W215 500 & 600 Coupes, Yrs. 2000 & 2001
01-10-2009, 03:53 PM
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Honda Insight
W215 500 & 600 Coupes, Yrs. 2000 & 2001
My last Mercedes was a 1993 W124 E320 Coupe, and I am now thinking of buying myself either a 500 or 600 W215 (Not an AMG or other modified variant) from the first two years of production; however, before I do so, I would be very grateful to know what faults have been reported with these models so that I know what to look out for. I am not concerned about fuel consumption or the cost of spares, but any other general advice, or owners` experiences, would be most welcome.
01-10-2009, 07:08 PM
#2
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The W215 and W220 (S Class) were essentially the same car mechanically and the W220 forum has a lot of good info.
Personally, my father had an '00 S500 and it had quite a few electronic problems, one of them caused the battery to go flat overnight or when the car had been parked for just a few hours. It was really annoying and at the time the local dealer didn't know what to do other than replace the COMAND system and that was no guarantee of a resolution. He ended up selling the vehicle.
I'm currently on the lookout for a late W220 or W215 and by all accounts these vehicles are much more reliable. If you're into buying off ebay there is a very solid looking low mileage '04 CL600 going for just over $21k!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...t_16629wt_1072
In these times I'd suggest looking at '04s or newer, there are some great deals to be had and some of these vehicles have such low mileage!
Personally, my father had an '00 S500 and it had quite a few electronic problems, one of them caused the battery to go flat overnight or when the car had been parked for just a few hours. It was really annoying and at the time the local dealer didn't know what to do other than replace the COMAND system and that was no guarantee of a resolution. He ended up selling the vehicle.
I'm currently on the lookout for a late W220 or W215 and by all accounts these vehicles are much more reliable. If you're into buying off ebay there is a very solid looking low mileage '04 CL600 going for just over $21k!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...t_16629wt_1072
In these times I'd suggest looking at '04s or newer, there are some great deals to be had and some of these vehicles have such low mileage!
01-10-2009, 11:16 PM
#3
+1 on getting a newer one, the 00-02s had some issues, and tend to have a few more miles obviously than the 03-06 ones. Plus the the newer ones have a much improved COMMAND and look a little nicer outside. Like he said, you can have these for the low to mid 20s now, and with that biturbo V12 in the 600s, they are nice and quick as well.
01-11-2009, 04:35 PM
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W215 coupes
Thanks, chaps; will look at the W220 forum as suggested. Actually, I live in the UK, so will have to find a suitable car here. Electrical problems can be a great nuisance--personally, I have always felt that electric should be spelt with a k at the end! I would like to know if there is any significant difference in reliability between the V8 500 and V12 600 engines as I have heard at least one report of the hydraulic tappets on the V12 becoming slightly noisy, although whether this actually matters was unclear.
