I have noticed that these are getting pretty cheap now. You can get a 1997/8 CLK for around £5-6k. Do any owners or BR's have any views about them? What are the servicing intervals and what are servicing costs like? If I bought one that had done 80k miles am I looking at big bills in the next couple of years? We would want to be keeping the car for a few years (4 - 6 years, say, unless it was totally unreliable) with an annual milage of about 7k.
I've looked at pearchorlemon.co.uk and Parkers and most owners like them, but the reviews generally refer to people who have bought them fairly new. Is an 8 year old one going to be a good long-term purchase?
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Beware of any MB built between 1996 and 2002: corrosion problems, which affected the E-class most conspicuously but which also hit other models too. I'm not suggesting that the CLKs were seriously affected, but do watch out. It is also clear that the problem affects later cars too.
Servicing costs will be perfectly reasonable at an independent MB specialist. Just stay away from main dealers and their £125 per hour charges.
I'd go for the 320. That V6 engine (M112/113) seems to have proved to be trouble free and not prone to the leaks that characterized its straight-six predecessor (M104).
Try:
www.carsurvey.org/model_Mercedes-Benz_CLK.html
forums.mbworld.org/forums/
www.mbclub.co.uk/
www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/
"Is an 8 year old one going to be a good long-term purchase?" As long as you're prepared to spend some money on making good what previous owners will almost certainly have neglected, then why not? I've done that with two older MBs, but my "long term" is a decade or more.
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This was one of the considerations on Mrs V's list, before she bought the Mx5 (new) 4 years back.
Was not at all impressed by the scruffy interiors, on the ones we viewed at main dealers. If they can't recondition them enogh to look like new, then the build quality wasn't there in the first place.
Think this was a correct assumption, looking at what they're like now!!
VB
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Thanks for the links, Roger. I'd already looked at car survey and the owners club, but the other MB site has been really helpful. Quite a few mentions about how CLK prices have dropped this year and high depreciation. We tend to keep our cars a long time so it doesn't bother me.
Rust on the wheelarches seems a big complaint - "They rust like 80's Datsuns" said one poster! It also provided the name of a local-ish (Preston) MB independant who seems highly regarded by MB owners. The general advice seems to be to go for late 1999 face-lift models and the bigger engines are preferred to the 230 - though I think these may be more than we want to spend.
Vansboy - I get the impression that MB build quality is not what it was, even according to many MB owners. I suppose on an 8 year old car, condition is everything.
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Radical thought: what about a W124 Coupé? I've had my 1996 one since 2000 and can't imagine parting with it. They are not perfect -- the gasket issue, the rear window eventually delaminates, front wheel arches eventually corrode -- but they are superb solid cars that feel 100% in the MB over-engineered tradition, and there are plenty about well within your budget. If you get an expert inspection done, you can use it to knock off the asking price the cost of sorting any of this (e.g. £500 to get the gasket fixed by an independent).
There was a letter (or article) in the MB Club Gazette not long ago from the owner of a younger model, regretting the loss of his W124 Coupé and advising anyone with a good 'un to stay with it, given the subsequent problems he had experienced. The W124 Coupé was based on the E-class chassis, so is larger than the C-based CLK.
If you want any more commentary, search the Back Room for my name + Coupé.
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Funny you should mention those Roger, because I really like the styling of the old Merc coupes. As you say, there are quite a few around for £2-4k. I guess I was thinking that the CLK would be more practical and have more safety features - airbags, abs, traction control ect. - which is quite important as I will be ferrying two children around in it.
My dream car is a late-model Saab classic 900 turbo 3 door. I had one but sold it when the children came along (had two 900T's at one point). Wish I hadn't now, of course. But again, much as I love them, I have more or less ruled them out as, like an older Merc, I feel like they need you to keep on top of the maintainance more than a modern car. I will look up your old posts, though, as I do like the old coupes.
I think W124 coupes are well on the way to being classic cars, though, so properly maintained I would imagine it would still be worth around what you paid for it should you decide to sell.
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If you check out Mercedes warranties they are pretty comprehensive on the bodywork. Mine has just been done at 7 years old for minor rust problems..and I mean minor ... under warranty. The only stipulation was a fully stamped service book (not necessarily Mb main dealers.) Before you buy therefore check out the dates the cars are warranted from and make sure the service book is up to date.
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