Crawford9700

Hey everyone. I'm new here, and I'm currently looking at getting a 2004 CL55. It has 58k miles, and everything seems to be perfect on it. I was just wondering if there were any common problems with these, and what I should do if there is! I'd also like to know everyone's opinion on exterior mod's and where I can find the best deals. I want to make mine stand out! Engine wise I won't be really doing much. Maybe a tune or something. Nothing big. Have had too many problems with modified cars in the past... So if anyone can give me some advice, that would be appreciated! Thanks!



-Chris

Exotic-metal55

Make sure the ABC system operates well , as that can cost big bucks to fix. The intercooler pump goes out on all these cars and will drain a bunch of power when it does. Only about 150 bucks to replace. Other than that, make sure everything operates well and drives smooth.

stamper197

Best advice I can give you is set aside 7k in a savings account just for this car. This is going to cover the ABC system, specifically getting the front and rear ABC valve blocks changed out and hoses as well and a ABC fluid change and rodeo etc. If you are buying a CL55 I would do its A&B maintiance and anything the book says was due up to that miliage point dont just assume the guy did it.. you can look at any records that it has for maintiance but I would just do the full A&B anyway.. replace all fuids with synthetic..(oil,trans,axle,brake) do a thermostat change and change out the intercooler pump (youll thank me now) with the terhmostat change and intercoolant pump changed that gives you a coolant flush since the thermo had to get changed. I would then opt for new spark plugs. Then buy yourself some good brake pads off ebay that replace those horrible oem pads that do a lot of brake dust and get the ones that dont.. think their the eurotuned ones or whatever brand that is.

Do all that and your car should do ok until you start to get the first ABC warnings and then you can just change out the parts with that savings. Make sure all this work is done at a good mercedes indepandant repair shop dont use the dealer as you will get screwed on pricing.

Enjoy your car! Ohh see if its had all its recalls done including the dashboard if applicable and some ABC hoses if applicable.

Htom_Sirveaux

The driver side door speakers are likely to be out or go out. The unusual door hinge and the fact that the speaker wires are packed into a too-small tube and are too taut at build time seems to be the culprit. You can pull the boot back from the door and the body and tell which one is the speaker conduit (the other door electronics are in flatter and taller conduits).

30 minutes with some electrical tape and a soldering gun/quick splice connectors will fix it up.

drjsilver

My driver's door speakers are out. How the hell do you get the door panel off? I'd love to fix that. Can't even find a fastener to loosen. J

Htom_Sirveaux

If you're fortunate (and if you're like every other case of this I've seen) you don't have to disassemble the door at all.

The boot that the wires run through between the body and the door can be pulled away from the door and body to reveal three cabling harnesses. Two are tall and flat, and one is round and shorter. The shorter round one holds the speaker wires.

Feel along the speaker wire harness and you should be able to feel where the wires have broken. Then carefully slice open the harness lengthwise to reveal the speaker wire ends. Mine were separated by about six inches of empty space.

Once you have both ends of all the wires exposed, it's just a matter of tedious splicing between all of them. I don't know if I even could have spliced the original ends together. I didn't try, but rather added about six inches of speaker wire in between to give it some slack, as I think the fact that the wires are too taut at assembly is one of the reasons they all do this eventually.

Stuff everything back into the wrapper tube, reconnect the boot to the door and the body, and you're good.

CharlestonN

The ABC will probably be the biggest expense you will face but it is no where near as expensive as many people let on if you have a honest private tech

I've had my CL55 for about 3 years and i'v spent around $4,200 in non-expendable repairs including ABC pump, ABC line and Radiator none of which were anywhere near as expensive as i thought they would be based on the horror stories i read before i bought the car

I bought my car with around 79K on the odo and now have around 148K on it

Since the car you're looking at has under 60K you should be able to get an extended warranty which might be a good investment, should cost around $3K which the dealer/seller should be able to bundle into the loan price for you

drjsilver

Wow, were you a help. I did just what you said and saw just what you predicted. There was even a previous splice that had failed. They just soldered the original wires together. I added about a 4 inch section, just as you specified and it worked great. Am so happy. Now the dealership has some obligation vacuum (like that word?) with me. They told me it was the amp, then the audio gateway. Well, I'm close with the staff there, and I will get them to fix a marker lamp problem and maybe get a sat radio box out of this. I could not be happier!!!

drjsilver

By the way, the left side front marker lamp lights when you open doors with remote, but will not go on when driving, and thereby shows a malfunction on the dash. I did not just check the connection, I took the connectors out of the socket for the bulb and soldered the connectors on to the wire. I know it's fixed. Now hopefully the dealership can resolve this. J

alx

best advise is to use the "search" button on this forum.

your questions have been beaten to death. and beyond.

i am serious.