I've promised myself a "Mk1" Merc CLS one day and I'm always on the lookout for possible purchases - prices are now firmly below £10k for '06 - '08 cars

IMHO I think the styling of the early cars is FAR better than the current version and is one of Merc's best designs in the last couple of decades

However, there's always someone that thinks they know better....

constructive comments welcome....

Indeed, I thouhg it reminded me of the old Citroen vintage vans, but it looks more like this old Renault van

However, it's the lusting after a CLS that has me concerned. I was looking at those myself, but I'm not sure that the upturned boat looks work for me, and it seems even more pipe 'n slippers (or flash harry) than Jag XF's that I have been looking at.

But with no cash, I may end up having to go for a VW Passat CC "clone of a CLS" although the interior seems a bit low rent and I;m not sure I'm ready for a modern German car

Passat CC is a nice enough car, although I've never driven one. However, for me, its an imitation of a CLS and simply says "couldn't afford the Merc"

The XF is a glorious place to be, but its a victim of its own success and is just a little too "ordinary" for my tastes

I know the CLS is just an old E Class in drag, but I guess you could say that a Coupe is just a Tipo in a frock, but that doesn't stop our enthusiasm....

Have to admit that I quite like these too Nigel... not sure that I would ever buy one as a daily driver though. Merc's with bodykits just look a bit dart in my opinion.

My sons were trying to persuade me that the CLS was the car for me (us) on our last free kids day out to MB World

You're right, the XF is perhaps too common now, with poverty spec 2.2 diesels (rather than 3 litre plus) everywhere. I was looking at a pre-facelift 3 litre diesel, but these are in the range £12-15k and more for the spec I am after.

If it has to be CLS, please not a silver one...

Until fate intervened, I would never have considered a Merc; now I'm wondering how I'll go back to an *ordinary* car when our beast inevitably lands us with a bill worthy of the car's original price tag...

Having said that, I've always loved the CLS - that shape was a smack in the face to all the other execu-barge manufacturers.

Go for it, Nigel! (But, as DaveG says, not a silver one!)

I already know the spec....

Obsidian Black, 18" AMG wheels, with black leather and the dark grey birds-eye maple dash (or at worst, the satin-finish walnut). Satnav would be nice but not really all that important

I could also put up with the wonderful light metallic blue that I've seen occasionally (believe it was a special order colour though)

Silver is all wrong for the CLS - just doesn't show the lines properly

Don't go for a brown one; it looks like a slug.

Amazed that brown cars still exist - last one I had was a Mini 1275GT....

Being completely honest, when these first came out I utterly hated the styling of them. In fact I was quoted as saying it made my eyes bleed!

However.. over time, they've really grown on me. I think perhaps they were just ahead of their time, and I actually quite like them.

And you can get some pretty potent ones too

A lad at uni had one. It was metallic, but still brown. Didn't do the car any justice.

I was overtaken by an AMG CLS in Birmingham last Saturday - had some very sporty pipes on it - sounded properly aggressive - very harsh-edged sound. Can't imagine he was doing very many mpgs though....

I love the look of them. Must be pretty big though.

Ive just put a deposit on a black 55 to replace my C32. Been hunting for one for ages but keep buying stupid shit like kitchens recently. Have a x-pipe and 3rd & 4th cat removal planned for added volume.

Was hankering for an SL55 but couldnt find a straight one for the right money.

Yes - Coupe is 4.25m and the CLS is 4.9 - not entirely sure it will fit on my drive (my Alfa GT already uses up pretty much all the drive and that's just under 4.5m)

A friend of mine has a CLS in Silver and I found it hard to love the banana / almost coupe shape. It's growing on me but I have to say it has cost him some cash & garage visits that surprised me.

No but petrol is 'cheap' these days so we should all make the most of it

I came very close to buying a CLS but the dealer wanted to offer me stupid money for my E-Class. Ended up with the E250cdi BlueEfficiency Sport. I miss the grunt of the 3 litre turbo diesel but the 2.2 is a great engine and matches the 3 litre on paper.

My dad owned a 2007 CLS500 until about a year ago, and he had lots of trouble with it.

It was the later version with the 5.5 litre 377BHP engine and flappy paddle/auto gearbox.

He had problems with the air suspension (rusty pipes) rust appearing on the underneath of the car, faulty window regulators, a failed ECU behind the dash which caused all of the eletrics to stop working. we had to get the car towed home, and the bill for the repair was £2500. Luckily the warranty covered it. I also felt that the build quality wasn't that great. There were plenty of rattles and squeaks that is for sure, and compared to the E39 BMW I currently have the materials were very poor.

It went well in a straight line, but for me the air suspension made it drive like a big citroen. Soft on the corners but ok on the straights.

He also had 19" AMG wheels fitted, which look very nice but crack at the very sight of a pot hole.

And don't get me started on that foot operated "Parking brake".

Styling wise it wasn't bad, although it did look awkward from some angles. Someone at work said the front looked like a Citroen C5.

I know they are cheap, but I think they are cheap for a reason.