Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting an '01 CL600 and was curious if there is any advice you can give me regarding reliability or other problems I may encounter.

Would I be much better off going with a 2003 CL500 instead?

Thanks,
Tom

Stay away from the N/A V12's

The facelifted W215 CL is much better in terms of reliability and technology.

If buying a CL, make sure you have deep pockets for repairs or a good extended warranty

How fast you want your car to be?
Are you driving it everyday or once a week?
if you get a 600 drive it once a week if you get a 500 drive it everyday

Do you think they will amount to more than $10k a year if driven daily?

Curiously,
Tom

This is going to be a really tough one to get a useful answer back on, because I don't think we have any compiled the data. As a first personal account, I can tell you that mine has had nowhere near that amount in the two years I have had the car, putting about 35,000 miles on it so it now has 76K.

Brakes were expensive, about $1400, and I had two electrical gremlins I had fixed for about $600 total. Other than that just routine stuff like service and tires, not too bad <knock on wood>

Tom,
I've had mine for a couple years now (03 CL500) and I haven't accumulated that much in repair costs since the warranty expired. I am pushing 60K miles so I assume things might start adding up. I think you really need to stay away from the 600, too many problems, EXPENSIVE ones! It has been a pretty good car but it isn't my dailt driver. If I had to do it all over again I would've gotten a 55. If you can afford it, go AMG.

Regarding the 10K question.. I would strongly advise purchasing an extended warranty for a CL. I had a CL500 two years ago, while the car was brillant in performance and looks, it was in the shop ALOT. Luckily my car was CPO, so no costs came outta my pocket, but I can tell you, it would be an expensive daily driver. The wear and tear on the ABC suspension is common these cars. A routine flush costs 800 to 900 bucks. This should be done every service B. Next, if the body valve goes bad the cost is easily $2500.00The ABC pump itself is around $4000.00. Small electronic bugs like sensors can add up too.

Hopefully you won't experience these issues, but do your homework before making a purchase.

Stay away from the 01 - 02 CL600's.

My recommendation would be getting an 03+ CL500. 04+ come with DVD navigation versus 03 just having the DX with a wider screen.

This way you have the face lifted version. We have an 02 CL500.

Tom,
Check out the thread in the CL forum from the guy with the 02 CL600 NEED HELP!
The guy is screwed. He's at almost 14k in mechanical expenses and he just got the car. Its not worth much more than that. N/A V12's are not worth the risk without warranty.