sup fellow mbworlder's just totaled my 204 (08 c350) and now lookin at a 02 cl55 anything i should take in consideration before purchasing the car it will be my first amg...ill be test driving the car next week..after the thanksgiving holiday weekend..

all opinions are welcome...

 

59k miles

**2002 MERCEDES-BENZ CL CLASS CL55 automatic. BRABUS exhaust, 18 BRABUS custom wheels, BRABUS pedals**CLEAN TITLE**Leather**CLEAN HISTORY REPORT**Paint looks new.A/C is ice cold! Fully loaded interior. Power everything! Very clean interior.Powerful, luxurious ride. Runs and drives great! Very powerful. Call and take a test drive today!

 

I have both a w215 and a W204. They are both great cars.

There is a big difference between a '02 CL55 and a '03 CL55 (namely a supercharger) so make sure you're paying much less.

 

think $17k or thereabouts if in pristine condition.

 

Definitely get a pre-purchase inspection before you buy, and expect to pay a lot more for maintenance than you did for your C350. Both routine maintenance and repairs (especially on systems like ABC) are going to be a lot more expensive. Don't let that scare you away from the CL, though. They're amazing cars if they're taken care of properly.

 

If i was you i would try for a 03 plus,they better....
Or a 03 plus 600 if thats in your price range.

 

my first amg, 02 cl55(hence the screename) great car. only prob i had in 2 years was the abc line busting. it was a recall or it was covered under warranty-cant remember. very reliable i had mine from 50k-70kmiles. sold it 2yrs ago for $22k.(paid $40k for it in 1/07) i saw it for sale at a local dealer last year at this time for $17k. thats all should pay for it. you can find 03 cl55's for about $25k in good shape

 

I have an 02 CL55 as my daily driver and it is an awesome car. It is much faster and has a broader power band than the C350 you have been driving with all the bells and whistles. I especially like the Distronic option in my car and it will spoil you if you have never had this option before.

The 03 is arguably more powerful and likely more fun to drive but I'll tell you that I have NEVER been lacking for power in any normal driving condition and I get ~25MPG on road trips in amazing comfort.

Those are the upsides.....here are the downsides;

1. The audio/GPS system is amazingly dated.....I actually use a Garmin 5" unit with traffic with a custom ProClip mount.

2. Adding Blue-tooth is an expensive proposition as the only real good option is the MBZ system which is not a big deal if the car had a factory phone but more $$ if it didn't.

3. Anything on this car is expensive to repair/replace as all the parts are based on the original selling price of $100K+. I would NOT get one of these cars without a full warranty and if the car has more than 80K miles you will be hard pressed to get one. I have 2 years left on my warranty and plan to sell the car within 6 months of the warranty ending. I bought a car that was extremely well maintained with all the records with 69K miles and had it looked over at the dealer prior to purchasing, even had the seller take care of motor mounts and a slightly leaking PS pump and even with that I have had over $6500 in repairs done in the first 12 months of ownership.......thank goodness I got a CSC warranty so my total out of pocket has been 2800 for the warranty and 400 in deductibles.......and I still have 2 years left on the coverage.

The way I looked at this car (with warranty) is that I paid about as much as I would have for a stripper Toyota Camry with the same warranty (3 years B2B) but I'm driving a $100K car.

I paid 18K a year ago plus the warranty and will likely get $13 - 15K in 2 years when I sell it......all in all a pretty cheap way to drive a car like this. If all goes well I'll play the same game again in 3 years