MBZ newbie shopping for 2003-2006 CL600

8742 Views 18 Replies 5 Participants Last post by KiteZwoelf, May 20, 2009

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2009

Greetings,

This is my very first post. I've decided it's time to grow up, and am done with my 750rwhp superchared 2000 Corvette. I spent $70K on the thing and it's still a Corvette. Breaks loose on the freeway, but still a Corvette - owned by Government Motors.

So I took a look at a CL600 for the first time, and was awestruck by the quality and substance of the car. The first car I looked at was beautiful, but no turbos (2001), too many miles (78K) and overpriced ($28K). I love the deep blue color, the lorinser sport package, the $6,500 wheels, and the sound of that V12 starting up. Here's the photo:

What I want is a 2003-2006 CL600 in a dark color with less than 60K miles, for around $25K, plus an extended warranty. I've seen a few plain jane CL600s out there that are like that, but none that are certified pre-owned.

Here's a 2003 CL600 for $24K with 36K miles: 2003 MERCEDES CL600 CPE- V-12 TWIN TURBO - LOW LOW MILES-PRICED 2 SELL

Plain wheels, no sport package, but a good starting point and a clean carfax.

What should I look out for? I've read suspension can be a problem, and I saw a post where someone complained their (warrantied) suspension repair bill was $12K. Is there a FAQ for first time buyers?

I'm in the SF bay area btw.

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1 - 19 of 19 Posts

Supercharged SEC

· #2 · Apr 5, 2009

Get a good warranty that covers the ABC suspension or you will be hating life. The ABC suspension is a known problem area for the CL. When the ABC is working, it is awesome. When it is broken, it is crazy expensive to repair.

If you get the car and want to upgrade to the AMG wheels, I have a set of the 18" AMG sport wheels that came off my old CL600. The rims are very very nice and the tires are basically brand new.

ngc414

· #3 · Apr 5, 2009

I just bought a 04 CL600 Friday. This is my first benz also. It seems every time i found one for a low price there was a catch, mb buybacks, wreck history, poorly maintained or horrible color combo. After 2 months I finally paid more and got a clean one in the color combo i wanted.

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 6, 2009 (Edited)

Thanks guys, I'll follow your advice and get a warranty and wait for what I want - prices are not going up these days. I want blue - seems to have been a special order option.

I saw one I want and newer, but a bit high and from a rust city - Chicago.
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=22&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-|E-ANY|M-_31_|B-35000|H-|D-_4587_|N-N|R-10000|I-1,7|P-PRICE+descending|Q-descending|Y-_2006-2005-2004-2003_|X-popular|Z-94568&aff=national&paId=303135550&recnum=32&leadExists=true

I will want 20's on mine. That, a slight lowering, and a boost upgrade is as far from stock as I'll let it go.

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ngc414

· #5 · Apr 6, 2009

The blue benz in the first pic is beutifull. Was that an 01?

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 6, 2009

ngc414 said:
The blue benz in the first pic is beutifull. Was that an 01?

Yup, 2001 - no turbos, 78K miles, a dent or two and cracked or broken plastic here and there - $28K, but talking to them on a first visit they'd immediately take $2K off.

EURO WHOLESALE INC. | Car Detail

jbsteven

· #7 · Apr 7, 2009

I have owned a 03CL600 and a 05 CL65. You will love both.

If you get the 600 just send off the ECU to Renntech and have 640ish HP. If you can find a 65 get that. you will not be disappointed.

ngc414

· #8 · Apr 7, 2009

jbsteven said:
I have owned a 03CL600 and a 05 CL65. You will love both.

If you get the 600 just send off the ECU to Renntech and have 640ish HP. If you can find a 65 get that. you will not be disappointed.

i see in your sig you have an 05 Ford GT. My neighbor has one also (red with white stripes). I havent had a chance to ride in it yet. How do you like yours? Just out of couriousity how does it compair to the CL65 seat of the pants power wise?

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 8, 2009

Anyone buy a benz long distance through Ebay? The car I like (last pic posted) is on auction: eBay Motors: Mercedes-Benz : CL-Class (item 310133199700 end time Apr-09-09 19:01:44 PDT)

ngc414

· #10 · Apr 8, 2009

mbznewbie said:
Anyone buy a benz long distance through Ebay? The car I like (last pic posted) is on auction: eBay Motors: Mercedes-Benz : CL-Class (item 310133199700 end time Apr-09-09 19:01:44 PDT)

I bought mine through ebay through a dealer in the same area. I drove up to inspect it and drove it home. Besides checking ebay feedback, I checked their ranking with the better business B and ran an auto check on the cars history. I also googled the business name just to see what was out there on them. I know your still taking a chance, but it is extremely hard to find the exact car you want in your area.
I looked since the end of winter and they didnt seem to be selling, so I took my time. Once spring hit every single one I had my eye on sold in almost the same week. So I moved on the next clean black on black one that came up for sale.

jbsteven

· #11 · Apr 9, 2009

ngc414 said:
i see in your sig you have an 05 Ford GT. My neighbor has one also (red with white stripes). I havent had a chance to ride in it yet. How do you like yours? Just out of couriousity how does it compair to the CL65 seat of the pants power wise?

absolutely love it.

The CL has more tourque and you can feel it. The stock GT would slightly motor away from a 65.

My GT is slightly modified (609 HP at the tires). It ran 195.5 in the standing mile 4 times in a row. There is another standing mile event in October. I will be twin turboing the GT so it will have 1200 WHP on c16 gas. THAT is gonna be fun and should run 220-230 in the standing mile.

KiteZwoelf

· #12 · May 15, 2009

CL600 SF area

mbznewbie said:
Anyone buy a benz long distance through Ebay? The car I like (last pic posted) is on auction: eBay Motors: Mercedes-Benz : CL-Class (item 310133199700 end time Apr-09-09 19:01:44 PDT)

Hi,
I just bought a CL600 a couple of weeks ago in San Jose.
I live in the SF area. Did you find one you like since then?

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 16, 2009

In the time I was looking, I spun out and crashed my Corvette which I was going to sell, so that's delayed my plans. Selling probably would've taken some time in this market anyway.

Something else that doesn't rush me, I did some research, and found edmunds.com has a True Cost to Own analysis online. The five year cost for a CL600 is $114K, and $137K for a CL65. So in this economy that's cash that's nice to keep on hand or ready for investments as we slowly pull out of this Great Recession (hopefully) next year. This year? No way in hell with the auto maker bankruptcies, unemployment trends, rapidly rising foreclosures, and 21% drop in GDP invesments 1Q09.

2005 CL600 5yr TCO 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class True Cost to Own ratings at Edmunds
2005 CL65 5yr TCO 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG True Cost to Own ratings at Edmunds

ngc414

· #14 · May 16, 2009

mbznewbie said:
In the time I was looking, I spun out and crashed my Corvette which I was going to sell, so that's delayed my plans. Selling probably would've taken some time in this market anyway.

Something else that doesn't rush me, I did some research, and found edmunds.com has a True Cost to Own analysis online. The five year cost for a CL600 is $114K, and $137K for a CL65. So in this economy that's cash that's nice to keep on hand or ready for investments as we slowly pull out of this Great Recession (hopefully) next year. This year? No way in hell with the auto maker bankruptcies, unemployment trends, rapidly rising foreclosures, and 21% drop in GDP invesments 1Q09.

2005 CL600 5yr TCO 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class True Cost to Own ratings at Edmunds
2005 CL65 5yr TCO 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG True Cost to Own ratings at Edmunds

Yikes, I put in my 04 srt-10 ram I traded in on my CL600. I had the truck 5 years. It says aroung 58k for the truck $14k for repairs and maintenance. I never had a single issue. I paid whatever 2 oil changes a year would be, no where near 14k maybe $600 (I do my own oil changes). Same thing with my escalade. The maintenance and repairs where actually estimated higher for the escalade than the cl600. Again no where near what my actual maintenace and repairs where on the vehicle. I think the biggest thing with the mercedes is depreciation. The edmunds numbers seem far fetched to me. If that was the case i wouldnt buy anything, except maybe a used honda accord.

KiteZwoelf

· #15 · May 16, 2009

ngc414 said:
Yikes, I put in my 04 srt-10 ram I traded in on my CL600. I had the truck 5 years. It says aroung 58k for the truck $14k for repairs and maintenance. I never had a single issue. I paid whatever 2 oil changes a year would be, no where near 14k maybe $600 (I do my own oil changes). Same thing with my escalade. The maintenance and repairs where actually estimated higher for the escalade than the cl600. Again no where near what my actual maintenace and repairs where on the vehicle. I think the biggest thing with the mercedes is depreciation. The edmunds numbers seem far fetched to me. If that was the case i wouldnt buy anything, except maybe a used honda accord.

I agree, a lot of the edmunds cost is depreciation. With extended warranty one should be able to fix the repair cost part.

KiteZwoelf

· #16 · May 16, 2009

KiteZwoelf said:
I agree, a lot of the edmunds cost is depreciation. With extended warranty one should be able to fix the repair cost part.

I just checked the edmunds. Over 5 years they say its 30K insurance which is way more compared to what I am paying (1k deductable) 10kfinancing and 30k depreciation. If yo pay cash and insure the car for ~2K and forget about depreciation (as you dont pay for that) we are talking 10K instead of 70k. Another 20k for reapirs and maintenance. Fuzzy math...

ngc414

· #17 · May 17, 2009

KiteZwoelf said:
I just checked the edmunds. Over 5 years they say its 30K insurance which is way more compared to what I am paying (1k deductable) 10kfinancing and 30k depreciation. If yo pay cash and insure the car for ~2K and forget about depreciation (as you dont pay for that) we are talking 10K instead of 70k. Another 20k for reapirs and maintenance. Fuzzy math...

I didnt catch the insurance part. Are they trying to say 30k to insure the car for 5 years? If so, that is absurd. I am paying $680 per year for my cl600 with 250/500/100 full coverage comp & collision 500 deductables (Of course insurance has many factors that determine rates besides the vehicle). Actually the only thing on the estimate that might be remotly close is depreciation. Honestly every car I have put in the edmunds "cost to own" was rediculous & not even close. I think its safe to say that estimator is absolutly useless.

mbznewbie

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 20, 2009

Thanks, that insurance calc is way off. That makes me feel better. Also my 2005 Avalanche 4x4 Z71 averages 16mpg and Edmunds claims both the CL600 and Avalanche average 14mpg.

KiteZwoelf

· #19 · May 20, 2009

mbznewbie said:
Thanks, that insurance calc is way off. That makes me feel better. Also my 2005 Avalanche 4x4 Z71 averages 16mpg and Edmunds claims both the CL600 and Avalanche average 14mpg.

Over the last 500 miles I have averaged 14.7 (2005, CL600), 70% commute with dense traffic, the rest pretty light footed on windy roads.

I am sure you could easily average far less then that if you push her constantly.

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