I currently own a S500 coupe and was thinking of swithching to a CL class. I was wondering what you guys think. The 140 is a wonderful car. if a man could be in love with his car I am. My car is beautiful. it drives like a dream. It is a 3000 lbs car so it is a smooth comfortable car. You people here seem to love your CL class so I may be asking a biased opinion. Has anyone driven both? Has anyone had both? If so What were the problems that one had that the other didnt have and so on to help me deside. Any opinion would help.
the 215 CL s are over 4000 lbs they handle like a light sports car though , there is very little roll or dive with the car because the ABC suspension VS the older style steel sprung type, still whenever I see an old 95 S class coupe with a V 12 It gets a stare from me. plus don"t forget the navigation and all the other bells and whistles the 215 comes with.
Thank you Mr. Bruce ! I may be mistaken but I believe the CL was born from the S500 coupe. I prefer the looks of the old S500 coupe Dont get me wrong I think the CL Is a super fine car. It seems the more I look at it the more I like it. I havnt had the pleasure of driving one yet. I have looked at one up close. If I get one it will be the AMG model most probebly the 55. the latest one I can afford. My current S500 is an after market AMG I picked up in Dallas and runs really great. My understanding is the CL is a really fast car. My S500 is fast but by all means not as fast as the numbers I have read about the CL. I live in Shreveport LA and there just arnt that many CL's around. I think the CL is pretty rare anyway. We do have a M/B dealer here but they dont have any on the lot. So driving one is a little harder than just showing up at the dealer. I reallly dont think I can afford a new one off the showroom floor. I read $120,000.00 Im not ready to spend that on a car at this stage in my life Im a 42 yrs old working stiff.
yes your correct the CL did come out of the S class coupe untill the year 2000 when it was reengineered on it;s own platform. it was also the first I believe to have the active body controll suspension, you could probably get a used 04 or 05 CL 55 thats like new for a reasonable price. but hang on to your car because it was probably made with the last years of mercedes great quality control. and is alot stronger and better made than todays mercedes. don't feel to bad for I am a 52 year old working stiff myself.
from what I read from other forums mercedes quality control has gone down the drain, only in the last 5 or 6years , but they are aware of this problem and are making a come back so the current MB president says, they just went to cheaper materials to cut costs but they cut their reputation as well . my CL it self has some cheap plastic items in it which I had had to either use an epoxy glue or to replace them, my cup holder has been replaced 3 times and I very rarely use it, instead of a metal one A cheap plastic spring holder under the hood broke and I had to glue it back together, the center console latches are are cheap plastic and they succomb to heat i had to glue them on also. oh yea weather stripping on the doors came off in the florida heat , thank god for epoxy glue . the hood emblem has been replaced three times because the paint comes off after a while I saw A guy with an 04 CL55 yesterday his emblem was completely faded out.but other than that car runs great I would only trade it in for a good deal on an aston martin.
Thanks for the info Bruce. I subscribe to Mercedes Benz club of America Magazine and they said the same as you about quality control. But I thought is was limited to the C class. James Bond would be happy to hear you would like to own an Aston Martin. HUH me to. My 140 is very well built. I have only had problems with the a/c to speak of that has been a real problem. Here in Shreveport LA temps run 100+ with 90%+ humitidy from May to September. Driving around in a benz sweating like a horse just dont go together. This model was racked with A/C problems Ive heard from all over the country. These small things you mentioned start to add up, especialy more when the car is young as yours. My car is 8 years old and things are starting to fall apart. I have 144k miles on it. The seat belt presenter is giving me problems now, the vacume auto lock on the passenger side doesnt work And the darn wiper on the passenger light has been a compleatly baffeling and expensive problem I still havnt worked out yet. But as far as the engin and drive train and breaking the car is sound and better than 05 american cars. These small things are what Im talking about. This is why I was looking into geting something newer. Your car isnt as old as mine and you are having the same problems. You may try the glue called goop. it is what I use for the problems you have explained. no mixing and it dries hard yet flexible enough to withstand movement so it dont break again. Thanks again Bruce for the info. I have the same post on the 140 thread and From what I have read people over there are saying keep my 140. I do love my car but considering the age and miles it may be time to look into something newer but I dont want to spend $50,000+ (on ebay) on a car and have the some problems. no dession yet.
better off making a list of everything you need to make that car like new, including engine tune up. even if it costs a couple thousand better than spending 50,000 plus and only go to an authorized MB dealer not a wannabe mechanic shop who are not specialists, and E bay I wouldn't buy a pencil off E bay . good luck.
Your right about ebay butit does give one an idea of current market value. Thanks for the good advice. The good thing is I have time on my side I dont need to do this today. I can wait till next year to decide. I have time to get more info and see what other people have to say .
I'm u perfect guy.I own them both. 1999cl500 and the 2002cl600.2 totally different cars.Both have major pluses.The w-140 is built like a tank with vault like construction and is a really the 1st cls because it can accomadate 4 with great comfort.That is why I kept my cl500.As for fun to drive and latest technology the the cl600 is like a german Ferrari.Cl500 isn't as fun but is still luxury and exumes class.Any detailed ? and I 'll give you my opinion.
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