CLK63

[W111AAM]

Thinking of changing my 2003 SL500 for one of these. Only because of needing 4 seats with the kids. Look great value or am i missing something?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-57-Mercedes-Benz-C...

[belleair302]

Not the sharpest chassis available nor the best drive train. If you must have a convertible go away from M-B for four seats. What is your budget before suggestion replacements?

[W111AAM]

I suppose my budget is £15-20k. It will be a weekend car and the wife will use it a bit as well when the suns out. I'm not going to be tracking it or blasting round Wales. More cruising!! Just thought the idea of a 6.2 V8 in a 4 seater convertible was brilliantly mad!

What other options would you say. BMW M3, Audi RS4?

[belleair302]

The BMW is a great drive if pushing on, but lacks low end shove. Forget the Audi, chassis like a jelly but well built interior. If M-B is your brand, try a car, take it out on two or three different roads and see if it suits your driving style. Performance isn't everything, comfort, road holding, usability and running costs are way higher.

[Mosdef]

I had a CLK63 cabrio for around 10k miles / 2 years and while it had the odd electrical gremlin, I generally loved the car. The engine is a masterpiece and is right up there with the greats. The chassis is soft-ish so very comfortable for everyday driving. The cabrio is wobbly but I think they all tend to be, BMWs and Audi included.

I suspect it might feel a bit old in terms of infotainment but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you go ahead. Probably worth getting it checked over as would be the case for any 10 year old plus car.

By the way, it’s a proper four seater.

[W111AAM]

Thanks for your feedback. I am very tempted. Need to go and have a look/drive. 4 seats is a must for me now. And I love the fact that if it was de-badged, not many would know it have a 6.2litre V8 in the front and nearly 500 bhp!!!

Mosdef said:

I had a CLK63 cabrio for around 10k miles / 2 years and while it had the odd electrical gremlin, I generally loved the car. The engine is a masterpiece and is right up there with the greats. The chassis is soft-ish so very comfortable for everyday driving. The cabrio is wobbly but I think they all tend to be, BMWs and Audi included.

I suspect it might feel a bit old in terms of infotainment but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you go ahead. Probably worth getting it checked over as would be the case for any 10 year old plus car.

By the way, it’s a proper four seater.

[giggity]

A great car, having had the CLK I'm very fond of it, however for me if I go for the 63 it'll be a C63.

Finally, as it's so commonly mentioned as a issue, do get the head bolts issue checked. It's a worry at that age.

[D-pt8zx]

W111AAM said:

Thinking of changing my 2003 SL500 for one of these. Only because of needing 4 seats with the kids. Look great value or am i missing something?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-57-Mercedes-Benz-C...

I have a CLK 500 Cabriolet which presumably has the same M113 engine as your current SL.

In terms of everyday usability I think the lesser car would give 70+% of the thrills for less than half the purchase cost of the 63, which realistically cannot often be driven as it should be on public roads these days, especially with kids on board

Much cheaper to run as well. For instance, check out the price of fronts discs and pads for the AMG vs the 500.

On the other hand if you really must scratch that itch...

[rubystone]

I owned one for several years; it’s now in New Zealand. I bought it for the engine and the need for 4 seats. It didn’t ever let me down and was a rapid machine. Yes, no sportscar, but a very accomplished family car with a twist. I believe only around 120 RHD cars were built. Only negative is that the cabriolet floorpan didn’t allow Mercedes to fit the exhaust system from the coupe and as such the sound is more muted. But I bet something could be done about that. Do ensure that the car had the recall for the head bolt issue which affected the early 6.3 engines. And ensure the brake rotors have life left in them; they’re expensive to replace if you go the OEM route....Mine went to a friend in NZ and I drove it again when out there in 2016. Brought a smile to my face again.

[Mosdef]

Rubystone sums it the ownership experience very well. The exhaust is twin on the cabriolet as opposed to quad on the coupe.

The 500 is not a comparable car and feels nowhere near as special at low speeds. I agree with the poster above who says it's difficult to drive one of these hard on UK roads but even just causing around, the car felt special to me and was incredible tame to drive around town.

Get it bought!!

[W111AAM]

Thank you for all you responses. Off to Le Mans next week in the SL. If it's still for sale when i get back i'll go and have a look.

[mwstewart]

I have the coupe as my daily driver. Wonderful car. I don't like the C63 but love the CLK.

Not remotely a sports car but a very enjoyable GT.

[ZX10R NIN]

As above I have had my CLK63 for a number of years, it always feels special at low/high speed & is every bit the GT car Mercedes designed it as (think of it as a smaller CL) the engine is an absolute peach, you'll have smiles for miles.

[ZX10R NIN]

Nope the Quad exhaust is a recent thing also the CLK63 is a bit of an anomaly as the Coupe is quad & the Convertible is a dual the CLK55 before it is a dual.

[sophistoman]

I have had a CLK63 convertible for nearly 3 years now and it has seem way more use than its predecessor (996 C4s)

It has a distinctly average gearbox but other than that it is perfect.

I wanted a V8 (proper one, none of that turbocharged stuff!) and kids wanted a drop top.

Mine is a late 2008 car, full MBSH Black on Black (best combo for a Merc IMO.

They are rare cars but also discreet (mine has black rear badges).


Now looking to sell and it will be missed. 😔

[Skd884]

I sold one recently the rattles and squeaks were horrendous due to it being a cabriolet.

[911F]

I'm looking for a CLK63 either coupe or cab, if anyone is selling, do let me know

[W111AAM]

The one on ebay I linked to above is still for sale. Price is reducing all the time. Are they desperate to shift it or am i missing something? It looks great.

[911F]

They appear to be very slow sellers, speaking to my friend at Mercedes Brooklands, even when new they were hard to shift, the C63 on the other hand was a success.

I'd still like a low miles CLK63 just to be different.

The ebay car has too many miles for me, would prefer a max of 40k if anyone knows anything

[mwstewart]

One of the most wholesomely satisfying cars I've (we've) ever owned. Turn the key and smile.