08 CLS63 seeking advice, thinking to buy one

[Roma_500E]

Hi guys, thinking to get 2007-2009 CLS63.

I ve attached pics of the car I am going to check out in few days.

It has 40 000 miles on it. 6.2 V8 .

What do you think ? Any advice ? Comments ? especially those who are familiar with M156 V8 6.3 liter engine ?

How is the tranny ? Engine? Common issues?

Highly appreciate your thoughts !

 

[texas993]

Not a lot to contribute on that exact model, but I think that you will love it. And it is a lot of car for the money.

I had an E55 in the past. The engine is absolutely amazing and a great car to drive around town or on long stretches. Your right foot will elicit tons of fun with great sounds. In my experience, the AMG engines are very reliable. As with most modern Mercedes cars, the airmatic suspension is a wear item and the air struts commonly fail much earlier than they should. Other than that, the electronics are so so. It is all about the drivetrain in that car! And great seats too. Go for it.

 

[maw1124]

They've had problems with the head bolts on the naturally aspirated "6.3" V8s. So make sure that work has been done. Also, the 7G Tronics aren't holding that power as well as the 5speeds were. These are the reasons I got the 55k over the "6.3" given the chance. More power, more luxury, greater reliability. But the exhaust note of the 6.3s can be intoxicating, whereas on the 55k, not so much.

The suspensions are needy by MB standards (Airmatic or ABC, air or fluid, makes no difference), but not as bad as Audi, Rover, Bentley, etc. Everyone has tried it, MB has had the most success. It's just a complicated system, from concept to execution. I've come to believe that controlling body roll in any +2 ton performance car (yes, AMGs are performance cars, figure your 500E + 30%) will require a system that might end up being described as needy. Comes with the territory. But at least you're paying MB service pricing, not Bentley for example.

All that said, the only other cars during those years that will do what a big AMG will do are other big AMGs (save for maybe a Bentley GTC Speed or Supersports). And for those prices, I think the MB's are the deal of the century.

Good luck and have fun. Cheers,

maw

 

[Klink]

Roman, get a VIN of any one that you are really serioius about and I'll see if / what I can find...

 

[Roma_500E]

Guys let me explain you my problem , I recently purchased 2011 E500 4 matic W212 full options and I am NOT happy with it at ALL. To me it is luxury hyndau made in Germany. STUPID electronic accelerator pedal pissed me off and was final argument towards AMG cars W211/W219/R230.

Problem with 55s K cars that they are all dead and are junk due to abuse. The only real option so far is this particular CLS63. Otherwise I will keep driving my E500 W212.

And it is a lot of car for the money.

True in the US but due to high customs fees price for the car on pictures $50 000 but still I want it but must be carefull.

I had an E55 in the past. The engine is absolutely amazing and a great car to drive around town or on long stretches. Your right foot will elicit tons of fun with great sounds. In my experience, the AMG engines are very reliable. As with most modern Mercedes cars, the airmatic suspension is a wear item and the air struts commonly fail much earlier than they should. Other than that, the electronics are so so. It is all about the drivetrain in that car! And great seats too. Go for it.

Appreciate your comments, indeed AMG cars of that era are brutal, powerful and beautiful !

I had experience with SL55 C32 G55 and other Kompressor MBZs but not really with 6.3. I cannot get 55K cars I explained why above. Yup seats are great ! Leather is nice and top quality ! Air matic is crap that is true, LOL.

They've had problems with the head bolts on the naturally aspirated "6.3" V8s. So make sure that work has been done. Also, the 7G Tronics aren't holding that power as well as the 5speeds were. These are the reasons I got the 55k over the "6.3" given the chance. More power, more luxury, greater reliability. But the exhaust note of the 6.3s can be intoxicating, whereas on the 55k, not so much.

The suspensions are needy by MB standards (Airmatic or ABC, air or fluid, makes no difference), but not as bad as Audi, Rover, Bentley, etc. Everyone has tried it, MB has had the most success. It's just a complicated system, from concept to execution. I've come to believe that controlling body roll in any +2 ton performance car (yes, AMGs are performance cars, figure your 500E + 30%) will require a system that might end up being described as needy. Comes with the territory. But at least you're paying MB service pricing, not Bentley for example.

All that said, the only other cars during those years that will do what a big AMG will do are other big AMGs (save for maybe a Bentley GTC Speed or Supersports). And for those prices, I think the MB's are the deal of the century.

Good luck and have fun. Cheers,

maw

Yup Maw,

I heard about tranny issue and heard about some engine issue.

VERY IMPORTANT question, is there anyway to diagnose tranny ? So that I will not end up buying an AMG tranny ! LOL

I ve just read about numerous issues on M156 .....

Roman, get a VIN of any one that you are really serioius about and I'll see if / what I can find...

Appreciate your help but car is in my home country and euro version so no carfax available .

 

[maw1124]

Roman, for people with your problem, I've heard the OE Tuning software upgrades really wake up the 500/550 cars in terms of responsiveness, taking out some of that legendary MB ponderous nature. That leaves you with an awake 4Matic car that you know, without the lazy pedal, you'll still have AWD for MN, and you skip the head bolt and tranny problems. By the way, I think the tranny problems might be overstated. But they are out there so I wanted you to be aware of them. Upgrade the exhaust on the 500, and I don't know if you'd miss much there. You have the Russian Rocket for summers anyway.

Maybe Klink can speak on this, but the only way I would know to "diagnose" a 7G is to look for trans fluid changes. At 7yrs, 40k and no trans fluid change, I think you're just guessing. You could buy it, do a trans service immediately and hope, but that's not a strategy I would recommend. Well, I might if the price was right. But still, you're back in a RWD car and given the trade you're thinking of making, I'd try a software tune and exhaust upgrade first. You're talking $2k vs. $50k.

Cheers,

maw

 

[Melville]

I also recently bought a W212 E550 and I like the car for what it is - a comfortable cruiser that can fit my family (and friends and relatives when they visit) which has as much power as I need (though maybe not as much as I want) when I need it. It's not a car that gets the heart rate going. Actually the opposite. It always feels very composed, even when you are going much faster than you should be. [To go even more off topic (I've taken a post about a CLS63 and written about my E550 and now I'm turning to random musings), this kind of car seems to be a lost art. "Desirable" cars are all now supposed to have fast Nurburgring times, rock hard suspension, neck snapping acceleration etc. There's nothing wrong with these cars. They're great. But what happened to the gentleman's cruiser that was quiet and comfortable when you wanted, but when you needed it, you could ride on a wave of torque that just kept going and going?]

I test drove a C63 and a W211 E63 before buying my car. I had fun while driving the C63 but I just didn't like being inside of it. Ride was too stiff and the interior felt...plasticky. The E63 was better and I sometimes think I should have bought that car instead, but it had a lot more miles - and, with an AMG car you never know if those have been very rough miles.

Overall, I'd say I'm happy with my purchase but I would have preferred getting a nice E500E. However, after being on the trail of a 500E that the owner ultimately was reluctant to sell, and then working 7 days a week for a while with no time to look for a car, I found myself within a few short weeks of my first kid's birth and my wife said she didn't care what car we bought but we needed one fast (ie before the end of the weekend). I'll keep my E550 as my regular ride, but I'll still be on the lookout for an E500E (or Porsche 928, or 190e cosworth...).

 

[Klink]

What Melville said. Out of the park. For what it's worth, your particular 212 is much more the kind of car you are talking about than an E63 is, IMO, and likely no one else's. Not hate speech, I love the E63 also, obviously...

 

[Roma_500E]

Roman, for people with your problem, I've heard the OE Tuning software upgrades really wake up the 550 cars in terms of responsiveness, taking out some of that legendary MB ponderous nature. That leaves you with an awake 4Matic car that you know, without the lazy pedal, you'll still have AWD for MN, and you skip the head bolt and tranny problems. By the way, I think the tranny problems might be overstated. But they are out there so I wanted you to be aware of them. Upgrade the exhaust on the 550, and I don't know if you'd miss much there. You have the Russian Rocket for summers anyway.

Maybe Klink can speak on this, but the only way I would know to "diagnose" a 7G is to look for trans fluid changes. At 7yrs, 40k and no trans fluid change, I think you're just guessing. You could buy it, do a trans service immediately and hope, but that's not a strategy I would recommend. Well, I might if the price was right. But still, you're back in a RWD car and given the trade you're thinking of making, I'd try a software tune and exhaust upgrade first. You're talking $2k vs. $50k.

Cheers,

maw

So as long as fluid is clean it more or less means tranny will be ok.

In my country all AMG cars have VERY rough and tough miles on them because they are driven by ambitious nuts, LOL . So it is hard to get decent used AMG car.

Well, I will make a search regarding software .

I also recently bought a W212 E550 and I like the car for what it is - a comfortable cruiser that can fit my family (and friends and relatives when they visit) which has as much power as I need (though maybe not as much as I want) when I need it. It's not a car that gets the heart rate going. Actually the opposite. It always feels very composed, even when you are going much faster than you should be. [To go even more off topic (I've taken a post about a CLS63 and written about my E550 and now I'm turning to random musings), this kind of car seems to be a lost art. "Desirable" cars are all now supposed to have fast Nurburgring times, rock hard suspension, neck snapping acceleration etc. There's nothing wrong with these cars. They're great. But what happened to the gentleman's cruiser that was quiet and comfortable when you wanted, but when you needed it, you could ride on a wave of torque that just kept going and going?]

I test drove a C63 and a W211 E63 before buying my car. I had fun while driving the C63 but I just didn't like being inside of it. Ride was too stiff and the interior felt...plasticky. The E63 was better and I sometimes think I should have bought that car instead, but it had a lot more miles - and, with an AMG car you never know if those have been very rough miles.

Overall, I'd say I'm happy with my purchase but I would have preferred getting a nice E500E. However, after being on the trail of a 500E that the owner ultimately was reluctant to sell, and then working 7 days a week for a while with no time to look for a car, I found myself within a few short weeks of my first kid's birth and my wife said she didn't care what car we bought but we needed one fast (ie before the end of the weekend). I'll keep my E550 as my regular ride, but I'll still be on the lookout for an E500E (or Porsche 928, or 190e cosworth...).

It is nice car but extremely boring ! Also when it is cold outside air matic does work right, car becomes very stiff ! It completely lost Mercedes spirit that I feel in 140,124, 210, 463 so on. Anyway will check out some AMG cars and will go from there.

My E500 had 25 000 miles when I bought and still smells new .

 

[Roma_500E]

Little bit off topic. Few pics of my DD in our mountains

 

[maw1124]

In my country all AMG cars have VERY rough and tough miles on them because they are driven by ambitious nuts, LOL . So it is hard to get decent used AMG car. Well, I will make a search regarding software. It is nice car but extremely boring ! Anyway will check out some AMG cars and will go from there.

Completely understood. Adult driven AMG cars are rare as unicorns these days (sans maybe the sonderklasse), like adult driven M3s -- almost a contradiction in terms. I for one think the balance between all that we love about MB (without the boring) and all that we love about AMG (without the harsh) is the S55, which is why I'm glad I got mine when I did. But enough about that.

What that car will absolutely NOT do (nor will any other RWD 500hp AMG car do) is snow -- of the type you depict in your photos. It's completely useless in it, I know from the one time in 5 years I got caught in it. Useless. The car now sits in a garage under a cover attached to a battery tender from Thanksgiving to Memorial Day unless something miraculous happens. It's a Midwest to East Coast half year cruiser for me.

My advice? Check out OETuning, keep the W212 4Matic for winter, the Russian Rocket for summer, and enjoy life. Take the family skiing with the extra money. Good luck.

Cheers,

maw

 

[Klink]

As is so often the case, maw, our insights align. I found myself thinking later, but did not post that Melville was just about perfectly describing a big engined S-Class. That's got his wish list...

 

[Melville]

As is so often the case, maw, our insights align. I found myself thinking later, but did not post that Melville was just about perfectly describing a big engined S-Class. That's got his wish list...

You're right that I was pretty much describing an S Class. Unfortunately the W212 is as large of a car as I would want. That being said, I did pine over a CL63 (which is pretty big) but couldn't pull the trigger on a 2 door for a family car. The CL63, and even more the CL65, show the wonder and magic of depreciation.

 

[Roma_500E]

As is so often the case, maw, our insights align. I found myself thinking later, but did not post that Melville was just about perfectly describing a big engined S-Class. That's got his wish list...

Klink, I found out that car was US import, so here is VIN WDDDJ77X08A125148 . I would appreciate if you could find as much as you can about it . Service ? Owners and so on.

You're right that I was pretty much describing an S Class. Unfortunately the W212 is as large of a car as I would want. That being said, I did pine over a CL63 (which is pretty big) but couldn't pull the trigger on a 2 door for a family car. The CL63, and even more the CL65, show the wonder and magic of depreciation.

True CL's depriciate really fast .