My first Mercedes - 2005 CL65 AMG
02-03-2014, 12:09 PM
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My first Mercedes - 2005 CL65 AMG
My first manual car was my 2003 Mustang Cobra. My first motorcycle is my 1100cc Honda Blackbird... So naturally, this "go big or go home" mindset made its evil way into my first Merecedes...The infamous "Grandad's Sledgehammer" CL65 AMG...
34,800 original miles - One owner - Never left Houston, Texas.
Here's the story (for those who like reading):
One day when I was looking to pick up a car to use in Illinois, I was considering leasing or picking up something used and cheap. Something sensible that can take the place of my 2003 Cobra which is fun, but not for the everyday drive.
I primarily live in Arizona, but I am in Chicago once a month for at least 10 days and wanted something automatic, comfortable and has some measure of *****.
Well, I was playing the "depreciation game" on Autotrader to see how cheaply I could pick up some of my favorite cars of the past. Being a religious Top Gear UK fan, an old re-run came up on the shuffle through the episodes that had the 2005 Mercedes CL65... When I looked it up, I was astounded at how little these beasts could be obtained for...
I realized soon enough that one of the reasons for this "budget buy" was due to all the known issues and the sheer fear of having to fix things when they break, but on three that I've found, warranties were available.
I went into this knowing full well that I was buying a formerly $200k car and therefore the cost to repair and maintain would remain at that level regardless of depreciation.
In the end I was able to obtain a gorgeous 2005 with one scratch on the whole car, light wear on the rims and unfortunately water in the fog lamps. This didn't put me off and after some haggling over price and warranty cost, I walked away with it for $32,500 with a warranty through LaSalle that includes the suspension (was an add-on cost).
So in the end, for far less than a lease on a new Jag, I'd like to think I picked up a future classic, but for now it is the most comfortable weapon of mass destruction I've experienced outside of my XKR.
34,800 original miles - One owner - Never left Houston, Texas.
Here's the story (for those who like reading):
One day when I was looking to pick up a car to use in Illinois, I was considering leasing or picking up something used and cheap. Something sensible that can take the place of my 2003 Cobra which is fun, but not for the everyday drive.
I primarily live in Arizona, but I am in Chicago once a month for at least 10 days and wanted something automatic, comfortable and has some measure of *****.
Well, I was playing the "depreciation game" on Autotrader to see how cheaply I could pick up some of my favorite cars of the past. Being a religious Top Gear UK fan, an old re-run came up on the shuffle through the episodes that had the 2005 Mercedes CL65... When I looked it up, I was astounded at how little these beasts could be obtained for...
I realized soon enough that one of the reasons for this "budget buy" was due to all the known issues and the sheer fear of having to fix things when they break, but on three that I've found, warranties were available.
I went into this knowing full well that I was buying a formerly $200k car and therefore the cost to repair and maintain would remain at that level regardless of depreciation.
In the end I was able to obtain a gorgeous 2005 with one scratch on the whole car, light wear on the rims and unfortunately water in the fog lamps. This didn't put me off and after some haggling over price and warranty cost, I walked away with it for $32,500 with a warranty through LaSalle that includes the suspension (was an add-on cost).
So in the end, for far less than a lease on a new Jag, I'd like to think I picked up a future classic, but for now it is the most comfortable weapon of mass destruction I've experienced outside of my XKR.
