ibmagman

Hello,
I am new here. I have been looking hard for a CL600 2000-2003. I put a deposit on a CL600 out out of State and flying there this Sat to purchase and drive the car home or not. The car looks great on the outside, interior and top of engine from the high res photos. The carfax only goes back to 2004 when the car was shipped here from Europe with no account of mileage at that time. There is no data from early years. The odometer Shows mileage in MPH. Is there a way to tell if it has been replaced? This is a 2001 with under 40K miles showing on odometer. The high res photos from the bottom show heavy accumulations of road crud and there is fluid seepage from seveal places. One place is oil leaking down the front of the oil pan. Some hoses on lower left front engine bay looking up have some light to moderate fluid saturation. Is this normal from adding oil and other typical fluid build up or representative of a front main engine seal leak and other leaks from a car with MANY miles. There is some seepage around the rear differential low on forward center. The inside of the wheels show extremely heavy accumulations of crud. I am hoping someone can share some obvious ways to check for high mileage and if there is a way to tell if the odometer has been replaced or if this is a con that is not uncommon. Thanks for helping. Steve Morse

canes85

Have it inspected prior to purchase. I owned 2001 CL600 that was 2 years old at the time with a CPO warranty. It had numerous issues and it performance 361 HP is not very impressive compared to current models. I would save up a little more $$ and get 2003 or newer CL600 with twin turbo 500 HP engine.
These cars are very EXPENSIVE to repair & maintain. The ABC suspension repairs cost 2k - 3k to repair.

calgary

I trust your deposit is refundable, if, after an inspection the car turns out not to be what you expected it to be. It is better to pay for a return flight, then to purchase something that does not justify the price.

trag

Dont buy it!

saintz

If it's a pre 2003, the oil everywhere is probably from a bad oil cooler, which will be very expensive to replace. Oil anywhere near the suspension likely means bad ABC suspension, which is also very expensive.

I would get the shop/owner to take it to the dealer for an inspection report before you fly out there.

biker349

i fully agree. i purchased a 2004 cl600 off ebay with 38000 miles on it. it was contingent upon an inspection by a dealer before they shipped it. after receiving the dealer report i aborted the sale. the report showed mostly small thing, but it was obvious to me that the car was neglected and all the small things they found added up to $6000. it cost me $250 for the inspection and i lost $250 of my deposit, but it was worth it. i found a better cheaper car locally and saved thousands. be careful and make sure you get a competent trustworthy place to inspect it.

mf219

sounds like someone "exported" their problem. I would try to find a US model that is under warranty and/or has been maintained at a dealer. I've owned my CL500 over 2 years now & only paid for brake pads and oil changes.