Cheap CL500

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ChipChop

MB Enthusiast
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Apr 5, 2020
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Location
Newcastle
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S210 320cdi w201 190d 2.5
Not a bad looking car either and plenty of history. Why so cheap?

 
Hmmm I fancy that will need a bit of money spending on it to bring it up to scratch.
A cheap Mercedes V8 is going to cost you one way or another.
 
A cheap CL........................................................Somewhat like a born again virgin? :D
 
Well 20 years old and 188,000 miles means it will be cheap,but whoever buys it must go and inspect it,from the photo's it does not look bad,the seats are in good condition,its got 6 months on the MOT,not my sort of car but somebody will buy it around that price
 
I could only see about 3 letters of the description on my 27" monitor.
 
It's only done 2000 miles since November 2017. If I were considering it, I'd ring the indie who's been looking after it and ask for his opinion.

It's so stupidly cheap I'm tempted to have it...
 
Biggest problem would be potential issues with ABC suspension and possible rust. Engines should be stout. I have close to 170k miles on my S55.
 
At £1650 it’s semi disposable. It looks in good condition for that mileage.

I had one almost identical to that some years back, same year, colour and pretty much same spec other than black leather and 100k less miles.

TBH they can take the miles no sweat, it’s lack of maintenance that will finish one of these off.

If the suspension rises and lowers without issue, doesn’t sink when parked and drives as it should without warning lights then you might be on to a cheap enough car. Worst case it goes back on eBay for spares/repairs in a few months - but at least you’ve owned one! :)
 

^^That was my old one.

Looking again at the eBay car I can see some cosmetics/bodywork sort of issues (eg around the front bumper/wings etc) but I guess it’s 20 years old and less than £2k. Mine was pretty tidy though to be fair :)
 
One point to note is that the ebay cl500 is now into it's 6 month Coronavirus MOT extension period so has now not been inspected for over a year. Something to bear in mind.
 
Good point, but it's done at most less than 1000 miles since then. The Mot history is wellnigh perfect, apart from corrosion in the front jacking points at the last test; that could be a sign that it's rusty elsewhere, or it could have been a very pernickerty MoT tester. OTOH, if the photographs were taken outside the owner's house, how long has it been standing on the seafront? Seafront bungalow, elderly owner, now infirmity/bereavement sale, possibly?

I'm still tempted...

I've left a message asking for a call back. No, of course I've no use for it, but at that price...
 
Occasionally you can hit the jackpot on cheapies. I viewed a cheap E39 V8 I spotted on eBay which was a ten minute walk away. Turned out the seller had owned it since nearly new and had spent more than the asking price rebuilding the gearbox only a year ago. None of which was in the advert! It was so nice I bought it on the spot.

It’s probably knackered with a litany of ruinous faults though. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of shovelling endless money into cars like that. A really nice example is a grand or two more? Easy to lose that in one visit to an Indy.
 
I'll see what the seller says if he gets back to me.
 
I'll see what the seller says if he gets back to me.

try sending him a text Dennis.
 
The seller is, I rather think, a small-time dealer, working from home. So was the seller of my first E55, and that was fine. The pictures were not taken at the owner's home, but just down the road from where the car is now, in the yard behind a mate's garage.

He says he doesn't know a lot about the car (which he's had for about a year - finally given up on selling it for a reasonable price perhaps?) other than what's in the ad, but says the suspension works perfectly; the only problem is that the radio sometimes doesn't work, and maybe the odd tiny rust spot patch - he's not sure (oh yes?...). I'll be surprised if there's not more (cambox breathers; engine mountings; etc.etc.etc), but you never know, and it may not need too much. It will have the five-speed box, so it will be pretty thirsty, but doing minimal mileage that wouldn't matter much.

If it doesn't sell over the weekend, I'll have a word with the servicing MB specialist on Monday, and see what they can tell me about it. I've always wanted a CL, and at that price, if it's genuine, maybe it's time to scratch the itch...
 
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The seller is, I rather think, a small-time dealer, working from home. So was the seller of my first E55, and that was fine. The pictures were not taken at the owner's home, but just down the road from where the car is now, in the yard behind a mate's garage.

He says he doesn't know a lot about the car (which he's had for about a year - finally given up on selling it for a reasonable price perhaps?) other than what's in the ad, but says the suspension works perfectly; the only problem is that the radio sometimes doesn't work, and maybe the odd tiny rust spot patch - he's not sure (oh yes?...). I'll be surprised if there's not more (cambox breathers; engine mountings; etc.etc.etc), but you never know, and it may not need too much. It will have the five-speed box, so it will be pretty thirsty, but doing minimal mileage that wouldn't matter much.

If it doesn't sell over the weekend, I'll have a word with the servicing MB specialist on Monday, and see what they can tell me about it. I've always wanted a CL, and at that price, if it's genuine, maybe it's time to scratch the itch...

I believe the 2000 CL500 has ABC, like my 2003 600 TT? If so, the cost of repairs/upkeep can be horrendous. I speak as one who has had to replace the ABC pump and now one corner unit, after 62K miles. Not cheap.

It may well be that this car has had everything changed during its quite extensive mileage and/or, some owners replace ABC with coil overs, but I'm sure you know the right questions to ask ... and take a Carsoft unit when inspecting.

Good luck ... it's certainly worth a look.
 
Couple of things that i noticed from the photos is the very high ride height and also the wet patches on the ground in the photos. Could be leaks who know?
 
Why so cheap?

A 20 year old gas guzzler with expensive parts and repairs at a guess?
 

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