2003 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK

2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG Cabriolet, Ice Blue Metallic, 79,500 miles, £9,500

Current MOT with no advisories. In daily use so mileage will rise slightly.

Extras - Bose sound system, Xenon headlights, electric folding mirrors, parking sensors front and back, heated seats, Command display with TV and DVD, Ice Blue paint and navy blue hood.

The convertible roof raises and lowers as it should, the fabric is in good condition and it’s water tight.

The secondary cats have been opened up with the standard exhaust system and rear backbox retained. The result is the best of both worlds: a proper AMG V8 bark under hard acceleration, yet completely civilised and drone-free around town and at cruise.

The AMG 18 inch alloys fitted are the most desirable variant and typically fetch around 2k used.

Work completed recently:

New NRF radiator, permanently eliminating the well-known Valeo radiator concern on 2003/2004 cars. Spark plugs just replaced (Bosch) which again can be an issue as they are prone to getting seized, so one less thing for the new owner to worry about. Also not a cheap job to do where there are 16 of them!

Crankshaft position sensor replaced as this is good practice. They can fail leaving you stranded or in limp home mode.

Air conditioning has just been regassed and is working correctly.

Extensive service history and paperwork. The most recent service 1,000 miles ago covered the NSF lower arm bush, ARB drop link, boot separator gas struts, air filter, and an oil and filter change. Good life left on the front brakes and tyres.

Four former keepers.

Known points for full transparency:

Revs can occasionally drop/slight roughness to idle when cold, likely the idle control valve. The M113 engine is extremely reliable and so this is only a minor point for transparency and it is occasional, I just want to be completely up front.

Rust on the rear arch lips only, with the underside and structure absolutely fine. Quoted at £300 per arch to put right at some point and reflected in the price. The rust has not spread to the rest of the arch, it is isolated, so while this is something that will need doing in the future, it’s not urgent. The underside of the car is in great condition besides this.

The usual clicking from the climate control actuators behind the dash, a known trait on all W209 CLKs that affects nothing else.

Reason for sale:

I bought this needing four seats after the arrival of our baby, to replace a two-seater roadster. In the end I could not bring myself to sell the 2-seater, so this is funding a practical second daily car instead.

Located in Fareham, Hampshire. International enquiries welcome. Viewings and test drives available with proof of insurance. Independent specialist inspection encouraged.

This is a well looked after car; weak mechanical points for the W209 sorted out with no advisories on the MOT.

DVLA data suggests roughly 50 CLK55 AMG Cabriolets remain licensed on UK roads, and Ice Blue Metallic is among the rarest colours of those. Values on the continent are already considerably higher than here. This is a rare car that should go up in value and I believe this to be extremely well priced to sell.

Any questions no matter how small are very welcome.