Defender or CL500?

T

T2FFN

Senior member
 East Yorkshire
I'm looking to spend between 5 and 7 thousand, and was really leaning towards Defender, nicely modded with all the off road additions, but after trawling pistonheads for hours, saw that CL500's have dropped in price even further, meaning a nice modded defender and CL500 are about the same money, and from totally different ends of the spectrum!

Which would you choose?

Neither should be too expensive to run (according to tinternet) and both should get mid 20's mpg, so about same as 3.0 Z4.

Any wise words?

Thanks
 
What a random choise to choose between!

2 very different vehicles to serve very different purposes.

What are your requirements - 2 or 7 seats to start with?

Jamie
 
jamiez said:
What a random choise to choose between!
Click to expand...

x 2

Seriously?

I imagine they would both be quite expensive to run. Defenders can be a little temperamental and tyres will be very expensive! CJ is possibly your best bet for thoughts on a 4x4. Mid 20s MPG may be optimistic. Also, depending on the age of the CL Mercedes went through a stage in the late 90s of being quite cheaply built... particular issue being the pre 7G gearboxes, IIRC. Also in terms of running costs this was a car around £70k - £80k new with some expensive bits installed!

I think someone on here was selling a Defender?
 
a real contrast in car type there!

personally i like defenders more than the cl500, but then you cant really compare.......chalk and cheese some would say.

if you were going to go for a defender i think they look best in a dark dreen with all of the bells and whistles, running boards, snorkel lights etc etc.
if you want a project one try to look for an army or TA sale on the web, they get serviced regularly in the TA centre that i go to even if they havent been used that much.
 
Rudd_2002 said:
a real contrast in car type there!

personally i like defenders more than the cl500, but then you cant really compare.......chalk and cheese some would say.

if you were going to go for a defender i think they look best in a dark dreen with all of the bells and whistles, running boards, snorkel lights etc etc.
if you want a project one try to look for an army or TA sale on the web, they get serviced regularly in the TA centre that i go to even if they havent been used that much.
Click to expand...

Are you secretly Lara Croft by any chance? :wink:
 
haha, yup, a strange choice.

I'm an ex-marine, love defenders, they go anywhere, look tough as anything, and I once fixed one in 2mins with a piece of metal wire and a leatherman :rofl:

The CL500 I'm looking at is the 2000ish plate, the slightly newer style. They are reported to be very reliable, no big issues apart from rust :o

Defender tyres are surprisingly cheap, even for the big chunky ones! I'd also want it with all the bits added:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1243723.htm

And this is the sort of Merc:
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/MERCEDES-BENZ+CL/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-240-4294965382-4294967227/advert.action?R=200945345139132&distance=104&postcode=hu9+1hd&channel=CARS&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&model=CL&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=W

Shows you what the same money can get in different areas!
 
lacroupade said:
Re the Merc - bloody hell, I'm almost tempted to go and buy that one now! :D
Click to expand...

Oi, piss off! Mine!!! :lol:

Like I said, amazing what you can get for 7K! Its all down to how much the merc costs to run. Reading online says not much if its looked after, servicing etc seems same as Z4 for pricing really, spark plugs costly, 10quid each and its got 16!
 
A quick online quote put insurance at a cool 1K :?

Thats about 70 more than the Z4, but only an online quote
 
T2FFN said:
haha, yup, a strange choice.

I'm an ex-marine, love defenders, they go anywhere, look tough as anything, and I once fixed one in 2mins with a piece of metal wire and a leatherman :rofl:
Click to expand...

Ex-marine you say :| ... what an astute choice sir and, if I may say so, you’re looking quite handsome today.

That Merc does look good for the money - just had a look on Parkers and the owner reviews really rate it for reliablility, so could be a good buy. They do list the combined MPG at 21 though. If you know a good indie Merc specialist near you it could be worth a punt... that said, I'd love a Defender 90!
 
that merc does look good, liked the CL when it came out and it does look a little dated now, but for that money it seems brilliant. Bet its a great cruiser for long journeys...
 
damm, just looked on autotrader and there is one for sale with 1,050,004 miles on the clock ? either thats a typo or it was used as the starship enterprise at some point. If it is true, then it speaks for itself on how reliable they are.

I know somebody who almost did 300,000 miles in an old Mercedes SL, it was bulletproof.
 
PawnSacrifice said:
Ex-marine you say :| ... what an astute choice sir and, if I may say so, you’re looking quite handsome today.
Click to expand...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Only 26 mind, not sure which look is best, off-roading bum or drug dealing pimp :lol:

In the Z4 I just look like a "flash twat" according to some kids at the traffic lights :roll: :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom