[fju2112]

I currently own a 2014 E350 4Matic approaching 120K miles. It's well maintained and it's been paid off for a while now. The plan was to keep it at least another 2-3 years and either trade it in, or possibly keep it as a winter car depending on the next vehicle purchase. I have, however, found some interesting vehicles out there worth considering, where I would need to trade what I have. I have always liked the look of the CLS, and I have owned the 4.3 liter V8 Benz engine in an E-class a long time ago, so this one will feel like a rocket ship, I'm sure. I am going through the threads and finding a lot of people really love the way this car drives. Here is the listing:

mercedes-benz-cls550 for Sale in Massachusetts & New Hampshire

Looking for a used mercedes-benz-cls550 in New England? AlphaCars & Motorcycles has a great selection to choose from.

www.alphacars.com

My concerns are as follows:

• The "4 door coupe" means frameless windows - does that ever bother anyone, or is it something folks just get used to? It took me off guard when I looked at a different CLS a while back, like something was missing, and not sure if this could possibly cause rattles or any other issues. Guessing not, but figured I'd ask.
• Almost 60K miles - so even if the tires and brakes are fine, what am I in for the next few years at about 10K miles/year?
• How does it drive compared to the E-class, if anyone here has owned both?
• Interior is only a slight upgrade from the 2014 E class. It has much more modern features than mine, however.

The other reason I hesitate is because by the fall, the 2016 will be 8 model years old, and it's nearly $40K. This dealership is the place I've bought two Benzes from in the past and they really stand behind their inventory, so I know I'm getting a great car, but that's still getting up there.

I've perused the forum so I'm aware of some issues to watch out for and will continue scrolling through.

 

[Scoobydood]

The CLS has 4 seats, no ability to seat 3 across back. The CLS seems a decent size otherwise, huge trunk but limited vertical space

 

[Scoobydood]

M278? The M276/278 V6/V8 engines are similar and suffer similar issues. Cam timing, tensioners, etc. complicated timing chain setup.

 

[fju2112]

M278? The M276/278 V6/V8 engines are similar and suffer similar issues. Cam timing, tensioners, etc. complicated timing chain setup.

Thanks for the heads up. I have had really good luck - a fantastic Benz-only specialist mechanic in my area has maintained by E class quite well. I'd definitely seek their input as well, but good to know what to watch out for in terms of maintenance items.

 

[Scoobydood]

Something to consider is that the CLS is rarer so body panels and headlights will be more expensive to replace making the vehicle more expensive to repair in the event of accident. May make a difference to insurance costs over E class

 

[fju2112]

I have no doubt it will... Knock on wood as I say this but I have the LED Intelligent Light system for my current E-class and thankful I haven't had to deal with any issues yet. But it's such a great lighting system I'll never want a car that doesn't have the equivalent ever again!

 

[Scoobydood]

I spent the last 2 days rebuilding the "New" headlight for the CLS. Adjuster for horizontal 0 position lost a tooth and the whole light unit had to be stripped. The mechanism for adjusting modes inside ILS headlights is crazy. Also Vertical adjuster was non-functional due to the little metal clip which holds the screw to the carriage wasn't installed correctly

 

[fju2112]

Why would you need to do this? Do you have the LED/auto-leveling headlights? The one I'm looking at does, not sure if that would make a difference.

 

[Scoobydood]

Other issues I have had are wiring... The engine loom has had faults due to the car not being put back together correctly, insulators split. Didn't like how the wiring is just spaghetti inside the plastic trunking, this will be the same for any model. The diamond cut AMG wheels have clear coat issues and need to be sanded and re-finished

 

[fju2112]

Other issues I have had are wiring... The engine loom has had faults due to the car not being put back together correctly, insulators split. Didn't like how the wiring is just spaghetti inside the plastic trunking, this will be the same for any model. The diamond cut AMG wheels have clear coat issues and need to be sanded and re-finished

Yes, both issues I have seen on my E-class. Fortunate to have a good mechanic who was proactive about ensuring the wiring did not cause issues. The wheels are gorgeous but this gen definitely had that issue; all of mine have paint issues despite taking very good care of the paint on the body & wheels.

 

[Scoobydood]

Why would you need to do this? Do you have the LED/auto-leveling headlights? The one I'm looking at does, not sure if that would make a difference.

The car was £8500 salvage. front end both corners. Both headlights obliterated. Cheapest we could source was from China, supposedly new, suspected "pattern" part but was actually remanufactured from salvaged parts. Everything Module-wise works fine but one light had a bracket broken and the other had adjuster issues. There is an adjuster for the vertical and for the horizontal initial position which is intergrated into the electrical adjustment system for vertical and separate for horizontal that sets the dipped beam position. Lights are LED matrix projectors but auto-leveling is just adjusting the orientation of the parts in the unit to the housing with refence to vehicle level sensors, selected mode or oncoming vehicle detection. Variance in panel gaps or supporting structure's fitted position will affect the beam angle greatly and is adjusted out with initial position adjustment

 

[Scoobydood]

Yes, both issues I have seen on my E-class. Fortunate to have a good mechanic who was proactive about ensuring the wiring did not cause issues. The wheels are gorgeous but this gen definitely had that issue; all of mine have paint issues despite taking very good care of the paint on the body & wheels.

Thankfully I am the warranty... Already rebuilt the A207 during Covid and the E class/CLS are very similar even with the A207 being built on the C class W204 floorpan. Didn't have to do much with the wiring on the diesel A207. Wiring issue was reported as "Output 3 sensor reference voltage" and "Fuel pressure Sensor faults" but would not clear from parts cannon salvo. Tracing the wiring I found the MAP sensor had the same 5v Blue/red stripe wire and testing revealed an internal short in the sensor. Took a couple of days to De-pin, untangle and wrap wiring loom elements with fabric loom tape while I traced the Output 3 wire. Found issues with wiring during this process.