According to its advertisement, today Nice Price or No Dice The CL500 “runs and drives like a dream”. Let’s see if the price of this grand touring coupe is equally desirable.
Like tres leches cake, a three-row cart can be a treat worth enjoying. Roomy yet garage-worthy, this is an automotive icon that has sadly lost favor with less capable crossovers and SUVs. That doesn’t mean they’re still impossible to get, as proven by 1989 Buick LeSabre Estate We looked at it yesterday. As tantalizing a prospect as that big Buick may have been in concept, the $9,500 asking price brought us back to reality and our senses. The result is no dice 78%.
Another body style that has lost weight in SUVs and crossovers is the two-door coupe. Once very popular and at the top of most manufacturers’ product lines, coupes are rare today.
Germany’s Mercedes-Benz still maintains the coupe flame, even offering them its own category body style in the market. MBUSA website. To be honest, two of the four models advertised were in fact four-door saloons, but thought still matters.
Back in the late ’90s, when Mercedes created the C215, the whole silly idea of four-door coupes was still considered questionable. The S-Class version not only has a traditional two-door coupe body, but is also designed with a pillarless roof for a more classic appearance.
In contrast to traditional styling, the CL is built with the latest body technology. These include composite front fenders, aluminum rear bodywork and magnesium door structures, all designed to save weight. Despite those efforts, the CL is still a big and heavy car.
This Mercedes-Benz CL 500 2003 Advertised by the seller as having clear original documents and only 87,000 miles. It’s also billed as an AMG, but other than those branded alloy wheels, there isn’t anything obvious about that tuner on the car.
What it does have is the vaunted M113 5.0-liter V8 under the handsome hood. In various forms, that engine served as a Mercedes mainstay for a decade and a half and is today considered one of the best engines the company has ever produced. Here, it makes 302 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque. That’s necessary to move the car, which weighs a whopping two tons, and to run the combined power steering pump/hydraulic suspension system that powers the Active Body Control suspension system ( ABC) 3,000 psi automotive complex. Mercedes’ 5-speed automatic transmission takes care of transmission duties and the car is rear-wheel drive only.
According to the ad, everything works as it should. The ad describes the car as being in “nearly mint condition” and claims it has been “meticulously maintained.” Apparently, the most recent maintenance involved installing new batteries “for reliable performance.” It is also claimed to have “Ice cold air conditioning, a fully functional heating system” and all other systems are in “excellent operating condition”.
It also looks quite spectacular. The tin paint appears to have no noticeable flaws and the headlight lenses are not yellowed or scratched. The AMG wheels have some scratches, which should be taken into account, but this is probably one of the easiest cosmetic issues to resolve. We don’t get a clear look at the cabin in the ad, but what we do see appears to be spotless and ageless. And for those who bemoan the modern trend of distilling controls down to the dashboard screen, the CL offers a lot more buttons and more technology than could be imagined. On the other hand, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong, and in an old car (this one is more than two decades old), that can spell trouble. Expensive trouble.
But who cares when nothing is obviously going pear-shaped at the moment? And who’s to say that this particular old Benz won’t perform properly for many miles and years to come? After all, it’s a car that has so far been well-maintained and doesn’t seem to have any surprises. Is that worth $7,500? That’s a full two grand less than yesterday’s Buick, and while the Mercedes isn’t as roomy as that wagon, it seems fun enough to make many passenger-hauling trips fun. becomes a pleasure rather than a duty.
What do you think? Is this the seemingly well-presented (except for the whole AMG thing) CL 500 priced at $7,500? Or is that too much to spend without a crystal ball to peer into the car’s maintenance future?
You decide!
Orange County, California, Craigslist listingsor go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for connecting!
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