2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Mercedes-Benz

image2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test

More issues with our long-term 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG.

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  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    "At this point I've taken to calling it the Silver Plague. "

    So far it seems to be living up to the reputation of a high dollar MB out of warranty. I guess there is a reason for the massive depreciation.
  • kirkhilles_kirkhilles_ Member Posts: 151
    I'm sure it'll be "just" a grand. Maybe two.
  • evodadevodad Member Posts: 135
    any reason why not using an independent shop on this car? Is it because of it's specialized nature (not every mechanic sees a v12 on a regular basis) or is it under the assumption someone paying 35K on an out of warranty amg would likely also take their car to a dealer for service versus an independent shop (although if they wanted the bargain of a cheap AMG i'm guessing they'd also want the reasonably priced labor rates that are had at an independent shop versus a dealer?)
  • cjasiscjasis Member Posts: 274
    Engineered like no other car in the world. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
  • mdm080333mdm080333 Member Posts: 5
    Oh goody. This is gonna be fun!
  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365
    This is vindication for mieden. He told you to replace all pressure hoses for the ABC at the last visit. A piecemeal approach does not work for air suspensions. If you are going to replace something, you need to replace it all. I can't really blame the car for this one.
  • ttopjohnttopjohn Member Posts: 25
    Is the reservoir itself leaking? So, are we going to get a good writeup on what it takes to run though the whole ABC hydraulic suspension this time around? Not that you'd need to replace everything necessarily, but at least it seems like time for a more thorough inspection than the first time you brought it in for the hose burst. Otherwise the ABC system is going to drive y'all crazy for the rest of this test. I'd be taking this thing to one of several very good Dallas indepenent shops. I'd use a dealer if I lived somewhere where "65" cars are rare and indepenent shops have never seen one. However, I suspect Orange County is not such a place.
  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    How appropriate that the hydraulic fluid is the color of money.
  • markinnaples_markinnaples_ Member Posts: 251
    To be expected?
  • noburgersnoburgers Member Posts: 500
    You guys are so lucky. You get to drive some interesting older cars and Edmunds pays for all the repairs.
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    @mercedesfan I think you're literally the only one defending this car. Problem after problem after problem..
  • desmoliciousdesmolicious Member Posts: 671
    so... is Edmunds still diggin on that Newport Beach dealership that only fixed the one thing instead of properly going through the system?

    It is quite amusing that Edmunds researched this less than a civilian with google would have.
  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365
    @ajac03, Firstly, this car has had remarkably few problems (far fewer than I expected it to have). So far they have had a bad pressure hose for the ABC and a freak no-start incident after a hard day of track testing that wasn't replicated and could not be
  • hybrishybris Member Posts: 365
    +1 mercedesfan these cars tend to be "replace effected SYSTEM" not "replace effected part". Overall I like the car and its one of the few cars in the fleet that I want to see more posts of.
  • iloveyogapantsiloveyogapants Member Posts: 20
    I have a feeling that every time you notice something wrong on this car, it'll be at least $1000 bucks.

    That being said, I'd love to drive it!!! But I'd never own it... not without an extended bumper to bumper MB DEALER warranty.

    I wonder how much those are for a car of this caliber. Anyone know?
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    @mercedesfan Oh yeah I totally agree, an unexpected $2600 repair is a very minor problem. I wasn't really expecting a positive response from a guy with the username mercedesfan.. lol. Even if they are "minor" problems, this car has low miles a
  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365
    @ajac03, I can tell you have never owned a German car if you think a $2600 repair is expensive. A run of the mill 3-Series or C-Class will cost you roughly $1000 every time something goes wrong once you are out of warranty. That is simply the cost of Germ
  • ajac03ajac03 Member Posts: 37
    No you're right, I've never owned a german car, but that was my whole point, is that they're expensive to own and maintain, end of story.
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    iloveyogapants, do they sell a MB Dealer warranty on a 9 year old car?
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    "I can tell you have never owned a German car if you think a $2600 repair is expensive" -- I think the point isn't that it is expensive in comparison to other 'exotics' but that it is just expensive. And Edmunds did not buy a $180,000 car they bought a used car for $34,000 with 54,000 miles on it. That is used, yet loaded, G37 money. I think the purpose of buying this car is to see if it is a viable way to get into a more exotic car and finding out if the $34,000 price was a bargain in the long run. -- To me saying that it isn't more expensive that should be expected is nothing more than a different way of saying what all the other people are saying "we told you it would need a lot of money poured into it"
  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365
    @zimtheinvader, I never said the CL65 wouldn't be painfully expensive. Even used, this is still a $180K car with the maintenance/repair costs to go along with it. It is going to be a massive money pit. I would personally set aside at least $8k/year for up
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