Mission Impossible: Stylish 4 Seat Coupe/Conv for £7.5KIsh?

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

The Convertibles are cheaper than the Coupes due to them being less practical, yes the seat motors play up but you can replace the frame in about an hour to a manual one if it's the motors that are playing up, but normally it's the switch in the door that plays up not the motor itself also on the 02-05 cars the heated seats seem more prone to fail.

Thx for the info - cool convertibles cheaper suits me :-)

Do think its weird tho, you pay £40k new for a prestige badge & you get electrical gremlins - I know all cars have issues & sorry to be a stuck record but everything in my 12 year old Accord works - no rattles or squeaks even & it's not as tho it doesn't have any gadgets - it has dual climate, remote central locking & boot release, Electric windows & heated mirrors - there are things that could in theory go wrong

It won't put me off buying a Merc but if I was buying one new I'd expect it to be MORE reliable than a Honda & last till the end of time!

[Tony Starks]

Tbh it sounds like you should stick with the Honda as it hasnt let you down.

Every car has good ones and bad ones, I know people who wont touch Hondas because of expensive experiances with them and others who have had the cars you've listed as breaking down and never had a problem with them.

the best option is the Monaro, everything is easy enough to work on yourself and eve after all these years still looks new.

[ZX10R NIN]

silvertypes said:

Thx for the info - cool convertibles cheaper suits me :-)

Do think its weird tho, you pay £40k new for a prestige badge & you get electrical gremlins - I know all cars have issues & sorry to be a stuck record but everything in my 12 year old Accord works - no rattles or squeaks even & it's not as tho it doesn't have any gadgets - it has dual climate, remote central locking & boot release, Electric windows & heated mirrors - there are things that could in theory go wrong

It won't put me off buying a Merc but if I was buying one new I'd expect it to be MORE reliable than a Honda & last till the end of time!

This doesn't happen on every car I sold my 122k 2003 55 AMG with everything still working fine, I'm just letting you know about potential problems, I have heard & read horror stories about Honda's and they're expensive parts & problems.

Mercedes W209 CLK's are known for being trouble free but they do have a few known problems but this doesn't effect every car.

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

This doesn't happen on every car I sold my 122k 2003 55 AMG with everything still working fine, I'm just letting you know about potential problems, I have heard & read horror stories about Honda's and they're expensive parts & problems.

Mercedes W209 CLK's are known for being trouble free but they do have a few known problems but this doesn't effect every car.

Thanks for the heads up. I guess it's luck of the draw when you buy any car

[anonymous-user]

I have to say that I looked at CLKs and was very, very disappointed when I drove them. The 500 had a lovely engine however the 320 was not good for a 6 cylinder, but the chassis flex and shuddering was unbelievable for such an expensive and recent car. Honestly, it was like a mid 90s SAAB 900 convertible. I found the fisher price feel of the buttons a bit surprising too. It's a car from the dark years of Mercedes and it shows.

Ex Mother in law has had a 2007 CLK something crap and 4 cylinder from new and it has been nothing but trouble almost from day one.

[007 VXR]

Another vote for the Monaro, but 7.5K budget could be an issue finding a good one as prices are on the up.

[silvertypes]

007 VXR said:

Another vote for the Monaro, but 7.5K budget could be an issue finding a good one as prices are on the up.

Can imagine blasting around in a chunky V8 would be fun & good that running costs look surprisingly ok

Concerns

- Finding a good local garage (in Derby) who knows what Monaro's are & can gets parts & service easily - read a terrible review of Pentagon Derby...

- A recent thread on the Monaro sub forum about one having just been stolen made me think - a huge beast like this is probably a magnet for joy riders like M3's etc

I'm thinking although Mercs are lovely I doubt they are especially nickable like a Monaro as they are so common - also I presume you could get a CLK serviced anywhere which makes life easy...

[007 VXR]

silvertypes said:

007 VXR said:

Another vote for the Monaro, but 7.5K budget could be an issue finding a good one as prices are on the up.

Can imagine blasting around in a chunky V8 would be fun & good that running costs look surprisingly ok

Concerns

- Finding a good local garage (in Derby) who knows what Monaro's are & can gets parts & service easily - read a terrible review of Pentagon Derby...

- A recent thread on the Monaro sub forum about one having just been stolen made me think - a huge beast like this is probably a magnet for joy riders like M3's etc

I'm thinking although Mercs are lovely I doubt they are especially nickable like a Monaro as they are so common - also I presume you could get a CLK serviced anywhere which makes life easy...

Ask any questions on the HSV & Monaro forum of PHs.
lots of owners in you area. Dont worry about using VX to service these, almost noone does.
Not many have be stolen over the 8 years ive been on the HSV forum, iirc 3 in total 2 recovered.

Way more fun than a BMW

Edited by 007 VXR on Sunday 5th April 09:51

[ZX10R NIN]

dme123 said:

I have to say that I looked at CLKs and was very, very disappointed when I drove them. The 500 had a lovely engine however the 320 was not good for a 6 cylinder, but the chassis flex and shuddering was unbelievable for such an expensive and recent car. Honestly, it was like a mid 90s SAAB 900 convertible. I found the fisher price feel of the buttons a bit surprising too. It's a car from the dark years of Mercedes and it shows.

Ex Mother in law has had a 2007 CLK something crap and 4 cylinder from new and it has been nothing but trouble almost from day one.

Interesting I have never driven the convertibles so surprised to hear they have chassis flex, get the Coupe OP, the interiors are better then the BMW especially if you get a facelift model. As for the 1.8 the less said about that the better, the V6 is ok but it has to be the V8 the difference in fuel is minimal.

Your mother in law should have got a V6

[Codswallop]

silvertypes said:

Cheers I'll check that forum out. Quite like the idea of one of these if the costs (excluding petrol) aren't that bad, though I'm wondering if I'll be able to find a local garage to look after it

Generally the online reviews etc seem good but did spot this:-

"The day after I picked it up, the car started cutting out. To shorten a very long and expensive story, a faulty ECU had to be ordered from Australia and fitted by a specialist. 90% of Vauxhall Dealers either won?t work on Monaros, or don?t have the experience needed. An important thing to remember is they?re made by Holden and have an American Chevy engine ? a Corsa this aint."

Not heard of any other Monaro having ecu issues, but I bet it was a whole lot cheaper than one from Mercedes would have been.

The engine is simple - anyone can service it. Pushrod too so no cambelts/ chains to worry about. Monkfish performance can get you any part you need quickly and for a reasonable price.

As 007vxr mentioned though, prices are firming up so finding one in budget may become difficult.

Speaking of 007vxr, stay away from him if you do get a Monaro, otherwise you may catch the modding bug

[007 VXR]

LMAO

[ZX10R NIN]

Codswallop said:

Not heard of any other Monaro having ecu issues, but I bet it was a whole lot cheaper than one from Mercedes would have been.

The engine is simple - anyone can service it. Pushrod too so no cambelts/ chains to worry about. Monkfish performance can get you any part you need quickly and for a reasonable price.

As 007vxr mentioned though, prices are firming up so finding one in budget may become difficult.

Speaking of 007vxr, stay away from him if you do get a Monaro, otherwise you may catch the modding bug

Don't think I won't be trying to talk him into upgrades(I'll start gently with a resonator delete);)

[silvertypes]

ZX10R NIN said:

Don't think I won't be trying to talk him into upgrades(I'll start gently with a resonator delete);)

I'd better start saving now

[silvertypes]

Any thoughts on Merc CLK Vs CL?

Presume CL more expensive to insure / run & fix if it goes wrong? CL Sure looks great though - LOVE this one in ALMANDINE BLACK

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[ZX10R NIN]

silvertypes said:

Any thoughts on Merc CLK Vs CL?

Presume CL more expensive to insure / run & fix if it goes wrong? CL Sure looks great though - LOVE this one in ALMANDINE BLACK

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

That's a nice one but three letters that are cause for concern on CL's are these ABC worn bushes on the legs is a very expensive job & if the ABC goes wrong factor in £1000 to sort it, but they are good cars as you say they do cost more to run

[Matt Clay]

Thanks for the rather timely thread, looks like I'm hunting for a CLK500 now.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'm preparing one for my mate he bought October last year it's an 03 100k CLK500 he had a smaller budget but also wanted to put his own stamp on it so he left it with me & I've made the upgrades as he's had the money but now it's almost finished to where he want's it.

Work that had to be done:

Paint Refresh (This brings the paintwork to a standard that makes it look like new & lasts)
Headlamp Refurbishment
Clean out & Re Stonechip the rear arches

The extras fitted:
Kenwood Headunit with Garmin Nav/Bluetooth/DAB/USB/Touchscreen
Resonator Delete
K&N Air Filters
Re-Map
18 Inch OEM Wheels & Tyre
Full Detail Clean (The interior was grimy)
Privacy Glass
AMG Rear Spoiler

Work to be carried out later:

30mm Eibach Lowering Springs
Tailpipe
Three Slat Grille
Twin Blade Mirrors
Infinity Kappa Speaker Upgrade

The files are to big to post on here OP & Mat, so if you'd like to see them PM & I can give you give you an idea of costs.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 6th April 09:33

[897sma]

I've had a couple of CLK convertibles, a W208 230k and W209 320, both from around 3-6 years old covering over 100k miles and never had any issues with them. Servicing is no more expensive than any other upper mainstream brand. My local MB dealer gave me 30% off once they were over 5 years old, or there are plenty of independents around if you prefer (Benz Bavarian are in Belper which is fairly close to you). If you're doing work yourself parts from places like GSF or Eurocarparts, etc are pretty much the same price as for anything else, although don't always assume that genuine parts are dearer.

I know you're looking for a larger engined one than I had and whilst neither of mine were race cars, they weren't sluggish either. A 500 or 55amg should fly.

[silvertypes]

[quote=ZX10R NIN]I'm preparing one for my mate he bought October last year it's an 03 100k CLK500 he had a smaller budget but also wanted to put his own stamp on it so he left it with me & I've made the upgrades as he's had the money but now it's almost finished to where he want's it.

Looking good!

[silvertypes]

897sma said:

I've had a couple of CLK convertibles, a W208 230k and W209 320, both from around 3-6 years old covering over 100k miles and never had any issues with them. Servicing is no more expensive than any other upper mainstream brand. My local MB dealer gave me 30% off once they were over 5 years old, or there are plenty of independents around if you prefer (Benz Bavarian are in Belper which is fairly close to you). If you're doing work yourself parts from places like GSF or Eurocarparts, etc are pretty much the same price as for anything else, although don't always assume that genuine parts are dearer.

I know you're looking for a larger engined one than I had and whilst neither of mine were race cars, they weren't sluggish either. A 500 or 55amg should fly.

Yes Benz Bavarian not far away - they sell a lot of exotic cars Lambo's Ferrari's etc - proper drool stuff! I assume they'd be great tho did notice a bad review online but maybe a one off who knows...

My hands on mechanical knowledge pretty much ends at filling the tank so I'm at the mercy of the garage

I'm loving the idea of a CLK500 Cabrio or Coupe but maybe getting carried away! been looking at Insurance - My Honda is group 29 but a CLK Cabriolet (03-09) 500 Avantgarde 2d Tip Auto (03) is allegedly group 47!

I'm just researching at the mo so no worries but when I do finally get a quote I Can't see how it isn't going to be 'a lot'