Hi all I'm not new to this site I have been more of a lurker than anything. I have been in the market for a cl65 for a while now and I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these cars so I'm looking for opinions on these deals. Both are 2005 CL65 and have identical color schemes and options and both are completely stock and in pristine condition.

1. Car has 68k miles and is from a private party and they will take $33k for it. This car is not eligible for an aftermarket warranty. The owner has extensive records since it had only 11k miles and has recently changed the valve block, both coil packs, abc hoses and all new brakes/rotors. All of these were done with the last 7k miles ago. It was also recently serviced and abc fluid flushed.

OR

2. Car has 52k miles from a local dealer for $36000. Its eligible for the EasyCare Total Care warranty 3 year 36000 mile for 6k. There are no service records. But all the brakes/rotors have been done 8k miles ago.

Which car would you chose and why? What do you think about the warranty? Thanks

 

tough call. the warranty is worth a lot, but i like the private sale better. check to see if there is a warranty you can get on the private sale. i'm pretty sure there is one available.

 

I tried to get one but no one offers any. They said it has too many miles and even if there is one available that it will cost over 10k for the warranty due to the higher mileage.

 

First Choice,

I got one almost like that one. One owner, (I'm second), FJones pampered, all records and receipts. My Records are similar, everything that initially was wrong in the first 15k was fixed. I had mine now for2 years now. Got New Tires, and ECU/TCU Tuned. Like the day I bought it but nicer.

As Far as warranty, I gambled and have no warranty. I've been putting way about $500 a month for 2 years and haven't had to tap it yet for any repairs.

 

I am hoping to have that kind of luck if I go with the first choice. It hasn't had any struts or the abc pump replaced. But every time an abc hose was replaced they did a full fluid flush so I think that helped the abc pump and struts survive this long.

The 2nd choice has been serviced a lot but it just doesn't have the records to say exactly what's been done to it.

This car won't be my daily driver so I'd only be putting about 6-8k a year on it. How many miles have you put on your car since you got it?

 

About 9k glorious miles, for the last 2 years. Weekend car mostly.

 

Mine will also just be a weekend car. How many miles on your car when you bought it? I was under the impression that almost 70k mile is getting up there but with all the service records available it makes me feel a lot better. There just seems to be a big price difference between ones with 50k and ones with 70k. And it may take me about 2 or 3 years to put on the 16k miles that's between these 2 cars.

 

I think it was 68k. Little on the high side for what I was looking for. But I was first one on site to see it and people were lining up to buy it, so I had to pull the trigger. All the stars aligned, it was local, it looked perfect, it was the color I wanted, it had all records, owner was an older rich gentleman, fantastic price, etc..

I did get to put it on a lift (Independent MB shop) and take the underneath plastic panels off to take a closer look at it.
I did know somewhat what to look for; new intercooler pump?, leaks, abc leaks/ soaks, etc.. another trick is to use a flashlight in the dark and check the engine for any oil splatter, etc.. clean as whistle from what I could tell.

In this state of condition which is currently excellent, I will not take it to the stealership unless I absolutely have too. I service the oil and filter and will eagle watch my Indy if any work will be done to it in the future.. brake pads (I will attempt to do this myself), then rotors most likely sometime this year..

Pretty much what I practice on all my cars, trucks and vans

 

#2 at $33k

 

Car #1. Everything is done on it. You won't have to worry for a while where #2 is a mystery car.

R.K.

 

Did the tune make a significant difference and would you say its worth it? Which one did you go with?

 

It seems like most are going with #1. Another good thing about #1 is that it has been sitting for almost a month and the suspension has not dropped at all.

What do you all think of the prices of these cars? Good or no?

 

Price is good.

R.K.

 

#1 with a PPI at 30k and even less if you find issues with the PP

Do the SPEEDRIVEN ECU tune they are the V12TT KINGS

.

 

you dont sound like you know a lot about those cars so you will not be fixing it yourself (correct me if i am wrong here).

take #2, beat up on the dealer for another 2 grand off the price, get the extended warranty and be done with it

 

It's a tough choice...sometimes you're better off buying a higher mile car where you can see that a lot of the common failures were repaired already, vs. a lower mile car where those things are going to need repair during your ownership time.

Although I am biased and sell warranties, I have a hard time recommending one of these cars without a warranty for people without a gigantic repair/maintenance budget. Keep in mind paying for the car is only the 1st part of your ownership costs. This is a $189K semi-exotic car....brakes are expensive, maintenance is expensive, repairs can be very expensive.

Bruce

 

I have tried to get these cars for lower but these are the bottom prices. I already went to #1 with 30k and he turned me down. I offered 32k and he still said no. He said he would take 33k and no less. I also offered #2 33k and he turned me down saying 36k is the lowest. I countered with 34.5k and he said no. I think the only way I can get these cars for less is to wait it out and chase the depreciation. I rarely see a car like #1 with all the records.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined but you are right I have not worked on one of these cars yet so I'm not familiar with them. I don't see a problem doing some of the things myself like fluid changes, hoses, brakes, abc repairs, maintenance, spark plugs, coil packs. And I do have a good Indy on hand for the things I can't do for the more catastrophic failures like motor/trans/rear end/electrical.

Bruce I too would love a warranty but I am only going to be driving this on the weekends its not my daily driver so I see myself putting about 6k a year on it max and in reality around 4-5k so at the end of 3 years I would only be putting about 15k miles on it. Given these circumstances do you think a warranty is still necessary?

 

It is a joke the costs to maintain one of these cars - Personally with my car I have put a set of rotors on at 75k miles. The original lasted 3 sets of pads and I will get another 70k miles on the new set and the coils were replaced at 71k miles on my car and they will be good for a long long time. Thats it on maintenance. except for oil changes. And I have had no repairs done to my car in 30k miles or since I bought it. Infact AMG's have been the most reliable cars I have owned so far.

Compare that to a Gallardo or LP640 or a 997 or a Aston Martin or Ferrari. Those cars which are less powerful will cost u 3 times the loot to keep your whip on the street. So a AMG 65 is a steal of a deal for those who are smart enough to realize it.

I have had nothing but dependability and great times with my 65's of past and the one I have now with over 100k miles

I recently bought a 171k mile GS430 Lexus and it is in perfect condition

Miles are just a number when you buy quality cars with great materials to begin with. the original MSRP was $60k AND I paid $7500 for the car. Black on Black with nav and all options. It trumps any other car I saw and drove with 150k miles less on it and newer for around $20k. So i bought it on ebay. )


Great example of why buying a used car with an original high MSRP is wise.

MY sister just bought a Hyuandai Sonata 2011 with 22k miles on it for $20k against my advice.
The car's engine rattles and it is a piece of crap. the interior is wearing down already. Where as my 171k mile Lexus from 2003 which had a sticker of $60k when new still looks and runs like a new car. It is a much much better car then that Sonata my sister bought. And my 102k mile CL65 makes even the LEXUS look bad with no wear on the seats or anywhere and the paint and everything is awesome because it was a $200k car at one time.

So 100k miles on a car with an original MSRP of $200k and with superior engineering and quality from the time it was built is really a 10k mile car with a MSRP of say a $25k car. In simple terms you get what u pay for then u get so much more on a used car value. And those who pass on a 100k mile CL65 for a 5.0 or a Camaro will envy my car at the stop light and I will be laughing at their 1 million produced recyclable pony car.

 

I totally agree.

 

#2.......ask them to throw in the warranty to make deal happen or go for 30k and half warranty 3k = 33K.....lower miles, brakes done...

 

I waited about a year before I got it tuned by Eurocharged - Jerry.
I wanted to wait and enjoy the v12 as is before I got the tune.
I did the ecu and tcu mod.

Yes, it's worth it!
Like having a nitrous(soft) added except you don't have to pay and fill the nitrous bottle..

I would have gone with Speeddriven but Eurocharged was in town with a dyno reserved (local)..

 

Silverbullet I agree that many higher mileage cars are stout and have had all their problems worked out. The only issue I have is if later on I decided to sell it then it won't be worth much. The ones I'm looking at have already had their maintenance done and #1 has had coil packs, spark plugs, brakes and abc hoses replaced and all the maintenance ie fluid flushes trans, oil, coolant and abc. #2 has had all the brakes done and fluid changes, not sure about the coil packs or any abc work though. I also have a gs430 and it runs like a champ it has never given me problems the only things I have done is maintenance.

Abiazis, I tried to get them to go lower but they wouldn't budge. The only way I can see them going lower is if they hold onto the car for a long time. The brakes have also been done on #1 too.

NRL thanks for the input. I don't think I could wait very long before getting a tune and that's probably the only mod I will ever do to it. I have been talking to Speedriven and that's who I will end up going with.

 

Your car is a rare exception to the rule. I just did a rough calculation on the 343 AMG cars I have under warranty currently.

This includes E55, C55, S600, S55, etc etc. Not too many 65's, but probably 28 or so.

Currently the loss ratio (amount paid for warranty vs. claims paid to date) is around 68%. But the earned reserves are around 31%!

That means these contracts have 69% to go before they are complete, but are already at 68% payout. So if they are at 68% now, and they're about 1/3rd through, then by the end they will be at about a 200% loss ratio.

This means that the average AMG car I warrant will pay out in claims roughly 2x what the owner paid for the warranty over the life of the plan. That's the average...there are some very reliable cars in there, and some money pits.

I did not break out 65 series or V12's separately, but I HAVE to believe they will be worse than the average above, not better. And none of the above accounts for maintenance costs.....like brake pads, rotors, spark plugs, etc. This is only mechanical/electrical failures covered under warranty.

So while your statement is based on a sample of one car, your own, and is great news for you as the owner, mine are actual statistics based on hundreds of cars. These statistics verify what I say about a good warranty being, on average, an excellent investment on an AMG car.

Bruce

 

your post is eye-opening (popping?) ...

 

Now that's some great info!