Discussion
For a long time I have always wanted one of these.
The idea of a Bi-turbo V12 just seems over excessive and I think the styling has aged really well.
My personal circumstance are lined up for me to buy one, however the million dollar question.
Do you see them for sale at all? Are there many around anymore? Do we have any owners on here?
The idea of a Bi-turbo V12 just seems over excessive and I think the styling has aged really well.
My personal circumstance are lined up for me to buy one, however the million dollar question.
Do you see them for sale at all? Are there many around anymore? Do we have any owners on here?
One is/was for sale for £22k
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/classifieds/cars-vans-fo...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-CL65-AMG-...
Tricky to justify logically spending the extra for the V12 when the other more-than-adequate engines are cheaper, but luxury car purchasing doesn't have to be logical ;-)
LeapingDeere said:
For a long time I have always wanted one of these.
The idea of a Bi-turbo V12 just seems over excessive and I think the styling has aged really well.
My personal circumstance are lined up for me to buy one, however the million dollar question.
Do you see them for sale at all? Are there many around anymore? Do we have any owners on here?
I had a 216 CL65 for just over a year, they are fantastic cars, the power once on the move was incredible. Running costs are high though.The idea of a Bi-turbo V12 just seems over excessive and I think the styling has aged really well.
My personal circumstance are lined up for me to buy one, however the million dollar question.
Do you see them for sale at all? Are there many around anymore? Do we have any owners on here?
I'm a serial car changer but kept my CL65 for over a year. I did an 'Owners Cars' on here named CL65 a fast barge.
If you can find a good independent to look after it that would be good, I had to keep mine serviced at a main agent to preserve secondhand value and the next major service was near £3K.
I'm seriously considering another CL but this time go for one of the 5.5 twin turbo cars.
I'd think very carefully about the C215 generation.
When looking at a C215 CL600 (5.5 TT version) the vendor's mechanic advised me to avoid the C215 altogether. He said that the C216 was so superior that it was difficult to believe that they came from the same manufacturer.
The net result is that I now have two C140 S600 coupe's and C216 CL600 remapped to 650 bhp / 750 lb/ft by Kleemann running a Quaife ATB diff.
The C215 / W220 is widely acknowledged to be an S-Class low point.
A cherished example may well be fine, but plenty of them haven't been.
When looking at a C215 CL600 (5.5 TT version) the vendor's mechanic advised me to avoid the C215 altogether. He said that the C216 was so superior that it was difficult to believe that they came from the same manufacturer.
The net result is that I now have two C140 S600 coupe's and C216 CL600 remapped to 650 bhp / 750 lb/ft by Kleemann running a Quaife ATB diff.
The C215 / W220 is widely acknowledged to be an S-Class low point.
A cherished example may well be fine, but plenty of them haven't been.
Penguinracer said:
I'd think very carefully about the C215 generation.
When looking at a C215 CL600 (5.5 TT version) the vendor's mechanic advised me to avoid the C215 altogether. He said that the C216 was so superior that it was difficult to believe that they came from the same manufacturer.
The net result is that I now have two C140 S600 coupe's and C216 CL600 remapped to 650 bhp / 750 lb/ft by Kleemann running a Quaife ATB diff.
The C215 / W220 is widely acknowledged to be an S-Class low point.
A cherished example may well be fine, but plenty of them haven't been.
That's what I had learnt too, by all accounts the 216 was a ground up re-design. I have read on various forums about people who have taken on the 215 as a project, which is fine if you are a good all round mechanic otherwise I think you will have some very big bills to look forward to.When looking at a C215 CL600 (5.5 TT version) the vendor's mechanic advised me to avoid the C215 altogether. He said that the C216 was so superior that it was difficult to believe that they came from the same manufacturer.
The net result is that I now have two C140 S600 coupe's and C216 CL600 remapped to 650 bhp / 750 lb/ft by Kleemann running a Quaife ATB diff.
The C215 / W220 is widely acknowledged to be an S-Class low point.
A cherished example may well be fine, but plenty of them haven't been.
Boring history lesson alert - but this explains why to be cautious of the C215 / W220.
The C215 was arguably an over-reaction to the C140 / W140 cars.
The W140 was late to market (1991 rather than 1989 as planned, due to a 2-year delay to develop the M120 V12 motor to counter the BMW E32's M70 V12).
Being launched into a recession, it was consequently perceived as being too large, too heavy and too aggressive in its styling.
The W140 was built virtually without consequence to cost & ran way over budget. Given that it sold in about half the numbers of the preceding W126 the push was on to replace it with a smaller, lighter, lower cost model - the W220.
Corners were cut on quality of steel, plastic, electronics etc. The legislated move to water-based paints in 1996 caused rust problems for M-B & they didn't really get to grips with it until 2006.
The first generation ABC had its problems too.
Witness the M137 motor - the 5.8 litre V12 introduced with the C215/W220 - it was a single cam per bank, 3 valves per cylinder, cheapened motor (Chrysler was on a cost-cutting drive with M-B by this time) which suffered from bore ovality, head gasket issues and excessive oil consumption. Its no-expense spared predecessor was the magnificent quad-cam, 48-valve, 6 litre, M120 which evolved into the M297 for the Pagani Zonda.
Having suffered repetitional damage with rust issues over the period 1996 - 2005, with the C216/W221 M-B had return to the size and quality of former years.
The C215 was arguably an over-reaction to the C140 / W140 cars.
The W140 was late to market (1991 rather than 1989 as planned, due to a 2-year delay to develop the M120 V12 motor to counter the BMW E32's M70 V12).
Being launched into a recession, it was consequently perceived as being too large, too heavy and too aggressive in its styling.
The W140 was built virtually without consequence to cost & ran way over budget. Given that it sold in about half the numbers of the preceding W126 the push was on to replace it with a smaller, lighter, lower cost model - the W220.
Corners were cut on quality of steel, plastic, electronics etc. The legislated move to water-based paints in 1996 caused rust problems for M-B & they didn't really get to grips with it until 2006.
The first generation ABC had its problems too.
Witness the M137 motor - the 5.8 litre V12 introduced with the C215/W220 - it was a single cam per bank, 3 valves per cylinder, cheapened motor (Chrysler was on a cost-cutting drive with M-B by this time) which suffered from bore ovality, head gasket issues and excessive oil consumption. Its no-expense spared predecessor was the magnificent quad-cam, 48-valve, 6 litre, M120 which evolved into the M297 for the Pagani Zonda.
Having suffered repetitional damage with rust issues over the period 1996 - 2005, with the C216/W221 M-B had return to the size and quality of former years.
Thank you everyone for you advice, finding one will be a challenge I think.
My sane head says a C216 would be a better option but I just prefer the styling of the C215.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for a C216 as well. I've got plenty of car spare part contacts but I'm not really experienced enough to do the work myself so might have to remain a dream.
My sane head says a C216 would be a better option but I just prefer the styling of the C215.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for a C216 as well. I've got plenty of car spare part contacts but I'm not really experienced enough to do the work myself so might have to remain a dream.
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