CL500 doubts.

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No, not at all.

It's quite the opposite actually.

What you're trying to say is you want something a bit left-field with circa 400bhp that makes you grin and gives you that feeling of just wanting to go for a drive at 6am on a Sunday morning...
 
Just get it done John, you know you're going to . . . . . :D


Matt

I've certainly been through the "doing it" phase more than the "not doing it" phase. :D

If I am honest, it's taken a while to get used to the idea!

Just irritating I rushed into the CL but as before - at least I've done it now.

It's been amusing being a CEO / drug dealer / mafioso kingpin for a while.

I had a nearly new CL500 just over 2k on the clock, had almost every extra on it. But as much as I liked it, wonderful car, after a while it just got a bit boring to drive so I thought about having one last fling and bought the current car. Now I think I might of made a bit of a ric and quite miss it tbh.

It's the same for me. I know if Maserati didn't exist, I would persist with it for a good 3 to 5 years because let's face it - it's not a hardship and I do appreciate a lot of things about it - just not the things that really count (I'm 41 btw)...

But, like you, I suspect I will miss the CL. It is a fabulous car in its own right - it's just not right for me!

If you fancy a 3 year (@ 27/11/16) one in black with a tier 1 and a lot of options - drop me a line... :D

I know exactly where you're coming from. I'm there and have been for a while.

It's why an S6 and not an RS6 appeals to me. It's why I bought an SL400 not a 500 or AMG version.

I look at supercars and think, that'd be nice for about 20 minutes on a racetrack and then I'd want to hand it back.

I am looking at something a bit different at the moment as you know, I've made offers on two so far and I've not quite been able to strike a deal but they are an oddity and there aren't many of them and it could take a year to find the right one.

The problem with finding a CL a bit dull is where exactly do you go? It has to be a something a bit left field, which is kind of where I am at the moment.

I don't want another German Eurobox, I want something a bit different, but a bit different generally means Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche or something completely daft and italian.

How about a Porsche Panamera?

Agreed - definitely the S over RS now for me. Good luck with finding the right example. I don't think finding a GT will be a walk in the park.

Yes - your plan is probably something else that inspired me to move in the direction I am.

Car mate at work suggested the Panamera. I see it as another CL really. It doesn't grab one's knackers although as a second hand buy, I imagine they are great.

The Maserati Granturismo is the only car left in my "I'd love one of those" bucket list. It saddens me to think it but there is nothing else.

I once had a hankering for a nice late 2004 360 - and prices were dropping around the time I bought the E55K - a nice 2004 was around £50k I think and I was waiting for them to hit £40k. I'd decided against after buying the E55K but now prices have rocketed £30k like for like. I wonder if they are selling for the prices they are up for now... but I certainly don't think a late 2004 is worth £70k/£80k!!!

The only exotica I really like are 458s, 488s and Aventadors - and they are well out of my league!

Now I think about it - I do have a hankering for a Bentley Conti GT on mid noughties plate saying that. But I figure they will be too old by the time I am old enough to drive one and I suspect will leave me in the same boat as I am with the CL.

The only other stuff I like are classics like Series II and III and other old Shags, old Bentleys, a 560SEC WB etc. but the prices on these are getting silly and the proposition of a 25 year > 50 year old car fills me with dread.

What you're trying to say is you want something a bit left-field with circa 400bhp that makes you grin and gives you that feeling of just wanting to go for a drive at 6am on a Sunday morning...

Exactly!

Basically:

- Not Earth-shattering performance - to avoid temptation with proper fast stuff.

- More flow - having had the E55 running at what it was, and as much as I loved the thrill of that level of performance (even though it actually felt slow in the end to me), I knew from the M3 Evo I had back in 2000 that you can have a lot of fun within the 300 > 400 band. It's a lot more effort to use all the power in a high power car and then slow it down / stop the thing again. Whereas around 400 for is perfect for E55K / MGT weight cars. Palmersport also confirmed my theories on flow...

- Not German - I've done the German thing to death now over the last 17 years albeit with some breaks.

- Character / theatre / drama / style and as you said before - soul! The E55 was the exception.

I want to wake up in the morning again and cannot wait to drive to work - which I had for the first 3 or 4 years in the E55K.

...and no I've not touched the sauce tonight - this is contents of the petrol/car section in my head. :D
 
Don't get me wrong - I love a 500+Bhp monster as much as the next bloke but I'm starting to come to the conclusion that anything over 400bhp is barely usable and, like you say, the faster you go the faster you have to stop and the on/off nature of big horsepower saloon cars can be a bit frustrating at times if the brakes aren't up to the power.
 
Agreed - definitely the S over RS now for me. Good luck with finding the right example. I don't think finding a GT will be a walk in the park.

Yes - your plan is probably something else that inspired me to move in the direction I am.

Car mate at work suggested the Panamera. I see it as another CL really. It doesn't grab one's knackers although as a second hand buy, I imagine they are great.

The Maserati Granturismo is the only car left in my "I'd love one of those" bucket list. It saddens me to think it but there is nothing else.

I once had a hankering for a nice late 2004 360 - and prices were dropping around the time I bought the E55K - a nice 2004 was around £50k I think and I was waiting for them to hit £40k. I'd decided against after buying the E55K but now prices have rocketed £30k like for like. I wonder if they are selling for the prices they are up for now... but I certainly don't think a late 2004 is worth £70k/£80k!!!

The only exotica I really like are 458s, 488s and Aventadors - and they are well out of my league!

Now I think about it - I do have a hankering for a Bentley Conti GT on mid noughties plate saying that. But I figure they will be too old by the time I am old enough to drive one and I suspect will leave me in the same boat as I am with the CL.

The only other stuff I like are classics like Series II and III and other old Shags, old Bentleys, a 560SEC WB etc. but the prices on these are getting silly and the proposition of a 25 year > 50 year old car fills me with dread.

Your big advantage here is you're not in a car you don't like, you have time to look around and find something you want.

The world is in an odd place right now, financial institutions have created a vacuum that's allowed a bubble to fester for close to decade and allowed it to become the accepted normal.

I think next year is going to be financially very unstable on a global scale and much like the '80's car bubble, we're going to see another one go pop.

Trump will be El Presidente, Article 50 will be triggered both in the first quarter.

Next year is going to be a rollercoaster if you've got some capital it could be a good place to pick up some bargains.

BTW, Even the man maths for my idea is not stacking up particularly well, but I'm sold on one to a degree that I'm invoking "bucket list" which as we know is the only thing that trumps man maths and requires no evidence of sense or financial accountability. :D
 
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You need two cars John. One for the thrill, one sensible. This is the road I'm on at the moment. Standard 55K as a daily, modded 55K for going crazy fast.
 
John, you need to get yourself into a Maseratti quicksmart. If it's the only car on your bucket list, get one bought before the CL depreciates further, and enjoy it :thumb:

As long as you can afford to do things you want to do in life without regret, then do it, because life is too short to regret not having done the things you really wanted to do.
 
You need two cars John. One for the thrill, one sensible. This is the road I'm on at the moment. Standard 55K as a daily, modded 55K for going crazy fast.

That's brilliant justification of two 55k's

LOL
 
John, my brother has just moved from a 4200GT to a Grantourismo and totally loves it (& so do I). As you say it's not just about BHP it's more about the whole experience of driving such a machine.
My CL55K is a lot more powerful, quicker from any speed to any speed you care to mention and is nicely noisy, if you know what I mean :D BUT the sheer grin factor and oral pleasure of driving such a beautiful machine as a Grantourismo is overwhelming.
Justify it by any means you care to, but get it done, I'm sure you won't regret it.
Happily put you in touch with bruv if you want an owners perspective.


Matt :thumb:
 
I'm a bit perplexed as to how anybody can find a CL boring. I'm on my second, and what will my next car be? You've probably guessed right.
 
I'm a bit perplexed as to how anybody can find a CL boring. I'm on my second, and what will my next car be? You've probably guessed right.

Perhaps John misses the drama of a louder more overtly powerful car, rather than finding the CL boring. I think I understand it too.

I tried hard to find a C216 CL65 AMG but gave up in the end. It was a lovely car which was intended for driving down to Italy, and for which it would be perfect. Powerful, comfortable, refined. The perfect trans contintental wafting machine.

However despite all of the specialness which came from driving a top-of-the-shop car, with a V12 motor, had it become my every day car, then I would have probably found it just a little bit too "perfect" for my personal taste.

Perhaps a CL63 AMG is the sweet spot for me, just naughty enough to break the serene silence when you go for it, but able to drown out the sound when wishing to waft when you really want to. I've not yet sampled one though.

Upon reflection, I've heard Bentley W12 owners like the more recent V8 for similar reasons. #FirstWorldProblems
 
Maybe boring is the wrong word seeing as I kept the car over 4 years. There's not much about that floats my boat, having done the lotus and 911 Sl route in the past, just fancied going back to that stage before I became an old fogey.
 
Yes, I'm conscious of the depreciation thing.

From MB to private is obviously a drop in itself but the age and spec. of this car still puts it at a reasonable level when compared to other stuff for sale.

And it has a tier 1 until September next year - which is better than the 3 month one often provided by dealers of course.

But my intention is to crack on and move it on shortly and then drive round in a banger for a while until I am on track for the MG.

No, I don't find the CL boring - and I don't mean that if I've stated it. I mean it is too sensible and does the job too well. I prefer something a bit less perfect - more of a rough cut diamond if you like but not too rough!

Saying all this - I intend to drive one again first because if I feel I won't be able to get on with it in terms of a daily, I won't be able to do it anyway - no matter how much I want to. The 4.2 I drove in April was great but I was not really focused on the important stuff there - just the noise it was making...

I sat in an 4.7 S MC with standard seats and they were incredibly uncomfortable. "Comfort" seats felt more like normal seats to me... :crazy:

And as I type this - I just heard something pulling up outside which I thought sounded great - a blue 66 plate one has just pulled up outside my lounge window which isn't helping! :D

What are the chances eh...
 
Perhaps John misses the drama of a louder more overtly powerful car, rather than finding the CL boring. I think I understand it too.

I tried hard to find a C216 CL65 AMG but gave up in the end. It was a lovely car which was intended for driving down to Italy, and for which it would be perfect. Powerful, comfortable, refined. The perfect trans contintental wafting machine.

However despite all of the specialness which came from driving a top-of-the-shop car, with a V12 motor, had it become my every day car, then I would have probably found it just a little bit too "perfect" for my personal taste.

Perhaps a CL63 AMG is the sweet spot for me, just naughty enough to break the serene silence when you go for it, but able to drown out the sound when wishing to waft when you really want to. I've not yet sampled one though.

Upon reflection, I've heard Bentley W12 owners like the more recent V8 for similar reasons. #FirstWorldProblems

I'm really enjoying the 63 now that I've had a chance to drive it, as I've said before a very grown up 55. As I have the 221 all of the buttons and running gear are familiar, it really is the most comfortable car to drive. Cant wait to take it to France next year.

If your ever down this neck of the woods your very welcome to try it out.

I don't know how accurate " How Many Left " are ? They say that there was 108 63 biturbo's registered in 2013, now there are 96 and 2 on Sorn. So not that many on the road, which could help with the depreciation :thumb:
 
You bought one yet John? :D
 
In my head, yes. :D

I'm going to go and have another mooch around one and try it out for size and comfort again. Need to try an MC and ZF just to be sure although for my daily drive, I suspect the ZF will be my preferred option. I know the MC is from a Ferrari 599, but I'm not keen for every day use. The ZF still pops and crackles a bit - I just need to ensure I can hear it in the cabin! :devil:

Then will get the CL up for sale. I need that gone before I can jump on one.

I doubt many will be looking over Christmas anyway...
 
PistonHeads. My favourite colour Mas Pontevecchio ( Bordeaux ) Metalic
 
There's a nice Mediterranean Blue one on Autotrader too. They do some great colours.
 
1,000 mile update

So I finally collected my 'new' CL500 on Monday, after the dealer let me down with prep for Friday, although to be fair, they did lend me a new AMG C43 for the weekend! (nice car, but oh boy do the tyres scrub badly on full lock, just like the GLC's - and your left leg is shoved far too far to the right due to 4WD gearbox I suspect)


The CL500 was well prep'd in the end, and looks amazing for 6 years old/55K. I'd have preferred a lighter leather, but at least the black stuff does keep well, and I'm pleased it has black ash rather than some hideous walnut trim/steering wheel.


It's certainly a big bus, and feels just like an S Class to drive, by comparison the CLS was a sports car. Tripping down the back roads in the dark this morning, it was a little scary when other cars approached, due to its width, but I guess I'll get used to this.


The only things I've spotted so far are:-


A feeling around my right ear that either wind or road noise is a little higher than it should be. The rest of the car is so quiet that it seems a little odd, like maybe a door seal has failed, though they all look ok. Is this a normal feature of the CL?


I can convince myself that there's a slight vibration from the wheel between 70 and 75, very slight, and similar to the lane guidance warning vibration. Maybe to be expected after 6 years, or room for a wheel balance job. It's very slight so I'll probably see how it feels after a week or two.

3 weeks/ 1,000 miles later, here's an update on my 'new' CL500......

After a second longish run up to Scotland on Boxing Day, my concerns regarding wheel balance/steering were beginning to grow, and if the vagueness in the steering was the norm for the W216, then I wasn't sure I wanted to live with it, and started to contemplate exercising the 30 day exchange option. To me it felt like there was no toe-in, and the car was tramlining too easily.

However a few other minor issues developed; after only 2 weeks of ownership, both keys needed their batteries replacing, so said the alert, and on the way back from Scotland, the alert system became even more vocal and asked me to check the oil level. I'd also noticed the maps seemed to be 2011 vintage, and as a minimum I would have expected the inclusive 3 year updates to have been installed.

So I booked it back into the supplying dealer today, to see what they could find/cure.

Well the results seem very good; they've replaced the fob batteries, topped up the oil (just hoping it's not due to a heavy drinking habit!), updated the maps to 2015, a reported that they did find a warn/loose bush on a steering arm, plus checked and adjusted the tracking as it was out of tolerance.

I'm wary a little of the placebo effect, but it does now feel like a different car! The vague steering seems to have gone and been replaced by a more precise/responsive action, with no hint of the previous (albeit slight) vibration at 70.

They claimed that replacing the bush had also cured the road noise issue, and I was sceptical of this explanation, however it really does seem quieter when cruising down the very noisy concrete A180.

Full credit to the dealer, they seem to have excelled themselves on this occasion. Through typically, just as I arrived home, another alert advised my that the lhs rear brake light had failed!! I assumed these were LED so a little surprised, and even more so when I couldn't detect a fault when I got out of the car, and on restart it didn't repeat the alert. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on that one for the next few days.
 
The vague steering seems to have gone and been replaced by a more precise/responsive action, with no hint of the previous (albeit slight) vibration at 70.

Didn't sound right. Mine has very sharp precise steering. Surprisingly so actually.

Was it a main dealer you bought the car from?
 

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