CL55...first thoughts

[toffee-pie]

A month after paying a deposit, finally get my hands on it.

First impressions, its fast..
Surprisingly easy to drive also, for a huge lump
auto box very smooth.

I have a few questions.

Is it worth taking to MB for servicing? up to now I used a local indy to service my Lexus (I provided parts), He is very good and very reliable. Which is harder to find than people think in a mechanic these days.

The steering wheel, - it has glue/gunk on the rhs menu buttons, very annoying. How to remove? Vinegar no use.

Inside is very clean for a car this old, as is the overall condition (I am 4th owner just). It was at Keylink SAS for a full health check prior to me taking it away. They changed engine mounts and also the passengers seat had a fault (cost the dealer about 1k to fix this he said).

I suspect I need to change fluids, spark plugs, tranny fluid, diff fluid etc soon?

The camera - this is a nightmare, I got this box but its not recognised - STAR not detecting it, the Command unit is greyed out under TV tuner.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=391360122597&view=all&tid=633238923026

any idea how to get this rear camera working? The camera is installed and the box also (£300 cost), either this video box is faulty or its not fit for purpose? From looking at the ad it looks like it should work with a CL55 with command 2.0?

finally, I noticed the shift stick surround moving out of position? looks like it should snap into position but seems easily removed? Might be due to the Nav unit been taken off or something.

Cheers guys.

hmmmm, what to do with this retro phone?

 

[bob6600]

Nice car

The Handsfree may be updateable (is that a word?) with a Viseeo unit giving bluetooth connectivity. Don't throw the Nokia handset away, they are like gold dust

 

[m2287]

The gunk on the steering wheel buttons will come off with baby wipes of all things!!

The gear knob being loose is common, wedge some paper in there so it grips harder!

Not sure on the camera, I did think you may have difficulty with it...

 

[TKvS]

The steering wheel, - it has glue/gunk on the rhs menu buttons, very annoying. How to remove? Vinegar no use.

Try WD40...I use it to remove labels from all sorts of stuff !

Nice clean car, congrats and good health to drive it

 

[AMGeed]

That looks a nice example. Well done and hope you enjoy the experience of the 55k

 

[toffee-pie]

any thoughts on servicing?

 

[AMGeed]

A good indy. Forget the dealer once out of warranty.

If you press the buttons on the cluster you can bring up the mileage to next service or put the details into THIS site to see what should be done if you opt for dealer servicing

 

[Abb]

Congrats, look lovely. As said previously, you can put a bluetooth module in place of the phone and connect your current phone via bluetooth.
Regarding servicing, if you put your exact location up, no doubt someone will recommend a good indy to look after it for you.

 

[toffee-pie]

Thanks lads.

 

[500E]

Awesome car. I'd love one of these. Nothing like a MB V8, well, nothing apart from a supercharged one!

Enjoy all 500 horses.

 

[Codger49]

toffee-pie, if not too far away from you, PCS at Horndean are very highly recommended for servicing.

 

[toffee-pie]

I'm in Southampton.

I looked at the service book, looks in order. The oil was changed just before i bought it, but I looked at the dip stick this evening and it certainly did not look like it was changed, it was down quite a bit (half way or so, quite hard to judge), also the colour i would expect it to be more transparent.

I am trying to gauge what servicing i need to carry out, from looking at the service book i need to do plugs, coolant & all filters at least. Is fuel filter standard on MB cars? I've not seen this item serviced before, its usually for the life of the car or such?

7109 mi > oil
9544 > oil
23053 > oil, fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter, brake fluid
36,997 > oil
51,759 > oil, brake fluid
71,627 > oil, fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter
88,545 > oil
117,680 > oil, fuel filter
123,131 > oil ???

 

[Pathewolf]

Congrats, car looks awesome!

 

[sirius9]

For servicing, i totally recommend Prestige Car Service PCS in Horndean! Olly, Jack, Graham & Natacha will look after you well.

 

[m2287]

I'm in Southampton.

I looked at the service book, looks in order. The oil was changed just before i bought it, but I looked at the dip stick this evening and it certainly did not look like it was changed, it was down quite a bit (half way or so, quite hard to judge), also the colour i would expect it to be more transparent.

I am trying to gauge what servicing i need to carry out, from looking at the service book i need to do plugs, coolant & all filters at least. Is fuel filter standard on MB cars? I've not seen this item serviced before, its usually for the life of the car or such?

7109 mi > oil
9544 > oil
23053 > oil, fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter, brake fluid
36,997 > oil
51,759 > oil, brake fluid
71,627 > oil, fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter
88,545 > oil
117,680 > oil, fuel filter
123,131 > oil ???

I think the fuel filter is normally 150k but I could be wrong!

Brake fluid is every 2 years also

 

[toffee-pie]

had me thinking, why is fuel filter on the service book, i thought they meant oil filter as it was right under oil change.
150k miles for a change of fuel filter seems about right.

 

[m2287]

had me thinking, why is fuel filter on the service book, i thought they meant oil filter as it was right under oil change.
150k miles for a change of fuel filter seems about right.

Maybe they had an issue with a fuel filter on a different car so had it replaced just in case, I wouldn't worry, it can only be a good thing that it's been done

 

[C43AMG]

Yes Olly at PCS, he has looked after my CL for the last six years and a couple of the other lads 55's. as well. Get him to give it a thorough check.

I had the same problem with the buttons and couldn't get rid of the sticky stuff, so I bought new ones.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Mercedes Independent

With these cars it's always important to use a Mercedes Independent.

Their knowledge of the cars will save you a fortune over the generalist independent - both for the complicated stuff, and the mundane fettling, like that loose gear knob.

As regards the rear camera, well that's something for the car stereo specialist. Again, a large specialist dealer will know how to investigate and resolve very quickly - they do it all the time

Enjoy the AMG - but remember "Points mean Prizes!!!"

 

[tanuie]

Nice car, good luck with it.