12k budget - large coupe.

My SL has been perfect, although i was very careful to buy a good one from its first owner. It is also a later model which are not prone to as many issues. I have an MOT on friday (my 2nd with the car) so perhaps my opinion will change come approximately friday lunchtime ;)

Thats bad luck on your 220. Unfortunately staged outlay is the name of the game with all luxury and high end cars. Everything is worth doing in isolation, so you end up with a snowball effect as you have experienced.
 
[TW]Fox;22184704 said:
Thats not a 'large coupe' it's a C Class Coupe basically, a 3 Series class car. Only it's the same generation as the E46 3 Series not the E92..
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Ok medium coupe, but still a nice example in the budget. CL will obviously have more toys and be roomier, but heck, a vintage 560 SEC was suggested which is eons older generation, and he drives a 318i auto, so this is gonna feel more substantial and won't break the bank fuel wise or parts wise compared to a CL.

Sorry guess my practical head was on :o
 
The CLK is still a very nice car, it just isn't at the same level as the others in this thread. He could do a lot worse :)
 
Jez said:
The CLK is still a very nice car, it just isn't at the same level as the others in this thread. He could do a lot worse :)
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Quite fancy an older 320 myself to be honest, cant be more expensive to run than my scooby.
 
As long as you avoid the Mercedes dealer network there is no reason a CLK320 would cost much to run at all really. Other than body rot which is clearly visible when purchasing one, they are very reliable. They do not require any special attention at all, any local garage will be able to maintain one for you.
 
Jez said:
As long as you avoid the Mercedes dealer network there is no reason a CLK320 would cost much to run at all really. Other than body rot which is clearly visible when purchasing one, they are very reliable. They do not require any special attention at all, any local garage will be able to maintain one for you.
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Sounds good, and better economy than my Subaru as well as lower running costs. Although my Subaru has been very reliable since I changed to newage coilpacks, a bit of luxury and compliant suspension should help with my new cross country journey :)
 
So reading between the lines, it is expected that R230 SL running costs are going to similar to S-class vehicles of the same era?

Are 630i costs significantly lower? It seems that the SL is superior to the 6 series but are the running costs that much higher, are we talking 50% more, or 300% more? I can't imagine a 6 series is cheap to run, regardless of the spec.
 
megakid said:
So reading between the lines, it is expected that R230 SL running costs are going to similar to S-class vehicles of the same era?

Are 630i costs significantly lower? It seems that the SL is superior to the 6 series but are the running costs that much higher, are we talking 50% more, or 300% more? I can't imagine a 6 series is cheap to run, regardless of the spec.
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The main SL issue is the suspension - and the 6 Series has conventional springs and dampers.
 
megakid said:
So reading between the lines, it is expected that R230 SL running costs are going to similar to S-class vehicles of the same era?

Are 630i costs significantly lower? It seems that the SL is superior to the 6 series but are the running costs that much higher, are we talking 50% more, or 300% more? I can't imagine a 6 series is cheap to run, regardless of the spec.
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The SL is a very much superior car, its suspension is absolutely sublime, as are the engines and feel of the whole thing. The Vario roof makes it a car for all occasions. The only obvious downside being the lack of rear seats which may be an issue (CL has rear seats and is very similar with a fixed roof which is a good alternative).

Ongoing costs are not horrific for the type of car IF you avoid the main dealer network.

The engines are absolutely bulletproof, you are unlikely to get an expensive problem even if you barely service them - they will outlast the car itself. Gearboxes are also very reliable, i rarely ever hear of one fail on the various mercedes forums, even at huge mileages. As per most auto's just keep on top of the fluid changes and it will go on and on.

Servicing is the same as any other car except for the increased count of service parts needed, a 500 takes 16 plugs and 8.5L of oil for example. All dead cheap stuff though obviously. The only other service area which i wouldn't personally let anyone other than a true specialist touch is the brakes, i am no techie when it comes to cars but they use some sort of active sensing system on the calipers which makes the pads very dangerous to touch yourself. Tyres, pads, discs etc are all normal for the type of car, approx £1000 for a set of decent tyres for example, so nothing out of the ordinary there either.

Only real real potential area for costs is the active body control. This is an absolutely superb system but it can have its issues. On the whole it is likely to require a new fluid compressor every (IME) 60-80k miles, and struts can fail as can various valves and pipes and things (Mine has had a new valve block, pump, and struts from memory). There are a lot of specialist rebuild options for the struts nowadays though. In my opinion worst case for an ABC failure (if you have the time to send the struts away for rebuild and can be without the car) would total no more than £2-3k nowadays. So it really isnt the big deal it used to be, i dont worry about mine at all.
 
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Jez my man, where the hell have you been?? I come here fairly rarely these days but not seen you on msn for several years!!
 
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