Experience of owning a CL500 (W216)

[Dsimp]

Hi all,
First post ever on any forum!!
I’m looking at buying a Merc CL500 (w216) post 2007. Looking at spending 10-12k so one of the earlier versions.
I’m just worried that it might cost me a fortune to run, in terms of fuel and servicing.
I appreciate it is a 5.5 litre V8.
I’ve just sold my 2008 CLS 350cgi. Used to get 25-28mpg. Will it cost me much more to run?
What is a realistic MPG on CL500?
I do 14000 miles a year. My regular commute is 20 miles mixed. Probably a mix of urban and town. Ascot - Woking.
I’d appreciate any feedback on general ownership.
Many thanks.

 

[clk320x]

Hi all,
First post ever on any forum!!
I’m looking at buying a Merc CL500 (w216) post 2007. Looking at spending 10-12k so one of the earlier versions.
I’m just worried that it might cost me a fortune to run, in terms of fuel and servicing.
I appreciate it is a 5.5 litre V8.
I’ve just sold my 2008 CLS 350cgi. Used to get 25-28mpg. Will it cost me much more to run?
What is a realistic MPG on CL500?
I do 14000 miles a year. My regular commute is 20 miles mixed. Probably a mix of urban and town. Ascot - Woking.
I’d appreciate any feedback on general ownership.
Many thanks.

If your worrying about MPG this is not the car for you. In town I imagine MPG in the low teens...

I know JohnEBoy has one and is very happy with it indeed

If you want smiles per gallon then it will deliver.. the CL is a monster of a car. Crammed full of tech too... however if it goes wrong... £££

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I'm running the same engine only my 2007 S500L, and typically get 27mpg around South West London / Surrey, so I'd expect you to see similar numbers with it, dropping to 20+ if you spend all your time commuting in stop-start traffic. It's 10% more fuel efficient that the previous generation 5.0 litre V8.

I don't see any real difference in reliability between the S "platform" (i.e. the S and CL), and the E "platform" (i.e. the E and CLS).

However, earlier owners "may" have maintained a CL500 more generously than the owner of a CLS350 diesel.

It's all about the car and its owners. Buy a cheap one and you'll regret it.

Make sure you like the feel of the car and its length - it's a big thing compared to the CLS.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Welcome to MBClub, and congratulations on your first forum post.

I've not owned one, but everyone's journeys are different, and so what one person gets in terms of MPG could be much different to someone else. I would suggest plan for 15 MPG and if you get better then it's a bonus. High teens would be a fair guess though.

My wife have cars with fairly big engines (albeit not CL500s) and my 22 mile mile trip to work is anywhere between 14 MPG and 20 MPG depending upon time of year and traffic conditions, though it's usually high teens. My wife gets 13-15 MPG tootling around on the school run, going to the supermarket, meeting our gardener Carlos for lunch, etc.

Hi all,
First post ever on any forum!!
I’m looking at buying a Merc CL500 (w216) post 2007. Looking at spending 10-12k so one of the earlier versions.
I’m just worried that it might cost me a fortune to run, in terms of fuel and servicing.
I appreciate it is a 5.5 litre V8.
I’ve just sold my 2008 CLS 350cgi. Used to get 25-28mpg. Will it cost me much more to run?
What is a realistic MPG on CL500?
I do 14000 miles a year. My regular commute is 20 miles mixed. Probably a mix of urban and town. Ascot - Woking.
I’d appreciate any feedback on general ownership.
Many thanks.

not owned I

 

[Londonscottish]

I'm running the same engine only my 2007 S500L, and typically get 27mpg around South West London / Surrey, so I'd expect you to see similar numbers with it, dropping to 20+ if you spend all your time commuting in stop-start traffic. It's 10% more fuel efficient that the previous generation 5.0 litre V8.

I'm running that engine in an E Class and that sounds about right to me.

 

[Dsimp]

Thanks for the replies so far. Any further info gratefully received.

 

[AMGeed]

[QUOTE="Bobby Dazzler, post: 2534585, member: 4143] My wife gets 13-15 MPG tootling around on the school run, going to the supermarket, meeting our gardener Carlos for lunch, etc.[/QUOTE]

I'd keep an eye on Carlos if I were you

 

[John]

Welcome to the forum.

As clk320x stated, I do have a CL500 and I am very happy with it.

Mine is a 63 plate so one of the newer BlueEfficiency models with the 4.7 TT engine.

I get a combined of 24mpg over the time I've had it and my journey to work is a mix of extra urban and combined.

I would expect you to be getting mid to late teens on the older NA engine and with the type of driving you will be doing.

Servicing. As said, it shares a lot of the running gear with the S and because it isn't an AMG, many of the what would otherwise be AMG-specific parts are not so bad.

That said, it is a £100k new so it is not "cheap to run" by any stretch.

However, with any car, timely maintenance will help. Luck plays a part which you can't do anything about but if you find one which has been looked after, and don't spend a fortune buying it, if you have a slush fund (I would suggest £3k > £5k), you can rest easy.

It's a big car though so I would drive one first to be sure you are happy with the size.

Day to day - it's a great car. Very refined, laid back, smooth and quiet. Lots of gadgets and I still love the look of the thing - especially in black with AMG bodykit.

Wholly recommended if you can do it.

I was having a look at them on the weekend to see what prices are doing and I noticed that Synergy Motors (the guy is on here) has a nice 2007 CL for sale. Looks in great shape for good money:

MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 7G-TRONIC 2DR - £12,995

 

[C43AMG]

Great Spec and Simal of Synergy Motors comes highly recommended

 

[Dsimp]

John,
Thanks for the info. Very helpful. Yes the newer 4.7 Twin turbo looks good, just still out of my price range. They are coming in more like £17k.
Thanks for recommending synergy motors.
Yes I have most of them in my autotrader garage!!
So as it goes it appears as though the write ups and stats are pretty close to the mark.
Cheers for the replies.
It is quite helpful this forum stuff!!

 

[John]

I think the older engine will be fine in any case.

I forgot to mention above - I drive very sedately these days too.

Having gone from a modded E55K running a supercharged 5.5 V8, which did mid/late teens MPG for the same journey, in the scheme of things there isn't really a massive difference.

They are both the thick end of and are 2 tons, both with V8, both with slushy autos so there was never going to be.

My advice would be to just accept fuel economy is shyte and forget about it. I pay around £70 to fill up and I deliberately fill up every 2nd Friday. I do 26 miles a day. So I either pay £140 or £210 per month.

At the end of the day, you are not losing £75k in depreciation in the first 2.5 years like the owners of mine did and you are still driving round in a fantastic car for a fraction of the cost.

I have no direct experience but Simal was very helpful when I was looking to sell my E55 and seemed to be a great guy. His cars always stand out to me for their condition and pricing, whenever I have looked at them in and around the last year, and really set the benchmark. He also is well recommended on here with good reason.

I'd happily buy a car from Synergy without doing the usual background checks I would for other places.

That one I posted as C43AMG stated is a fantastic spec. Mine does not have all the options that one does!

Good luck in finding one. Feel free to post up ones you might be thinking about...

 

[C43AMG]

I would certainly have a look at Simal's CL, looking at it again, it is an amazing spec and the correct price

 

[John]

Did you buy the one from Synergy, Dsimp?

MERCEDES-BENZ CL500 7G-TRONIC 2DR - SOLD

 

[mark44]

Compensation for the lower mpg in the earlier NA V8, comes in the form of noise.

My dad had a 2006 CL500 and it sounded woofling lovely pootling around. When is came to replacing it, I don't think he realized he had the holy grail of engine noises and couldn't understand why newer cars 'just didn't sound as good'

 

[Dsimp]

No, still haven’t committed to buying one. I still love them, but think there are more sensible options for the money And with 5 seats. The CL is just the choice with the heart. I’ve considered another CLS but there doesn’t seem to be any 2010/2011 pertrol versions.

 

[clk320x]

meeting our gardener Carlos for lunch

 

[John]

I’ve considered another CLS but there doesn’t seem to be any 2010/2011 pertrol versions.

When I was " 'tween " cars, I had the same issue.

A few CLS63s or one CLS400 in the whole country. I didn't want another AMG.