Fun Fact: It has a heating spiral in the washer fluid resevoir. So when you want to wash some bugs off your windscreen it does with hot fluid (and works way better)
The more important reason for the heater element in the washerfluid tank,is that its there to make sure it does not freeze in very low temperatures.this combined with heated lines and spray nozzles,makes sure it does not freeze ;)
My Triumph Acclaim had its washer bottle fitted to the side of the radiator so also offered heated windscreen washers. A simple idea that I haven't come across since.
What I really like with JayEmm, is that you don't just get an honest and straightforward car review, you always get a bit of automotive history lesson at the same time.
The W140 chassis had some of the coolest features. 1. Rear mirror (photochromic anti glaze) - adjusted from the console, no need to even raise your hand 2. Double glazed windows - also include obstruction sensors 3. Remotely closed windows from the keyfob (not a luxury feature now, but it was back then) 4. Soft close doors and power-assisted boot (trunk) 5. Pop-out boot (trunk) handle 6. 12-way adjustable seats including memory function 7. Electric retractable side mirrors 8. Electric fold-down rear headrests for better vision when reversing 9. 4 zone climate control with active charcoal filter 10. Electric rear screen blind
The electric rear mirror was discontinued with the facelift and 4speed gearbox. And to find the mirror working in the prefaced model is like winning the lotto as many people didn't have a clue about this gimmick, wanted to adjust it by hand aaaand that was the last time it was electricly adjusted cause the replacement cost is astonishing.
When I was a teenager I worked extra at a car dealership where the owner had a silver one of these. He wanted it washed almost every day. In the flesh they are massive. Built like a tank. At the time I never understood how expensive and rare it was.
+400hp was not "modest" for the period. This was the most powerful car you could actually drive every day! This outpowered the supercharged XJR and XKR, Ferrari 360 Modena, the whole BMW range... if you wanted more power, you'd have to buy a Ferrari 550 which is NOT an everyday car.
To be fair by the late 90s, a Jaguar XJR more or less matched it on power (370bhp) and torque - but from a supercharged 4L V8, and with a lighter body. By that time plenty of Japanese imports were also making that sort of power with barely any modification.
@Richard Harrold the V8 XJR was not torquier, it only made 370 lb ft torque, this makes 420 lb. Either way they're not really competitors. This can stil do 0-60 in the mid 6s which was quick for the time and similar too or abit quicker than similar cars
@@JayEmmOnCars it was a lighter body, because it was a much smaller car. 90s modded Japanese cars are hardly comparable. It's considerably more than any other 'normal' V12 of the 90s. The Bentley Conti T even with 6.75 and a massive turbo only made abit more power ( but obviously alot more torque )
@Richard Harrold either way, it's the most powerful NA V12 of the 90s in a series production car, and it's certainly not slow or gutless. Also comparing to a Supercharged V8 is applies to oranges. Compared to the BMW or Jag V12 of the era there is a huge gulf in power and also reliability re the latter.
@Richard Harrold think you're missing the point of the car. It's a luxury coupe not a sports coupe. Having the 7.3 as a standard engine is abit ridiculous. Of course it would be physically bigger than the Bimmer V12, as it's DOHC and slightly bigger in capacity
The "small fan thats broken" will be the aspirator motor in the overhead console. It draws air in to sample the temperature for the climate control to make sure it's getting an accurate reading of cabin temp. About £40 from the dealer and 5 min to replace.
I had a '93 600SEC (the ONLY year it was called the 600SEC - it was renamed CL600 in 1994). Bought it with less than 40k miles on it. Absolute mint condition. Paid $13,500. New it was $135k. It depreciated 90% by the time I bought it. That's about $3 per MILE of depreciation from the time it was new until I bought it from the original owner. I like to think of it this way... Gas was about $3/gallon back then, so every 300 or so miles when the original owner filled the fuel tank, he'd spend about $60 for gas and $900 in depreciation!!!! Cost him nearly a grand every time he opened the fuel cap.
If I had the spare cash and somewhere to park it, I'd snap this up in an instant. I've always fancied luxury cars more than fast cars, and in particular, I've always wanted an S-class - a long wheelbase saloon, preferably. But I'm also very tempted by the coupe. This is exactly the kind of car I love most.
Thanks James. I remember a very old video in which J Clarkson said you can buy a cottage for the price of one of these which was around 90k. Just imagine how much the cottage is today.
@@JayEmmOnCars agree completely! I was fortunate enough to have owned a 1999 CL600 over a decade ago and due to the exorbitant maintenance (previous owner didn’t do much) I gave it up. It was only after I gave my car up I came to learn that the 1999 in the NA market was only 1 of 15 (or 16) so I spent years searching for one again the past couple of years. I’m pleased to say I found one and I’m never letting her go! They are a dream to have on the highway effortlessly cruising to your destination. I love most the road presence and feeling like you’re king of the road.
Reminds me of my neighbour who was a hi-fi fanatic and was unable to truly enjoy anything he listened to as he was always overly-attuned to every little imperfection - like going to a classical music concert surrounded by people eating popcorn.
This car was huge. When these came out I had a 560 SEC, a gorgeous car, and a friend had got one of these monsters. He'd traded up from a 560 SEC. He regretted it constantly. As these cars were so tech filled anything that could go wrong would. He soon sold it. After owning the 560 for over 10 years, I traded up to the CL55 coupe. A beautiful car inside and lovely to drive and look at, not like this car, until one day...I didn't drive it for a few days and came out to get in and couldn't open the power close doors. The new battery was flat. Put a new one in, under warranty, and the same thing happened again. The MB dealer had it on and off for weeks. Could never find the fault. Told me the drivers door memory switch was the fault, $2k later the problem was still there. Then the suspension started to fail. Replaced the pump, another 3k, only to find I'd started a chain reaction. Now the car would be down on its haunches when I'd go to get in it. Have to hit the suspension lift switch. Was told that the suspension shocks were leaking. If you replaced one the others would then fail as they were older, so you had to do all 4 corners. At $6k each!!. The new E class was just out. I traded in a fast as I could. These old MBs are too expensive to maintain. A bit like my Ferrari 575. But at least it holds its value and is a real joy to own and drive. As always, a great review.
Wow I remember when I was one of your 30k subs, now approaching 200k !! Good work lad, in a car industry thats losing its soul, seeing cars we grew up wanting really makes this the best car channel on the internet 👍
I have 1997 W140 S600 and I daily drive it to and from work. The car is great but it has its fair share of problems as well. I do work and do all of its maintenance as well. When I do drive this, it puts a big smile in my face and I feel like "El Presidente". Take care.
This is so true. :) Cars from the 80s and 90s were just more "cars" in the old style than today's "computers" like machines. :) Drop by buddy, you may find it interesting.
I worked at Mercedes-Benz when we made these. The problem was always the styling, which did not attract the buyers who had loved the previous C126 coupe. It was hard to sell, even when new, but was packed with technology and if you find one with full service history and careful ownership, they are quite amazing. I would definitely recommend an inspection by a Mercedes dealer or specialist before purchase.
@@conorhanley9009 Engines are fine, but must be serviced properly - ie according to the Mercedes service schedule. A good Mercedes specialist will do this. By the way, a BMW 7 series with a big engine is the real depreciator. A good one is an amazing bargain.
I like this generation of CL. One of the lecturer in my university has one. Every time I went home and see that black CL600 parked I do feel a tinge of jealousy and admiration.
Excellent and accurate review. These have very solid powertrains, though their general complexity and parts pricing does make them expensive to maintain. People who didn’t care for them and let them deteriorate but still limp along have certainly made it a costly undertaking to restore the cars. With that said, every late model C140 CL600 is worth saving if it’s not excessively rusty or crashed. My W140 S500 has been a costly car to maintain, not because of the powertrain but rather everything else. However, I love the big, smooth, stable, over-engineered land yacht feeling it gives to drive. It’s pretty shocking that someone was able to buy this for 3k GBP, even with some issues. I guess that dealers in dealer auctions don’t want to deal with these. In Canada, a 1998 CL600 in the decent but imperfect condition you drove would be worth around $15-20k CAD in private sale.
The "fluid suspension" in the 90's S Class and this coupe is actually a reverse engineered version of Citroen's Hydractive system. Because unlike Rolls Royce/Bentley who licensed the system from Citroen, Mercedes "coincidentally" made a system using the same fluid, same spheres (they're even green just like the Citroen ones), and in general the exact same functionality, and paid no royalties to Citroen. Except the fact Mercs didn't have selectable ride height like Citroens did (but neither did Rolls Royce/Bentley).
It's vastly more complicated than Citroen's system - and woe-betide you when it starts causing issues. There is a bunch of videos from LegitStreetCars channel where he (a professional mechanic who worked as a Mercedes tech for years) spends ages repairing a system, trying all kinds of things to diagnose, replacing various fluid blocks and so on (turned out some rubber had collapsed and wedged in some of the valve system) - I'm guessing if you were paying a mechanic to do this kind of thing it'd cost you untold thousands to fix.
I drove a couple of these back in the day and loved the smoothness and effortless acceleration. I remember the original TG review where JC compares this car with a countryside cottage and both cost the same at the time. Amazing.
These cars have absolutely SUPERB build quality. Things aren't going to break when properly maintained. Of course it's 25 years old and you have to put some new stuff every now and then but the only really costly part is the air suspension if it goes bad. But even that isn't terrible as there are good alternatives for replacement. Amazing car, very good video again. Thanks.
@@xoinzz1543 You're actually correct. That didn't come before the W220 was introduced. It was the next CL that had the air suspension. My memory didn't serve me correctly.
That generation Mercedes,W140/C140 were the absolute peak of engineering. Any model after that was just going downhill. Some might argue,but even every next model was technically more advanced,from engineering pov it couldn't come even close to that family. And I say that as non Mercedes fan. I just appreciate and recognise quality when I see one.
I owned many S-Class MBs. The 140 series was my favorite, way better than the ones who came after the 140. Reliability and quality went way downhill after the 140. I wouldn't even consider buying the latest one.
As an American I always have envied Great Britain's used car prices (even given our global situation), it's still crazy you can get a decent quirky older car for ~£3000, even taking conversion rates into account.
I don’t just envy the used car prices. New these cars were almost twice the price in the Netherlands compared to the £108k you mentioned. And because of CO2 taxes it’s just getting worse on the new car market. This has it’s effect on the used market as well.. before Brexit you’d find some used cars with right hand drive, because they were much more affordable to get from the UK. However not in big numbers
Interesting.... It is a model that I have liked and I have never seen a nice one for less than £5,000... Thanks for being dead straight about the cost of maintenance being very high. Top review... 👍👍👍
I ran the saloon version of this car (600SEL) for some 16 years and boy, whilst being fabulous cars they are VERY expensive to maintain. Fuel consumption is between 11 & 19mpg and the V12 engine will almost certainly require the timing chain and guides replacing between 90,000 - 100,000 miles. Service items are expensive, 6 lites of engine oil for an oil change, 12 spark plugs (the very rear ones being a nightmare to access) and 2 air filters (it has 2 throttle bodies!) Engine wiring harnesses disintegrate meaning a trip to the MB dealersip (a new one has to be hand made (££££££££) at the MB factory as they are not stock items) and throttle body wiring also self destructs. The dreaded N10 multi function relay is also problematic leading to ASR & SRS problems. Rear hydraulic accumulators leak/puncture requiring replacement and the associated hydraulic pipework is troublesome. Front coil springs fracture regularly and brake discs/pads require frequent replacing. Fantastic cars to drive though, just dont EVER think you can run one on a tight budget - because you cant.
I had a CL420, bought for 2000 euro. Never enjoyed the steering feel as if was far too light, but may have been due to the speed sensitive power steering not operating as it should. Obviously difficult to compare two back to back give their rarity. The next owner eventually sold it for 10k after it being advertised for nearly 4 years. Glad to have had the experience but it was a case of 'never met your heroes'. I'm happier with my C126 and was in awe of a C216 I had for a short while, another magnificent beast
My dad has a 94 sl 600 and here in New Zealand I have full cover on it for $450 nzd a year and I’m 21. You guys in England really get shafted for young drivers with big engines
Veeery nice video.Im a huge MB fan,and i also do alot of MB stuff on my channel.But a little correction to the "CL vs/ Sec." thing..is that this is still an S class coupe..aka SEC.The reason for Mercedes Benz changing it to CL..is that Mercedes changed the model designations to suit their new nommenklature. The same happend for instance,to the w124 series.In 1994..they started using these prefixes like E klass,,, S klass etc,in a different way. For an example, the w124 500e became the e500:And the "e" in the "500e", does not say that it was an E klass(the E in the ending of the 500,stands for Einspritzung, not E class :) The cool thing with the updated version (from 1996),is that alof of the engine electrics changed.They went from distributor, ignitionmodule engine electronics,,to feature coil on plug setup,which is far more reliable and durable.What is eternaly important on these era Mercedes is to check all the engine wiring harness,especially on the 1991-1996 year cars.Also throttle bodies is a high risk area,especially on a v12 where there is two throttle bodies,two MAF sensors, etc etc.It can quickly become a diagnostic disaster if you do not what you are getting into with a car like this :) I know..cause i am a Car/ diagnostic technician :) Eitherway,Lovely video,and lovely channel:)Greetings from Norway,Stefan
Fantastic review James , as always !! I came extremely close to buying one a CL 600 as my first " mid-life crisis " car . The car drove beautifully , I remember it had such charisma and presence . The salesman was very keen to start the paperwork , I asked to view the car on a lift and he really started sweating , upon inspection ,it was dripping every fluid known to man and the exhaust had been welded with some type of foam filler !!! .Naturally , I walked away and soon after bought a 2004 Pontiac GTO ( Vauxhall Monaro ) , with headers and a sports exhaust which ticked all the boxes :) I would love to see you review one of those , I imagine you would enjoy it very much ! .
@@lorenzobrusasco3132 I had a Vauxhall Monaro 6.0 VXR. Should have been my dream car. But I hated it. It looks the businnes but that's where it end's. It drives, handles and rides like a old Vauxhall Cavalier. And it was slow! Terrible car that should have been so much better. My Range Rover could outrun this any day.
Absolutely awesome 👌🏻 What a stunner. It’s great to see these big luxury executive saloons still being driven. I really do love it and always feel great when I see something like this out on the road. Thanks for showing us these big classics 😉👍🏻
Brilliant video matey, had 3 of these over the years, bought all off them very cheaply one was a dutchalet and carat, which allegedly cost 120000 when new in 1994, also had a few of the saloons and some r129 sl,s , not being flash everything was in the trade and keenly priced, but my point is most were 5 speed automatic,s and I never had any trouble at all, in fact I always used it as a positive when it was time to move them on. The electrical gremlins did catch me a few times ,very expensive to repair anything on the blower systems, entire dashboard out jobs, very time consuming and very expensive if you could find someone to even take the job on. After a while you become more casual about having a car were everything works , the odd warning light on here or there or a switch the didn't do anything anymore ,never really detracted from driving about in these things, just great car's.
I really love this model! I had one and it is my biggest regret selling it. The brakes are actually good, but they will only work the way they were intented with genuine Mercedes components, unfortunaly.
Back in the day, I bought an S600 140 when it was 1 year old with 40k kilometers for 40% of its new price, in Switzerland, was told by the Swiss Merc dealer who maintained it, the 12 cyl engine was a sealed unit guaranteed by Mercedes for 300k kilometers. One bank of 6 cylinders had electronically controlled acceleration, the other bank of 6 cylinders had mechanical control, so electrical. problems would allow a 6 cyl limp home mode of 200bhp. Even at just over 1 year old, the main dealer service and maintenance costs were over £7k equivalent a year and insurance was the same (no long warranties back then). When it came out of the company leasing I hit it over the head with a shovel, because of its running and insurance costs at nearly £20k a year. Beware of the eye watering costs, these have great build quality but it’s like a swiss watch.
I have always been a fan of the 140. Fun video. I like seeing the Countryside. Beautiful area. I live in Denver. Driving in the mountains is a treat and the scenery will take your breath away. Cheers!!!
Good video info. I’ve had my 1996 S600 Coupe V12 approx15 yrs , your right they need proper servicing which makes the car A joy to drive. My car has done 145K miles and drives like new , the V12 engine and gearbox are bomb proof , no clunking From gearbox and engine is quiet, again your right there are gremlins but I normally get them sorted straight away making An affordable classic car to run but don’t be fooled some gremlins can get expensive. Yes the are cheap to buy but my advice Would be do your homework, Another thing to look out for is front and rear windscreens they are prone to moisture around the edge Of the glass which is a white misty colour, I replaced mine front and rear, the reason I spend money on it because it’s a great car to Drive and good examples looked after are very rare to find which in time values will rise and as for mine everything works which possibly One of the best in time ,
I have one of these w140 S600 same colour as the one your driving i have every receipt and service inspection from when it was bought new 25 years old and it drives like a dream with an immaculate interior, Beautiful car.
My favorite era of Mercedes-Benz. I used to own an E Class from this era. It was a tank and I wish Merc was still up to this standard. Good video Jay on to the next one bloke. (:
Commendable that you give a realistic picture of what ownership of a car like the CL is. These days, luckily, I don't see as many articles anymore naming dream cars or high end luxury cars you can buy for the price of a golf or focus. I always thought those articles only encouraged unhappy situations: cars that suffer poor maintenance because of owners trying to save costs and owners that get disillusioned because the experience isn't what they expected.
The buzzing noise you’re hearing is a small climate control fan located in the ceiling light pod. All you need to do is pop the unit out, carefully disassemble the brittle plastic parts, and simply clean and lubricate the impeller. Takes 10 minutes.
Awesome car. Saw a few of the later generations available for sale in my country but the running costs are way too high for me. They truly are imperious as you. Fantastic video production. Keep up the good work.
M120 is an engine I’ll never forget. The way the power is delivered, the ultimate pace. 408hp/420lbs/ft (slightly lower rating here in the states) felt like it was at the wheels.
This car is great and handles fantastic if you are competent and know how to steer and break. Take driver training for security staff and you will see what these cars a really capable of.
Perhaps the ultimate car of the year of my birth, 1995. It is certainly a strong candidate for my future weekend car, one to save, maintain and enjoy for decades to come.
Great car . She's built like a tank and is an absolute beauty mate ! Even after so many years this thing has an awesome presence. I'd snatch one up in a jiffy if I could find one , cool !!!
@@kevinbarry71 What I've heard is that while the electrically adjustable interior rear view mirror in the 140 series broke when someone tries to manually adjust it, the W220/C215 series had electrically adjustable interior mirrors that can be adjusted manually or electronically (i.e., manhandling the interior mirror didn't break the motor).
A few years ago I had the chance to drive a W116 6.9. The owner was telling me how it would do standing start burnouts with four people on board. There were four of us, so I was happy to see if he was telling the truth :-) (he was)
I owned one of these for six months - had a drink problem that made Keith Richard’s look sober ! And the electrics made me want an RAC Van following me ! But I loved it !
Thanks James, a lovely contender for my virtual garage. Yes, potentially expensive to repair but what a huge amount of car for the money. In fact I've just seen a '95 500 Coupe for £12k... tempting, but I'm very attached to my Baby Benz 190..
Had 2 W140 S-classes, a coupe (officially C140) and a saloon. Both 5 litre V8, so never experienced the V12-ness, but he's right they are imperious. Had loads of XJ's and the S-classes ride quality is far better. The smoothest cars I've ever owned and picked up both for ridiculously low prices, £950 for the coupe and £1500 for the saloon. Great days, sadly never to be repeated, but thank goodness I had the chance to own and drive such wonderful machines.
Fun fact: people who ordered w140 saloon s from factory and then changed their minds and wanted a coup were charged a 100k DM fee for the priviledge. The price list difference was only 30k DM but that came with a 2 year plus waiting list.
As a babysitter of the last 1999(!) s600 w140, everything that you have said about this car is true. Its already racked up 3x of its purchase price in a year, due to it being "dry" stored for 10 years without use. Just be weary about rust on these cars UK Car cancer beats even the biggest battle tanks.. and where the water and grit sits....
Fun presentation, a real JayEmm on Coupés with an imposing member of Das Haus! It's great you could and still can buy a V12 for those inspired to own and drive one. Thank you.
Undoubtedly a fantastic car to drive. I came close to buying one two years ago: it was in superb condition with the same owner for 11 years. But ... he had spent £5,000 a year to keep it that way, and that included doing some of the work on it himself. I doubt whether I would have found a better one, but in the end I decided not to buy it and got a W124 E420 instead. Not quite a V12, but a 4.2-litre V8 isn't too shabby either. It was specified with the badge delete so it's rather more discreet too.
The proper maintenance costs on this or the W140 are definitely worth keeping in mind if looking at one of these as a bargain. Family has an S600 and hasn't driven it in years now because the maintenance became more expensive than the car is worth (probably why these depreciated so hard if it's going to cost as much as a used runabout every year just to maintain to high level daily driver standard). They won't get rid of it of course, because to use Clarkson's "Jag" voice *it's an... Essssssssssss six HUNDRED!*
I bought a 1998 CL500 about 6 years ago. The body work was a bit tatty, but the beige interior was immaculate. Engine and gearbox were spot on. The front wings rot really bad on these, so i decided to replace them. However the ones advertised on ebay were worse than the ones i had. I bought 2 brand new front wings from Mercedes Cardiff, they cost £800.I had to wait 6 weeks to get them. When i collected them, the guy in Mercedes said, do you realise that you have just bought the last 2 available. I had a full professional respray in original obsidian black. I can honestly say, it was a beautiful, immaculate car. I bought the car for £520 and sold it for £9000. Had to sell it, because i had 5 cars at the time, and no longer had anywhere to store them. Still regret it today.
I the SEL 600 ran it for 3 years and sold it for just £ 500 less than I brought it for. At traffic lights it would take off really well leaving the boy racers wondering what the he'll was under the bonnet. I remember booting it on the motorway and it changing up at 138mph. They were limited to 150mph. Not a slow car and it did it all with ease.
The double glazing on these generation cars is so thick that along with the sheer heft of them, a lot of people came away with the idea that these cars and the S600 brethren were armored cars from the factory.
Magnificent! The 126 was a hard act to follow and the initial reaction was not good, however with the passage of time it's now viewed differently. I feel the interior has dated very well and is perfect Mercedes classic design.
Man what a great buy, a maintenance history and and knowledgeable inspection and you would have a great car. After all, WHO among US wouldn't want a V12 in their lives at least once, and being in the European theater, you have knowledgeable people, and I assume parts availability.
thank you.... it was my dream car. There was one in switzerland last year. was like new. 20"000 CHF. but i was not in position to buy at all. life sucks sometimes. hope to find a perfect one one day.
Great video, my daily driver is a Bentley T2 (Rolls shadow 2). I could not find a new car with a budget of £40k ish that had a soft ride and without the stupid privacy glass etc. I reckon that the depreciation of a new car purchased today on my budget will offset the purchase price of my T2 within 2 years, all I have to do is keep putting petrol in it but as it is over 40 years old there is no road tax and the insurance is cheap.
I had an almandine red CL420 with mushroom leather and it was probably the nicest car to drive I have ever had. Even that engine struggled to do 20mpg given the weight of the car so I sold it but I seriously regret that now... Some years have biodegradable wiring loom insulation which as you might have guessed is not great after 20 years so replacing engine bay looms is sometimes necessary, as is the vacuum pump for the soft close doors and boot - these can be rebuilt for not too much money. Lack of use will be bad news for the air con and electric windows etc. Some late 90s Mercs did rust badly so watch for that too. Overall no question that these were better built than the W220s that replaced them but the latter had the economical 320 diesel and the faster AMG models so sold well.
Fun Fact: It has a heating spiral in the washer fluid resevoir. So when you want to wash some bugs off your windscreen it does with hot fluid (and works way better)
The more important reason for the heater element in the washerfluid tank,is that its there to make sure it does not freeze in very low temperatures.this combined with heated lines and spray nozzles,makes sure it does not freeze ;)
Nice innovation! Would not be hard to do this in new cars and many benefits.
My w124 300e 1990 also has this feature including heated nozzles🙂
Can confirm, W124 and the predecessor S-Class W126 also already had this feature.
My Triumph Acclaim had its washer bottle fitted to the side of the radiator so also offered heated windscreen washers.
A simple idea that I haven't come across since.
What I really like with JayEmm, is that you don't just get an honest and straightforward car review, you always get a bit of automotive history lesson at the same time.
Check out the Curious Cars channel if you like this type of car video. You’ll thank me later:-)
The W140 chassis had some of the coolest features.
1. Rear mirror (photochromic anti glaze) - adjusted from the console, no need to even raise your hand
2. Double glazed windows - also include obstruction sensors
3. Remotely closed windows from the keyfob (not a luxury feature now, but it was back then)
4. Soft close doors and power-assisted boot (trunk)
5. Pop-out boot (trunk) handle
6. 12-way adjustable seats including memory function
7. Electric retractable side mirrors
8. Electric fold-down rear headrests for better vision when reversing
9. 4 zone climate control with active charcoal filter
10. Electric rear screen blind
The electric rear mirror was discontinued with the facelift and 4speed gearbox. And to find the mirror working in the prefaced model is like winning the lotto as many people didn't have a clue about this gimmick, wanted to adjust it by hand aaaand that was the last time it was electricly adjusted cause the replacement cost is astonishing.
When I was a teenager I worked extra at a car dealership where the owner had a silver one of these. He wanted it washed almost every day. In the flesh they are massive. Built like a tank. At the time I never understood how expensive and rare it was.
Better not to know. We judge cars better when we don’t know the cost
+400hp was not "modest" for the period. This was the most powerful car you could actually drive every day! This outpowered the supercharged XJR and XKR, Ferrari 360 Modena, the whole BMW range... if you wanted more power, you'd have to buy a Ferrari 550 which is NOT an everyday car.
To be fair by the late 90s, a Jaguar XJR more or less matched it on power (370bhp) and torque - but from a supercharged 4L V8, and with a lighter body.
By that time plenty of Japanese imports were also making that sort of power with barely any modification.
@Richard Harrold the V8 XJR was not torquier, it only made 370 lb ft torque, this makes 420 lb. Either way they're not really competitors. This can stil do 0-60 in the mid 6s which was quick for the time and similar too or abit quicker than similar cars
@@JayEmmOnCars it was a lighter body, because it was a much smaller car. 90s modded Japanese cars are hardly comparable. It's considerably more than any other 'normal' V12 of the 90s.
The Bentley Conti T even with 6.75 and a massive turbo only made abit more power ( but obviously alot more torque )
@Richard Harrold either way, it's the most powerful NA V12 of the 90s in a series production car, and it's certainly not slow or gutless.
Also comparing to a Supercharged V8 is applies to oranges. Compared to the BMW or Jag V12 of the era there is a huge gulf in power and also reliability re the latter.
@Richard Harrold think you're missing the point of the car. It's a luxury coupe not a sports coupe. Having the 7.3 as a standard engine is abit ridiculous.
Of course it would be physically bigger than the Bimmer V12, as it's DOHC and slightly bigger in capacity
The "small fan thats broken" will be the aspirator motor in the overhead console. It draws air in to sample the temperature for the climate control to make sure it's getting an accurate reading of cabin temp. About £40 from the dealer and 5 min to replace.
They will trickle money from your bank account. signed - a MB owner
I had a '93 600SEC (the ONLY year it was called the 600SEC - it was renamed CL600 in 1994). Bought it with less than 40k miles on it. Absolute mint condition. Paid $13,500. New it was $135k. It depreciated 90% by the time I bought it. That's about $3 per MILE of depreciation from the time it was new until I bought it from the original owner. I like to think of it this way... Gas was about $3/gallon back then, so every 300 or so miles when the original owner filled the fuel tank, he'd spend about $60 for gas and $900 in depreciation!!!! Cost him nearly a grand every time he opened the fuel cap.
If I had the spare cash and somewhere to park it, I'd snap this up in an instant. I've always fancied luxury cars more than fast cars, and in particular, I've always wanted an S-class - a long wheelbase saloon, preferably. But I'm also very tempted by the coupe. This is exactly the kind of car I love most.
The C140 600's grandfather is the Jagdpanther tankdestroyer of WW2; stramlined looks, large gasoline V12 and high maintainance 🙂
Thanks James. I remember a very old video in which J Clarkson said you can buy a cottage for the price of one of these which was around 90k. Just imagine how much the cottage is today.
But does the cottage have a V12? 😏
@@ww3110 who cares literally anyone can own a V12 .
A house is unattainable to almost anyone.
@@avancalledrupert5130It’s a Sunday mate, put your feet up instead of taking an obvious joke, seriously… 😭
@@ww3110 I replied with an obvious joke . It's funny because it's both true and a ludicrous situation.
The cottage appreciation has increased at the same rate as the CL in depreciation
These are the videos I love best - older, niche, affordable future calssics. There is definitely something about the old luxury barges.
They have a certain way about them - in the same way an old mansion just feels "Better" than a modern ultra-hi-tech apartment
@@JayEmmOnCars agree completely! I was fortunate enough to have owned a 1999 CL600 over a decade ago and due to the exorbitant maintenance (previous owner didn’t do much) I gave it up. It was only after I gave my car up I came to learn that the 1999 in the NA market was only 1 of 15 (or 16) so I spent years searching for one again the past couple of years. I’m pleased to say I found one and I’m never letting her go! They are a dream to have on the highway effortlessly cruising to your destination. I love most the road presence and feeling like you’re king of the road.
Curious Cars is another good channel to check out if you like old weird stuff.
it won't be a future classic.
@@hottub2249 I hope it is still serving you well what a machine wow
My favourite ever Mercedes is the C140. I saw one as a kid with those huge doors and ever since I've been hooked.
Reminds me of my neighbour who was a hi-fi fanatic and was unable to truly enjoy anything he listened to as he was always overly-attuned to every little imperfection - like going to a classical music concert surrounded by people eating popcorn.
This car was huge. When these came out I had a 560 SEC, a gorgeous car, and a friend had got one of these monsters. He'd traded up from a 560 SEC. He regretted it constantly. As these cars were so tech filled anything that could go wrong would. He soon sold it. After owning the 560 for over 10 years, I traded up to the CL55 coupe. A beautiful car inside and lovely to drive and look at, not like this car, until one day...I didn't drive it for a few days and came out to get in and couldn't open the power close doors. The new battery was flat. Put a new one in, under warranty, and the same thing happened again. The MB dealer had it on and off for weeks. Could never find the fault. Told me the drivers door memory switch was the fault, $2k later the problem was still there. Then the suspension started to fail. Replaced the pump, another 3k, only to find I'd started a chain reaction. Now the car would be down on its haunches when I'd go to get in it. Have to hit the suspension lift switch. Was told that the suspension shocks were leaking. If you replaced one the others would then fail as they were older, so you had to do all 4 corners. At $6k each!!. The new E class was just out. I traded in a fast as I could. These old MBs are too expensive to maintain. A bit like my Ferrari 575. But at least it holds its value and is a real joy to own and drive. As always, a great review.
My dad had 1 in Florida from 98 to 2012 , beautiful engine lovely to cruise 🚢 long distance
Wow I remember when I was one of your 30k subs, now approaching 200k !! Good work lad, in a car industry thats losing its soul, seeing cars we grew up wanting really makes this the best car channel on the internet 👍
Thanks for being with me for the journey Luke!
I have 1997 W140 S600 and I daily drive it to and from work. The car is great but it has its fair share of problems as well. I do work and do all of its maintenance as well. When I do drive this, it puts a big smile in my face and I feel like "El Presidente". Take care.
I love this style of car reviews, it brings me back the the very best of top gear before it was all about blowing stuff up 👌
This is so true. :) Cars from the 80s and 90s were just more "cars" in the old style than today's "computers" like machines. :) Drop by buddy, you may find it interesting.
I worked at Mercedes-Benz when we made these. The problem was always the styling, which did not attract the buyers who had loved the previous C126 coupe. It was hard to sell, even when new, but was packed with technology and if you find one with full service history and careful ownership, they are quite amazing. I would definitely recommend an inspection by a Mercedes dealer or specialist before purchase.
Are the engines reliable in these what a thing wow
@@conorhanley9009 Engines are fine, but must be serviced properly - ie according to the Mercedes service schedule. A good Mercedes specialist will do this. By the way, a BMW 7 series with a big engine is the real depreciator. A good one is an amazing bargain.
I like this generation of CL. One of the lecturer in my university has one. Every time I went home and see that black CL600 parked I do feel a tinge of jealousy and admiration.
Excellent and accurate review. These have very solid powertrains, though their general complexity and parts pricing does make them expensive to maintain. People who didn’t care for them and let them deteriorate but still limp along have certainly made it a costly undertaking to restore the cars. With that said, every late model C140 CL600 is worth saving if it’s not excessively rusty or crashed. My W140 S500 has been a costly car to maintain, not because of the powertrain but rather everything else. However, I love the big, smooth, stable, over-engineered land yacht feeling it gives to drive.
It’s pretty shocking that someone was able to buy this for 3k GBP, even with some issues. I guess that dealers in dealer auctions don’t want to deal with these. In Canada, a 1998 CL600 in the decent but imperfect condition you drove would be worth around $15-20k CAD in private sale.
The "fluid suspension" in the 90's S Class and this coupe is actually a reverse engineered version of Citroen's Hydractive system. Because unlike Rolls Royce/Bentley who licensed the system from Citroen, Mercedes "coincidentally" made a system using the same fluid, same spheres (they're even green just like the Citroen ones), and in general the exact same functionality, and paid no royalties to Citroen. Except the fact Mercs didn't have selectable ride height like Citroens did (but neither did Rolls Royce/Bentley).
@Richard Harrold true mate. Well spotted
It's vastly more complicated than Citroen's system - and woe-betide you when it starts causing issues. There is a bunch of videos from LegitStreetCars channel where he (a professional mechanic who worked as a Mercedes tech for years) spends ages repairing a system, trying all kinds of things to diagnose, replacing various fluid blocks and so on (turned out some rubber had collapsed and wedged in some of the valve system) - I'm guessing if you were paying a mechanic to do this kind of thing it'd cost you untold thousands to fix.
My 1996 SL600 has selectable ride height (ADS2) at the press of a button.
@@alexp893 nice motor.
@@alexp893 has it got electric roof
I drove a couple of these back in the day and loved the smoothness and effortless acceleration.
I remember the original TG review where JC compares this car with a countryside cottage and both cost the same at the time. Amazing.
It was that Clarkson review on Top Gear which seduced me into buying one. BIG mistake!
Remember in 95 there was a black s 600 coupe in my town and everytime i saw it i took a good look around it.
It was my dreamcar at that time.
These look much better in the flesh. For some reason photos never seem to do this one justice. Really nicely proportioned.
These cars have absolutely SUPERB build quality. Things aren't going to break when properly maintained. Of course it's 25 years old and you have to put some new stuff every now and then but the only really costly part is the air suspension if it goes bad. But even that isn't terrible as there are good alternatives for replacement. Amazing car, very good video again. Thanks.
W140 or C140 dont have air suspension, so thats good
@@xoinzz1543 You're actually correct. That didn't come before the W220 was introduced. It was the next CL that had the air suspension. My memory didn't serve me correctly.
Think they have spheres in the rear suspension as it’s a self levelling system I believe absolutely my favourite Benz ever
That generation Mercedes,W140/C140 were the absolute peak of engineering. Any model after that was just going downhill. Some might argue,but even every next model was technically more advanced,from engineering pov it couldn't come even close to that family. And I say that as non Mercedes fan. I just appreciate and recognise quality when I see one.
Agree
I owned many S-Class MBs. The 140 series was my favorite, way better than the ones who came after the 140. Reliability and quality went way downhill after the 140. I wouldn't even consider buying the latest one.
As an American I always have envied Great Britain's used car prices (even given our global situation), it's still crazy you can get a decent quirky older car for ~£3000, even taking conversion rates into account.
Australien used car prices are outrageous
I don’t just envy the used car prices. New these cars were almost twice the price in the Netherlands compared to the £108k you mentioned. And because of CO2 taxes it’s just getting worse on the new car market. This has it’s effect on the used market as well.. before Brexit you’d find some used cars with right hand drive, because they were much more affordable to get from the UK. However not in big numbers
Interesting.... It is a model that I have liked and I have never seen a nice one for less than £5,000... Thanks for being dead straight about the cost of maintenance being very high. Top review... 👍👍👍
I ran the saloon version of this car (600SEL) for some 16 years and boy, whilst being fabulous cars they are VERY expensive to maintain. Fuel consumption is between 11 & 19mpg and the V12 engine will almost certainly require the timing chain and guides replacing between 90,000 - 100,000 miles. Service items are expensive, 6 lites of engine oil for an oil change, 12 spark plugs (the very rear ones being a nightmare to access) and 2 air filters (it has 2 throttle bodies!) Engine wiring harnesses disintegrate meaning a trip to the MB dealersip (a new one has to be hand made (££££££££) at the MB factory as they are not stock items) and throttle body wiring also self destructs. The dreaded N10 multi function relay is also problematic leading to ASR & SRS problems. Rear hydraulic accumulators leak/puncture requiring replacement and the associated hydraulic pipework is troublesome. Front coil springs fracture regularly and brake discs/pads require frequent replacing. Fantastic cars to drive though, just dont EVER think you can run one on a tight budget - because you cant.
You ran the"BEAST".
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had a W140 and absolutely loved it.
I had a CL420, bought for 2000 euro. Never enjoyed the steering feel as if was far too light, but may have been due to the speed sensitive power steering not operating as it should. Obviously difficult to compare two back to back give their rarity. The next owner eventually sold it for 10k after it being advertised for nearly 4 years. Glad to have had the experience but it was a case of 'never met your heroes'. I'm happier with my C126 and was in awe of a C216 I had for a short while, another magnificent beast
Watching this, I immediately wanted to buy one - again!
My dad has a 94 sl 600 and here in New Zealand I have full cover on it for $450 nzd a year and I’m 21. You guys in England really get shafted for young drivers with big engines
Veeery nice video.Im a huge MB fan,and i also do alot of MB stuff on my channel.But a little correction to the "CL vs/ Sec." thing..is that this is still an S class coupe..aka SEC.The reason for Mercedes Benz changing it to CL..is that Mercedes changed the model designations to suit their new nommenklature. The same happend for instance,to the w124 series.In 1994..they started using these prefixes like E klass,,, S klass etc,in a different way. For an example, the w124 500e became the e500:And the "e" in the "500e", does not say that it was an E klass(the E in the ending of the 500,stands for Einspritzung, not E class :) The cool thing with the updated version (from 1996),is that alof of the engine electrics changed.They went from distributor, ignitionmodule engine electronics,,to feature coil on plug setup,which is far more reliable and durable.What is eternaly important on these era Mercedes is to check all the engine wiring harness,especially on the 1991-1996 year cars.Also throttle bodies is a high risk area,especially on a v12 where there is two throttle bodies,two MAF sensors, etc etc.It can quickly become a diagnostic disaster if you do not what you are getting into with a car like this :) I know..cause i am a Car/ diagnostic technician :) Eitherway,Lovely video,and lovely channel:)Greetings from Norway,Stefan
Amwesome. Love that your constantly buying all the cars I have in the states. Great content as always
Fantastic review James , as always !! I came extremely close to buying one a CL 600 as my first " mid-life crisis " car . The car drove beautifully , I remember it had such charisma and presence . The salesman was very keen to start the paperwork , I asked to view the car on a lift and he really started sweating , upon inspection ,it was dripping every fluid known to man and the exhaust had been welded with some type of foam filler !!! .Naturally , I walked away and soon after bought a 2004 Pontiac GTO ( Vauxhall Monaro ) , with headers and a sports exhaust which ticked all the boxes :) I would love to see you review one of those , I imagine you would enjoy it very much ! .
It’s such a shame that the Pontiac GTO and the G8 didn’t get the chance they deserved
@@elisorrells5314 Agreed !! However , I feel that more and more car enthusiasts are giving those models the credit they deserve :)
@@lorenzobrusasco3132 I had a Vauxhall Monaro 6.0 VXR. Should have been my dream car. But I hated it. It looks the businnes but that's where it end's. It drives, handles and rides like a old Vauxhall Cavalier. And it was slow! Terrible car that should have been so much better. My Range Rover could outrun this any day.
I know as an ex Pom living in Western Australia, the reason cars deprecate so fast in the UK is they rust like crazy !
Absolutely awesome 👌🏻 What a stunner. It’s great to see these big luxury executive saloons still being driven. I really do love it and always feel great when I see something like this out on the road. Thanks for showing us these big classics 😉👍🏻
Perfectly timed video, James. Currently hunting the right C140 600 here in the US.
Have to agree. His videos are really well done. :) Like them. Drop by Spencer J, you may like it. :)
In Q4 1999 51 W140CL were still road registered in the UK. There can't be many left!
Brilliant video matey, had 3 of these over the years, bought all off them very cheaply one was a dutchalet and carat, which allegedly cost 120000 when new in 1994, also had a few of the saloons and some r129 sl,s , not being flash everything was in the trade and keenly priced, but my point is most were 5 speed automatic,s and I never had any trouble at all, in fact I always used it as a positive when it was time to move them on.
The electrical gremlins did catch me a few times ,very expensive to repair anything on the blower systems, entire dashboard out jobs, very time consuming and very expensive if you could find someone to even take the job on. After a while you become more casual about having a car were everything works , the odd warning light on here or there or a switch the didn't do anything anymore ,never really detracted from driving about in these things, just great car's.
I agree. I've owned 5 w140 coups and just got my first v12. Nothing compares to the ride on an open highway
I really love this model! I had one and it is my biggest regret selling it. The brakes are actually good, but they will only work the way they were intented with genuine Mercedes components, unfortunaly.
Back in the day, I bought an S600 140 when it was 1 year old with 40k kilometers for 40% of its new price, in Switzerland, was told by the Swiss Merc dealer who maintained it, the 12 cyl engine was a sealed unit guaranteed by Mercedes for 300k kilometers. One bank of 6 cylinders had electronically controlled acceleration, the other bank of 6 cylinders had mechanical control, so electrical. problems would allow a 6 cyl limp home mode of 200bhp. Even at just over 1 year old, the main dealer service and maintenance costs were over £7k equivalent a year and insurance was the same (no long warranties back then). When it came out of the company leasing I hit it over the head with a shovel, because of its running and insurance costs at nearly £20k a year. Beware of the eye watering costs, these have great build quality but it’s like a swiss watch.
I have always been a fan of the 140. Fun video. I like seeing the Countryside. Beautiful area. I live in Denver. Driving in the mountains is a treat and the scenery will take your breath away. Cheers!!!
Good video info. I’ve had my 1996 S600 Coupe V12 approx15 yrs , your right they need proper servicing which makes the car
A joy to drive. My car has done 145K miles and drives like new , the V12 engine and gearbox are bomb proof , no clunking
From gearbox and engine is quiet, again your right there are gremlins but I normally get them sorted straight away making
An affordable classic car to run but don’t be fooled some gremlins can get expensive. Yes the are cheap to buy but my advice
Would be do your homework, Another thing to look out for is front and rear windscreens they are prone to moisture around the edge
Of the glass which is a white misty colour, I replaced mine front and rear, the reason I spend money on it because it’s a great car to
Drive and good examples looked after are very rare to find which in time values will rise and as for mine everything works which possibly
One of the best in time ,
Stunning!!
I have one of these w140 S600 same colour as the one your driving i have every receipt and service inspection from when it was bought new 25 years old and it drives like a dream with an immaculate interior, Beautiful car.
My favorite era of Mercedes-Benz. I used to own an E Class from this era. It was a tank and I wish Merc was still up to this standard.
Good video Jay on to the next one bloke. (:
Loved this model since I was a teen in the 90’s…. I still want one
I love how there's enough room & luxury to have a grab-handle even for the rear passengers.
have always loved these since the day they came out. Gotta be one of Europe's chunkiest ever 2 doors.
Love that old Mercedes-Benz 😍
Commendable that you give a realistic picture of what ownership of a car like the CL is. These days, luckily, I don't see as many articles anymore naming dream cars or high end luxury cars you can buy for the price of a golf or focus. I always thought those articles only encouraged unhappy situations: cars that suffer poor maintenance because of owners trying to save costs and owners that get disillusioned because the experience isn't what they expected.
The buzzing noise you’re hearing is a small climate control fan located in the ceiling light pod. All you need to do is pop the unit out, carefully disassemble the brittle plastic parts, and simply clean and lubricate the impeller. Takes 10 minutes.
Your reviews remind me of the best ones from old Top Gear. Actually about the car and what it's like to drive it without too much theatrics.
Awesome car. Saw a few of the later generations available for sale in my country but the running costs are way too high for me. They truly are imperious as you. Fantastic video production. Keep up the good work.
M120 is an engine I’ll never forget. The way the power is delivered, the ultimate pace. 408hp/420lbs/ft (slightly lower rating here in the states) felt like it was at the wheels.
This car is great and handles fantastic if you are competent and know how to steer and break. Take driver training for security staff and you will see what these cars a really capable of.
This could go for $20k in the US. One of the best looking cars ever made in my opinion.
Perhaps the ultimate car of the year of my birth, 1995.
It is certainly a strong candidate for my future weekend car, one to save, maintain and enjoy for decades to come.
Great car .
She's built like a tank and is an absolute beauty mate !
Even after so many years this thing has an awesome presence.
I'd snatch one up in a jiffy if I could find one , cool !!!
I believe the early ones had power operated inside rearview mirror. But people kept breaking them
I believe that, my W220 had it also
@@JayEmmOnCars I didn't know that. I thought they dropped the idea because it wasn't terribly practical and it certainly wasn't cheap.
@@kevinbarry71 What I've heard is that while the electrically adjustable interior rear view mirror in the 140 series broke when someone tries to manually adjust it, the W220/C215 series had electrically adjustable interior mirrors that can be adjusted manually or electronically (i.e., manhandling the interior mirror didn't break the motor).
As always well composed and narrated review. Thanks!
The best thing about over these over engined barges is their effortless ability to do a good rolling burnout, in comfort👍
A few years ago I had the chance to drive a W116 6.9. The owner was telling me how it would do standing start burnouts with four people on board. There were four of us, so I was happy to see if he was telling the truth :-) (he was)
I owned one of these for six months - had a drink problem that made Keith Richard’s look sober ! And the electrics made me want an RAC Van following me ! But I loved it !
Thanks James, a lovely contender for my virtual garage. Yes, potentially expensive to repair but what a huge amount of car for the money. In fact I've just seen a '95 500 Coupe for £12k... tempting, but I'm very attached to my Baby Benz 190..
Had 2 W140 S-classes, a coupe (officially C140) and a saloon. Both 5 litre V8, so never experienced the V12-ness, but he's right they are imperious. Had loads of XJ's and the S-classes ride quality is far better. The smoothest cars I've ever owned and picked up both for ridiculously low prices, £950 for the coupe and £1500 for the saloon. Great days, sadly never to be repeated, but thank goodness I had the chance to own and drive such wonderful machines.
Nice review. I am still a fan of this big Coupe.
I've got a 400 SE W140 92 reg. and a S 500 C140 94 reg.
They're just the best two cars I ever have, and believe me, I had many.
God I love this channel
Jay you're a pleasure 🙏 thank you
Enjoyable content and I much prefer the less edgy, laid back delivery 👍🏻
Fun fact: people who ordered w140 saloon s from factory and then changed their minds and wanted a coup were charged a 100k DM fee for the priviledge. The price list difference was only 30k DM but that came with a 2 year plus waiting list.
As a babysitter of the last 1999(!) s600 w140, everything that you have said about this car is true. Its already racked up 3x of its purchase price in a year, due to it being "dry" stored for 10 years without use. Just be weary about rust on these cars UK Car cancer beats even the biggest battle tanks.. and where the water and grit sits....
absolutely ZERO regrets, it will be made great again
Fun presentation, a real JayEmm on Coupés with an imposing member of Das Haus! It's great you could and still can buy a V12 for those inspired to own and drive one. Thank you.
Undoubtedly a fantastic car to drive. I came close to buying one two years ago: it was in superb condition with the same owner for 11 years. But ... he had spent £5,000 a year to keep it that way, and that included doing some of the work on it himself. I doubt whether I would have found a better one, but in the end I decided not to buy it and got a W124 E420 instead. Not quite a V12, but a 4.2-litre V8 isn't too shabby either. It was specified with the badge delete so it's rather more discreet too.
The proper maintenance costs on this or the W140 are definitely worth keeping in mind if looking at one of these as a bargain. Family has an S600 and hasn't driven it in years now because the maintenance became more expensive than the car is worth (probably why these depreciated so hard if it's going to cost as much as a used runabout every year just to maintain to high level daily driver standard). They won't get rid of it of course, because to use Clarkson's "Jag" voice *it's an... Essssssssssss six HUNDRED!*
I bought a 1998 CL500 about 6 years ago. The body work was a bit tatty, but the beige interior was immaculate. Engine and gearbox were spot on. The front wings rot really bad on these, so i decided to replace them. However the ones advertised on ebay were worse than the ones i had. I bought 2 brand new front wings from Mercedes Cardiff, they cost £800.I had to wait 6 weeks to get them. When i collected them, the guy in Mercedes said, do you realise that you have just bought the last 2 available. I had a full professional respray in original obsidian black. I can honestly say, it was a beautiful, immaculate car. I bought the car for £520 and sold it for £9000. Had to sell it, because i had 5 cars at the time, and no longer had anywhere to store them. Still regret it today.
We used to have a 96 S500 coupe that had the same color/wheel combo. I still remember it as the “best car” ever made.
I the SEL 600 ran it for 3 years and sold it for just £ 500 less than I brought it for. At traffic lights it would take off really well leaving the boy racers wondering what the he'll was under the bonnet. I remember booting it on the motorway and it changing up at 138mph. They were limited to 150mph. Not a slow car and it did it all with ease.
I have been ADDICTED to Mercedes Benz in my life.
The double glazing on these generation cars is so thick that along with the sheer heft of them, a lot of people came away with the idea that these cars and the S600 brethren were armored cars from the factory.
Magnificent! The 126 was a hard act to follow and the initial reaction was not good, however with the passage of time it's now viewed differently. I feel the interior has dated very well and is perfect Mercedes classic design.
The car really is gorgeous, I would throw some nice paint-matched 2 pieces just like effspot.
Hope you can get a first gen CLS to review; would love to hear your thoughts on it
Man what a great buy, a maintenance history and and knowledgeable inspection and you would have a great car. After all, WHO among US wouldn't want a V12 in their lives at least once, and being in the European theater, you have knowledgeable people, and I assume parts availability.
V12s are special. Trouble, but worth it. Usually.
Have a little cry when the biodegradable engine wiring harness disintegrates on earlier 600s, as I've read they're not available anymore.
thank you.... it was my dream car. There was one in switzerland last year. was like new. 20"000 CHF. but i was not in position to buy at all. life sucks sometimes. hope to find a perfect one one day.
Oh yeah been waiting for this
Couldn't work out how you could think this was a good looking car until I saw your end credits.
My W140 also thinks it's 58c outside in the middle of winter and has done for many years now.
That V12 sounds super smooooth.
Just be mindful if anything goes wrong with the engine electronics, it requires the services of IBM!
These are worth big money in the states!!!
Great video, my daily driver is a Bentley T2 (Rolls shadow 2). I could not find a new car with a budget of £40k ish that had a soft ride and without the stupid privacy glass etc. I reckon that the depreciation of a new car purchased today on my budget will offset the purchase price of my T2 within 2 years, all I have to do is keep putting petrol in it but as it is over 40 years old there is no road tax and the insurance is cheap.
The electric adjustable rear view mirror on these if not broken is just too cool, not sure if any other car ever had that.
If you put all windows down you can drive at highway speeds without the cabin being too noisy. It’s an absolute marvel to drive
THE BMW 850i must be a strong competitor.
Also it looks so much cooler.
Absolutely agree.
Except the 850i had 296 hp and nowhere near the build quality
I had an almandine red CL420 with mushroom leather and it was probably the nicest car to drive I have ever had. Even that engine struggled to do 20mpg given the weight of the car so I sold it but I seriously regret that now... Some years have biodegradable wiring loom insulation which as you might have guessed is not great after 20 years so replacing engine bay looms is sometimes necessary, as is the vacuum pump for the soft close doors and boot - these can be rebuilt for not too much money. Lack of use will be bad news for the air con and electric windows etc. Some late 90s Mercs did rust badly so watch for that too. Overall no question that these were better built than the W220s that replaced them but the latter had the economical 320 diesel and the faster AMG models so sold well.
What a beautiful old barge 💙