SNIPPET
Looking for a CL215 ?
CL500 by "Craig"
If you were to look up "money pit" in Websters, it would have a photo of the W215 next to it. Seriously. I speak from bitter experience here. However it's a beautiful car, really lovely, we could meet up and compare sob stories too
It's identical to mine. My concern would be the low mileage and whether or not it's been driven much of late. Things to check in vague order are:
ABC pump- is it noisy?
ABC fluid reservoir- what colour is the fluid, does it smell burnt?
ABC ride height- does the car rise and lower with no problems?
ABC system pressure (you'll need a code/ values reader, iCarsoft i980 or similar, £80) reading >120bar?
ABC struts- no fluid visible, or misting only (no leaks/drips).
ABC struts- gaiters not torn and in good order.
Are you getting the theme on ABC here?
Window rubbers- in good order?
Open doors and look at the large rubber finisher on the B-pillar equivalent- uncracked and in good order? (£500 for a pair if needing replacement)
Sunroof and dome lamp operational?
Sunroof rubbers- cracked?
Open the boot, lift the carpet. Spare wheel well, any cracks?
Toolkit complete?
Battery age (right bugger to change on these due to position).
Body- any corrosion evident around:
Rad grille
Door handles
Roof to body join at pillars The body and interior look great, check out the underneath for brake line corrosion and general condition
The body and interior look great, check out the underneath for brake line corrosion and general condition.
for water stains as this might have been dried out !
keep an eye out for rattly bits of trim that has had clips knocked off.
raise lower the suspension a few times and try and get underneath if possible to look at the struts and ABC system leaks
Put £2-2.5k to one side for any hefty repairs, plan on changing ABC fluid & 3mu filter every 20k miles or 2 years religiously, keep on top of engine & transmission servicing and always keep the heater box drains clear. Aside from that- and you have to literally worship that ABC system I'd suggest- you have a car that was designed for no wind noise at upto 160km/h. It's lush.
I have the '00 reg. The main difference is the internal data system and COMAND. Mine has the original COMAND 2.5, later models either '02 or '04 went to the larger screen and replaced the D2B fibre optic system with MOST (I think).
My main problem has been the lack of care taken by previous owner, I'm the 3rd owner, the 2nd just didn't bother servicing in 50k miles and that knackered the ABC. Plus doing some things on the cheap, like soldering a sidelight bulb directly to the lamp wiring harness rather than buying a new lamp holder (£5/pr from MB!)
To my mind the 215 is everything that epitomizes MB. Classic, everywhere. Drives beautifully too.
That car looks lovely and well worth an inspection.
The body and interior look great, check out the underneath for brake line corrosion and general condition.
for water stains as this might have been dried out !
keep an eye out for rattly bits of trim that has had clips knocked off.
raise lower the suspension a few times and try and get underneath if possible to look at the struts and ABC system leaks
Reference 2003 MY facelift changes, all W215 model history detailed in link...worth a look, I did not realise but they also updated the ABC system.
•Autumn 2002 model update for top Mercedes Coupé
•Bi-xenon headlamps with contemporary clear-lens design
•New 500 hp V12 biturbo engine
•Enhanced occupant protection with new sensor system
•Even more exclusive interior appointments
Good luck with the viewing, hope its worth a punt
I would go and look at the CL plus test drive it, check under the carpets plus boot well
for water stains as this might have been dried out !
As already stated, if your self inspecting... raise lower the suspension a few times and try and get underneath if possible to look at the struts and ABC system leaks...then an extended test drive...if good go in low £££.
Craiglxviii
Mercedes-Benz C215 CL Class 2000 – 2006
All Mercedes-Benz C140 CL-Class and S-Class coupés since 1998 were replaced with the introduction of the luxurious grand tourer.
The earlier versions of W215 were fabricated between 2000 and 2003, further upgraded by the addition of the 500 HP double-turbocharged 5.5 litre V12.
The CL class is a full-sized grand tourer. The CL stands for Light Comfort derived from Comfort Leicht in German language.
The adjective follows the noun in the German Language. This model was categorised as a CL-Class model
The initial models between 2000 and 2003 were the CL 500, CL 600, CL55 AMG and the CL63 AMG having the engines as 5.0L V8, 5.8 L V12,5.5L V8 and 6.3L V12 respectively.
They were powered by engines in the range of 225 kW to 327kW achieving top speeds of 250km/h or 155 mph
The later models after 2003 had their top speeds at 250 km/h or 155 mph too, which were electronically limited.
The CL 500, CL 600, CL55 AMG and the CL63 AMG now replaced engines as 5.0L V8, Turbocharged 5.5 L V12 , Supercharged 5.5L V8 and BITurbocharged 6.0 L V12 respectively.
The engine powers were now in the range of 225Kw to 450kW though
Grand tourers are front-engine with rear-wheel drive and are larger and heavier vehicles. They are designed more for comfort than outright performance, the front-engine lending more space for the cabin.
The softer suspensions cater for greater storage space making travel more luxurious and generating driving appeal
They differ from the standard two-seat sports car by compromising in direct performance but at the same time are comparable in speed, acceleration and torque ability leading as supercars.
Initially these models have been derived from the SL-Class roadster (SL meaning Sport Leicht or Sport Light) which refers to the marketing variations of the vehicles.
The various engine configurations outlined above span five design generations
About £6-7k. Big problem on these though are the coil packs, there are two of them and they're £1k a pop.
Speaking as someone with a 2000 CL500 that has experienced several issues, go and buy an MB-specific code reader before you view, then make sure you plug in and read any fault codes while you are viewing. I wish I'd done this, it would have saved me muchos problems...
It is commonly held that the number behind the class name on the back of an MB is its engine size. This is not the case, it is actually the standard cost for that car to repair any one thing that has broken or failed. For mine it's £500 (I need one strut and one pipe- and it's £1k); for yours it'll be £600. Remember you're buying a £90k car for under £10k, but it'll come with £90k running costs
OK so W215 in general:
You have the following common problems-
Seats- the front seats have SRS interlocks involving microswitches. These can fail, repair is possible cheaply but is fiddly.
Interior- it's a pretty solid car interior wise, keep an eye out for rattly bits of trim that has had clips knocked off.
Door mirrors- folding mirrors can fail due to stiffened wires.
Doors- soft closing can fail due to broken wires in the door harness.
ABC- this is the real pi$$er. The pump is €550, struts are between $550 and £900 (deliberate mixing of currencies, dependent on your model year as to which p/no you need); accumulators are £300 and valve repair kits are £50 (from me, as I have now started making these). However it IS worth it as ABC is just such a silky smooth ride. The key to it is to change fluid & filters religiously every 2 years and monitor the struts for leaking or misting. One is bad, the other is OK.
Engine & powertrain- you might need the pilot bushing replaced in the transmission, aside from that it's pretty bulletproof aside from the coil pack issue only on the V12.
All in all the 215 is a beautiful car only possessed by those of magnificent and undeniable taste, good looks and raw animal magnetism. It has a few faults but in return you get 15 foot and 2 tonnes of undiluted elitism.
smiles and tears, but careful attn to detailed maintainance is the key. i do a yr on oil and filter even if only 3k miles, i always interview the filter .i am nuts about any oil leak.(dont have any on my cars .. at the mo !!! kept covered in garage on front and rear ctek. keep tank mostly full , hope to avoid baffles breaking. not ,i believe an issue on yr model ?.
big ,big smiles on a warm dry day.. but not thrilled with suspension that can, does go wrong allowing the wheels to dissappear up into the wheel arches or wrecking the front arches. always park wheels straight for that reason. i keep the ABC up to date v oil and filters, but it is still not an uncommon failure. as i understand it even the oil only gets filtered AFTER all the crap has been thru the system, nice for valves and wallet. it sure does keep the car planted tho, but if i was replacing it i would rather have the peace of mind of coil suspension .i dont believe that benz think about customer maintainance costs/hassles after 5 yrs. and that is where this site and a few like it are great,if you are a practical chap , do yr maintainance and dont get really unlucky , then you can get to enjoy these cars if none of the above lease or buy bangers ... DBSL
Well what's 18" between friends? I had 5m in my mind for some reason
Regards the ABC, filters and fluid. Yes jl you're right that the fluid is only filtered on return to the header tank. Thus it is really important to keep the system pristine. If you're approaching 100k I would suggest having your valve blocks torn down, cleaned and rebuilt, these are the most likely points for gunk to be trapped and later released causing problems.
Worth noting that Pentosin have a 2000MY car with around 100k on it, fluids and filter have been changed every 20k/ 2 yrs and the car has never had an ABC issue. Keeping that fluid clean and fresh is the only way to go. Craig
Don't worry about the fuel costs. Look at it this way. My E220 costs me 13.8pence/ mile. My CL500 costs around 20p/ mile. Based on my usual usage that would work out to £40/mth increase if I used the CL exclusively.
You should average 25mpg; the M113 engine doesn't need a heavy right foot to get you going quickly, the whole style & feel of the car (plus, remember it's 2 tons so no sports car handling!) makes you- well me, certainly- a smooth, wafty, arrogant certainly, but def not a "racy" driver.
I found this some years ago. It is quite representative in my opinion
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