New here and new to Mercedes vehicles
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2017
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2004 CL55 AMG
New here and new to Mercedes vehicles
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to introduce myself. I am looking into purchasing a 2004 CL55 AMG with just under 74,000 miles. It's black on black (my favorite combo). I am just looking for some advice on what gremlins to look for. I am purchasing from a small dealer that specializes in German cars. I am a former mechanic with multiple different dealerships under my belt, but never Benz directly. I have worked on a few of them from time to time though. The dealer has agreed to have me meet the tech that went over the car, put it on a lift and let me go over it. Everything seems to be in order with the exception of the left hand side steering wheel buttons being inoperable, the cup holder is broken and there is some moisture in the driver side tail light assembly. The auto check paper work shows no accidents in its history. They have agreed to fix whatever issues I find before delivery. Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated, thank you!!
I just wanted to introduce myself. I am looking into purchasing a 2004 CL55 AMG with just under 74,000 miles. It's black on black (my favorite combo). I am just looking for some advice on what gremlins to look for. I am purchasing from a small dealer that specializes in German cars. I am a former mechanic with multiple different dealerships under my belt, but never Benz directly. I have worked on a few of them from time to time though. The dealer has agreed to have me meet the tech that went over the car, put it on a lift and let me go over it. Everything seems to be in order with the exception of the left hand side steering wheel buttons being inoperable, the cup holder is broken and there is some moisture in the driver side tail light assembly. The auto check paper work shows no accidents in its history. They have agreed to fix whatever issues I find before delivery. Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated, thank you!!
Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 221
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Mercedes S550 Coupe (now) CL55 (until last March 3), Ferrari 612, Porsche Macan GTS
Great car. I have an 05. The supercharger is awesome. As long as they are well maintained I think they are great. Although I have not had this program, others say the ABC suspension system can fail and cost a lot of money. So you should check that out.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,790
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From: DownEast Maine
CLS 55 AMG E500 ML320
Pull the belt off the super charger and grab the end bolt with vise grips. lift it up and down to see how much play is in the S/C bearing. .002' is the outer limit of what I'd like to see. A little feels like a lot, so put a dial indicator on the clutch drum if it feels loose. Then spin the pulley to see how the outer bearing feels. If it's on it's way out, the bearings are available on ebay, not a big deal. Also do a compression check. #8 is most prone to damage. If it's all stock it should be fine. On other 55's the fuel pump replacement interval is 60,000 miles, so check the records. Do some research here. Enjoy, that's a nice car.
Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 221
Likes: 48
Mercedes S550 Coupe (now) CL55 (until last March 3), Ferrari 612, Porsche Macan GTS
If you proceed and get it you might want some projects to personalize it. There are some fairly low cost things that you can do that i would recommend.
I owned my car for 10 years and i recently put wider and lower profile wheels and tires on it and lowered it some. This made a huge difference in handling (it used to be a little "soft" and now i have that go kart "tight" steering feel). Lowering is also incredibly cheap and easy with the ABC system and can be done with a $100 set of lowering links that you can buy on e bay. I only wish i had done this years ago, so I strongly recommend it. It totally changed the feel of the car in the twisties.
On the interior, the burl wood is a little dated and i recently did a carbon fiber wrap that really makes it look current. Since it is black on black you might want to think about a black carbon fiber with red accents. There is a thread by CL63WIDE where he is showing what it looks like and you might want to think about it.
Good luck.
Ron
I owned my car for 10 years and i recently put wider and lower profile wheels and tires on it and lowered it some. This made a huge difference in handling (it used to be a little "soft" and now i have that go kart "tight" steering feel). Lowering is also incredibly cheap and easy with the ABC system and can be done with a $100 set of lowering links that you can buy on e bay. I only wish i had done this years ago, so I strongly recommend it. It totally changed the feel of the car in the twisties.
On the interior, the burl wood is a little dated and i recently did a carbon fiber wrap that really makes it look current. Since it is black on black you might want to think about a black carbon fiber with red accents. There is a thread by CL63WIDE where he is showing what it looks like and you might want to think about it.
Good luck.
Ron
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 407
Likes: 43
2012 AMG CL65
ABC systems are problematic on the W215 so look for leaks and warnings on the dash. It would really help if you could see the car first thing in the morning before its started to make sue it hasnt dropped. IDK if the 55 has the coil issues the 65s had, doubt it though since its a completely different setup. Check the brakes as the rotors like to crack around the drilled holes and they are not exactly cheap.
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Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2017
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2004 CL55 AMG
Thx Ron. It really is in great shape. There are some rock chips on the hood. I'm hoping some heavy duty detailing will help with that. Otherwise all the equipment works flawlessly and the motor and chassis are bone dry. It was well taken care of.
Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 221
Likes: 48
Mercedes S550 Coupe (now) CL55 (until last March 3), Ferrari 612, Porsche Macan GTS
That's great. With just 74,000 miles on it, it's a mere baby. Mine has 95,000 miles and I think it's just broken in. ��
You're going to have some fun. My favorite is to just boot the supercharger from the stop light. I never get tired of that.
You're going to have some fun. My favorite is to just boot the supercharger from the stop light. I never get tired of that.
Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 221
Likes: 48
Mercedes S550 Coupe (now) CL55 (until last March 3), Ferrari 612, Porsche Macan GTS
By the way. For the rock chips try Dr. Color Chip. It works pretty good.
https://www.drcolorchip.com/
https://www.drcolorchip.com/
