Stu Peters Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 2001 Mercedes CL55 AMG. The good stuff: This model was the F1 pace car in 2001 and one of the most expensive Mercs available at the time. It's cosmetically 95% perfect outside and in, and apart from the kerbed Kahn alloys it looks showroom ready. The 5.4litre engine is strong and the gearbox is seamless in either sports or winter mode (tiny misfire at tickover when cold - clears on the move). The ABC suspension is stunning (based on the Williams F1 active system I think) and the pneumatics work.. I'm using the car as my daily driver (around 5 miles a day!) and it is still in superb condition after 5 years with me. Regularly serviced. Went for a lap yesterday and it was nice to let her off the leash for a change - stunning 360bhp performance. Double glazed windows, self-closing doors and boot, hand stitched leather interior featuring electric seats with heating AND ventilation, satnav and Bose music, electric sunroof and mirrors, automatic xenon headlights. The bad stuff: A couple of years ago I had a flat battery and in the dark connected the jumpleads the wrong way round (mea culpa). Blew some of the electrics which I had fixed by an indy garage, cost around £1500. But I noticed before TT that on top of a couple of problems I knew about (new keyless go module fitted but not coded to the car and a faulty brake assist/cruise control module) the rear windows and heater/aircon blower had also failed and the SRS (airbag) warning light had come on. Whitestone concluded that at factory prices it could cost thousands to make perfect, and to be honest I don't have the patience to spend any more time or money on the car. If it was a lame horse I'd take it into the lower forty and shoot it, or at least whip it into submission with a tree branch. So that's why it's half price at £3500 (and a dealer would probably price it nearer £10k if perfect). A mechanic or auto electrician can probably fix these problems for a fraction of what MB would charge, and there's a host of pattern and reclaimed parts suppliers online if you know what you're doing. Frankly, I don't and am at the mercy of experts, which isn't where I want to be. Someone with spanner skills could probably part the car out and make a fortune - the AMG model is much rarer than the CL500 I could probably drive the car into the ground for another ten years by hotwiring the blower fan in the winter (the only thing that might stop me using the car - the rest I can live with), but I've fallen out of love with it and want to move on to another piece of automotive excess. I'll take a convertible or something interesting as a swap, cash either way. Photo taken yesterday. PM me here if interested. Plate not included. Edit 16th June: rear electric windows have started working again. Go figure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoymouse Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 That's far too cheap, hell of a lot of car for that money! No mention of mileage but assuming its average mileage I would imagine this one to be easily worth 8k perfect and at least 5k with faults listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 I think mileage is just over 90k. You may be right about the price being too low, but I'd rather sell with a clear conscience that the buyer is getting a bargain whatever the fix costs. I bought it in Cheshire and paid £12500 for it in 2010, so it's only cost me £40 a week in depreciation...not bad for a car that was over £90k new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD4ELI Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The big question is: what will you replace it with? Best car I've had on the Island was a MX-5 when I came over for two weeks one year, just two weeks of pure sunshine, no a drop of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sick Moon Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The big question is: what will you replace it with? Best car I've had on the Island was a MX-5 when I came over for two weeks one year, just two weeks of pure sunshine, no a drop of rain. Yeah, those MX-5s are really good at holding the rain off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoymouse Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I think mileage is just over 90k. You may be right about the price being too low, but I'd rather sell with a clear conscience that the buyer is getting a bargain whatever the fix costs. I bought it in Cheshire and paid £12500 for it in 2010, so it's only cost me £40 a week in depreciation...not bad for a car that was over £90k new. Its an absolute steal, If I had the cash readily available I'd snap this up, I can't think of any car for £3500 that offers this sort of luxury and performance. Rest assured anyone who buys this car will never lose money, the cheapest on Ebay from a private seller is £4,895 at the moment, the engine alone is going anywhere from £1700-£3000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samster Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I think mileage is just over 90k. You may be right about the price being too low, but I'd rather sell with a clear conscience that the buyer is getting a bargain whatever the fix costs. I bought it in Cheshire and paid £12500 for it in 2010, so it's only cost me £40 a week in depreciation...not bad for a car that was over £90k new. Its an absolute steal, If I had the cash readily available I'd snap this up, I can't think of any car for £3500 that offers this sort of luxury and performance. Rest assured anyone who buys this car will never lose money, the cheapest on Ebay from a private seller is £4,895 at the moment, the engine alone is going anywhere from £1700-£3000 The one one ebay is in working order though. This one for sale is not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoymouse Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The one one ebay is in working order though. This one for sale is not! Well the price difference between the two is £1395, given you'd have to put that car through the Manx test allow maybe £500 for that, then you'd have registration costs the difference is nearer £2000. If you can find another Mercedes CL55 AMG on the IOM for 6k in working order I'll be amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samster Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The one one ebay is in working order though. This one for sale is not! Well the price difference between the two is £1395, given you'd have to put that car through the Manx test allow maybe £500 for that, then you'd have registration costs the difference is nearer £2000. If you can find another Mercedes CL55 AMG on the IOM for 6k in working order I'll be amazed. It's not in full working order though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 The one one ebay is in working order though. This one for sale is not! Well the price difference between the two is £1395, given you'd have to put that car through the Manx test allow maybe £500 for that, then you'd have registration costs the difference is nearer £2000. If you can find another Mercedes CL55 AMG on the IOM for 6k in working order I'll be amazed. It's not in full working order though! I use it every day, so it works fine. The only pressing problem is that the heater/aircon fan has failed. I can live without opening rear windows and cruise control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 pity it's only 2 door, how can I get the dogs in the back ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 It's got a very large boot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 It's got a very large boot... Ha !, one of ours likes to sit in the back like Lady Penelope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Peters Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 That's a lot of car for not a lot of money. Well, not if you're me as my car cost £150 and I think that's a lot of money. But, for someone not me, someone normal, it's a lot of car for a lot of money. How complicated my life would be without your insight and clarity of thought Rox! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sick Moon Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 That's a lot of car for not a lot of money. Well, not if you're me as my car cost £150 and I think that's a lot of money. You wuz robbed. My car cost a lot less than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.