1st post... After a CL55 AMG

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AMGBimmer

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
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6
Car
BMW E92 335D - Modified
Hey,
1st post here as I'm looking for my 1st ever petrol car. I'm almost 27 years old and have been driving Diesels. Currently in a BMW 335D E92 (coupe) and have modified it heavily.

I'm fortunate enough now.. to have a small window for about a year or so, to have something silly and monstrous, since I've been sensible for the most part and it needs to tick the following:

- 2 door
- 4 seats
- CL55 AMG or similar
- Upto £15k Max (for everything included).. but more realistically around the £10k mark..

I've read many threads re: issues surrounding the ABC, electrics, tyres etc.. I won't even think about MPG since my 335D renders about 40mpg on a good run, even more if I'm a grandad behind the wheel... but since my new job commute has been reduced by half to 10miles one way, I could stomach some running costs.

I'll def get extended warranty on whichever motor I get, which means even if I get a slightly higher mileage CL55 AMG, it will be covered for most things... Is this infamous ABC fault covered under extended warranty?

Do need to sell my car off first but happy start viewing examples now..

Finally, anything I should know before seriously stepping into AMG world?

Sam
 
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I've been considering it for ages, there is great value in large engined , fuel gobbling, heavy insurance cost monsters that shred expensive tyres.
But although I've already got two 5 litre MBs they really are in a different league to 55 AMGs, personally I'd be more likely to buy what you have now than a CL55AMG
 
Abc will break, most warranties won't cover it.

Mpg will be max of 20 and that's driving like a nun...

They aren't particularly reliable (abc, electrics, rust) but when they are 100% working, OMG!!!!!! Nothing can top them!
 
I've been considering it for ages, there is great value in large engined , fuel gobbling, heavy insurance cost monsters that shred expensive tyres.
But although I've already got two 5 litre MBs they really are in a different league to 55 AMGs, personally I'd be more likely to buy what you have now than a CL55AMG

Ah that's no good! Although I appreciate the honesty :) I'm getting excited about the thought of owning an AMG but these costly issues are a big downside. I totally get with owning such expensive cars, comes expensive bills but what good is a warranty if it doesn't cover common faults such as ABS.

I won't drive it hard all the time and it could well end up as a second car... I already have a c220 1999 merc so the AMG will be very well treated.

I guess my BMW E92 335D is super economical for and for it's power deliver, torque and almost touch 300bhp (whilst giving 40mpg), I have no complaints. Its able to keep up with most things on the road but the noise and sheer brutal presence of the AMG has drawn me 1 step closer...

Abc will break, most warranties won't cover it.

Mpg will be max of 20 and that's driving like a nun...

They aren't particularly reliable (abc, electrics, rust) but when they are 100% working, OMG!!!!!! Nothing can top them!

What do most do when ABC breaks? Can I replace with with Coilovers / Air Ride and not have to worry about ABC thereafter? Which warranty will cover this, would you know?

What price are earlyish cls55 running at these days?

Not had too much a loosie but a loose range between £8 - 13k....:thumb:

What about CLS55 AMG.. what are the common faults with them?
There was a lovely piano black example by a chap named CYCLONE if I remember correctly, that got sold recently... that looks the ****!!
 
the 335D is a fantastic car. If they made a hard top convertible version I'd have one like a shot.
 
Once you experience the CL with ABC you won't want to replace it with anything else.
Nothing rides so well and handles so well at this size!
Buy one for £10k and keep £5k in a pot for repairs.

They are extremely special cars and they feel leagues above a CLS55 IMO.

There was another thread recently with lots of helpful tips on buying one.
 
Also worth mentioning that it's not a car that you'll want to part with after just a year...
 
Abc will break, most warranties won't cover it.

Mpg will be max of 20 and that's driving like a nun...

They aren't particularly reliable (abc, electrics, rust) but when they are 100% working, OMG!!!!!! Nothing can top them!

Never had a problem with my ABC. my tier 1 warranty from MB covers it.
Had my CL600 BT for over 2 years and averaged 20.1 over the last 2000 miles. I do not drive like any Nun I know. The aluminium body on some ( not all ) has corrosion in places but not rust. 500 bhp 800nm torque, seats 4 in comfort. We are here but once. Go for it.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using MBClub UK
 
Never had a problem with my ABC. my tier 1 warranty from MB covers it.
Had my CL600 BT for over 2 years and averaged 20.1 over the last 2000 miles. I do not drive like any Nun I know. The aluminium body on some ( not all ) has corrosion in places but not rust. 500 bhp 800nm torque, seats 4 in comfort. We are here but once. Go for it.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using MBClub UK

I was assuming he was looking at getting a "non-mb" warranty, Ive fixed all mine myself so not something Ive had to think about but ive heard of people getting rejected because its classed as wear and tear or not specified under t&c's etc....

Do you do tank to tank measurements or go by what the computer says? I have NEVER had more than 400miles out of the 20gallon tank, although it often says I have averaged 22mpg, the computers on these can be pretty optimistic. Generally with mixed driving I get 18mpg tank to tank (360 miles and thats going right down to almost nothing left in the tank)...

Ok corrosion, it doesn't look good either way, the bonnet, bottoms of the doors, and rear pillars get it, my best friend is a sprayer so lucky me!

No problems with ABC, all I can say is you are lucky, Ive covered around 50k in three and a bit years and "luckily" only needed a new rear strut, tandem pump and speed sensors. Everyone ive spoken to who has owned a CL (except for you!) has had some sort of an ABC problem at some point.

I have also had front door hinge cables fail making the speaker crackly and the SRS light come on (souldered them up myself but then had to get it on STAR), heated seat broken (the only thing I havent bothered to fix as of yet), lumbar support broken (was just a little clip), speedo cluster broken (£200 for repair), window module broken (£320 just for the module), Crank position sensor broken (around £80 for the sensor I think), intermittent air con smell (gunk and leaves under the bonnet blocking air flow, replaced all filters as well), and the headlight indicators wore out and needed upgrading (£40 each just for the looms!). There have probably been more things but those are what I can remember.

These all seem to be common problems with the CL, and now that Ive fixed them I should be OK for a while but they do add up. All the prices Ive paid have been with me doing the work myself so someone else would have to pay labour on top of those if they didnt have a warranty!

Aidan
 
What do most do when ABC breaks? Can I replace with with Coilovers / Air Ride and not have to worry about ABC thereafter? Which warranty will cover this, would you know?

Either:
The suspension locks in position and goes REALLY bouncy
The suspension drops to the FLOOR (it looks like a low rider)
Recently I had a problem where one side was to the floor and the other was up as high as it can go!

There is a company in the states that makes a suspension conversion kit to normal shocks and springs but not coilovers.

I guess you could put a custom air suspension set up on it but the ABC makes a MASSIVE difference when you are driving the car as its so heavy.

They are a lovely car, I cant see myself selling mine for a while yet, just remember a 100k car comes with 100k running costs!

Good luck with your search :)
 
Wow, you have been very unlucky.
Or maybe not so bad over 50k miles on an old car?
We've had 2 CLs in the family and many S Class's that share most of the components.
Generally most of them have been pretty sound! But we don't use them to do many miles.
My s class gets around 6k a year on it and the AMG CL gets maybe 1 or 2k miles on it.
 
Hi Aiden. The mpg is taken from the on-board computer. My CL has been on Tier 1 since I purchased it in July 2011, ergo the slightest hint that anything is amiss and its to the dealer it goes (tier 1 also covers wear and tear) My CL is a 2005 with a tad over 41k miles. Like you said a £100k car has the ability to empty the largest of pockets. Like a lot of people I purchased this with the idea of keeping it for a while, then selling. I have now had it over two years, this goes to show how much I like it ( had 70 plus cars) This is one of the finest car I have owned or driven. The ABC has to be experienced to understand how good it is (you know already Aiden) Its also very comfortable (has the dynamic seats) and seats 4 in comfort, and would, if asked, 'see off' most other cars on the road. I have on occasion thought of changing, only to compare with something else and think ?????mmmm, I like the CL better. Aiden you are a better man than I, doing a lot of your own work I mean, just reading the tome like instruction book gives me a headache.
I can say with hand on heart there is no sign of corrosion anywhere on mine, that many people have mentioned it I am paranoid about it, Two thinks I cant stand on any vehicle of mine is RUST/CORROSION and OIL LEAKS.
 
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Wow, you have been very unlucky.
Or maybe not so bad over 50k miles on an old car?
We've had 2 CLs in the family and many S Class's that share most of the components.
Generally most of them have been pretty sound! But we don't use them to do many miles.
My s class gets around 6k a year on it and the AMG CL gets maybe 1 or 2k miles on it.

Yea to be honest, £800 for the random bits, got a strut for around £200 and some fluid for £20 and did that myself, the tandem pump was £600 all in so around £1600.

Rear tyres last me around 5000 miles, fronts 10000
Thats 30 tyres, I normally use Nankangs at £85 each, so £2550!

Oil changes I do myself, work out at around £60 every 10k so £300.


All in all thats around £4500 in 50k miles.... 9p per mile not including fuel..

Thats where it gets depressing!

50000/360 = 138.88 tanks of fuel
20 gallons = 91 Litres
138.88*91 = 12638.88
12638.88 * £1.32 = £16683.33

Works out all in all at 42p per mile.

Sorry for the thread hijack OP!!
 
Hi Aiden. The mpg is taken from the on-board computer. My CL has been on Tier 1 since I purchased it in July 2011, ergo the slightest hint that anything is amiss and its to the dealer it goes (tier 1 also covers wear and tear) My CL is a 2005 with a tad over 41k miles. Like you said a £100k car has the ability to empty the largest of pockets. Like a lot of people I purchased this with the idea of keeping it for a while, then selling. I have now had it over two years, this goes to show how much I like it ( had 70 plus cars) This is one of the finest car I have owned or driven. The ABC has to be experienced to understand how good it is (you know already Aiden) Its also very comfortable (has the dynamic seats) and seats 4 in comfort, and would, if asked, 'see off' most other cars on the road. I have on occasion thought of changing, only to compare with something else and think ?????mmmm, I like the CL better. Aiden you are a better man than I, doing a lot of your own work I mean, just reading the tome like instruction book gives me a headache.

To be honest I bought the car as needing a fair bit of the work (especially bodywork!) with the view of doing it myself and selling it on, up until I bought it I changed my car a couple of times a year as well!

I have too browsed autotrader etc looking for its replacement but then I just think why am I wasting my time, nothing will compare (Except the new S class coupe which I definitely wont be able to afford!!!!!).

I do my own work as Im too tight to pay MB to do it ;)
 
42ppm, worth every bit of it!!
 
Love the comments folks.. some fill me with confidence and some don't so I'm at cross roads. I'm not tech savy nor am I mechanic... but I know a good guy who does all my car body work... and since he's a custom car specialist, he'll do anything anything custom which is great when it comes to out of the box thinking... He's also a panel beater and 1st class painter so that would be sorted... it's the other expensive problems that's putting me off...

Other choices are:
- E55 AMG
- BMW E92 M3
- BMW E46 M3
- Stick to my E92 335D and just mod the hell out of it, phase two!

I just want an AMG in CL55 but terribly scared of the repair costs associated with it / warranty void with after market suspension...

Hope it's okay to put non MB pics up.. but here are a few of my BMW pics :)

Lot's of work done to it.. and wheels are a rare 19x8.5J & 19x10J Rial Daytona Race 2 piece Split Rims.
 

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Hi AMG Beemer

Looking at your posts, I have moved from bmws to an amg in the last year. I've owned both the e39 m5, an 46 m3 cs, and the e92 on the track. They are all great handling cars and fill of character.

The e55k that I replaced my m3 with is in a different league in terms of performance, if not handling. Also it has loads of amazing kit within it and it all works.

I spent months trying a few and bought the best / lowest mileage version I could get. I've had it a year and it's fantastic.

I looked a lot at the CL55k before I bought the e55. The cl55 is a fantastic car. It has a very timeless shape and has aged very well. Thing is, they cost just over 100k new and some of the technology can be suspect after 12 years, such as the SBC. So an immaculate history and proof that all the big things have been dealt with by the previous owner is key.

So my advice would be - don't be put off, try a few, make sure you drive one though. The sound and torque are both fantastic.

Good luck
 

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