CL500/600 vs SL350 or up

[greghm]

Hello gents, I went through a bit of reading here and I think it is the right time to ask the community. Sorry if this has been asked already.

I am considering putting between 4 to 6k in a week end car which would be either a 2000-2003 CL500 or an older SL350 or SL500. They both appear sexy, powerful and quite fun to drive.

It appears to me reading about these used cars that the CL have some risk of suspension problems. To the contrary it seems that the early 90's Mercs in general were still super reliable.

In terms of pricing I have been checking Autotrader for a while and these market prices seem reasonable but I am very interested in listening to your input.

 

[AMGeed]

I think the older SL model would be the safer choice given your budget. Which one however depends on your requirements for economy v performance or both.

Oh, welcome to the forum

 

[greghm]

Thanks. I guess I do not really care much about fuel economy as I am not planning to use it very often. So I guess going for the bigger engine. Anything in particular I have to check on the old SL ?

 

[Mr Kripling]

If you go for a pre-2003 CL, "I am considering putting between 4 to 6k in a week end car" could be reworded as "I am considering putting between 4 to 6k a week into a car"

 

[AMGeed]

Thanks. I guess I do not really care much about fuel economy as I am not planning to use it very often. So I guess going for the bigger engine. Anything in particular I have to check on the old SL ?

Sorry but the SL, especially the R129 is not a car I know too much about. There are however hardly any posts on either forum with members complaining of faults. Compare that to the newer R230 and not a day goes by without something going wrong with one.

 

[greghm]

If you go for a pre-2003 CL, "I am considering putting between 4 to 6k in a week end car" could be reworded as "I am considering putting between 4 to 6k a week into a car"

Do you really think it is that bad ? I looked at a few posts on the forum here on W215 and there are a few things to replace sometimes, even the ABC sometimes but that didn't sound so horrendous. Really interested about your advice on it.

 

[greghm]

Sorry but the SL, especially the R129 is not a car I know too much about. There are however hardly any posts on either forum with members complaining of faults. Compare that to the newer R230 and not a day goes by without something going wrong with one.

That is true, that is why also I was weighing between these two ...

 

[m2287]

Do you really think it is that bad ? I looked at a few posts on the forum here on W215 and there are a few things to replace sometimes, even the ABC sometimes but that didn't sound so horrendous. Really interested about your advice on it.

Not so bad if you can DIY fix it... The only trouble is that you might end up fixing it every weekend rather than drive it! These cars need to be used often...

 

[Mr Kripling]

Do you really think it is that bad ? I looked at a few posts on the forum here on W215 and there are a few things to replace sometimes, even the ABC sometimes but that didn't sound so horrendous. Really interested about your advice on it.

I was just joking - apart from the EIS dying, I haven't had any major issues with mine since I bought it last October. It will need a new ABC pump at some point but until I start getting warning messages I'm not going to worry too much.

I definitely agree with what was said above about cars needing to be driven. Every time I've left a car alone for a month or so, things start to go wrong with them.

 

[tanuie]

Having had a r129 and a r230, I would go for the 129 as they don't very often go wrong, the 230 is another matter, you will find plenty of problems about these in the forum.

 

[carltonfc]

Having just emerged from a wallet crippling liaison wth a 2002 series 2 Cl500 in which I spent around 5k in about 15 months on crankshaft position sensor, gear selector mechanism, suspension fluid change, suspension ecu, all known faults, various other bits and pieces, and servicing on top....the final straw came when it needed a new strut in early May, estimated delivery for the exact part was in June....along with some other work it was an estimated £1300 bill....I sold it to the garage and bought a W126 560SEL.....much cheaper to run!!!

 

[greghm]

Not so bad if you can DIY fix it... The only trouble is that you might end up fixing it every weekend rather than drive it! These cars need to be used often...

Are we talking about Jags here ? point taken

Anyone knows how to edit thread's name as I d like to add W215 and R129