Cls55amg / cls500 (5.5) - ownership experience

[AMGry Man]

Hi All,

Would any CLS55AMG / CLS500 (5.5ltr) owners kindly share their ownership experiences please.

I am considering one of these for a replacement to my C32 AMG estate at the appropriate time and am interested in running costs. My C32 varies from 16mpg across city (start/stop) on the daily 8 mile commute via 'rat-runs' to a max of 27mpg on the motorway but only sub 85mph; at a more comfortable 100mph its down to 22-23mpg.

Also an indication on servicing costs, both Independent and Main 'Stealer' would be useful as would the ownership experience as a whole.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Happy Bunny]

Hi

Ahem..I presume that you travel regularly on the german autobahns to reach those sorts of speeds...(cough)

I haven't had mine very long but have just had a D service plus, that cost just over £1100, including new kompressor poly belt, 16 spark plugs, oil, filters etc. I'm sure you could save a bucketful by doing it yourself but I stick to what ?I am good at and leave the garage to do what they are good at.

Urban MPG urban is low teens, extra urban is 20mpg and combined about 18.

UK motorway is somewhere around 24-26 mpg.

A set of rear tyres every 8K-10K miles.

My pads are on their originals and approx 70% worn after 33K.

Expensive? Depends on your priorities in life - but worth it IMHO.

HTH

Andy

 

[AMGry Man]

Hi Andy,

Well , you are correct about my travelling habits; it is someone else that terrorises the Midlands' motorway network in a similar car (except the M50 of courseand that must be you!)!

Many thanks for your tips; think I can live with a couple of mpg drop. I had my discs and pads changed recently at my local specialists, cost £400; will the CLS's be similar do you think?

Was your £1,100 D service was an MB dealer job? (not heard of that level before, but presume it was 'the biggy' with the plug change). My last service with plug change was £450, at Porschetech at Shirley's garage in Meriden - great job, Martin Brown loves MBs and you get the invoice with an oily thumb-print! No cappacino's and the courtesy car is a P reg Subaru Legacy, but at least you know an engineer has worked on the car.

I had an acknowledged and most respectful 'tussle' with a CLS55 along A34 Stratford Road the other week; the sound was incredible!

 

[APM]

appx14k around town and 20ish on a run,when on idle it says it's averaging 14mpg at 100mph i wouldn't expect more than 20mpg.Don't worry about mileage on these cars but a good service history/maintenance is a must,if its not 100% checkable then walk away.my wifes is on a 56 plate and has done 95kmiles with no problems at all,well only one the batteries in the keyless go packed up(cost £7 to replace them)this was at about 92k .Damn inconvenient it was too;

 

[kwakdonut]

Wow, you guys have bottomless bank accounts!! I have a car that can do 150mph and accelerate to 60 in approx 9 secs but can give me mid 40's mpg!!!

The national speed limit is still 70 regardless lol....

 

[APM]

Wow, you guys have bottomless bank accounts!! I have a car that can do 150mph and accelerate to 60 in approx 9 secs but can give me mid 40's mpg!!!

The national speed limit is still 70 regardless lol....

:bannana:I agree about the nat speed limit but i can get to it in a shade over 4 secs,of course the mpg's i quoted are driving normally if you tear about then it's single figures,drive one and i gaurantee you'll want.
A 20 mile normal drive will see a gallon gone

 

[MUGGY]

This thread reminded me of the C63 I passed on the M25 the other day. The guy was in one of the middle lanes doing about 65 as I went buy. I mused to myself that he was probably trying to crack 25mpg and then sniggered at my + 20 mph speed differential and 42.8 mpg average trip consumption !

Now the guy may have been early for a meeting or something but I whilst I find the AMG cars hugely desireable I just think the constant donations to the Oil Companies and the Chancellor would take the gloss off ownership.

Each to their own I suppose. But then again should my numbers come up tonight I may well adopt a different view.

 

[AMGry Man]

Dear Oil Burners,

Whilst I do appreciate your shared enthusiasm for the AMG marque, I am not really getting the answers I am seeking in my original posting by your contributions.

I owned a diesel once and (unfortunately) it is not a case that I am in a position to ignore the differential in running costs, but having a stinking hand for the rest of day following a fill-up, being sick each morning because of the awful smell as I reversed off my drive is not my idea of a pleasant motoring experience.

Now whilst you guys grin wryly at AMG owners as you go past, I too do the same to large diesel-engined owners, safe in the knowlege that 5 years on, I paid less than a 1/4 of the original asking price for my AMG, something that you diesel guys will never be able to do in 2 decades!

You started it!

 

[Happy Bunny]

Fuel & servcing costs are only part of the problem - if I bought a new CLS 55 AMG for £85K and 3 years later it was only worth £30K then i'd be really pi$$ed.

However, I am quite happy to pay the higher fuel bills knowing that no matter how long I keep it, I'm never going to lose as much money as person who first drove it off the MB forecourt.

(0-60 in 9 seconds....you're supposed to take the aga out of the kitchen before using it to power your car.......lol)

 

[BenzedUP]

Wow, you guys have bottomless bank accounts!! I have a car that can do 150mph and accelerate to 60 in approx 9 secs but can give me mid 40's mpg!!!

The national speed limit is still 70 regardless lol....

W211 E320 CDI does not do 0-60 in aprox 9secs? try 7.5secs standard.

 

[AMGry Man]

Strange, I never asked about the merits of a 320 CDI CLS.

APM & Happy Bunny; do you have your CLS55s services at Independents or Main Stealers?

 

[st4]

Strange, I never asked about the merits of a 320 CDI CLS.

APM & Happy Bunny; do you have your CLS55s services at Independents or Main Stealers?

320CDi CLS is a fab motor, in the same way an E320cdi is. Powerful, frugal and real world very fast.

May not sound like a 55amg or in the rare moments you have offer the explosive performance of a 55amg, but its no slouch, a good handling car with very little negatives!!!

 

[PeterS]

I went from a C32 AMG to a CLS320cdi a few years ago, and boy did I miss the AMG. The AMG variant, whether it be comparing a C350cdi vs C63 AMG or CLS63/55 vs CLS320cdi etc, in my opinion just feels so special in comparison. As an ownership experience the regular big diesel, whilst extremely good in it's own right, I don't feel come close to the AMG. After owning the C32, driving through London in the CLS was slightly dissapointing as it always had a subdued tell tale diesel clatter through traffic. As long as mileage in not prohibitve I don't think an AMG owner would be best pleased going down the diesel route. Just my 2p worth.

 

[C240Sport97]

I drove my CLS55 today on a longish drive for the first time today .. 260 miles .. average mpg of 23.5

Not bad considering it was fully loaded and I was enjoying the thrust when I could.

If you want a AMG V8K, you need to not worry about petrol consumption ... otherwise, you may as well get a CDi.

Getting an AMG V8K and worrying about fuel consumption is like smoking and wondering whether it is bad for you ...

 

[APM]

Strange, I never asked about the merits of a 320 CDI CLS.

APM & Happy Bunny; do you have your CLS55s services at Independents or Main Stealers?

All main dealer services(9 of them)the next is only an A service £180 will be four years old in sept 2010 and under tier 1 warranty till then or 100k miles because of main dealer service history,and of course full Mobilo cover for life if dealer serviced.

 

[st4]

If you want a AMG V8K, you need to not worry about petrol consumption ... otherwise, you may as well get a CDi.

Getting an AMG V8K and worrying about fuel consumption is like smoking and wondering whether it is bad for you ...

Bloody Brilliant

Its like the time someone posted about an E55k. What MPG does it get, if you even need to ask it is not the car for you.

I cannot remember the thread per se but that was more or less the reply he got.

 

[AMGry Man]

I drove my CLS55 today on a longish drive for the first time today .. 260 miles .. average mpg of 23.5

Not bad considering it was fully loaded and I was enjoying the thrust when I could.

If you want a AMG V8K, you need to not worry about petrol consumption ... otherwise, you may as well get a CDi.

Getting an AMG V8K and worrying about fuel consumption is like smoking and wondering whether it is bad for you ...

An mpg of 23.5 on a reasonable run is all I can expect from my C32 AMG as long as 'thrusts' are limited, so any concerns I may have had over a CLS55's mpg are now allayed. That coupled with the reasonable service costs (even more reasonable at independent) means I shall be buying one, only with a bomb-proof warranty of course as I did with C32.

 

[eridon]

Bloody Brilliant

Its like the time someone posted about an E55k. What MPG does it get, if you even need to ask it is not the car for you.

I cannot remember the thread per se but that was more or less the reply he got.

Well not everybody is as selfish as you. No question is a stupid question here, that's why people sign up to ask and to answer.

For some people MPG is a great concern, it may be for different reasons such as running costs (especially with current & future fuel prices) or it could be a reason of such as my friends, He only finds it inconvenient to fill up so often

 

[steve333]

Hi All,

Would any CLS55AMG / CLS500 (5.5ltr) owners kindly share their ownership experiences please.

I am considering one of these for a replacement to my C32 AMG estate at the appropriate time and am interested in running costs. My C32 varies from 16mpg across city (start/stop) on the daily 8 mile commute via 'rat-runs' to a max of 27mpg on the motorway but only sub 85mph; at a more comfortable 100mph its down to 22-23mpg.

Also an indication on servicing costs, both Independent and Main 'Stealer' would be useful as would the ownership experience as a whole.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,i get 22mpg over a tank(mixed driving,within speed limits)in my cls500(5.5ltr 388bhp)rear tyres on my 19" amg's last a max of 8k miles at £300+each,16 spark plugs £300+,road tax £435 a year,insurance £560 full comp,main dealer servicing £280 for an "A" & £420 for a "B" front pads about£160,discs about £180,thrill factor-priceless!

 

[st4]

Well not everybody is as selfish as you. No question is a stupid question here, that's why people sign up to ask and to answer.

Or just to look at silly questions and given equally sarcastic remarks back to those more silly than yourself.