After 34 years of working as an Electrical Design Engineer & manager at an aerospace company, I've decided to retire a few weeks ago. Since I'm no longer doing the daily commuting, I caved in to my wife & sold the Mustang to someone I know that will take good care of it. I've also listed my Benz CL500 on Craigslist but took it off as soon as I listed. I have done quite a bit of work on it so it also drives like a champ. Its V8 engine is a bulletproof. It's a joy to drive as it has more power & a lot more torque throughout the power band than my old Lexus but for some reason, I still love the LS400 more.

In regards to the 2nd gen CL, you're right, the 2nd gen Mercedes CL has been considered by many that it's one of the best looking Mercedes-Benz ever made. If you decide to get one, look for a CL55 instead as it's a monster w/ an additional 200 more hp (500 vs 302) but I have to warn you in advance, these cars are expensive to maintain as they're equipped w/ the ABC (Anti-Body Control) hydraulic suspension. One OEM strut alone will cost you a hefty $1700 ea. Some owners have converted to coil-over suspension but there are no sway bars in these cars so imo, it's somewhat unsafe & also defeat the purpose of the car's handling as it was originally intended.

 

It is a shame that Mercedes and BMW make vehicles that are soooo complicated and expensive to maintain. I had a wonderful 99 Infiniti Q45 touring model a few years back, my second one actually. Could not find replacement struts for it except at the dealer, but I did not have the time or budget to fool with it. I got rid of it before they got too bad.

 

Yes, the European car makers i.e. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, etc... have a tendency to quickly implement the "world 1st over-the-top" designs into their luxury & high performance vehicles without doing serious worst case analysis & long-term reliability that's why their vehicles are high maintenance & depreciated like a rock.

 

Congrats.The 2 go hand in hand,you are going to love it!

 

I hit 300,000 miles tonight! right before I'm selling the car to my coworker for his son to have. I bought my 99' back in Dec with 147k, so this will be the replacement.

 

Nice. How long have you owned the 300K miles?

 

you don't need to tell me about the 55 Kompressor engine total monster but still in a luxurious way, there's never an rpm, gear, or speed where the torque isn't pushing you into the seat

and the ABC is pretty much the exact reason why i avoided the S or CL even though all are roughly the same price, the E still gets airmatic which is more annoying than conventional suspension, but still way less than fixing the ABC... the engine is what i really wanted the car for, truthfully i'd rather the exact same car have been made by toyota since they're less annoying to deal with than mercedes, but toyota never put such an engine into the GS so E55 it is! love your collection btw, that gen CL really is such a sexy classy automobile... i think the CL is more fitting to be the equally powerful CL600 since a twin turbo V12 is more move over peasant than the supercharged V8 but i'd never turn down a CL55 haha

 

I see that you have an 05 E55, 5.4L, 469 hp @ 6100 rpm & 516 ft.lbs of torque @ 2650 rpm. Nice. I also have one but mine is an E500 w/ airmatic & SBC (Sensotronic Brake Control). It takes some use to w/ the SBC brake but I like it. Did you know Mercedes-Benz has extended the warranty for the SBC to 25 years? If yours is acting up, take it to a dealer & they'll replace it for you for free. Here's a pic of mine. I just love cars & can't get enough of them

 

yep all the W211 had SBC, and yes i found out about the extended warranty right after i got my fuel tank replaced for free lol... i love the E500 and it's very nice but apart from 4matic (if equipped) i really wouldn't say it offers much that the LS doesn't already do better and the E is less spacious inside, but the 55 with an engine that's even bigger and supercharged there's enough power and torque at basically any speed, gear, or rpm to never get boring... and apart from the extra gas you'll use the maintenance is basically exactly the same as the the E500 with airmatic but naturally just slightly more annoying and expensive (holds more oil, has 2 oil drain plugs so you need an additional washer lol, the front rotors are huge cross drilled ventilated discs with 8 piston front calipers that each take 4 brake pads, etc...) although it's something i'd happily pay a bit more for



i often wish i didn't find damn car so much fun because it's seriously like a drug addiction, but at least now that the SBC is covered i might as well hang onto it for a bit longer haha



i actually just did the blackstone labs oil analysis for the E and everything came back a-ok, so that at least helps me feel confident that it's not about to blow up or something lol

 

since October of 2015.

 

Nice pair of silver. Like I've said, the engine is bulletproof so you shouldn't have to worry about it crapping out on you. What you should is the airmatic which can be a bit expensive. A complete OEM on all 4 corners, parts alone will cost you close to $3500. I've recently replaced both rear bags on mine w/ Arnott Industries for 1/2 the price of the OEM. Unlike the OEM where it requires an external air reservoir, these have the built-in air reservoir so the installation is much easier as you won't have to drop the rear sub-frame to get to it. I did both rear bags & it only took me ~ 2 1/2 hours. The ride is much better than OEM so I couldn't be much happier.

 

the only issue i take with doing that is you lose the ride height and comfort adjustability with the standard suspension, there's a real noticeable difference between all 3 settings plus being able to raise the car up comes in handy every so often

some people just replace the airmatic with coilovers all around and then you really do have a totally bulletproof car, but i have an LS 400 for that! i promised myself i'd get rid of this car the day i can't afford to do completely oem repairs after seeing some of these cars totally go to s **t from people who couldn't pay to get them properly fixed... and i have too much respect for mr. robert feiler who built my engine to let that happen to his hard work

 

I guess you're not that familiar w/ the Arnott's. It looks almost identical to the OEM & you'll not lose the ride height nor comfort adjustibility via the 3 settings. The change in the setting is instant just like before & the ride is much better. Perhaps you were thinking about the Strutmaster for the CL.

 

hmm i didnt know that... the car can still even raise and lower itself? well either way an additional few hundred bucks over a decade or more period isn't worth it for me to not stick with the oem bilsteins, and i want to be able to tell a future buyer that all parts are genuine

 

Yup, the car can still raise & lower itself.