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The Tank - CL500

17K views 41 replies 24 participants last post by  Nanoman 
#1 ·
After selling the Jag S Type R and having a bad experience in trying to buy my first choice car - an Audi TT V6 - I went back to the drawing board.

I'm in Germany for 3 1/2 days a week - did I need a second car - no, did I want one - yes.

What does the M135i provide me with - its quick, agile, brand new and practical enough

Identifying this gave me a wish list for a second car - economy not an issue, age - irrelevant, usage - 3/4k per year, too old for something totally impractical so preference for a wafter - a high days and holidays cruiser

Always admired the Mercedes W215 series - a truly beautiful car in my opinion, yes it has its weak spots, electrolytic corrosion at certain points, ABC pump replacement costs (but a lot lower than they were) - the fear factor was diminishing. I briefly considered a CLK500 but it just did not look or feel special enough, I'd always be thinking that I should have gone for the real Mercedes coupe rather than the mass market model.

A lot of CL's were silver and / or with grey leather - neither of them were particularly appealing, I wasn't concerned about mileage, condition / provenance was more important

On searching the various sites I came across a very nice looking CL500 being sold by a Mercedes specialist in Reading, good history, 6 months full warranty, 16 stamps in the service book - what appealed was the fact it was being sold by a Mercedes specialist - that was giving me some reassurance.

An email was sent a week last Sunday, I got a call from the owner of the specialists about half an hour later, a long chat ensued and we agreed a deal - i wanted a couple of minor points rectified, a service, transmission fluid change etc. He refused to accept a deposit until I had spoken to a couple of customers which I did.

Within 10 minutes of paying the deposit the car had been removed from their website and Autotrader, the following morning I got the invoice stating that deposit was fully refundable in event of car not being as described and that all my travels costs would be reimbursed - very positive.

Today was collection day - car was totally as described, business is rarely as pleasurable and straightforward as this was

Without further ado - here he is:

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Its stuffed full of toys - double glazing, electric rear sunblind, fully refurbished 19" AMG alloys, fridge behind rear armrest, air-conditioned centre storage, rear parking sensors that has a dashboard display and a repeater display in headlining for when you are looking over the shoulder when reversing, rear headrests that raise electrically and automatically when it senses a rear seat passenger.

Every switch, dial, control has a hewn from solid feel that is unlike anything I have ever experienced.

Plans - assessment tomorrow but a thorough deep clean I'm pretty sure will reveal a car that I'm really going to enjoy
 
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#14 ·
No logical reason, it was fast, still felt very solid (although that feeling has waned a little since yesterday) and was probably the best car I have ever owned.

I think getting the M135i diluted the positives, the Jag all of a sudden was slower, less playful than I remembered, still did the comfort and waft very well but decided I fancied a slight change of direction for the weekend car - more cruising and less bruising
 
#13 ·
Nice looking motor. These coupes are massive, bet it's super comfy to drive.
I've thought about one of these as a second car in the past, prices seem to be very reasonable, and you get heck of a lot for your money in terms of spec too.

Nice to read about the supplying dealer being very honest and caring - most couldn't care less about your journey times and costs, and certainly wouldnt dip into their pocket if the vehicle wasn't as described. Shame they're not all like that eh?

Enjoy your new toy!
 
#16 ·
Andy, that's a beast of a car. Absolutely beautiful and by all accounts built to last for N eternity.

Health to enjoy buddy.

Cooks

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I don't think they will ever get cheaper - the previous generation S Class coupe (C140), which is generally regarded as being pig ugly has started to rise in value - I cn see these going the same way
 
#23 ·
Epic looking car and some brilliantly over the top bits of kit.

I see one of these fairly frequently in the middle of London, it's a huge car, over the top and uncessary, I like them!

Looks like a cracking example, how many miles on it by the way?

.... did I need a second car - no, did I want one - yes.
I love the reasoning, mainly because that's my philosophy :lol::lol:
 
#24 ·
Productive afternoon.

Alcantara headlining cleaned, leather cleaned, all other surfaces treated with Gtechniq Triclean, nice to know that everything is totally clean, popped off with new carpet mats.

Will now be standing for a week whilst we go to the Luke District for a week
 
#29 ·
Stunning car Andy, always wanted one of these ever since a CL600 appeared in one of the Gran Turismo games. They've aged amazingly well IMO, with a dateless plate and a fresh detail it's still a high end car to almost anyone!
Certainly something I'm considering as a replacement to my car when the time comes, I'll use this thread as reference as to whether I should or not :p.
 
#31 ·
Not really had much chance to do any work on the car since collection with being on holiday and then straight back to Germany for work.

As I'm attending my first Mercedes Club event next weekend I took the chance to spend the day on it today- full interior clean with leather conditioned, engine bay clean and a full correction.

No sealant or wax on it, just finished with PB Black Hole - yet to decide on what to finish it with.

Only when machine polishing do you actually realise how big the thing is but very happy with how the flake form the Obsidian Black has started to pop

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