I bought an '02 CL600 in November '07. At first, it was a great car, but since then little things keep failing and is adding up to a whole lot of money to maintain and keep fixing. I got a Check Engine Light and the car was severely underpowered, so I took it into the shop. I also needed a brake job. The CEL was caused by an ignition coil failure, so half of the cylinders wasn't firing. They also found the trunk lid opener had stopped working due to the plastic gears wearing out, the center brake light had stopped working, the right rear strut was leaking, and the front lower control arm bushings were worn away. The lower control arms makes sense. Those bushings are a normal wear item. The part that doesn't make any sense is that the bushings had completely worn away before I noticed any difference, and they immediately started wearing away on the underbody, which now also needs replacement.
I went in for a CEL and a brake job and so far my bill is up over $12,000. I don't think I'm ever going to buy a Mercedes again. In fact, I'm getting rid of the one I have as soon as I get it back, before the ABC system has a catastrophic failure. I thought Mercedes was supposed to be reliable. My '88 Ferrari Testarossa is more reliable than this thing. Cheaper to fix and maintain, too.
I went in for a CEL and a brake job and so far my bill is up over $12,000. I don't think I'm ever going to buy a Mercedes again. In fact, I'm getting rid of the one I have as soon as I get it back, before the ABC system has a catastrophic failure. I thought Mercedes was supposed to be reliable. My '88 Ferrari Testarossa is more reliable than this thing. Cheaper to fix and maintain, too.