At $8,900, Is This 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 A Beautiful Bargain?

While four-door coupes are no longer really a thing anymore, today's Nice Price or No Dice Mercedes is one of the best-looking examples of what once was. Let's see if the price tag makes this art worth collecting.

The 17th-century libertine novelist and playwright Cyrano de Bergerac had a big nose. I mean, it wasn't just big; that honker was famously enormous, leading speculation amongst the ladies he courted whether other parts of his anatomy were correspondingly sized.

Cyrano's nose proved to be both his most iconic feature and his greatest curse, as his legacy focuses first on it and not on his works. A similar issue faced the 1994 Subaru Justy AWD five-door we looked at last Friday. Well kept and, increasingly important, frugal on fuel, the Justy's big talking point is being the first car sold in the U.S. with a CVT transmission. So equipped was our Justy, but that proved to be its downfall in the comments, as most of you would have preferred it to rock the standard five-speed manual to eke out every last drop of power the little car's three-cylinder engine could offer. That made the seller's $6,200 asking price untenable for the majority of you, which ultimately led to the Justy dropping in a 70% 'No Dice' loss.

Today, we're going to go with more of everything. More power, more features, and, arguably, vastly more style. This 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 is one of the earliest in a small wave of 'four-door coupés' that hit the market in the mid-aughts. Others included the Volkswagen CC and Audi A7. At the time of its launch, Mercedes staked a claim to having invented the body style, but that's not accurate. In fact, Britain's Rover presaged the CLS with the swoopy-roofed P5 Coupe all the way back in 1962. Groovy, baby!

What the Mercedes can claim with the CLS is that it is perhaps the best-looking of the four-door coupe clan. Not only that, but it could be argued that this is Mercedes's most successful design of the new Millennium. That comes at a price, though. These cars are based on the W211 E-Class, sharing almost all that model's underpinnings and drivetrain options, along with its exact-same wheelbase. Despite the theft, the CLS is significantly more cramped inside, offering only four seats compared to the E-Class's five, and a smaller boot, to boot. For many, that's a fair trade-off given how much better the CLS looks in comparison to the stodgy E sedan.

This one also benefits from two options added at the factory. The first is the color combination of Silver over a charcoal leather-and-burlwood interior. The second is the AMG Sport package, which adds a handsome set of five-spoke alloy wheels. Those look to be in great shape; however, the seller doesn't say anything about the age or condition of the tires that wrap them. Around that is wrapped the svelte bodywork, which the seller claims to be in very good shape, with no major dings or scratches. This is an early '08, so it doesn't have the refreshed grille or LED tail lamps that arrived later that model year. That's not a big deal, as the changes weren't all that significant.

Craigslist

It appears to be just as nice in the cabin, as the seller says there are no rips or tears in the upholstery, and all the trim looks intact. As noted, this is strictly a four-seater, with a wide console separating the two rear bucket-style seats. The low roofline requires a more horizontal posture for all occupants, making legroom in the back a bit tight, as well.

According to the instrument cluster picture in the ad, this CLS has 154,406 miles under its fashionable belt. Jocularly, that picture also reveals another kind of mileage, which happened to be 13.2 mpg. That's not great, but with a 5.5-liter V8 under the hood, what would you expect? That engine is Mercedes' M273, an all-alloy mill that the factory rated at 382 horsepower and a stonking 391 pound-feet of torque. Mated to that is a seven-speed automatic, which, in turn, drives the rear wheels. Per the seller, the car has had a recent service and, for whatever it's worth, was once a CPO resale.

Craigslist

This is also a fancy-pants Mercedes, so it's loaded to the gills with all the comfort, convenience, and safety features one would expect from the marque, at least as available in 2008. It's all said to work, right down to the A/C, which the seller assures, "blows cold." A clean title, unremarkable Carfax, and a recent passing grade on an emissions test mean this CLS is ready to dress up some new owner's driveway with no fuss or muss.

For that to happen, however, we'll need to address the small matter of this CLS's price. The seller, who, despite listing the car as "by owner," spins the sales spiel like they're a dealer, has set the price at $8,900. They temper that by claiming to be open to offers. In other evidence of the seller being a dealer, or at least that this isn't their first rodeo, they omit the typical warnings of "no lowballers" or "I don't need help selling the car" that many private sellers employ to stave off scammers and leeches.

We're still going to help them with their pricing acumen. We're all just that dang obliging. To that end, what's your take on this seemingly solid CLS and that $8,900 asking? Does that seem fair given the car's apparent condition? Or, despite all that, is that price tag just not a good look?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

Help me out with Nice Price or No Dice. Hit me up at robemslie@gmail.com and send a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.