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I want to buy a 2010 CL63 specifically and most are out of state and a hassle to coordinate a purchase and inspection. I want to make it as simple as possible, fly , buy the car and drive it home maybe 5 hours.
considering this what should I look out for is it enough for me to inspect the body panels, suspension, fluids and run a full diagnostic scan myself? Or should I plan to stay a few days in the city (adding to the cost) to get a PPI just to possibly not but the car?
This is the type of car I’m willing to keep forever so all the other stuff that tends to go wrong I’m open to hear about too
As a W216 owner for years(purchased CL63 ait was my dream car and still is) the #1 thing I will tell you is to keep money set aside for repairs. In the 8yrs I've had mine(only 70k miles on a 2008) here are the tings I've had to fix.
Let me clarify I have only put 28k miles on it since ive owned it. Its only used for weekends.
1. Driver rear window stopped going up and had to replace regulator. Almost the whole rear interior has to come out to get the panel out.
2. Power trunk stopped working and had to replace pump and lines to make it work again
3. Valve cover gaskets leaking. Had to replace those
4. Front timing Cover seals all failed causing oil to leak over front of engine. Everytime I would move the car there was a small puddle of oil. Had to replace all cam sensors
5. ABC pump failed and came out to car to see large puddle of steering fluid o the ground. Had to replace pump and lines.
6. 2 years later all 4 shock were severely leaking. So bad that all 4 shock were covered in oil. Had to replace.
7. Loud tapping sound on cold start. The infamous Camshaft Gear issue. Had to replace those and all the lifters
Other that that.......love the car. I've never had a repair that was less than 5k.......NEVER. Each one of the listed items above was minimal that cost out of pocket. You dont want to know what the shocks job was. I could have bought another car for the cost of that work,
My advice is to be aware that these cars are beautiful to look at and drive amazing........but the are far from BASIC if repairs come.....and they will.
The only reason I've done all this....is literally because......it is my cream car.
i've got 3 other cars but I just love this one.
Thank you for not sugar coating it! Considering it’s age I don’t think that is too too horrible over the course of 8 years aside from the $$$.
It is a dream car and I’m more than willing to dig into it and get dirty in order to keep it going. It will be a toy/weekend car and garage kept. I have two other MBs both significantly simpler tho (w201&w211) that I do 80% of the work on myself. These are the three cars I plan to own the rest of my life. I love many cars but have no interest in actually owning most of them
This car is more a gift to myself and i wouldn’t be relying on it as a daily at all. I honestly cannot afford a 5k repair and even if I could I’m the type of person that would refuse to pay it lol. I can stash it away in a garage since I have enough time, patience, and a couple experienced friends to help. But lmk if that is unrealistic for a car this advanced?
How have your motor mounts and suspension joints held up? Were most of those costs labor as well or did you diy whatever you could?
The ones I’m interested in buying are between 70K-100k miles and typically $15k-$20k. I just turned 30 and this will be my first V8!!
Last edited by BetterDaze; Oct 7, 2025 at 12:45 PM.
'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
Budget multiple plane tickets. Show up, drive them, hear them, smell them, make sure everything works, put it in the air, all of that fun stuff. I don't know where this buying cars based on pictures came from, but from what I can see I think it best to keep doing it the old fashioned way.
I've bought and driven as far as 9 hours home. I know of others who have driven farther.
No I wouldn't consider them DIY cars without buying enough tools, computers and software that you might as well find a good independent mechanic. But if you can't afford for $5k or $10k to leave your account at a moment's notice, I would say buy a simpler car.
GL
maw
EDIT... I bought my S55 when I was about your age... actually all of them... good thing I could afford the bills though because they definitely showed up in plentiful supply... expensive parts are what make the cars what they are.
How have your motor mounts and suspension joints held up? Were most of those costs labor as well or did you diy whatever you could?
The ones I’m interested in buying are between 70K-100k miles and typically $15k-$20k. I just turned 30 and this will be my first V8!!
Oh wow I forgot about that......
I actually also had to replace both engine mounts and the trans mount. The engine ones were leaking(they are hydro filled)
I was a mechanic for years....eventually switching up to sales repair. I'm 46yrs old and just dont have the time or the willingness to do the work myself. I have a local Benz specialty shop I bring the car to if anything goes bad.
I use to drag race cars back in the day and have built multiple american muscle cars for people, but getting down to doing a strut job on a W216 is a......excuse my language.....*** NIGHTMARE!!
So....I drop it off and pick it up lol.......
I'm being completely honest when I tell you this car is not budget friendly. Just be ready. Nothing is a cheap fix on this car.
As a W216 owner for years(purchased CL63 ait was my dream car and still is) the #1 thing I will tell you is to keep money set aside for repairs. In the 8yrs I've had mine(only 70k miles on a 2008) here are the tings I've had to fix.
Let me clarify I have only put 28k miles on it since ive owned it. Its only used for weekends.
1. Driver rear window stopped going up and had to replace regulator. Almost the whole rear interior has to come out to get the panel out.
2. Power trunk stopped working and had to replace pump and lines to make it work again
3. Valve cover gaskets leaking. Had to replace those
4. Front timing Cover seals all failed causing oil to leak over front of engine. Everytime I would move the car there was a small puddle of oil. Had to replace all cam sensors
5. ABC pump failed and came out to car to see large puddle of steering fluid o the ground. Had to replace pump and lines.
6. 2 years later all 4 shock were severely leaking. So bad that all 4 shock were covered in oil. Had to replace.
7. Loud tapping sound on cold start. The infamous Camshaft Gear issue. Had to replace those and all the lifters
Other that that.......love the car. I've never had a repair that was less than 5k.......NEVER. Each one of the listed items above was minimal that cost out of pocket. You dont want to know what the shocks job was. I could have bought another car for the cost of that work,
My advice is to be aware that these cars are beautiful to look at and drive amazing........but the are far from BASIC if repairs come.....and they will.
The only reason I've done all this....is literally because......it is my cream car.
i've got 3 other cars but I just love this one.
Thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind. I am also thinking about buying CL63.
I was patient and let many of the CL63 listings fade. I was driving through my neighborhood and found a guy selling a 2007 CL600 with 10 pages of dealer records and 80k miles. New coil packs and a couple new ABC struts and lines. It is currently having a conductor plate issue with the 722.6 speed sensor, hopefully an easy fix resolved by full service and replacement.
I did want an AMG but I think this car fills most of what I was looking for for about half the price. I should have it before the weekend
I officially own the car (2007 CL600 w 84k miles) !! Super excited but I need to park it for a bit until I can do the full transmission service and conductor plate. i want to save the car for spring and will do only minimal driving after that’s done.
Any tips to protect the ABC suspension, engine, etc while in storage? And any immediate service or preventative tips?
i know this is the AMG forum but thought I’d ask since this is started already
Last edited by BetterDaze; Nov 7, 2025 at 06:43 PM.
Yes. After replacing the arms an alignment is required just to make sure all is within factory spec. Minor adjustments if any will be required.
Thanks for replying. I've seen the alignment procedure on WIS, and wow, it's crazy! Since it's an ABC suspension, I was afraid it would be completely different from another vehicle.
Unless you really have a particular hard-on for the CL, it can be something of a maintenance nightmare being all of MB's flagship technology, and AMG, and an obscure MB chassis with bespoke parts and layout all in one. They're very nice cars when everything is working, and most of the oil leaks mentioned are typical of all of the MB's in the fleet. The problem is now you have 6.2L stuff on top like cam adjusters, lifters, possible early camshaft wear, and yeah the valve covers don't seal particularly well due to the porosity of the valve cover casting. The upgraded plastic valve cover remedies this. That and now its a coupe, and it's on ABC. You have to really really be willing to go to war for this thing at the age they're at.
ABC is/was dialed on these, it's less dramatic than the W220's of old.
I would just keep 5k in the back pocket at all times and get familiar with how to order MB Genuine parts from the grey market sites online.
If you want something a little easier to live with, a 221 S63 sedan on airmatic is an option.
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