog.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Frank Grimes
07/26/2015 at 00:14

I wish. After you said that I’ve started scowering the internet for one though

Frank Grimes > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 00:17

heres one

http://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz/…

DoYouEvenShift > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 00:18

An old guy would buy random cars to flip. He brought them to a shop I used to work at to look over and make repairs. He would leave them with us for weeks, told us, “Do what you will with em”

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Frank Grimes
07/26/2015 at 00:52

Read my posts about the S600. Same suspension and engine roughly. Same gen. Car

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 00:54

Do it.

Kinja'd!!!

I did.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JGrabowMSt
07/26/2015 at 02:30

Parts costs alone on this one blow yours out of the water I’m afraid. For example, over zealous removal of the ignition coils could cost you a grand each. Front pads and rotors, on the low side, your looking at two grand and more than half that for the rears. And we haven’t even cracked the surface yet...

Branden J -Reading the Manual > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
07/26/2015 at 02:37

How is the maintenance on it? Is it really as bad as everyone says?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 02:37

The power delivery on these feels like I picture surfing a doomsday tidal wave would. Including the brutal part at the end as it crashes into a city.

Certainly an epic car. Feel free to ask me stuff.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > Frank Grimes
07/26/2015 at 02:38

Oh yeah I forgot about that! Edmunds kept really detailed records of their car, they actually said it was quite reliable for them

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JGrabowMSt
07/26/2015 at 02:40

But then you’re stuck with a 140. Bleh. Best Mercedes with an M120 (from the factory) is a 129. Preferably with monoblocks. Therefore, you win.

SaabE39 > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 04:28

funny you post this up, got murdered by one on the highway last night. insane acceleration.

KatzManDu > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 09:05

As a former CL55 AMG owner, it’s a fantastic vehicle. And mine was one of the natural aspirated ones.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > DoYouEvenShift
07/26/2015 at 09:53

That sounds fantastic!

Branden J -Reading the Manual > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/26/2015 at 09:55

Are they particularly unreliable cars, or is it just the cost of parts and maintenance themselves that get expensive?

DoYouEvenShift > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 09:58

It was pretty fun, it was all mostly higher end stuff too.

Branden J -Reading the Manual > DoYouEvenShift
07/26/2015 at 10:01

I imagine some empty lot shenanigans were had at some point?

DoYouEvenShift > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 10:28

Oh yeah, sometimes he would pull up in a car and say. “You gotta drive this thing, itll lay rubber for 100 feet!”

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 11:31

If you keep up with stuff and take care of it, no. As far as I know the engine and tranny are pretty robust so it’s more small things eg. Passenger airbag sensor. $ 1,015 after tax and labour .

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 11:35

Also, the feeling of dd’ing one is fun. You never run out of torque

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 11:52

They very rarely have issues that will leave you stranded. But they do have a lot of high-dollar maintenance and repair items; ABC struts and pump, spark plugs and ignition coils, brakes. But they also have items that are more within the realm of normal as far as cost is concerned; bushings, ball joints, fluid and filter services. It’s also important to note that an alignment could easily cost $4-500 dollars, or more depending on how bad it is. The reason being is that ride height is crucial to a proper alignment and it may require adjustment (ABC), then if camber or caster are out it will need adjustment bolts installed (there are 4 total) which cost about $20 each and take time to install, and these are on top of the base cost of the alignment. But that’s nowhere near as bad as an R230 SL65 which is the same so far with the added “feature” of requiring exhaust removal to adjust rear toe.

The newer the better, Mercedes is excellent about fixing issues mid-production.

NJAnon > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 14:44

Yes and no. Yes there aren’t many vehicles that have those specs for that price. No, the 600HP/700lb ft in that mercedes isn’t what you think. One reason is there is a ton of tech in front of those performance numbers. And weight.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 16:43

One of my absolute favorite modern Mercs. I guess my dad kind of knows the owner of this one, and I know his granddaughter (although I didn’t know that was who the owner was).

Kinja'd!!!

Schaefft > KatzManDu
07/26/2015 at 17:28

Tell us more about it! Are there any significant differences in maintenance/parts cost between the CL500 and CL55? A V8 C215 is one of my potential next cars, first hand experience would surely influence my decision positively! :)

Schaefft > Branden J -Reading the Manual
07/26/2015 at 17:29

Get the Supercharged CL55 AMG instead! Heres my opinion about the CL:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/holy-crap-1720…

Branden J -Reading the Manual > DoYouEvenShift
07/26/2015 at 18:44

That’s Awesome!

KatzManDu > Schaefft
07/27/2015 at 04:00

I only owned it for like six months and I needed to replace the MAF (which is pretty common.) Actually I think there are two MAFs.

Other than that I had no real issues.

The 2001-2002 are all naturally aspirated for the CL55. Only the CL600 has the twin-turbo V12. Starting in 2003 the CL55 added a supercharger and the base CL500 and CL600 received more horsepower. $ for $, unless you’re looking for show, go for the CL55 AMG with the supercharger. Stupid fast, and you can make it even stupid fastier with pulleys and programming.

Schaefft > KatzManDu
07/27/2015 at 11:31

Actually, the CL600 only got its twin turbos with the facelift, the previous car was NA. The CL500 kept its engine the way it was before, no power gains unfortunately. Considering the non-supercharged CL55s are only about 2-3 grand more than a normal pre-facelift CL500, they might be a pretty good compromise, even though the supercharged 500hp version would be mental.