Guys- I've been searching for a nice Cl for about 4 months now. I just learned that all of the aftermarket warranty companies have black listed the CL and are not offering any warranties. The E55 is also an option for me. I need some advice and thoughts about how the cars compare and what you love (or not) about your E55.
I will be using the car as a daily driver and will be putting around 15k miles per year on it.

-is any year better than another?
-are there any must have options?
-what should I expect to pay (for mileage and year specific)

Thanks in advance for helping the newbie

 

i've not seen this car, but looks ok...

2003 CL55 50k miles for less than $50k

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/car/272534438.html

as warranties, i've heard that it's tough to any of the supercharged, and even more so on the V12's, though some people still claim they can get it.

 

here's one more, and there are many more in the SF craigslist.org.

more unusual color.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/car/271327956.html

 

Thanks Buzz but I'm really out of the market on the CL. I am mostly interested in first hand experience and advice from current E55 owners. In particular, anyone with the pano roof... good bad? Thanks guys

 

I have both. The CL is a beautiful car but has its limitations. For one thing the rear seat is practically useless for anyone other than children. The trunk is surprisingly small for a car that size. However, the car is drop dead gorgeous, the interior is perhaps the best of any MB, the trick doors are wonderful and the car does perform very well.
The E 55 will give you a useable rear seat, ample trunk space and rocket ship performance. The CL will feel slow after you drop the hammer on the E. The E's interior is nice but cannot begin to compare to the CL.

On either car get as many options that you can. If you settle on a CL shop around because they depreciate like a rock and the resale prices get low very fast. Anyone selling one of these will welcome any reasonable offer because they are hard to sell and the time on the market tends to get very long. From what I have read the reason for this is that the market for them is limited and the car appeals to a relatively small group pf buyers.

 

Lou- Thanks for the advice. The E is starting to sound better and better
The warranty is still available for the E as well so that makes it that much more attractive.

 

BigApe, I actually haven't mentioned this but I have a 2007 E350 4Matic that my wife drives. Yeah, I know, it ain't an AMG.

But I do second lkirchner's points above, the E-class is a much better "get in it and drive" vehicle than the CL. It is really quite stunning how easy it is get people in and out of it and to carry items in the trunk.

Also, the E55 has shorter tires than the S/CL/SL 55's (25 1/4" versus 26 3/4"), and it is lighter. No doubt about it, if one throws out the whole 469 versus 493 hp as rubish, the E55 is quicker, all things equal. The shorter tires also give one the impression that it is just a little bit peppier in all driving conditions.

Although I've covered some of the gap by going to 25 3/4" tires .