Hey all - so I went by Fletcher Jones in Newport today - they had a "used" CLS 500 with the high gloss laurel wood on the lot. First of all, for anyone who ordered the high gloss laurel sight unseen like me, this is a very very happy day for you. The wood is absolutely stunning! I kind of see why they didn't offer the black as an option now - kinda, not completely - the high gloss laurel is a dark dark wood that looks AMAZING - at least I'm a huge fan. It has a very "deep" look - a lot of depth. Anyways, if anyone has ordered one and hasn't seen it yet and you live in SoCal, make the trip to Newport to check it out if you have time.

And on that note, to what really pissed me off today - you should be able to go to Newport to see it for awhile because the sleaze at Fletcher Jones found a way to "discreetly" mark up the car - it was tagged "pre-owned" and had 25 miles on it - and the sticker was a mere $99K - my jaw about dropped to the floor when I saw the sticker and it hit me that it wasn't a CLS55! But they are car dealers, so I guess what you sleaze is what you get. Anyhow, it is obsidian black with keyless go, premium and lighting packages - not even *** nappa leather for $99K - guess I shouldn't be upset - heck good for the value of the car, but $25K over sticker???

BTW, Adam was completely right in a previous forum - a lot of the beautiful lines seem to be lost a bit on darker colors with this car - don't get me wrong - the black is beautiful still, but lighter colors like the silver, white and launch edition seem to accentuate the lines more.

And the sport kit is A MUST HAVE. I checked and if you ordered a regular CLS500, you can purchase the sport front and rear bumper and side skirts separate and I believe they can even come pre-painted - prob around $3K or so - don't quote me on this, but that is what I heard form the service department.

Here are some pics of thw wood I tookwith my samsung camera phone - they don't come close to doing the wood justice though. Shoulda taken a pic of the dealer sticker.

 

does it come with the female in the passenger seat, or are those your sandles john?

im really irked about this whole wood thing, i went with the matte since i ordered so early, and did not have any picts to go on. i think im just going to do the brabus interior.

cant believe they want 25k over sticker, someone must have read something wrong and figured it was a CLS55. i got my survey from benz the other day, and even though i have a 500, the survey is for the 55. maybe i should make them honor the survey and trade me for a 55

 

Which SAMSUNG did you take pictures with? Photos quality seems pretty good....

 

Camera Phone is a high-res on a Samsung SPH-A620. Photos turn out remarkably good with this thing - pretty old phone.

Adam, lol - yeah we were laughing about that when I posted them - those are the fiance's foot...lol. I would have had her leaning on the car in a bikini, but it was kinda chilly out and didn't wanna give them the satisfaction of selling the car to some guy with the $25K hit on it...LOL.

You could be right with the sticker - maybe they thought it was CLS55 - can't figure them for that stupid, but ya never know - the sticker was very strange - didn't study it, but I didn't see a mark-up field on it.

The Brabus trim idea is a great one - it looks hot - or just order the high gloss wood from Mercedes aftermarket (though I would hate giving Mercedes the extra cash). If you're gonna spend the extra cash anyways, go Brabus IMO.

 

I enjoyed driving the CLS for a few days but detested the matte "wood". Everyone thought it was a highend plastic, including my dealer who said he wouldn't be ordering any for "stock" with the "matte" look. I guess this is the price you pay for being 1st on your block with the new CLS. It's a nice car though; enjoy yourself !

 

John --- Question about the wood. Unlike many I actually don't mind the Matte Burl, but I'm also not in love with it. The dark tone of the Laurel looks great, but it looks like you'd get blinded by the high-gloss finish since there's so much wood on the dash of this car. Did you get that impression at all? I've had an SL500 & 400E and didn't mind the gloss finish in either car, but there was also a lot less wood. Thanks in advance.

 

That's a tough one - I think it's a total taste and preference thing - that was actually what impressed me the most about it was that there is this huge high gloss wood panel and the wood looked so rich - reminded me of the same wood as I've seen on some Bentley’s - and the single piece of wood is so big I think it is just beautiful. One thing though - I did see it on black interior and I'm getting grey - wouldn't trade the gray for anything, but I'm not sure it will be AS cool looking on the gray as it was on the black. The dark leather with the dark wood was amazing. The dash is definitely very glossy, but I liked it. The used one had a hairline scratch in the wood so be aware that with that big a piece of glossy wood, don't let anything lean against it - lots of room to do something that will make you cry...lol...high gloss shows scratches a heck of a lot more than matte - but I've had the dark "black" wood on my E500 sport for two years with no noticeable scratches, so it can be done - but there is more area to scratch for sure on this one.

 

Thanks John...I really appreciate that. I've 95% decided to walk from my current order in Beverly Hills (went that route due to a friend's connection there) and will probably order exactly what I want from a local dealer here for a June-ish delivery and skip the road trip. Thanks again.

 

when I ordered my white CLS there was no option to select for the high gloss - now that I've seen it, I can see it is a terrific choice. the matte finish works very well with my cashmere interior, though and is also excellent. scratches are always bothersome, but i think the matte may not show dust as readily as the gloss. small considerations for two great choices.

 

Adam - was checking out the new Lexus GS tonight online - never looked at it before - not rethinking the CLS for a second or anything, but did you ever see it in person and sit in it? Looks pretty cool - I think I remember you saying you almost ordered one before you saw the CLS. Just wanted to see if anyone had checked it out.

 

i sure did get inside, last year and this year at the Chicago Auto Show. I was even less impressed this year after being in my CLS now for a month. Its still a pretty nice car, the interior is done well, but I appreciate my CLS even more so now. my girlfriend took over my 99 GS, and she loves it, but shes having problems warming up to the new one. the new GS has the rear view camera, and blue tooth, a couple of items Mercedes should have included in the CLS.

 

Yeah - I kept thinking - wow - keyless go, parktronic, etc. - all standard - that must be nice...lol. The car looked cool - brought back a bit of the old school GS styling - but it did look a little "cheap" to me compared to the CLS right off the bat - maybe cheap isn't the right word - Mercedes just has the styling thing down with the CLS - no question - interior/exterior throughout. Thanks for the info Adam.

Only about 4 or 5 weeks now till mine gets here i think.