buying a CL500

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

NobbyDean

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2021
Messages
45
Location
manchester
Car
cl500
Im looking to buy a cl500 in the next few months, are there any common things to look out for or beware of? ive just retired and have wanted one of these for years now.
 
Im looking to buy a cl500 in the next few months, are there any common things to look out for or beware of? ive just retired and have wanted one of these for years now.
Welcome to the forum! There’s lots of knowledge here. I don’t have a CL500 but am a fan and have pondered them before.

Advice will depend on what era you are going for. My pick would be a post-2011 with the updated 4.7 twin turbo engine, which is considerably more efficient and torque-y than the older 5.5 (which is still fab, I have one in my E-class). If you're going older still, the engine before 2007ish was a 5.0 that has the advantage of being largely bomb-proof.

The CLs were highly complex £100k+ cars, especially the suspension system (air or hydraulic) so whatever era you go for, be sure to buy only with impeccable full service history from MB or a known independent, and this way there’s less chance of expensive repair bills. Luckily these cars were typically owned by the well-heeled who maintained them well and kindly absorbed a vast chunk of depreciation ready for the next owners. They seem excellent value second-hand if bought well.
 
thanks SW, im thinking of around £12,000 so it looks like a 2007;8/9 model i think
Ok, so that’ll be the 5.5 engine, the only significant issue is that early ones had issues with premature timing gear wear - details here:
My friend want to know how to avoid the range of faulty V8 and V6 engines
You just have to check that any engine you are buying is from after the engine number given in the link. Almost certainly anything from 2008 will be ok.

At that age do take care to buy very well with only the best history, to avoid big bills. First owners are generally good, subsequent owners sometimes cut corners. If you’re lucky you might even find a 1-owner car that’s been well looked after, some people do hang onto them a long time.
 
I used to have a 2013 CL500 BlueEfficiency 2016 > 2018.

They are superb looking cars and that drivetrain is amazing.

I can't comment on the early ones as I've not driven one but a lot of the earlier ones were a good spec when I've looked in the past and some had things like Night Vision - which is a bit gimmicky admittedly but maybe some find it useful.

I didn't get on with the practicalities of owning a large coupe and the seats in mine didn't suit me. So after the novelty wore off, I moved it on just after just over 2 years but I'm glad I owned one.

Just make sure everything works in the one you look at and has a comprehensive history and is in good condition.

A cheap one could potentially be anything but!

They are built on the W221 platform which is very reliable compared to the predecessors (although you can be lucky / unlucky with whatever one you buy of course).
 
thanks chaps for your help ill take the advice onboard, im not too well up on the model numbers quoted like w221 etc but i think theres something about mercs not being so good between 1997 and 2007. i had a 2 litre 190e for 10 years in the 90s loved it to bits,wife thought it wasnt modern enough so guess who won there :rolleyes:, now its my turn to get my dream car so thanks again lads i hope to have a cl500 quite soon
 
thanks chaps for your help ill take the advice onboard, im not too well up on the model numbers quoted like w221 etc but i think theres something about mercs not being so good between 1997 and 2007. i had a 2 litre 190e for 10 years in the 90s loved it to bits,wife thought it wasnt modern enough so guess who won there :rolleyes:, now its my turn to get my dream car so thanks again lads i hope to have a cl500 quite soon
Good luck with the search! If you have more questions or want opinions on a specific car, just post a new thread in the General Discussion area and you’ll have plenty of help.
 
thanks chaps for your help ill take the advice onboard, im not too well up on the model numbers quoted like w221 etc but i think theres something about mercs not being so good between 1997 and 2007. i had a 2 litre 190e for 10 years in the 90s loved it to bits,wife thought it wasnt modern enough so guess who won there :rolleyes:, now its my turn to get my dream car so thanks again lads i hope to have a cl500 quite soon
Make sure you keep a £5,000 spare lump of cash aside for ”possible” problems
 
Welcome to the forum !

The CL is a great luxury car for silly money. Better driving and far more reliable and better value than equivalents from Bentley or BMW.

Surprisingly cheap in terms of mpg and insurance.

It's based on the S500 (W221) from 2007 onwards, and gains from the billion Euros spent on developing that Sonderklasse platform," as well as sharing all its economies of scale.

There's just one key technical trick that I would share if you want to avoid unreliability and cost.

Buy one that has been owned by three people, or less, and which has been serviced EVERY year by a main dealer or independent.

.
 
OK, another thought. I originally looked for a late Noughties CL500 in a colour other than black and silver. They weren't there.

So, in the end, I bought a perfect car than was six years younger, and "not that much" more expensive. Depending on your budget, it might be worth spending "a bit more" to widen your choice.

Obviously, there's always a temptation to spend more. Functionally, there isn't a lot of real difference. But it might be worth a thought. This one is one of the very late CL's, (430bhp from the 4.7 litre engine) but there'll be plenty of things in between

44899185.jpg
 
Last edited:
thanks chaps for your help ill take the advice onboard, im not too well up on the model numbers quoted like w221 etc but i think theres something about mercs not being so good between 1997 and 2007. i had a 2 litre 190e for 10 years in the 90s loved it to bits,wife thought it wasnt modern enough so guess who won there :rolleyes:, now its my turn to get my dream car so thanks again lads i hope to have a cl500 quite soon

Each Merc has a specific model code to identify it. W221 means S Class which ran from 2006 > 2013 with facelift from MY 2010.

The CL basically sits on the underpinnings of a short wheelbase (SWB) S Class (although the CL is staggered forward a year in terms of build so they run from 2007 > 2014 with facelift MY 2011).

The CL itself is a C216.

The crap years seem to fit around Jurgen Scrimp (Schrempp) who made some interesting business decisions.

Make sure you keep a £5,000 spare lump of cash aside for ”possible” problems

I would echo this.

That's not to say you need this sum of money but if you have a large unexpected cost, it won't ruin the ownership experience.
 
Im looking to buy a cl500 in the next few months, are there any common things to look out for or beware of? ive just retired and have wanted one of these for years now.
I Have mind for sale if your in the market
 
Been an owner several times but a Ford Focus has wooed me for the last 5 years! But now have a yearning for a cl 500 .......a 2000 model with just 45 k and full history is tempting me........am I mad!
 
Been an owner several times but a Ford Focus has wooed me for the last 5 years! But now have a yearning for a cl 500 .......a 2000 model with just 45 k and full history is tempting me........am I mad!
You would be less mad with the 2003 facelift which incorporates a variety of enhancements.

As regards your 2000 CL500 (C215),much depends on the quality of the car, its price, and your ability to address issues that come up.

(Cough, if you're considering spending £12k on such a car with 45k on the clock, you need to be clear that you could buy a much more modern 2007 CL500 on the same mileage for more or less the same amount of money)

You don't need to be a spanner wizard, but you would need to know how to conduct spanner, and electrical, wizards.

2ccdd11b008d4891bb504e29873ee888.jpg
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom