rosssr

here is the carfax

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...&partner=ATD_W

seems like all the usual recall issues were dealt with, and maybe a few other things. all maintenance and work by MB dealers. does all of this work mean it is now a clean car ready for a few more years of trouble free fun with me, or does it mean this is a problem car to avoid?

scb71

I am in Houston too and have dealt with MB Greenway with several cars I bought there over the years. They were the ones who serviced this car and sold it a coupe of times prior. A few thoughts:

positives-
Looks like good service history;
Seems like good miles for a car of this age;
Has the AMG package which is nice;
Great looking car for the money for sure.

Items for consideration-
- It is an older car and the pre-facelift cars are much less desirable so keep that in mind when shopping around. I do like the look of this car though just know that if you could find a 2011 or newer in budget it would probably be a good idea but they are probably a good step up in price;
- I have no experience with USA Car Expo but wonder why MB Greenway ended up wholesaling it at auction. MB Greenway tried to sell it back in October but ended up auctioning it and now it is 6 months later and it is still for sale at an independent dealer. Nothing inherently wrong here just be fully informed. It could just be that the older CL's don't really move off the lot;
- Be aware that even though this is only a $25k car now - you are still maintaining and repairing a $100-120k car. You MUST have the means and willingness to repair 2-3k items as regular course of business. A bigger issue would be significantly more than that but 2-3k per year in repairs happens often - plus maintenance costs on top of that, oil, tires, brakes, etc. Not scaring you away as these are awesome cars but you need to be fully informed, honest with yourself and capable of the upkeep.

I had a S550 of the same vintage a few years back. It had similar miles when I finally sold it, and coincidentally I bought it and had it serviced at MB Greenway while it was under warranty. I loved that car but as an example with high 50k miles I ended up with ABC suspension repairs that were around $2k as I recall. Then within a year another issue - a leak or pump issue I don't recall and it was maybe another $2500. Then not long after I had a start up growl that we never could figure out to correct. Did a few hundred dollars of repairs here and a few hundred more there, some idler pullies and other things but it was still there. I got frustrated and worried about possible future repairs so I ended up just trading it. That is not a horror story by any means but probably a pretty reasonable /good/common experience with these cars. Mind you this was a few years back so my car was technically newer at the time than the one you are looking at.

With all of that said, if you like A LOT of car for the money and are willing to take on the maintenance and repairs should they arise I think you will have a hard time not loving these cars. The S class and CL class (same car really but CL is more fun to drive) are the best things I've ever driven but when they need work they are nightmares on the wallet.

rosssr

thanks for those points made.
yes i am beginning to see that the newer mercedes are eventually all victims of their advanced complexity - the actual mechanicals seem to be great, but the little computers and other small bits end up going bad sooner than desirable on a car of this provenance.

but it is a lot of car for the money.
i think the reason greenway moved it on was because the new S coupe was coming in, they likely had some facelifted CL's coming back, and needed to clear the lot. it has not moved from the current dealer because it is not a HOT car, but more of a gentleman's car. i like the value proposition, but i do admit the potential maintenance issues give me pause....

steveb9771

I am surprised by the items that have been replaced on this vehicle:

Rear strut(s)/insert cartridge(s) replaced (21,018 miles)
Air conditioning compressor (25,762 miles)
spark plugs (34700 miles) -- Why, should last at least 75,000 miles
power steering pump (38,338 miles)

Replacement of the cam shaft seals was a common repair.

I have a 2007 CL550 purchased new. I have not experienced any of the above items except for the cam shaft seals which was less that $200.

The expensive repair I had one month before expiration of my 7 year extended warranty involved the air bladders in both front seats. My third party warranty company paid over $6000 to get these fixed.

The other expensive repairs I have had (each about $1000) were:
1) electronic module controlling steering wheel buttons
2) failure of ABC suspension hose which required replacement of serpentine fan belt which was saturated with hydraulic fluid.

There were a few service campaigns (Mercedes nomenclature for minor recalls) which replaced idler pulley for excessive noise and added some sealant for corrosion prevention.

Vehicles manufactured near the end of the 2008 model year came with the ability to display real-time traffic data on the GPS map. The service is free, no paid subscription required). This feature can be added to earlier 2007 and 2008 vehicles via a software update which some dealers will perform and others will refuse claiming it can't be done. A fair price for the update is one hour of labor.

A small number of vehicles have experienced a failure of a timing chain sprocket which was covered by a class action lawsuit. The claim period for the lawsuit lapsed a few years ago. I have NOT experienced this failure.

rosssr

yes. i wondered about some of these too.

sometimes i think the dealer just replaces stuff to pad the bill.

i am seriously considering the extended warranty offered by endurance. covers it nose to tail for 42k miles and 4 years. all for $5K. seems like a reasonable deal.

i was with the dealer yesterday and he hooked it up to his code reader and virtually nothing showed - a couple things due to low battery, and the two front seat lumbar inflators i think.

scb71

What is going on with the lumbar?
if it has possible issues and you have the dynamic seats that can be expensive to repair. You may want to check into that further. The dynamic seats are more than just a typical lumbar adjustment chair.

steveb9771

The lumbar issue is most likely failure of the seat air bladders. I had this failure. The passenger seat bladder could not be repaired which caused replacement of the seat cushion for $5000 !!!. I also had a failure in the driver's seat.

I would walk (run) away from the deal if the dealer will not fix this item

scb71

Steveb (oddly enough my name as well) was more forceful and direct in his reply but that is what I was getting at.

I have the dynamic seats in my 2012 and I just hope they don't act up. I know I probably shouldn't be so cautious but I hardly ever use the massage or the dynamic seat option as I don't want to stress them any more than I have to - based on steveb's sort of experience. They are really cool but my car only has 20,000 miles and even though the seats should be fine I worry about them. If the one you are considering has signs of trouble already I would do the same thing as steveb suggests - walk away. There are other cars out there.

rosssr

i think no.
to find a clean CL550 with the amg sport package with fewer than 60k miles within 100 miles of me is not so simple.
i dont really care about lumbar support, and if i get the extended warranty i can have it checked out later.

scb71

Well that last post sort of sums it up. Sounds like your mind was made up before asking for input. You have been caught by the siren's song as they say.

There are other cars, and will be others if you are a little patient. Expanding the search over 100 miles broadens your market dramatically and is perfectly doable for a car purchase - Austin and Dallas are not that far, nor is San Antonio. If you are ok with a 2008 I actually just found the same car you are looking at in Austin with 15,000 less miles and what appears to be a cleaner (service wise) carfax. And don't forget you are planning on spending another 4-5k for an aftermarket warranty which is money out the door that you may never get back - and you likely won't since that is how these companies make money. They don't just lose money on selling warranties - of course some people are very happy but most people aren't otherwise they would not be in business.

If you have not purchased yet you should do some research on these seats before just saying something as flippant as "i don't really care about lumbar support". It isn't that simple. If your dynamic seats fail you are a long ways away from just not having customized lumbar support. The whole seat - back and seat bottom are a series of interconnected balloons more or less. That is why they cost multiple thousands to repair.

Regardless good luck to you. I hope you have a great experience whatever you choose but my gut tells me you are in a for a wild ride on the wallet in owning any one of these. Take that for what it is worth - nothing apparently.

rosssr

scb, i think you took my previous post the wrong way. i was not trying to dismiss your advice or be flippant. what i meant was that since the lumbar inflator is covered by the extended warranty, if it is in fact found later on to be terminally faulty and needing to be replaced, then the warranty will cover it.

i have not bought the car, nor have i made up my mind. i am looking at all sorts of cars, including an even higher risk 2006 sl65 from the same dealer ! but i may end up buying nothing since everybody is scaring the hell out of me with maintenance horror stories.

i value your advice, and the others on here. thats why came on here in the first place. so sorry if you misinterpreted my post.

is this the car in austin?
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=CL550

if so, then i agree it is a better car. it is also 15k more than the one i am looking at in houston. you get what you pay for most of the time...

scb71

No I figured a newer post-update version was not in the budget but you are right.

I just did a quick search earlier because you said there were not any out there and that was surprising to me. The one I referenced was the same car you are looking at - a pre-facelift 2008 model. Probably less expensive actually from a value standpoint - it had a lot less miles and I didn't notice any weird stuff in the service history like what was on the one you originally asked about. With that said, I know nothing of the car.

http://www.texastrucksandtoys.com/20...-78753/6155903

FWIW though I would say that you probably should be scared - that is healthy for these sorts of cars. You are looking at two extremely expensive cars to maintain/repair and an aftermarket warranty isn't a sure thing - nor are they free either. Items won't be covered or they call things wear items when you thought there weren't, etc, etc.

I hope you get the car you want and I hope it is nothing but carefree joys but you are sort of playing with fire here. You just need to know that. I have driven German cars for a long time and I know what I am getting into when I own them post-warranty. It is a love/hate thing for me for sure but I do it anyway. I can afford to buy a new one and live under warranty alone but I choose not to and instead I roll the dice and drive them at what feels like the sweet spot of their depreciation to value curve but it doesn't always work out. Sometimes I love them and other times I cuss and complain and wish I drove a Lexus...

rosssr

thats a nice car. i will likely get the one in houston cheaper in the end, so maybe it makes up for the miles.

but, what about that carfax is that much better than the one i posted. just curious. they both seem to have dealt with the recall issues, and then regular maintenance stuff.

scb71

Good luck

This is totally up to you. We were just trying to help is all but I think outside input is about done at this point.

The car you are looking at had lots of questionable things repaired while under factory warranty and it also has some things that were brought up to you from your inspection that you are totally writing off -
"a couple things due to low battery, and the two front seat lumbar inflators"

What I do see clearly on carfax was that the car was in for service A LOT. And many times sort of back to back which makes me think they couldn't quite get something right. It also had lots of battery and electrical checks which could be just regular checks every time it was in for service but it could also mean your "low battery" thing is more serious than you want to think it is. Some of those repairs look serious to me and they would have been expensive if not under actual MB warranty. You could see that as a positive as they have been supposedly fixed but that is up to you.

Then the seats - we've said it before and will say it again. These aren't something to look past. You are writing that off but it could cost you dearly which sucks for something like a seat. There is nothing that makes me more angry than spending thousands of dollars on something as stupid as a seat or some other over engineered comfort item. But that is why these cars cost >$100,000 every little thing is expensive and finely tuned but that also means lots of stuff potentially to fail.

Hope you get what you are after however this plays out

rosssr

i called mercedes greenway, and altho they are nto able to divulge much more info, they at least confirmed that the battery charging system check is a standard part of their service checklist, hence routine.

i also noticed the other things done, see some of these were recall items, like the cam seals, but others like the ac system, the rear strut, power steering pump, give me pause....but as you say, should i think of those as a good thing since they have now been done before i buy the car, or should i view the whole car as a lemon? only time will tell.

what i meant by 'things due to low battery' , they were literally codes that came up saying the battery was only at 10volts. i drove the car for about 15 minutes and no lights came up either. i dont know how long it takes for these to show up though.

rosssr

i pulled the trigger today and bought it. paid less than the ask, and got a new set of tires thrown in. i also took the extended warranty for 4 years/48k miles for peace of mind.
picking it up tomorrow.
feeling good!

thanks for all your input guys.

Benztech777

You will love this car and its a good thing you got the warranty with it as this is an expensive car to repair on things like suspension and those damn seats! I love mine and really who the hell do you know that has one? Nobody and they are all envious of yours. Im a tech so I can get through most of the repairs myself. but a non mechanic can be in a world of hurt without a friend. Keep me in mind if you get in a jam. I can offer repair advice since Im in Florida. Good luck with yours!

subzero05

I had one several years ago. Couple minor things went wrong, but nothing I would attribute as major. Nice car overall and I would recommend it

rosssr

thanks for that !

so far i like the car. i dont love it yet, but it is following through on the promise of luxury and elegance. it also is getting 13 mpg in town despite being in comfort mode most of the time and my non-aggreessive driving....my ferraris get better mileage than that !! but it weighs 4600 pounds so i guess i should have expected this....

Benztech777

I dont worry about mileage. In town it does suck gas, especially if you drive like me. But on the highway it gets a good 22 mpg even at 80-90 mph. The engine is a torque monster and the shift programming is all set up for economy. But when you want to go it moves pretty good. Its a luxury sport coupe designed to compete with just a couple high end coupes on the market. I love mine as a daily driver.

rosssr

ok, here is the 3 month update....
i like it a lot. i dont yet love it, but it is an extremely competent car, a sumptuous and luxurious place to be while going anywhere.

i have contemplated changing wheels to the 20" but dont want to compromise the ride, yet. and i have also thought about lowering it, but probably wont do that either just because houston roads are awful.

overall, it was a good call and this is a great car.