Need opinions/advice on this 2012 CLS550 - thinking of buying
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 5
E55
Need opinions/advice on this 2012 CLS550 - thinking of buying
I've been sitting tight trying to find a 2012-2014 White CLS550 and this one caught my eye today.
2012 CLS550
Has the interior colors I like along with the sport steering wheel. The wheels are OK but I'll change them out.
What do you guys think? I'm in AZ but would fly to LA then drive it back. Anything I should look for? Carfax looks clean and has low miles for 2012.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
2012 CLS550
Has the interior colors I like along with the sport steering wheel. The wheels are OK but I'll change them out.
What do you guys think? I'm in AZ but would fly to LA then drive it back. Anything I should look for? Carfax looks clean and has low miles for 2012.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by rney; Jul 6, 2017 at 03:56 PM.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 12
Likes: 1
2012 E550
Links not working , but in general the m278 engine is very underrated power wise. The only things to look out for are the timing chain, tensioers and check values and make sure at the MINIMUM the tensioers and check valves are done. Listen for excessive rattling on cold start up and I advice you to get a warranty. With all that being said, snag one of these before all the V8's are ancient in the non AMG lineup.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 47
Likes: 5
E55
Links not working , but in general the m278 engine is very underrated power wise. The only things to look out for are the timing chain, tensioers and check values and make sure at the MINIMUM the tensioers and check valves are done. Listen for excessive rattling on cold start up and I advice you to get a warranty. With all that being said, snag one of these before all the V8's are ancient in the non AMG lineup.
sorry about the link...should be working now. Thanks for the advice.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 54
Likes: 20
From: Michigan
2012 CLS
Not much to go on within the ad, but the price is reasonable based on NADA values. You might shop around to see if you can get a better deal, but that one is in your backyard and if you dig it...then there you go. If you love the car, and it has a clean carfax, I see no reason not to do it. The attraction to a car is an intangible that increases or decreases the perceived value. I've owned 2 CLS' and loved them both.
Other than that....pare5 hit it on the head. The 278 is fantastic...just follow his/her recommendations about checking the timing chain, tensioners and valves.
As a side note....they also have a CLS63 for about 10k more. Yeah it has more miles (45k)...but it's a bigger starting point (depending on what you want to ultimately do). A 550 with a tune will have as much HP as a 63, but a 63 with a tune will get you over 650HP alone.
That being said... I've never bought a 63, so I have no room to talk
Other than that....pare5 hit it on the head. The 278 is fantastic...just follow his/her recommendations about checking the timing chain, tensioners and valves.
As a side note....they also have a CLS63 for about 10k more. Yeah it has more miles (45k)...but it's a bigger starting point (depending on what you want to ultimately do). A 550 with a tune will have as much HP as a 63, but a 63 with a tune will get you over 650HP alone.
That being said... I've never bought a 63, so I have no room to talk
Newbie
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 3
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From: Charleston, South Carolina
2014 CLS550 4MATIC
Considering a 2014 CLS550 Purchase
Clearly I'm going to listen how it starts and runs, but are there some simple tests I can do - like a compression test?
Are there other things to note? I think there will be quite a few water damaged cars showing up soon, casualties from Harvey and Irma...
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 338
Likes: 64
From: Aurora IL
2014 C63 Edition 507
Not sure you've considered it, but a forum member recently had his 507 Black wheels - with tires, for sale at a super price. I'm sure it's still listed - this was only a couple weeks ago. In my opinion, those are way nicer.
