1998 mercedes-benz cl cl500 £3785

[wemorgan]

1998 MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 2dr Auto Coupe#

So my feet are itching and I'm wondering if I should venture in to a V8.
As the saying goes 'a lot of car for the money'

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[stevieb15]

Will,
I spotted this one 2 or 3 weeks back and had the same thoughts, but ... every time I look at the mpg read out on the 530d which it would replace and see 40+mpg my head kicks in and over rules my heart.

 

[wemorgan]

Will,
I spotted this one 2 or 3 weeks back and had the same thoughts, but ... every time I look at the mpg read out on the 530d which it would replace and see 40+mpg my head kicks in and over rules my heart.

Fortunately I only do 5k miles per year, but if I achieved less than 20mpg it would still sting.

When doing a general Autotrader search for a V8 less than £4k, there seem to be many 4x4 and Jag XJS. The CL is the only car so far that appeals to me.

 

[jaymanek]

They are great cars with huge presence.. i had a 420 for over a year and loved it.. shame i had to remortgage everytime I went to the local BP.

Mine never let me down but at this age they can be expensive to maintain.

 

[EDZ649]

I don't know why people get so hung up about fuel consumption on a car that is only used at weekends. I get 22mpg out of my 55 all the time and I'm not exactly light on my right foot. The SL600 is a little bit worse but hey, it's not an everyday car.

 

[stevieb15]

Fortunately I only do 5k miles per year, but if I achieved less than 20mpg it would still sting.

When doing a general Autotrader search for a V8 less than £4k, there seem to be many 4x4 and Jag XJS. The CL is the only car so far that appeals to me.

I am with you, I have drooled over these for ages and am sure at some stage in the future I will buy one just because of their sheer presence, ride and build quality and relative rarity. I have also looked at the BMW 8 series which were built pretty well over the same period as the W140? coupe but tend to hold their price better although lack the presence and scarcity value and discontinued the 850 12 cylinder version in 93/94 I think.
There really isnt anything else out there to compete if you want a big well built coupe to turn a few heads

 

[stevieb15]

I don't know why people get so hung up about fuel consumption on a car that is only used at weekends. I get 22mpg out of my 55 all the time and I'm not exactly light on my right foot. The SL600 is a little bit worse but hey, it's not an everyday car.

The problem is for me it would be an everyday car, at least during the winter and would cover around 20000 miles annually, so the cost of doubling the fuel used has to be a consideration.

 

[mattc]

Fill your boots! We are all dead a long time so you might as well buy it and run for a year and sell it on if you dont like it.

 

[jaymanek]

The engine is relatively economical but in this big heavy car... 20mpg is around the most you will get..

 

[neilrr]

The problem is for me it would be an everyday car, at least during the winter and would cover around 20000 miles annually, so the cost of doubling the fuel used has to be a consideration.

Can it be run on LPG & how many miles would you have to do to recover the cost of an LPG conversion?

 

[JasM]

I think it looks great

Just go for it

 

[wemorgan]

Does this generation CL have the airmatic suspension? I doubt my pockets are quite deep enough to maintain a 10 year old MB with that kit.

 

[talbir]

Standard suspension on this w140.

The engines are very economical on long runs but as Jay said, don't expect too much...the term 'economical' is relative to what it will return around town, roughly 13mpg !

a w124 500e gives around 23-24 mpg on long distance driving. The w140 is approx 200kg heavier (2.1 tonnes versus 1.9 for the 500e) so i would expect to see that return reduce, although the w140 has longer gearing (500e has a 2.82 diff, w140 a 2.24 ?) so some offset there.

Ride quality is just amazing on the w140 and road presence supreme.....but i never got my head round it's looks. The saloon w140 is much prettier in my opinion.

talbir

 

[Dee-124CAB]

i never got my head round it's looks. The saloon w140 is much prettier in my opinion.
talbir

My sentiments entirely on the front end of a W140 CL....

A project that I would love to eventually do if the right car ever came along at the right price would be to get hold of a W140 CL (possible front knock), then carry out a complete saloon front end conversion on it, like they used to do on the old W126 SEC/SEL's...

Combining best of both W140 worlds

Just imagine, it would look like a C124 coupe, but bigger!!:bannana:

PS: With an AMG kit it would look out of this world !

 

[jaymanek]

Ride quality is just amazing on the w140 and road presence supreme.....but i never got my head round it's looks. The saloon w140 is much prettier in my opinion.

talbir

You had a coupe for years didnt you?!

 

[wemorgan]

I've not got the budget for this C215, but looks good value at £5950

2002 MERCEDES-BENZ CL CL500 2dr Auto Coupe#

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I've not got the budget for this C215, but looks good value at £5950

2002 MERCEDES-BENZ CL CL500 2dr Auto Coupe#

Is that about right price wise? Looks cheap considering the low mileage and apparent condition?

Shocking if it is right - hmmmm, V8 here I come

 

[tromppost]

This is better value http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sale/74469-1998-cl500-coupe.html

 

[Setanta]

This is better value http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/classifieds-cars-sale/74469-1998-cl500-coupe.html

Thanks - she will be going to the new owner over the weekend though.

 

[James Rothwell]

For reference my W140 5.0 wasn't bad on fuel would seeminly average 27mpg on a run and about 22mpg around town which was pretty good. My W140 6.0 seems to be doing 22mpg on a run and 17/18 around town which I didn't think was that bad, a new Range Rover 4.4 will return 16mpg no matter how or where you drive it. So all in all the 600 is pretty good on fuel, also I had a 750iL a couple years ago and that was pretty shocking on fuel think that was doing 14mpg all the time.