stangtjk

I'm flying out to Milwaukee on Saturday to pick up an 05 CL65. Its got a little over 73k miles but was cheaper than the cheapest new V6 mustang so I couldn't pass it up. Besides the ABC issues and coil packs are there any more common issues I should be aware of?

I typically do all my own repair work and have honestly never paid a shop for anything more than a safety inspection however up until this point all of my vehicles have been domestic. Given the parts costs alone I'm thinking an aftermarket service contract may be a smart move for this beast. Given the age and mileage by this next year this car won't qualify for any service plans I've looked at so if nothing else I think it will make it easier to get rid of it in a year or two if it has a "warranty" with it.

I received a quote of $5k from Carchex for their highest tier "titanium" plan that cover nearly everything for 3 year/30k miles. For the few of you here that wrench on your own cars is the service plan a no brainer? I've already read most of the horror stories of dealer repair costs so I'm really just looking to hear from someone that does their own work. $5k is almost 1/4 of the cost of the car so I'm a little hesitant to pull the trigger.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Dr Matt

I think if the warranty covers the suspension and electrical it is a good deal at that price. I love mine, but paying a shop to work on a CL could burn through $5K quickly. My car only had 41K on it and I have already had to replace a coil, passenger seat occupancy sensor, repair driver door wiring, SRS control module, and serpentine idler pulley. That adds up to about $3K in parts in less than my first year of owning it and only 6,000 miles of driving. If this trend continues I would have been a lot better off buying a warranty for $5k rather than work on it myself.


BTW, congrats on the car. Post up some pics when you pick it up

tusabes

Usaa will warranty cars with under 80.k miles but don't know if they exclude the cl65. Check them
Out as they have a good reputation

BlownV8

They should cover a CL65 since they will cover an SL65. Price is high but so is the cost of running a bi - turbo V12 with ABC suspension. Get the warranty.

stangtjk

Figured I'd give an update on my CL65 experience after my latest trip to the shop.

I thought I got a killer deal at the time but turned out to be mediocre. I don't regret it but the car wasn't in quite as nice of shape as I was expecting, nothing major just some cosemetic blemishes here and there. I purchased it for $23.5K and did end up getting the warranty through carchex for another $5k. Carchex actually ended up being a great buy.

About a month after getting the car I got the service ABC message. The shop diagnosed it to the right front strut. Carchex covered it with no hassle. As they were doing the work they found both motor mounts, the transmission mount and one lower control arm bushing were also bad. Carchex originally refused to cover all of those stating that they were pre existing condition. They did no initial inspection when I purchased the car so I fought with them for a bit and got them to cover the motor and trans mount. I probably could have pushed for the control arm as well but decided it was less of a hassle to replace it myself. That was the only claim I've had trouble with and its likely that those really were pre existing so I don't fault carchex at all.

The next thing to go was an intake boot that cracked and was pissing away all my boost. Then another ABC issue, this time one of the hoses busted up front. After replacement the shop discovered the tandem pump had gone bad as well which was around $2k just for the pump if I remember correctly. And the most recent issue which left me stranded on the way to work one morning. The transmission seemed to slip a few times and eventually refused to hold a gear at all. It ended up being the conductor plate which I guess is what Mercedes calls their electronic valve body. When they were replacing that they found a bad ball joint in one of the lower control arms. I forget which side but it was one of the ones that the strut mounts to. Funny thing about that is I replaced all 4 lower control arms whenever I did the one noted above. I did use cheap aftermarket parts though. I figured if they went bad again the warranty would cover it and that's exactly how it played out lol.

So after 16 months and 14k miles the car has had about $7k worth of work done under warranty. Has another 20 months and 16k miles before the warranty expires. By the time it expires it will probably have paid out as much in repairs as what I paid for the car. I'm planning on listing it for sale soon, the warranty is transferrable so hopefully it helps to move it. If I can't get at least 20k for it I'll run it for another year. If I still have it after the warranty expires I'd probably be better off parting it out lol. Figure it will be worth less than 15k at that point.

ArmenPhotos

Besides maintenance/service, what's your opinion about this fabulous car ?

stangtjk

It's an awesome car. I've enjoyed it a lot and fully expected having to deal with repairs when I bought it. I never intended on keeping the car this long when I bought it, just wanted a toy for a little while.

RaceHorse

In my opinion these cars are a lot of fun but if an owner is looking to sell, more often than not, it means other needed maintenance has been neglected. In the OP's case, he did a bunch of the work, making it a sound driver, which it wasn't upon purchase. So now he has a better car to offer than when he purchased with a remaining warranty. After the warranties are no longer available it will separate the true enthusiast from someone looking for high power at a discounted price. Properly maintained I think a bunch of the major problems can be prevented.

Now if you went and got it tuned you would easily fall in love with it for another 2 years, while being faster than most cars out there.

xabo

I purchased it for $23.5K and did end up getting the warranty through carchex for another $5k. Carchex actually ended up being a great buy.


Happy to hear you've had positive experiences with Carchex. Just purchased a 3 year/30,000 mile warranty for my '08 CL65.

abiazis

warranty is key on these cars.....good job...

2swoosh

good luck with the purchase OP i just picked up my 05 cl 65 last month with 97k miles in it and so far so good. If i were you i'll grab that warranty offer.

abiazis

Warranty was a good move....

Check the following -

- Motor mounts - leakage
- Transmission mount - leakage
- Front rotors - warranty will not cover - about a grand each
- ignition module transformer - sits on top of the engine

paperchase

I just purchased an 05 CL600 w/AMG package and 45,000 miles.

The dealers sold me a bogus warranty and after reading the fine print I'm cancelling as permitted within 30 days.

Looking for another 3rd party option and many won't cover AMGs or V12s. Got a CarChex quote today of 4/50K for $4500 and a $500 deductible. Was deductible was being offered to xabo? If I go down to $100 deductible, the price of the coverage goes up $1,000.

Any suggestions.

xabo

$100.00 deductible per visit.

BlownV8

$100 deductible for sure. You will use the hell out of that warranty. Make sure it covers the ABC system and lines. Otherwise, you may be wasting your money.

xabo

Definitely made sure it did.

BlownV8

Coilpacks, ABC suspension, idler pully, engine mounts, seat fans, command unit/AMP, and a few miscellaneous electronic issues will be your likely claims over time. $5,000+ will get eaten by ABC and the other claims could easily triple your payback. An ecu tune alone will likely knock out your coil packs. Those will be around $4k+ installed at the dealership.

xabo

Coil packs, engine/transmission mounts all replaced under CPO warranty. Command replaced out of pocket (@ 4,000)...............warranty covers seat fans and other electronics but does not cover air bladders in seats.

stangtjk

Carchex was definitely a good buy for this car but..... In the past year or so they have changed the way they interpret their policy and I'm obviously not happy about it.

The first few times I took the car in for warranty service the warranty covered the cost and I paid my $100 deductible and all was well.

Sometime within the last year they stopped covering the MSRP (aka dealers price) for the repair parts. What they do now is search online for the cheapest wholesale cost and that is all they will pay. The dealer I use has the standard policy of charging MSRP which can sometimes be 50% more than this wholesale cost. So now I'm left fitting the bill for the difference. I realize the dealer cost are a rip-off as I can buy the parts cheaper myself.

The dealer has no problem with using customer supplied parts or part supplied by Carchex however Carchex will not suppply the part to the dealer and they will not reimburse me if I try to procure the parts myself.

They claim the verbiage in their policy that allows them do do this is where it says "repairs may be made with parts of like kind and quality"... I'm all for making the repairs with part of like kind and quality, I couldn't care less. The problem is they don't make the effort to do the repair with parts of like kind. They just say that's all they will cover and leave you holding the bag. I was told by the customer. Service for the warranty that my only option was to take the car somewhere else in hopes that whoever I take it to would provide the parts at wholesale. Who's going to do that? Shops and dealers need to make money on the parts they provide otherwise they don't have much incentive to provide them. That equivalent to going to any brick and mortar store and demanding wholesale prices... Not going to happen dealer markups are required to cover overhead costs, that just how it is. And it's no secret that dealership are typically the most expensive place to buy parts.

Honestly it's not even about the money that pisses me off. Its the fact that they basically changed their policy using existing verbiage in the contract and give you no good option other than pay the difference. How hard would it be for them to just purchase the parts from whatever website they got the wholesale cost from and have it shipped to the deale... Problem solved.

I imagine the reason they don't is because that would result in more overhead for them and that wholesale cost doesn't include expedited shipping typically used when the dealer provides parts they don't keep in stock....

abiazis

Sorry to hear your dilemma. I had a warranty that covered as planned but as soon as I started submitting more repairs they started refusing to cover under the fine lines of the contract.

If you know someone with this warranty see if they received notice of policy change. Maybe not?

Repairs on these cars can be extensive as the reliability is poor, especially with the ABC and the engine. I would cut your losses, sell the car and look at a certified pre-owned car, if it is possible for you.

Best of luck with your situation.

stangtjk

Also after 2 years and 20k miles, $17,470.13 has been spent at the dealership on maintenance and repair costs. About $2,500 of that was to replace the front bumper (minor insurance claim) and another $800 for routine maintenance, the rest was primarily warranty service. The $5,500 paid for the warranty was definitely worth it even with warranty issues noted above.

I would still recommend Carchex but they should update their contract to correspond with their new way of doing business. The way my contract reads is if it's a "covered repair" they'll cover it in full and all I'm responsible for is the $100 deductible. Past two visits to the dealership the repairs we're covered by the warranty but they only covered partial payment for the cost of the parts but they did cover all labor.

If the contract clearly stated their current policy regarding parts costs I would not be disgruntled but as it stands now I feel like someone is trying to pull something over on me.

RaceHorse

Another alternative is to find a competent independent mercedes repair shop. They will have cheaper labor rates and probably discount parts a little in comparison to the dealer. Then you may find the warranty company a little easier to work with. They are going to try to reduce thier costs,everyone knows the dealer is the most expensive solution. That's why they will try to put the burden on you to pay the difference .

BlownV8

You may want to file a complaint with your state insurance commissioner. It doesn't sound like the warranty company is operating in good faith and may be violating your state's insurance laws. If they won't supply the parts and you can't buy the parts for what they are saying you can, you have a good shot at getting the state to intervene on your behalf. If that doesn't work, you may want to have an attorney send them a very spirited letter. Then, there is probably a statement in your policy that any disputes must be settled by mediation.