mercedf

Hi, I am new to this site & this is my first posting so would be grateful for some help and guidance.


I have a budget of around £12,000 to spend and for that am looking for a well looked after CL around 10 years old. I understand the basic differences between these models, but have read some mixed reviews about maintenance costs being very high & reliability issues, so wondered if anyone maybe able to confirm typical costs & how true or not the reliability rumours are?


I should say that I am not completely wet behind the ears & am happy to pour £1k+ a year into whatever I buy and what will ultimately remain a 3rd car in my garage for high days & long runs (say 5k miles a year).


Any feedback would be appreciated. Regards. Ed

MJ50

moved to W215 AMG forum...

Welwynnick

Well, they all have ABC, so nothing to chose between them there. There are lots of things you can do to help yourself.

The 500 is fine, but has nothing like the performance of the other two.

The 600 has a tough engine, but fragile coil packs. You can expect they'll have to be replaced at some point. If its already done, so much the better.

Consider getting MB Star diagnostics to help yourself.

Treating it as a weekend car is a good place to start.

Nick

mercedf

Thanks very much Nick - Forgive me, but could you please clarify (1) What are coil packs & (2) What is MB Star diagnostics? thanks. Ed

RoadHazard

Coil packs refer to the ignition coil on the engine, used to ignite the fuel through the spark plugs. A M275 V12 Engine has two coil packs, each coming in a set of 6 on each side. The original coilpacks that came on the W215's had some durability issues, and usually kicked the bucket after a tune. The biggest issue is that each coilpack tends to cost about $1000, not including the install. If interested in a 600, make sure they're replaced to the updated ones, otherwise the engine is bulletproof.

mercedf

Cheers Nick - After all that, I have just done a deal in principle on a CL55 2002 - The car has had 2 owners & covered 46kmiles with full main dealer history and comes with 1 years warranty. Testing next week, so fingers crossed - Anything advice gratefully received. regards. Ed

Welwynnick

MB Star is a comprehensive and relatively expensive laptop-based computerised diagnostics and maintenance system. Its what MB dealers use, and cheap clones are sold by many Chinese companies. Its around $300 plus the laptop. Many of us have them, its what you use when you're serious about maintining your Benz. Many people swear by them, but they're diffficult to start using, and a cheap OBD2 reader will get you much of the way. MB Star goes much further though, and includes manuals and parts lists for all models. The best MBWorld thread is probably here, but there are many:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ts-o-pics.html

PelicanParts.com

Welcome! Good luck with the purchase and be sure to post up pictures when you decide on the vehicle you'll be buying!

-Luccia