Hi I am new here and would love some tips on the do s and donts of buying a cl55.

is there a year i should stay away from, or mileage ,

Thank you,

Also if you know anyone selling one, i would be very interested.

I am looking for a bargain, not a steal, just a super fair price.
I am also interested in a cl500 so i will be posting this there as well


JOE

 

I KNOW A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS SELLING HIS 03 CL55 65K MILES WARRANTY TILL 86K MILES FOR $27K

 

boy that was fast, i would sure like to get some advice, on the car first and what to look for and what "must have options" i should have,

joe

please tell you friend to email me pics and details

 

Mine is for sale in the classifieds section, look for the 2004 designo-cashmere colored one. I won't go into it any further here. In general, the drivetrain on the cars holds up very well, but some of the electronics can get glitchy. I would try out as many of the gizmos as you could before you bought, so that maybe if something is not working, you can use to your bargaining advantage.

One you may overlook is the tire pressure sensors - these go out and people don't replace them. After installation you are looking at maybe $750 to get new ones, and they will last around 4-5 years on a charge before the batter goes out.

You might also check the brake life, as these AMG brakes are not cheap to get redone. I think I spent $1700 or so at the dealership getting new pads/rotors, pretty much the works.

Check the adjustable suspension. If someone drives up to meet you, and the car is sitting fine, it does not mean that it will not sink to the ground after being parked overnight. If possible, go see the car early after it has been sitting for a while, to make sure it doesn't sag. I have only heard of people having issues with this, but I think it is usually around a $4000 fix--try to avoid it.

To that end, look for a new model CL55. Obviously you would want anything after the '02s, because starting in '03 they got a serious horsepower boost. Reliability continued to improve as well. In '04 the Nav system was upgraded, but other than that there is not much difference between the '04 and the '06, the final year.

 

As with any used car purchase, you want to buy the best car you can afford. Sometimes the 'cheapest' car ends up being the most expensive and troublesome.

If you do your homework, and shop with your head (instead of your wallet), you will come up with a car that will give you years of enjoyment.

First off, I want a car that shows obvious signs that it has been well taken care of. Has a full service history. No evidence of accidents or paintwork. These are a good place to start. When you locate a car that meets your criteria, take it to a MB store for a full inspection and a read out from the STAR system. If the owner doesn't want to have it checked out.... walk! There are plenty of these cars to choose from.

These are complex cars, but are durable when taken care of.

 

The last two posters were spot on. One other thing to check would be the side mirror turn signals. These like to leak water. Try to see the car in the rain or early morning to see if there's any moisture in there.

Also, check the nav screen when it's off. Even if you don't mind the damage (it's not noticeable when the screen is lit), it's a good bargaining point. See more info here: https://mbworld.org/forums/general-m...av-screen.html

As for "must have options," these cars are pretty much fully loaded. The only options I can think of are the automatic trunk opener, cooled seats (I think heated seats are standard), Distronic adaptive cruise control (automatically maintains distance from the car in front of you), and Parktronic (parking distance sensors). All of these options will be expensive to fix, and even if you don't use them a potential buyer will expect them to work if you sell the car.

If you take your time to find a good one, these are great cars. If you get one that hasn't been maintained, repair costs can easily exceed what you paid for the car. Good luck.

 

If handsfree is important to you, look far a car that has one or the ability.

Also SAT is an few hundred bucks to install if that's a must have.

Heated mirrors and power seats functioning properly.

The panel where the seat buttons are mounted, rattle in quite I few I've tested, seems the clips are easy to break, look at those.

 

+1

Or at least one with the ability to get a decent warranty. If you're anything like me I can't work on cars so a warranty was very important to me.