Hello, the value of 05" CL 65 is now moving towards becoming affordable, so I will be selling my BMW 850i that I had for about 6 years now and getting into CL65. What are some potential issues or problems with the car, anything I should look out for when purchasing?
Any input appreciated.

CPO and Extended warranty are very important, never buy a V12 biturbo car without both.

I traded a 2005 CL65 with 16k miles on it for a new CL63. I believe the car was CPO'd by the dealer (Smythe in Cupertino). They had the car for sale as of about 3 weeks ago. Don't know if they still have it.

The car was perfect.

Wow, do you have any pics of your CL 63? How does the CL 63 compare to the CL 65?

wow...was that a near-even swap?
how does 500hp feel compared w/ 600+hp ?

lol this is the same question I have been asking now that it is about affordable. I mean what is another car without mods that you get 604hp and luxury under 80K

I really don't think there is such a car, I was looking into Maserati 4200 GT but new $5k Cambiocorsa clutch every 11k miles kind of turned me off.
And I guarantee you, the price of 05" CL65 will drop dramatically within next year as the new 07" CL65 "used" start showing up.

Yup, that's the way it goes. Depreciation is a killer for these AMG cars.

Anecdotally know of a surprisingly high no. of lemon buy-back 65s (among colleagues and seen on ebay)....doubt MBUSA casually buys back 65s unless problems are rather onerous; so who knows how many were problematic, but not bought-back and just traded-in by frustrated owners.....don't know what the overall failure rate is.....some guys had issues starting at 250mis...others only after 8-10K mis.....AMG did stress out an elderly-tech 600 motor to develop 65 as a one-off, so would not be surprised re: high failure rates, if true....

Need to drive new-gen CL vs old-gen CL.....last-gen CL was from a dark era of MB in terms of computer/electrical bugs and poor interior materials (even an '08 SL looks absolutely antique-like vs '08 CL).....last-gen CL was often problematic even when new and under full factory warranty; likely not improving w/age.....have previously owned '07 CL550 and 600...and now CL63...driven over 15K mis total on the three CLs.....have numerous colleagues who also drive CL63 and have had similarly positive expces of impeccable build quality and free of glitches/failures, despite the incredible amount of new technology....

Had '07 SL65 (and passed on getting an '08 CL65 after a quick test drive)....would drive 65 slower than I drive CL63 b/c of traction issues w/65, even on dry, bumpy stretches of 280 fwy....in wet conds, 65 traction IMO is annoyingly poor for a daily commuter car....relative wt of 65 motor is egregiously evident over nose of car....even '08 CL65 (let alone last-gen CL65) has less precise steering/chassis balance vs CL63 in mtn twisties...

Net, net, last-gen AMG CL's were high-powered luxury cars w/steering, chassis, and brakes that underwhelmed....new-gen CL63 is absolutely phenomenal...prob world's best overall driver's car today if fully considering overall perf/safety/precision/daily-useability/comfort.....drive my CL63 as both a daily commuter car in SF and as my wkend mtn twisties car....would argue CL63 is about as transformational a car as was SL55 back in '02....great stuff from AMG today....

If could only get a $100K car, would rather drive new CL550 than any used, last-gen CL65.....and would $0-down lease the CL550....if counting pennies, the notion of actually buying (not leasing) any car in CA is fairly absurd/archaic....

I agree with WSH on most points. In my case, my CL65 was a solid, problem free car. However, I did not like the handling due to all of the extra weight of the V12 up front.

The CL63 is a phenomenol automobile. The balance, steering and handling are just about perfect for a large 4 seat vehicle. I took delivery of the car on Sept 1. Spent a few weeks breaking it in up to the 1000 mile point and then took a 2 week 3000 mile roadtrip to Colorado. The car was flawless the entire time.

Average mileage was 22 mpg. Of course this included hundreds of miles through the desert with the Distronic turned on. The only work I had done on return was a new air filter and an oil change (drove through extreme dust and sand in Utah).

I love the CL63. The only thing I miss is the huge torque of the V12. On balance, I would choose the CL63.

Mark

Thanks for the comments guys! CL63 is an awesome car but is out of my price range and I am partial to 05' CL65 styling. I will not be taking CL65 to the track and I believe it would be an improvement in handling from my current BMW 850i.
It would be helpful to know what specific issues haunted the CL65 to make so many of them buy backs? Was it specifically engine problems?

Black, make sure you get the VIN and have an SA run the previous repairs.
That's what you really need to know.

I picked up my 2005 CL65 with CPO about 3 months ago. Great car. It actually handles pretty well for a big car. With suspension on sport the car has minimal body roll. Of course this is just around town taking some spirited turns. Definitely not a track car but very fun around town. Pull is amazing!! It really is a thrill for me to drive it every day. I have no regrets spending 85K on this car at all. I'll drive it till the warranty comes up in Jan 2010 and then either sell it or trade it in for a used CL63 or CL65 if affordable for me. I'm actually a bit excited about the new C63. This car modified will be a great little everyday commuter and track car. Can't wait to test drive one. Good luck finding a good used CL65. Take your time and be careful. I saw a lot of really screwed up ones during my quest for a CL65. I finally found a one owner 16K mile car that was traded in to a MB dealership and it was CPO'd by them. It really was in perfect condition with every option including distronic.