CL500 - My ULEZ Friend!

[Alex225]

Apologies if I've overlooked it, but how did you sell your S Class?

I haven't yet mate, needs some brake pads so going to get those done and then get it up for sale.

 

[MrGreedy]

Apologies if I've overlooked it, but how did you sell your S Class?

The queues are building

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I haven't yet mate, needs some brake pads so going to get those done and then get it up for sale.

I’d say list first, and then tidy up while waiting for the calls.

It takes weeks or months to sell a Big Boy. Better to get it out there for all to see.

June / July are good times to find a buyer. August / Autumn: not so much.

 

[oldguy57]

I'll certainly be taking loads of photos. I might even take the day off Friday so I can give it a clean to my standard haha

You are probably already aware but whilst you're cleaning, take a good look at the drains on the front bulkhead. The one adjacent to the passenger side bonnet hinge is the worst for blocking and this causes water to get into the passenger side footwell. Poor design and one leaf can block it completely.

 

[Alex225]

The queues are building

Hahaha if only eh!

I’d say list first, and then tidy up while waiting for the calls.

It takes weeks or months to sell a Big Boy. Better to get it out there for all to see.

June / July are good times to find a buyer. August / Autumn: not so much.

Yeah I'll probably list it on FB marketplace to start with, since it's free and we successfully sold my other half's CLS from there. Of course cue the, 'Is this still for sale' messages you reply to and then silence! haha

I did assume it might take longer to shift a car like this, it's a hell of a car for the money but it's still quite a niche car. Looking at the market for cars of this era and mileage, they vary from just under £6k to £10k. One was £30k as it only had 2,500 miles on the clock. Not sure who'd pay that now for a diesel model but good luck to them haha.

I was thinking ~£6,500 for mine which puts it in line with others.

You are probably already aware but whilst you're cleaning, take a good look at the drains on the front bulkhead. The one adjacent to the passenger side bonnet hinge is the worst for blocking and this causes water to get into the passenger side footwell. Poor design and one leaf can block it completely.

Thanks mate, I will definitely check. Having owned a couple of RS Meganes which were notorious for blocked drains and water filled door pockets I'm quite particular in giving the drainage holes a blast when I'm washing.

Good to know on these though. I did check for any water in the footwells too but all was well. Appreciate the heads up.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I’d ignore the local FB market completely and spend £80 to get national coverage on Autotrader

Not just because your car’s worth that much but especially because you’re looking for people who live well away from any ULEZ zone.

People will travel to get these rare cars. Ordinary stuff? Not so much.

Oh, and then there’s here, as well.

.

 

[Alex225]

I’d ignore the local FB market completely and spend £80 to get national coverage on Autotrader

Not just because your car’s worth that much but especially because you’re looking for people who live well away from any ULEZ zone.

People will travel to get these rare cars. Ordinary stuff? Not so much.

Oh, and then there’s here, as well.

.

I only ever put it on FB because it's free although it paid dividends on the CLS. I'm still in touch with the buyer from that as he was a real petrolhead.

You do have to sift through the muppets though.

Once I've got those brake pads done I'll be putting it up on AT though, generally the better place and also gives people a good scale of pricing. Have put it on here too.

 

[Lenny63]

You're S will be a great buy for someone @Alex225 as you are a fussy git if only you'd shift on a certain w219...then you'd have my attention
In all seriousness, what an absolute beast of.a.car those CL's are!! Health to drive and looking forward to the pics

 

[Alex225]

You're S will be a great buy for someone @Alex225 as you are a fussy git if only you'd shift on a certain w219...then you'd have my attention
In all seriousness, what an absolute beast of.a.car those CL's are!! Health to drive and looking forward to the pics

I am totally taking that as a complement! hahaha

But yes if it's good condition someone is looking for they'd be hard pushed to find a better one with this kind of mileage I suspect. I will keep you in mind if the CLS ever goes anywhere mate.

With regards the CL, it's being delivered tomorrow. I had a chat with them yesterday and they mentioned that whilst on the diagnostic machine it highlighted a front speed sensor so they replaced the two front ones and did the gearbox service. Exciting times!

 

[Londonscottish]

I am totally taking that as a complement! hahaha

But yes if it's good condition someone is looking for they'd be hard pushed to find a better one with this kind of mileage I suspect. I will keep you in mind if the CLS ever goes anywhere mate.

With regards the CL, it's being delivered tomorrow. I had a chat with them yesterday and they mentioned that whilst on the diagnostic machine it highlighted a front speed sensor so they replaced the two front ones and did the gearbox service. Exciting times!

I just had a look at the 0-100 and it's listed at 10.3. Enough to see off the average peasant.

 

[Alex225]

I just had a look at the 0-100 and it's listed at 10.3. Enough to see off the average peasant.

Yeah I'm hoping it'll be pretty nippy, for it's size that is certainly. 0-60 is about 5.3 seconds which for daily cars is probably sufficient. Mad to think there are A Class' that hit 60 in under 4 seconds but I don't need it pulling at the lead all the time! haha

I'm just looking forward to it arriving and I can get my teeth into it. Get it cleaned how I like. This is a dealership pic but I'm looking forward to attaching that interior and seeing how 'new' I can get it looking! Got my products lined up already.

 

[Londonscottish]

Yeah I'm hoping it'll be pretty nippy, for it's size that is certainly. 0-60 is about 5.3 seconds which for daily cars is probably sufficient. Mad to think there are A Class' that hit 60 in under 4 seconds but I don't need it pulling at the lead all the time! haha

I'm just looking forward to it arriving and I can get my teeth into it. Get it cleaned how I like. This is a dealership pic but I'm looking forward to attaching that interior and seeing how 'new' I can get it looking! Got my products lined up already.

I love that car.

I've got that 5.5 in my E Class and it feels pretty rapid to me. It's such a big step from the 5.0 that I sometimes wonder if MB were being conservative with thei claims.

Or maybe it's just the linear and instant throttle response.

Either way it'll suit your CL.

 

[G7Wagen]

Absolutely Lovely coupe... glad you found a good one.... I love those.. especially the very latest model ( will be pricey for a little longer though) Looking forward to more pics and mods!
Ironic the ULEZ my 2003 SL55AMG is exempt too!.. luckily I'm 1 mile outside the furthest reaches of that highwayman's greedy mits... won't be giving him any of my hard earned cash.

 

[Alex225]

I love that car.

I've got that 5.5 in my E Class and it feels pretty rapid to me. It's such a big step from the 5.0 that I sometimes wonder if MB were being conservative with thei claims.

Or maybe it's just the linear and instant throttle response.

Either way it'll suit your CL.

Thank you, I'm very much looking forward to getting the revs right up and seeing how this V8 compares to what I've driven before, including my CLS63. One thing I'm going to have to get used to is winding up the revs. I just did 250 miles in my S Class and that 480lbs-ft of torque at about 2k RPM makes it very effortless to get moving. By contrast the CL will need revving up! haha

Absolutely Lovely coupe... glad you found a good one.... I love those.. especially the very latest model ( will be pricey for a little longer though) Looking forward to more pics and mods!
Ironic the ULEZ my 2003 SL55AMG is exempt too!.. luckily I'm 1 mile outside the furthest reaches of that highwayman's greedy mits... won't be giving him any of my hard earned cash.

Thank you, it's very lovely just hoping it arrives tomorrow. It is mad to think of how this ULEZ works. Your SL55 and my CLS63 can trundle round doing 12mpg and that's fine. My S Class doing 30-40mpg is now evil!

Sadly I live about 1 mile inside the zone annoyingly. Admittedly, I do 4 journeys per month that I have to do and I work from home or commute by bus/train but even still.

 

[Alex225]

Well the car arrived today and very pleased with it I am too.

First stop was to brim the tank with some V-Power, despite having about a third of a tank it still took £140 worth.

I've not had a lot of chance to attack the car in the detailing sense but that didn't stop me spending an hour or so giving the leather a good clean. Some Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Cleaner and a Colourlock Leather Brush to get the grime out. Considering the leather actually looked clean, I managed to lift a hell of a lot off the seats and door cards.

I hit all the plastics with Chemical Guys Inner Clean

With the seats being perforated it's hard to capture the surface but the seats came up brilliantly. Bit of stretch on the leather but excellent condition!

Aircooled seats are very nice I must admit.

The Night View Assist is novel, not sure it's necessary but it's quite cool.

Dying to clean up the outside but one step at a time haha

As the car comes with the AMG package, it appears to have come with the badge to match. I'm a bit of a stickler for AMG badges on non-AMGs so I'm in two minds as to take it off or not! haha

Already been in touch with my leather repair guy. I want the centre arm rest and the palm rest repainted. The arm rest is ok but even after a good clean it's not as tidy as the seats. The palm rest, dial pad cover thingy has clearly had a sweaty palm rest on it as it really looks crap and it's the surface that's lost it's coating. Those two bits will get the interior pretty mint though.

Wheel refurb later in the year should set it off nicely, so just detail it and drive it. Oh and fuel it! haha

 

[Alex225]

Good little result. I hadn't realised but the bootliner and rubber protective mats from my S are a direct fit for the CL

 

[Alex225]

As sad as it is, I'd actually booked a day off to give the CL a proper clean. Ok, so yes it was clean already but I always say you don't know your car until you've detailed it and been over it thoroughly.

Gave the engine a clean up first, Chemical Guys Nonsense, followed by New Look Trim Gel.

The 5.5ltr V8 comes up rather nicely. I noticed the Mercedes star has a bit of damage so I ordered a replacement from eBay in between jobs!

Had a little go at the pedals as well. Oddly it has no heel rest so there's a metal one to match the pedals en route!

Noticed the double glazing on the windows too.

Then gave the outside a thorough wash, Meguiars Wash+ to remove any old polish/wax before applying my own. Can't knock a soapy AMG badge.

Paintwork is actually in pretty good shape from a detailing perspective, so a simply once over with some Lime Prime. Nice and easy to use.

Britemax Extreme Elements for protection. For this hot weather, I've not used anything more forgiving and easy to apply and buff.

Here's the result.

There we have my first start at making the car mine and also super clean. Car goes to the leather specialist on Thursday evening to have a few bits repainted.

 

[SmartAmg]

WOW, Alex, what a lovely motor, your S class, is great, but this is something else.

 

[Londonscottish]

Loving the updates.

But how does it drive?

 

[Alex225]

WOW, Alex, what a lovely motor, your S class, is great, but this is something else.

I must admit, the S is an epic car. I did nearly 500 miles in it at the weekend and it covered them perfectly, effortlessly in silence and comfort. The difference with my S though is you don't get in it to drive for the sake of driving. This feels quite different, it's as comfortable, it's as quiet but it's something you'd get in to go for a drive for the sake of it. Plus it's a pretty car. It's as pretty as the S Class is practical.

Loving the updates.

But how does it drive?

It's very nice, like a sportier, lower version of my S. I've not had a chance to take a proper drive in it but it's very lovely so far. Looking forward to revving up the V8 properly!