I just picked up this 2006 CLS55 AMG from a nice woman who was fairly local. My AMG search was limited to a 1st or 2nd gen CLS. I fell in love with the CLS body lines back in 2008 when I first saw one, but I simply could not afford one at the time.
I have been searching for some time and saw some terrible examples of 1st gen CLS 63's and some really bad examples of 2nd gen CLS63's and even almost fell victim to odometer fraud, thank god for carfax.
I settled in on the CLS55 for 2 reasons.
1) researching the 55 and 63 it seemed that the 63 engine was not as reliable as the 55 and has several things that needed to be addressed on it in most cases. Plus the rarity of the production of that car for only one year in the US. I feel that this car has reached a plateau on depreciation and can only increase in value over the years due to the production of V8'S in Mercedes line up ceasing.
2) I simply liked the more analog feel of the first generation CLS cars when accelerating. The Twin turbo cars felt kinda dead till 3500 RPMs

There is also a 3rd reason and that's maintenance, see I can swing by own wrenches on the older cars but as the tech increases in the newer cars I fear that my skills would not be of much value and foreseen expensive repair bills in my future.

Anyhow here is the car, it's a 2006 with 71000 miles with a near perfect body and interior. It does have a knocking sound from the front right suspension which seems like a ball joint or bushing, it has warped front brake rotors as they tend to pulse when stopping and worn out motor and transmission mounts. There are not visible oil leaks anywhere. I knew all of this and used it to negotiate the price anticipating making immediate repairs to get a perfect ride.
I just ordered all new ball joints, bushings motor mounts and brake rotors from FCP Euro and will get to the work as soon as they arrive!

Cheers fellow AMG owners!!!

 

welcome to mbworld...

 

Hi and welcome to MBWorld. Yes the CLS is a beautiful looking beast! Thanks for the intro and sharing the photos. All the best with it. I’m sure you’ll having some fun

 

On a side note, does anyone know where to source the Mercedes emblem for the engine cover? And what it would be called to search?

 

Welcome! Nice looking CLS with Designo interior. For the badge have a look through mbparts.mbusa.com or https://mbepc.net/#gsc.tab=0

 

welcome nice looking ride

 

I just did the plugs, air filters, oil and motor mounts. The motor mounts were trashed in this car and it made it sort of miserable to drive. It now feels like a brand new car. Tomorrow I'm doing both front and rear lower control arms, sway bar end links and front rotors. Then this car should be all sorted for a while.
I plan on having all of the air suspension rebuilt over the winter, replacing the air pump and relay and doing the heat exchanger pump just for peace of mind.
. I can not however get the car to electronically display the oil level no matter what, so I ordered the oil checking tool. Any insight is that's a bad sensor??






Am I missing any other common issues I should address?

 

Have you checked the bushings on the struts/shocks. Struts may be in good order but the bushings seem to dry out which might lead you to believe the strut is bad. I have replaced strut bushings on four different models just because the mag chloride they use here in Denver during the winter does a number on anything rubber. Also the carrier bearing rubber wears out if your car has one.

 

Are you referring to these bushings? If so, I got the entire control arm both front and rear to replace. It was more cost effective than the time of my labor on replacing all the bushings.

 

Yes sir. I decide to rebuild my 00' SL500 front suspension. It really paid off and the ride is back to firm. My nephew has a Benz like yours , what a freaking blast to drive.

 

So my buddy and I did front and rear lower control arms and sway bar endlinks. Had it aligned and it drive perfect and feels really good, however I'm still getting a knocking noise when I turn hard or sometimes on choppy sections of road. We did not change the lower ball joints, the upper ball joints and the strut bushings. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to get those also, this car was a north east car it's whole life and our roads absolutely suck.
Also probably gonna have to do rear rotors and pads also and then this car will be fully sorted and up to my standards for now. 😬

 

Jersey...I guess the best part of doing the work your self is just having fun getting it done. I enjoy working on my SL. I'm not as mobile as I used to be but it takes a little longer. I'm retired with a lot more time on my hands which is why I bought the SL. Just having fun as I go.

 

Oh trust me, I'm 48 and my shoulders and back hurt for 2 days after doing the work...lol...I used to own a 2002 viper and did all the work on that myself and the biggest difference with the Benz is the ease of getting a jack under it..lol..
I love sorting out cars that need a little TLC. This car is just as fast as the viper was when the viper was stock but 10 times more of a pleasure to drive. The viper was the most miserable driving experience anyone could ask for. This car is pure enjoyment.

 

So I broke down and ordered the upper and lower ball joints I'm 99.9%sure that's the noise I hear under a hard turn. And I also got rear rotors and pads.
​​​​​ Car should be mostly sorted after that and I can start planning a few modifications. 😬

 

So....Is it a common thing on these cars for the wood dash to crack for no reason? Are these cracks usually in just the clear or all the way through the wood finish? I'm wondering if it can be fixed before I cover it with vinyl.

 

Hello all, im new here and this is my first post.

The wood trim goes bad if car is parked in heat for long periods of time, and some owners dont take care of the car.

im looking forward to change my wood trim as well.

 

cool