Ok so I bought without reading here first. I get the car late on Saturday: '03 with all the facelift bits (7GTronic, ABC and such, heated wobbling seats or something like that; Bose; etc)...
When I first sat in it the button for the body control showed 2 red lights. No errors on the dash though... I have some suspicions that the computer has been mildly hacked, because it shows an even 10,000 miles to the next service; but my guy will be looking into that.
Meanwhile: can anyone point me to a source of nice replacement keys? The one with the car is a bit on the worn side. Shame to let it down with a dog-chewed key..>!
If there are no problems, the 2 red lights would indicate that the car is sitting at its highest level. If you push the button, the car should lower itself and the red lights should disappear.
If there are no problems, the 2 red lights would indicate that the car is sitting at its highest level. If you push the button, the car should lower itself and the red lights should disappear.
Thanks, that's what the guy did. So this is basically like Citroen Hydractive then? that's cool, I had 6 Citroens in a row. But then, I am a pervert....!
Also does anyone have a good source for replacement keys without giving the dealer a zillion pounds? Both the CL and my e430 need new keys.
A little update. Picked up the monster in a VERY long day's drive - 200 miles up, 200 back. Almost chickened out of the deal because the E55 feels so damn good on a long motorway drive - but it only took a few miles coming back to "get" the idea of the CL500. 7Gtronic is light-years ahead of the old five-speeder (which if I am cheeky, is to say it's about as smart as the five-speeders in my 1998 Citroen or the BMW 750 I had for a few months...) and the handling, courtesy of ABC, is another quantum leap. i know the route I drove with the CL very well indeed and with that direct comparison in mind between the '55 and the CL, I could tell the parts where ABC was choosing to go soft, and those where it stayed hard: crucially for me, there was no more of the headrest banging the back of my skull through roadworks and over chuck-holes.
It took 180 miles before I hit my first sleeping policeman (speed bump for Yanks): another crucial test. the '55 would require approaches to bumps dead straight on and very slow - not because of ground clearance but because of the initial hardness of the springs & dampers. While the CL is still pretty firm, the degree of isolation is massively improved over the AMG.
Niggles:
- While the ride is better, the wheels need attending to. There's a tickly vibration at around (ahem) 80, which i think is just the back tyres being pretty close to the wear bars, and having sat about for who knows how many weeks before sale.
- 28mpg. This is low, and in fact is lower than the 55! I have my doubts about the last service having been done at all recently or indeed at all: the oil is mildly dirty, which if it's Mobil 1 is a very bad sign indeed (the '55 went 4,000 miles through europe and back and the oil's as clean as when it went in). I suspect this is a degree of sleepiness and neglect, but nothing that can't be sorted. As I drove back and things warmed up the interior gradually started to pong of perfume and cigarettes; Slowly a picture of the former owner is taking shape in my mind!
- Keys. There's one mangy looking standard plastic key. I'm going to have to put up with the main dealer's oily superiority to fix that, but there's more (and I suspect, worse) - I didn't realise initially, but this car has Keyless Go. And, no Keyless Go keys... How much are these? Should I wait a couple of paydays before getting them? Is the car at risk of being taken until I have the old keys de-programmed?
"suspect, worse) - I didn't realise initially, but this car has Keyless Go. And, no Keyless Go keys... How much are these? Should I wait a couple of paydays before getting them? Is the car at risk of being taken until I have the old keys de-programmed?"
In 4/07 I was quoted $259.92 (part #215-766-07-06-999) for a keyless-go card for my 2003 CL500.
$259 is £130-ish. Here I was just quoted £145 for either the Keyless Go card, or the full on key... looks like I need both - it would be a shame to have da bling and not be able to use it!
Vehicle: 2000 Obsidian Black Metallic Mercedes SL 320 V6
Location: Northern Italy near Milan
Posts: 2,066
Quote:
Originally Posted by LondonThing
$259 is £130-ish. Here I was just quoted £145 for either the Keyless Go card, or the full on key... looks like I need both - it would be a shame to have da bling and not be able to use it!
Hi LondonThing: congrats on your new purchase and welcome aboard.
To quickly answer of a few of your questions you have to turn straight to the dealer for the keys and the Keyless-Go cards because they have to be programmed into the car. More, since the cards and the keys are on "informatic rails" you have to have the guy at the dealer to check very well which key or card is on which rail otherwise you will have a problem. I lost one of the Keyless-Go cards lately and had to order one on April the 29th so having the bill in front of me now I can tell you that one card here is Eurs 248.03, parts and labour and VAT included.
Also concerning the 28mpg, remember it's a 2 ton car and weight takes it's toll.
Cheers.
__________________
I drive like I stole . . . YOURS
Thanks... I just about got to 30mpg on a motorway run; I would have expected that with the older 5-speed model but the whole point about going for 7Gtronic was better economy. At 80-ish, the Cl500 is turning under 2000rpm, where my old E55 was doing 2800: the E55 had no cylinder cut-off and was a larger car in terms of frontal area, I'm just very surprised. Probably what it needs is a pretty good ragging down the autobahn...
And my next challenge is, i got some COMAND DVDs from EBay: one's the updated european map - that's cool. The other is the COMAND software update, and I have no clue what to do with that!
Vehicle: 2000 Obsidian Black Metallic Mercedes SL 320 V6
Location: Northern Italy near Milan
Posts: 2,066
Quote:
Originally Posted by LondonThing
And my next challenge is, i got some COMAND DVDs from EBay: one's the updated european map - that's cool. The other is the COMAND software update, and I have no clue what to do with that!
LondonThing if your car is a 2003 as I think I understood you shouldn't have the 7-G-Tronic gearbox but just the NAG2 5 speed one unless yours is a very late 2003 car MY 2004. Now as for the DVDs I think to hlep you there you should some pics of your COMAND unit and of the interior of your car so I can give you better infos. W215s up to 08/2003 should have a CD based Navi system (you load the navi CD in the dash) and DVD based Navis (from 09/2003 I think) have a Navi DVD based unit in the trunk.
If you rin your VIN in THIS SITE you will know exactly how your car was "born".
its a 7 - the dashboard gear indicator when the tip lever is nudged to and fro goes up to 7, and the Comand is a widescreen, DVD based unit. The drive's in the trunk.
put the VIN in that funny russian site and it says:
Delivery date 05.09.03
Dealer Great Britain (537)
Interior leather grey / alpaca gray (278)
Paint
197 obsidian black metallic (с 1978)
Options
M50 5L engine
N25 Unknown code
197 Unknown code
270 antenna for D net tel. on rear left fender with splitter and loudspea. (с 01.11.1992)
antenna with splitter on rear left fender (rear right fender of s/v 124) and loudspeaker for D-network telephone
278 installation kit for D net mobile telephone (Nokia 3110) (с 01.04.1997)
354 antenna on roof centre rear for mobile D-net telephone
antenna on roof centre rear for standard D-net telephone (с 01.10.1994)
380 Unknown code
427 Unknown code
461 instrument with mileage reading and english lettering (с 01.04.1990)
527 Reims adapter and paint kit
540 roller blind, electric, for rear window (с 01.05.1985)
551 anti-theft/anti-break-in warning system with anti-towing system (с 01.04.1998)
618 halogen lamp unit with high beam/low beam/fog light (r.h. traffic) (с 01.04.1970)
668
731 wood trim, burred walnut root (с 01.08.1980)
770 amg special equipment:
776 wheel cover for amg 17" wheels (w202 export only) (с 02.11.1992)
804 Change of year of model, last figure shows new model year
810 loudspeaker, sound package
sound package (bose) (с 01.12.1986)
819 CD changer - alpine - in trunk (с 31.07.1992)
860 television tuner (с 09.09.1997)
875 heated screen wash system (с 01.02.1988)
windshield washer heated (W201)
882 passenger compartment protection/towing-off protection (with anti-theft warning system only) (с 01.07.1993)
889 Keyless-GO (с 01.01.1996)
984 elimination of ownership certificate but with coc papers (с 01.06.1993)
989 identification label under windshield (с 01.10.1997)
Last edited by LondonThing : 10-24-2008 at 05:59 PM.
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