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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2017 20:01:18 GMT
Beautiful gloss shine. Really shows off the shape well. Not convinced about stupid ultra low profile tyres, but there is a sense of something classic (1930s streamline) about it. I can imagine one of those in that colour being a genuine classic in 50 years or so.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 20, 2017 20:06:14 GMT
I think it works if you take in the shape as a whole. You need to see the whole glass area as one expanse, which is partly why I want one without darkened rear windows. If you do that, you see the section of an aerofoil, and it all comes together rather well. I'm less convinced by the view from directly behind, but other people will get that much more than I do.
There are a couple of awkward details. The rear light clusters could easily have been split - as they are on our E - to make a wider tailgate opening. And, much as I like the frameless windows, when you open the back door, the fixed quarterlight is left sticking up, which is a bit odd.
I still want one, though.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 8, 2017 14:51:10 GMT
Well, I've been in touch with the dealer about the Macclesfield car. In exchange for a returnable deposit, they're moving it to their nearest branch to me, barely an hour from here. Apparently there's someone else interested up north - but I know that tactic from last time.
Popping up to see it next Friday. It doesn't have memor seats, which will make it a tough sell to Mrs B1. The rest looks good, though, and the price is coming down little by little.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2017 15:17:59 GMT
If there was an advert for the same car near you but at more attractive price, and only you knew it was a dodgy POS because you went to see it, then sending them the advert can be quite a good negotiating tool and, as a response to "someone else up North is interested, guv", quite effective.
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Post by manatee on Sept 9, 2017 10:55:01 GMT
It's no looker to me. Maybe it's just that elevation, but it looks very slab-sided and that rear window...why?
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 9, 2017 22:11:44 GMT
The exterior is a matter of taste and it's clearly not to everyone's. I wasn't impressed when I first saw one but it's grown on me. Two things.
1: it's distinctive. There really is nothing like it anywhere else. Jaguar, Audi, Volvo and others make big, style-led estate cars but you wouldn't mistake a CLS for one. There aren't many around, and in a me-too world, it's nice to stand out a little.
2. The interior. Although it's clearly related to the S212 E, MB has brought in some cleverer designers and nicer materials for the CLS. It's noticeably more 'special' to sit in than an E, not that that is slumming it. More fun to drive, too; firmer and better planted, in a way that would keep me from missing the 325 if that were to make way in the next stage of the reshuffle.
Most of this applies to the new 540i too, except that 5 wagons are everywhere, and there aren't many CLS SBs about. I don't expect everyone to see it my way but, just at the moment, a CLS seems to tick the boxes for me.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 15, 2017 12:28:37 GMT
 Here's the one I went to see this morning, and to take for a good drive on a familiar rural route. I have to say, to drive and sit in it ticks all my boxes. I could wish it had the full marital aid - sorry, memory seat - package, but the 'Crystal Grey' interior suits it beautifully, and I like the discreet just-on-the-blue-side-of-silver paint job enough not to worry about a red one. It's less plain than silver, suits the shape better than a darker grey, and just - for my money - works. But - my money. Not making much impression on the price so far, and I'm concerned by an unsolicited call I had yesterday from a dealer I'd enquired with about another car (the grey one that Humph liked). He offered me a new one - albeit in a less appealing colour combo - for £7,000 more than this 2016 car would be - before we factor in £2,000 extra for the old Euro 4 bus. Makes me concerned that someone is taking a hit on CLS values, and that I don't want it to be me. |
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 15, 2017 12:44:37 GMT
He offered me a new one - albeit in a less appealing colour combo - for £7,000 more than this 2016 car would be - before we factor in £2,000 extra for the old Euro 4 bus. Makes me concerned that someone is taking a hit on CLS values, and that I don't want it to be me. Sales, specially diesel, are tanking. There are deals to be had. |
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Post by Humph on Sept 15, 2017 13:06:28 GMT
I guess that's for you to decide WDB. Only you know how "significant" a purchase this would be to you. All cars cost something don't they? But, in support of the man maths, or whatever you care to call it, one factor might be how long you'd see yourself owning it. If it's going be yours for the next decade or more, then the price really would be forgotten long after the quality of the experience was remembered. If though, you see it as a relatively short term thing, then it'll cost quite a lot to indulge in, as a function of the time you have it.
Not that there's anything much wrong with treating yourself if you're in a position to do so. We all need little something to cheer us up now and then, and it isn't always the sensible thing to do. But then, who ever had fun while being sensible eh?
For what it's not even slightly worth though, I did go through a spell of buying cars I wanted, but couldn't really justify, I thoroughly enjoyed most of them, and have no regrets. But now, and in recent years, I've preferred to buy or choose things I don't really have to financially agonise about too much. Not that I don't have a little ponder about them now and then.
For example, if I was looking to buy my own car again for some reason, I'd most probably still go for something where some other person had taken the first depreciation hit, but then a brand new car is always quite a warm and fuzzy thing for a while anyway.
I remember my childhood friend's dad wringing his hands over whether to buy a then new Aston Martin DB6 or at least that's what he told us when we were old enough to understand. He'd had a windfall lump sum as result of a job change funnily enough. He did buy it in the end, and still has it to this day, despite his now very advanced years, albeit not as his main car. It has given him more than half a century of motoring pleasure and in his case has proven not entirely the worst investment. Of course that was/is a very unique car, but I could see the CLS becoming something of a classic in its own right if not or even close to DB6 levels I suppose.
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Post by lygonos on Sept 15, 2017 13:11:50 GMT
CLS 220D Shooting Brake AMG Line around £33k new on www.drivethedeal.com (special offers list a stack of Mercs just now) CLS 350D S/B AMG Line with Premium Plus pack in black metallic/porcelain leather £37,759 Over 30% discount from list. |
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Post by Humph on Sept 15, 2017 13:15:05 GMT
Wonder if it's due to be discontinued? I suppose it is based on the previous generation E class so it might be...
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 15, 2017 13:27:11 GMT
It is. And there's not due to be an SB version of the CLE that replaces it. I've no worries about that; the present bus is from close to the end of the S211's run, and the chariot is an even later E92 - so late that I've seen only one more recent one in the two years I've had it. Means the bugs should have been unbuggered and someone else has paid for the novelty. It still feels like a modern car, while the S211 does feel like something from 15 years ago - which it is, of course. A new 530i feels more modern still, but that comes with the price of novelty. And if I don't pay too much for a CLS (see below) I can afford to change my mind in two years and have one of those instead.
I can afford to buy it, even at this price. And we'll keep it as long as we need a big estate car, which might be another six years. But I price and negotiate for a living and I'd feel a bit of a mug if I couldn't translate that into a slightly juicier deal than is on offer now, especially since I'm trading in a car with a price on its head, to a dealer who's offering that price against cars that are functionally identical to this one. I may change tack and press for extras instead, such as a servicing pack, but I can't help feeling there's a couple of thousand in there somewhere that I don't want to leave behind.
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Post by Humph on Sept 15, 2017 13:42:27 GMT
Run out models are usually a really good buy if you're looking for a bargain and are not too bothered about residuals. I've deliberately taken that view a few times on cars that I know I'll be putting big miles on. They are often laden with toys, heavily discounted and any problems have long been resolved.
Get a red one, you know you want to...
😈
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 15, 2017 14:27:17 GMT
CLS 220D Shooting Brake AMG Line around £33k new on www.drivethedeal.com (special offers list a stack of Mercs just now) CLS 350D S/B AMG Line with Premium Plus pack in black metallic/porcelain leather £37,759 Over 30% discount from list. Thanks, Lygo. I had a look and, while there's nothing on that list that I'd take in preference to the car I drove this morning (220 is underwhelming, 350s all have sunroofs) not everyone is as choosy as me. So if they don't sell this morning's car to me, they may struggle to find another buyer for it. They've had it a month already and we're a fortnight from the end of the quarter. |
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 15, 2017 14:44:29 GMT
I'd had a look at DTD day before yesterday and picked up on those.
Whilst you may not want one of them, the pricing and a bit of pretence gives you something to ratchet your dealer up with, however.
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