So after week of souring Facebook Marketplace and various other "craigslist style" posting location i came across this 2006 CLS500. The add said "needs work" and the ask price was $3500. Intrigued i responded to the ad and after 2 months of back and forth I purchased the car sight unseen for $1500 and it was delivered to my driveway.

It had no batteries, the airbags are either malfunctioning or there is a leak somewhere but other than the obvious bodywork issues the car seems relatively in tact.

So the project begins.

After getting both batteries installed the car would come on but would not crank over. After scanning the car and checking all the fuses and relays we realized it was missing several relays so we got them all plugged in and replaced and after checking all fuses and relays we fired it up and she finally cranked over.

The engine sounds healthy but there is a coolant and oil leak coming from the front lower driver side of the car. My first hunch is that its a oil cooler line of some sort that got busted.

I'll be on Christmas vacation starting the 18th so I'll do more digging into everything over the holidays.

i'll try and keep this thread updated with progress as much as possible.

Hot damn! $$$$$$

Looks like bullet holes on the sides.

they’re stickers...from the previous owner. Once I start addressing cosmetics those will get clean off.

Looking forward to following your progress with this. All the best.

thank you sir, i'll do my best to keep this Thread updated.

Ok so did a bit of work to the car this weekend. Mainly deleting old codes and doing some fresh scans. Other than a few Airbag codes which im still looking into the car seems to run well. I swapped out the air filters, the air cabin filter.

So now with the car running and moving seeming well my next hurdle is the air suspension.

I hear a hissing followed by a click coming from the rear driver side so i suspect that's where the leak is...I checked the pump up front and it sounds to be working but only works for a minute or 2 before cutting out.

Again, a bit of work done, but not much.

I hooked up my scanner to do a function test on the suspension. I was able to raise up the front 2 airbags, those seem to be working fine. When i moved to the rear there was nothing. Not even a single sound or tick or hiss or nothing. It was freezing outside so i didnt dig into it much but i will soon.

I want to make sure that whatever part i buy to replace is what needs to be fixed. As im sure ya'll know part swapping is cheap on a Honda but not on these Mercs.

more updates and pictures later.

I have an 08 same color. I cant wait to see what you do with this beauty.

So as I’m trying to keep this build on a budget I decided to give repairing the front bumper a shot. What do y’all think? Factory AMG bumper. I’d say it’s worth a shot. Also the passenger side skirts are cracked.

I jumped online and bought a plastic welding kit.







also the previous owner (same guy that put the bullet hole decals &#128580 also swapped out the amazing OEM side mirrors for some ugly eBay knock off. So we’ll be replacing those as well.





also an update in the airmatic. Front air socks are fully functional and hold overnight. Rears don’t pump up at all but since the they’re totally deflated and the fronts still hold air I’m assuming the whole system is sealed up and there are no leaks I just need to replace the rear bags. So I’ll be on the hunt for a good price on a pair.

Certainly interested in the results from the plastic weld. Wonder if one of those OEM mirrors isn’t working, hence the cheap eBay replacements.

Wow, mini mirrors!

well the mirrors were working fine the problem was that the passenger side mirror was busted up so i had to buy a replacement and when i did i realized they weren't the same style. those are all swapped out now and look a million times better. funny thing is though they seemed to be MBZ factory mirrors....not sure off of what though.

So a quick update on the bumper repair. there were three main cracks the biggest being on the driver side down by the fog lights. then on the driver side and right in the middle where the grill gets mounted.

these are the before pics.






here is the before/after of the biggest crack


the bumper is 100% solid now. i just have to do some sanding and bondo work and it should be good to go. Also im trying to decide on a color for the wrap so as soon as this is ready i can go ahead and wrap it. Im going to stick to the silver/grey family. so if ya'll have any favorite wrap colors or patterns let me know.

also i ordered the rear bags from a member here on the forum. Those will be in tomorrow and we'll begin that work on Thursday.

Really looking forward to seeing how that comes out. My color vote is nardo grey Such a cool shade

it’s at the top of my list as well. I have a buddy that has his R32 VW wrapped in that color. Very clean.

Sounds good, any pics of said car?

Like I said. Very clean color. A little too light for my taste. I’m looking for something in the same finish (non-metallic) but in more of a gunmetal color or just a few shades darker.

A mellow color it is, thanx for the pic

What about a matte charcoal gray wrap

as much as I love a matte wrap I really like the nardo grey. My plan is to do carbon front lip, side skirt, and rear diffuser. So I’m really looking for the contrast of those pieces to pop.

Ok so after some more trouble shooting and swapping out the rear bags the rear still wont raise up. I cant get it to move or do anything so, i'll be removing the air system and parting it out on ebay to raise a few bucks towards a coilover set up.

So the next question is, who here is running adjustable coilovers on their 219? I am reading BC racing is a good brand. I am also seeing Ksport as well as D2 sport offer a coilover as well.

i did some searching and cant seem to find anything comprehensive regarding which is better. Is there anything ya'll can point me to?

BC Racing and KW are phenomenal options. FYI both require rear lower control arms from a 211 E350.

is there an option that doesn’t require the LCA swap?

None that I am aware of

could you recommend a full coilover set up? I went on the FCP website and only saw the LCA conversion kit but didn’t see an entire coilover set for sale listed For a W219.

or do I buy the LCA conversion kit and then I can source any coilover kit that would fit a E350?