It is with great regret that I have to pass on my Sunday car…… I’m waiting for two hips and a knee, that’s the next 18mths written off and I can’t bear to leave this sat in the garage unused for that long.

I bought this car just over two years ago to use as a weekend car, the idea was to end up with a car that was fast, comfortable, reliable, up to date and looked the part wherever you left it. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and wanted it “just so”

The first thing to do was to sort out the bodywork, it had picked up a few car park battle scars and other marks, was acceptable for it’s age but I wanted it right so it was booked into the bodyshop and had all the items needed addressed, it was done properly, stripped where needed and was painted and polished back to it’s former glory, two years later it still looks fresh, has no marks, dents or scratches but to be fussy it has picked up the odd stone chip on the low front. The exhaust tips, which were chromed stainless steel were peeling so I had these stripped and the stainless mirror polished so they will never degrade again. I also changed the mirror indicators for the later LED ones, originals come with the car. The wheels had been refurbished by the former owner so were in good condition. The CL has a ground effect plastic undertray, this was removed (14 pieces) and the whole underside was checked, there was minor rust in some places and around seams, this was all removed then treated with Dinotrol 3 stage rustproofing, the stuff they use on North Sea Oil rigs, so will be protected for years.

These pictures were taken last week……









The next thing to address was the interior, it is in my mind, the best colour, full charcoal leather including the door cards and the dash. It was in generally good condition but looked a little dated and was fitted with an appalling ancient GPS that wasn’t touch screen and didn’t use postcodes, it had a phone kit but used an old Nokia 3310 phone!!. It does have the optional passive central locking and start so no need to get your key out of your pocket and the start button on top of the gear lever is ace… I modified the centre console and fitted a new 7” touch screen unit which has GPS (Igo8 full Europe mapping, speed cameras and postcodes!!) Automatic night time reverse camera, FM-AM Radio, DVD player, CD player, Ipod lead, WiFi with browser, Full Bluetooth hands free car phone and it’s even got some games to play. It even has adjustable button colours, so looks original. You do lose the steering wheel buttons for the stereo but this can be addressed with an interface but didn’t really worry me, the unit does have a remote control as well….. All the interior wood was then covered in 3M Dy-noc carbon fibre wrap which brings the car up to date and looks amasing. The steering wheel was replaced when I found a “new old stock” genuine leather wheel so this is as new as well. Everything inside worked apart from the lumbar supports in both front seats, they are vacume operated via a hard plastic pipe and after only a few years this gives up on the tipping front seats, these were replaced with a standalone mini air bag system, work brilliantly and give more support than the originals. All the interior lamps were replaced with quality LED bulbs. It’s got AMG pedals and genuine mats in excellent condition.
















It drove well when I bought it but as I said I wanted it to be uber reliable so went over the entire car and replaced and renewed where necessary, this included changing all the fluids, Engine oil (which I’ve actually done three times since I’ve owned it, with fully synthetic oil) Gearbox oil, rear axle oil, Coolant changed with expensive long life coolant and distilled water, Brake fluid and ABC (suspension) fluid. The Air Conditioning was advertised as “just needs regassing” when I bought it… yeah right, all the gas left home on it’s own!!!! The leak was traced to the condenser, this was replaced with an OEM part as well as the dryer, then tested and professionally refilled and has been ice cold ever since. All four brake discs were changed with EBC Ultimate discs and Red Stuff pads, all flexible brake pipes were changed for new braided stainless steel pipes and front and rear brake pipes were changed for cupro-nickel pipes (why do they fit steel pipes to a £70,000 car??) Two new front disc shields were fitted. The callipers were refinished in Charcoal metallic calliper paint (same as the new AMG cars) tasteful calliper decals were used as a mask so the logos are permanent and won’t wear off. The ABC, suspension system worked fine but the pump had a small leak from the front seal, the pump was sent off for a rebuild and is now leak free and has the benefit of still being under warrantee for another 18mths, these pumps cost £1500 from Mercedes so this is a very worthwhile addition to this car. The system was flushed and the latest 3micron filter was fitted, the original would have been a 10micron filter and was upgraded by Mercedes. The plug leads were changed for reliability. It’s also had a new heavy duty battery.





The service history up to me owning it is patchy, starts off well, dealer serviced up to 50,000+ then there is a gap where details have been lost, there is a lot of recent history, it is obvious from the way it drives that it has been looked after. It drives perfectly, the engine and gearbox are silky smooth, the brakes and suspension are spot on, no nasty noises from anywhere, and it drives and brakes straight. It has staggered alloys (wider at the back) All four tyres were changed last year and have loads of tread left, they are branded makes but different front and back as no one makes both sizes!!! The spare is new. The engine bay looks like a new car.

So if you are after a beautiful CL500 in a gorgeous colour, that has been fully overhauled and updated and will give many years of pleasure then this is the one, we drove to Venice in it last year, it did 2,600 miles in 10 days, drove without a hiccup and was admired wherever it went, it’s been to Wales and the far North of Scotland and has given us endless pleasure on weekends away….

It’s just had a new MOT and has six months tax

All this for £4500 ONO…. Must go to a good home!!!

If you want to know anything else just PM me

Thanks for looking

Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  Pete
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Last edited by Haylands on 11th Oct 2014 1:03pm. Edited 1 time in total

What an absolutely stunning example. wish I had the cash!

Good luck with the sale, someone will really get a bargain.

Steve

Sorry to hear about the operations you need, that's rotten luck.

Yes lovely car - bargain for someone.

I couldn't see the age or mileage?

GLWS

Guys

I "think" i know this car from a Merc forum im on. I used to own a CL500 and now a CL600.

If its the car im thinking of the rebuild Haylands has done has been well documented and the car is amazing!
I wouldnt hesitate to recommend this to anyone who is in the position for another car! This would have been close to £100k car when new and still looks it!
I had a CL500 and they drive a million dollars and they have got every toy and more, Ultimate car for Mondeo money.

Good luck with the sale fella, and i only wish mine looked as good as this one.

Cheers
Tel Accept, some days your the pigeon, some days your the statue!

I love those.... really classy. Have I seen it on MBClub? Looks superb.

Here's mine (now gone )

Click image to enlarge

Awww, thanks guys,

I have ummed and aaahed about whether to let it go or not, I even SORNed it for a month and was going to mothball it, but in reality it could be up to two years before I maybe able to use it again, and that's not a certainty... I haven't slept in a bed since Christmas so there is no point going away for a nice weekend in a posh hotel and kipping in a chair!!! We took it to Venice last year and it was wonderful, did the Top Gear "top road" up to Davos and lots of others we found and the active suspension is just superb....

I bought the Rangie in March to soften the blow of not being able to get in and out of the Merc and now our weekends are days out off roading.... to be fair the only times it's been out since is to give it a run now and again...

And I typed all that and forgot the age and mileage....

It's a 2000 and it's done 124,000 miles

It cost LOADS more than I'm asking to get it to where it is now....

Just want someone who will appreciate it to have it.... Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Wish I had the garage space. Lovely car and a bargain at the price. 2011 Stornaway Grey 5.0SC Autobiography

apologies for my lack of knowledge but is this one of those convertible hard tops?

(lovely looking car by the way)

That looks a great car Sir! At that price it is nearly a gift
Succes with the hip, knees and sale!

andyleeds wrote:

apologies for my lack of knowledge but is this one of those convertible hard tops?

The big old merc's appeal to lots of ppl. This wont be around a long time. The newer mercs just dont hold themselves as well....always liked the S and CL Class Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

Looks great; just wish I could justify it as I've always wanted one to sit alongside my wife's SL500. Unfortunately another V8 in the family just wouldn't leave enough petrol in the world for everyone else
Good luck and I hope Makro didn't chase you out of the car park!

And you're only a few miles away too -  Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

PM sent

Wow!
That is fantastic. Shame you have to sell it. I'll echo the good wishes on the sale and the ops.

Hmm. Almost old enough to import... Must try to resist!