V12 Merc Ownership (ouch)
 

10,000 Miles - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test

I felt their pain....:eek:

That suspensions system should strike fear in any potential used Mercedes buyer. If there were one system that consistently drives the resale value of a modern Mercedes downward, it's the service on that system.

I could not possibly say enough bad things about ABC and reliability. Mine was so expensive to keep on the road it was ridiculous.

Hack it all out and put in some normal air bag based suspension.

Then you just have to trick the ECU into thinking it's still there

LOL but your V12 man.. that was the sweetest car ever dude.

And they changed all the coils for one misfire?

I keep promising myself to own a V12 sometime. Perhaps the smartest (and cheapest overall) way would be to buy a non-running model and be buried in it when I die. Zero maintenance costs and just need a bigger hole in the ground.

It would seemingly be cheaper to maintain two six-cylinder Mercedes...

On a M275 they are made into bars of 6(or 12 depending on how you look at it)

Also my understanding is Mercedes has since improved the coil packs so once they inevitably take a dump around 60-80k miles, if you use a genuine replacement you probably won't experience another failure.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...500680-M22.jpg

People are converting W211s to conventional coil-overs, so I'm sure it could be done.

Like I have said, lease and dump, lease and dump.

Now try that with a 2010 S550, right out of warranty!

They got screwed on the B service though.

The problem with modern cars is they mechanical side is fairly straight forward and easy to do. I bet changing the rear end fluid on that CL65 is not terrible difficult, and requires nothing special fluid wise. Its when the dash lights up and you need the dealers computers or lots of time to research things that you get stuck.

The bi-turbo V12 is an amazing engine. It's as smooth as silk when you are cruising and an absolute animal when you step on the throttle. Remove the ABC and it wouldn't be that bad to maintain.

Ask Suginami about doing donuts in the hotel parking lot! 😛

I was just going to post that.

I can still remember your wife in the back seat, sliding across side to side, yelling out, "Teeeeeeeddy". :P

Heh yeah careful the cops you knew as a kid haven't quite retired yet!