Yeah, it's not bad. What were you looking at? Most common failures are well documented. I'm more worried about CANBUS stuff going out and chasing gremlins. Basically everything is a giant fiber optic bus.
I promise to get some some pics. It's a little dirty.
Read an old review of my car in Car and Driver. One of the more remarkable stats is when braking from 70-0 it does it 17ft longer than an RX-8.
Oddball stuff #1...it has 2 batteries. One that sits in the engine bay and is used for only starting (not sure on the group size for this yet, but the one I have is actually MB branded). Another in back to run everything else. Has around 5 different fuse boxes.
Oddball stuff #2...has two cooling circuits. One for the engine, other for the intercoolers. Apparently bleeding intercooler circuit is a real bitch. Strange thing to see a standard radiator cap (think 1972 Oldsmobile) at the rear of the engine.
Oddball stuff #3...Engine takes over 9qts of oil. Getting into diesel territory.
Sorry if I'm boring ya all with this minor stuff, just relaying my findings for those thinking of taking the plunge.
If anybody is bored, they can go find another thread. Have you seen my MR2 build thread yet? We don't bore that easily. :awe:
I was mostly looking at suspension and coil failures. I believe there's a coil spring conversion if the ABC system fails, but it seems a shame to remove it instead of fixing it (though it would potentially be a lot cheaper).
NO WAY; we are all ears! At least I am very interested in learning about your ownership experience.but I'm probably boring you all to tears and this post was long enough.
I'm surprised that RockAuto has it - that's incredibly convenient.Welp, here ya go with another update.
Waltzed out and noticed a chrome trim piece on driver side door missing.
Apparently a common failure item. Trim falling off. Who knows where it went.
You know how common a problem is? When I can order the replacement part from Rock Auto. And no, wasn't Dorman. (Lifesavers for re-
manufacturing OEM defective parts).
And with that said, still brings a smile. I let my two teenagers drive it around the block.
I'm surprised that RockAuto has it - that's incredibly convenient.
I'm currently looking at used CL550/600s. Prefer 2010+ with low mileage and no mods.
Wow, that's bold! Guess you taught them right if they didn't wrap it around a pole. I suppose that driving dad's car when he's in the passenger seat isn't the same thing as taking it on a night out with your friends...
I'm amused that a trim piece for a six-figure German luxo-barge is available on RockAuto.
Good choice. Spend a couple hours with the user manual to learn most of the functions so you know the little hiccups ahead of time that are easily missed.
Make sure you give the seats a good workout.
Yeah, the damn thing is a luxo barge.
One only lives once. And I was in the passenger seat. Terrified. But being terrified of my kids' actions is a normal occurrence as a parent so it wasn't bad in the end. Main thing is I hope I gave them something to remember.
So back to the car. Past few days saw 0 F temps and a few inches of snowfall. It tries, but the traction stability control sucks. Granted, I'm not looking for the rubicon model of excellence but I figured there would be a few sensors to mitigate crap. I'll go into further detail about that after I get it checked out.
The rear defrost is non-existent.
Wiper controls are an abortion.
Lots of nitpicky type crap I could go on about.
Just a simple update to let you know what the ownership experience is like for a depreciated luxury sedan.
Rear defrost is broken, or just doesn't work well? I've never owned anything newer than 2007, so that doesn't seem that old to me.
Not a lot of them on the market though. Kind of leaning toward an E-class coupe now.
Rear window has no defroster lines. It relies on cabin air to defrost.
Granted, I'm not sure how I can test the efficacy of this while I'm speeding down the highway. Did a blend door open up to deflect hot air to the rear window?
Who knows. They probably thought the element lines were obtrusive to the driving experience.
Take the time and look around. Mine isn't exactly common in these parts and I had to travel a few hours. Nice road trip.
Get what ya want...something calling your name is sitting out there somewhere.
It looks like it does (link), but apparently it doesn't work very well. Interesting.
I think that if you can afford to and are willing to pay for the real expensive maintenance on these things,
Thought I'd give you a general update.
After my post about the chrome piece replacement I walked out of work and noticed another trim piece laying in the parking lot. At that point I ended up yanking the rest of them off because they were ready to fall off. Rock Auto pulled through and shipped a replacement trim piece after the past one arrived broken. If you ever watched "Christmas Story", it basically arrived like the leg lamp in regards to how it was packed. So props to them.
So anyways, that stuff is minor. When it warms up I'll figure out what to do with that.
It has a minor coolant leak. Seems to be originating from the radiator. A radiator for the car is basically $250...no biggie. The kicker is labor to install is 6 hours. Bumper needs to come off, headlights removed, splash shields removed, etc. Point is basic parts costs aren't bad, the labor will kill ya.
So that is a boring update on the life of the S600.