I have had my clk 55amg for about 8 months now .......I bought it as a stop gap ......but am now keeping it :-) ....a very underated, and under the radar motor......and at current prices an absolute steal!!

Brilliant.

Sounds good and that they dont have big issues.

Whats the petrol like?
I mean a 5 litre engine or 5.4 isnt exactly small so would be interesting to know the score on it.

The prices right now are very tempting, especially the clk55 amg.

Any more information about them?
Thanks!

The things that could potentially cause you issues on the 55 are the Torque converter, and possibly electrics. My car had its TC replaced before I bought it (think the cost was about £1800), and I have just had to have some electrical gremlins sorted out (costing about £300 to fix). Do remember that the 55 will cost a bit more to maintain than your bog standard merc......for instance it has 16 (yes 16!!) spark plugs that need to be replaced every 4 years at least ...this on its own is about £400. Some of the earlier models had issues with the gear box due to a small problem with radiators leaking water and antifreeze into the gearbox oil, although this is v rare. Also, on any test drive, listen out for 'ticking' behind the center consol on start up ....this could be a problem with the aircon unit, which is a difficult, and expensive, fix.....of the 4 cars I looked at, 2 had this issue.
I have found the ride to be firm yet refined (and thats running around on London roads) but more than adequate to cope with chucking it around some fun B roads now and again;). It may not be as mental on the edge as an M3, but is sooooo torquey (is that even a word?) that in everyday situations it comes up trumps, and does 0-60 in under 5 if that sort of thing matters to you. I get about 20mpg in mine, that does drop to about 16 if your having fun though ....and do use the best petrol you can find.
I think this is one of the best kept secret performance cars out there ....and rare as hens teeth too (only 217 W209 55amgs in the country).
If you need any more info....let me know

snaz

16 plugs can be done for much less than £400 at an independent .. plugs alone are about £100.

the 5.4 litre engine is pretty robust, as it's not a highly stressed engine. Not many (if any) reports of them going seriously wrong.

the 5 speed auto gearbox is also robust, provided it has had a filter and oil change at least every 50k miles. It goes wrong, but not a common fault.

the 7 speed on the 209 was newer, and again does not have common known faults.

I had a 208 CLK55 (I have had a CLS55 for about 2.5 years) for about 3.5 years. In that time, I did about 35k miles, and apart from standard maintenance (oil change etc), only one of the motors of the passenger seat and a door seal needed replacing. Stunning machine. I could drive to Cornwall at high average speeds from London, and it would still do about 26 mpg.

One of the best cars I have ever had. Fast, stealth and with lovely grunt.

55 every time ..

AMG has better brakes, more power and torque, more sporty suspension (but which is still compliant) and a more responsive gearbox, plus much better seats.

Oh, sounds a lot better too.

When comparing 500's with 55's you do have to be clear which 500 you're talking about.

The earlier one was a 5.0 with just over 300bhp and 340-something lb/ft. The later one is a 5.4 with something like 380/380. And better fuel economy.

I have the 5.0 in my E Class and it's swift. Mate of mine had the 5.4 in his CLS and it's fast. The 5.5 AMG is faster still.

Thanks for the answers and information.

Keep them coming.

The CLK500 I am talking about would be the 5.0 one, with the 306hp engine.
Not the latter 5.4 one badged CLK500.

So basically its hands down CLK55 AMG then?

Does convertible make a difference?

As Chris333 says the 5.0 would be turbine smooth (which is good) and virtually silent (which may not be what you are after).

The 55 would have a much louder bark. I had a couple of C43's before my 5.0 E Class and AMG had fettled the cams, airbox and exhaust on that version of the 4.3 V8 and it was much more tuneful when given the beans.

And I assume the CLK 55 would have lower and stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, etc.

only if you drive the 55 first

WOW

What a car!!
Im a bit off buying one yet but that is a crazy bargain!

Already done insurance quote and its looking good, although its cheaper with convertible. Not sure why, same with M3. Good couple hundred cheaper.

Most M3 owners say the coupe M3 over the M3 convertible, is this the same? Or are they equal?