W209 CLK500 Ownership experience/Buying advice?

[PTE993]

Hi...I've been looking at 2004/5 CLK500 Convertibles's...and they seem to offer pretty good value. I'd really appreciate hearing of the real world ownership experience from anyone who's owned one of these. And things to look out for when buying. Thanks in advance.

[ZX10R NIN]

PTE993 said:

Hi...I've been looking at 2004/5 CLK500 Convertibles's...and they seem to offer pretty good value. I'd really appreciate hearing of the real world ownership experience from anyone who's owned one of these. And things to look out for when buying. Thanks in advance.

Real world ownership costs are pretty reasonable buy try & get the interior facelift version if you can also the 7 speed box is a bonus better for cruising & fuel consumption does it have to be the Convertible?

The usual service history is great if not make sure you get a good deal. Parts are very reasonable services are okay apart from when you have to change all 16 Spark Plugs most good specialists will service it for between £400-£600 depending on what needs doing. Change the Gearbox Fluids, a Resonator delete means better engine note & better performance. Make sure everything works.

Check the Paint code if it has a C at the beginning or end of the paint code then it has the self healing Ceramic Lacquer this is great if you get a very light graze but means the whole panel will have to be stripped down & repainted should any marks be to deep so bare this in mind when inspecting the car.

[PTE993]

Thanks ZX... it looks like the facelift came in in 2004 along with galvanised body panels which I believe addresses some of the rust issues you get in the early 2000's cars. I was looking at 80K+ mile cars which hopefully will have had the big service completed. I didn't know about the 'self healing' paint...will look out for that.

Fancied the convertible since I was looking to get a R129 however for similar/slightly more you can get a 10 yr younger CLK500.

There arent any cars that jump out at the right price point at the moment. Looked at one last week and it was looking tired although was relatively cheap.

[ZX10R NIN]

PTE993 said:

Thanks ZX... it looks like the facelift came in in 2004 along with galvanised body panels which I believe addresses some of the rust issues you get in the early 2000's cars. I was looking at 80K+ mile cars which hopefully will have had the big service completed. I didn't know about the 'self healing' paint...will look out for that.

Fancied the convertible since I was looking to get a R129 however for similar/slightly more you can get a 10 yr younger CLK500.

There arent any cars that jump out at the right price point at the moment. Looked at one last week and it was looking tired although was relatively cheap.

CLK's from 2003 onwards had fully galvanised body panels so there's not a problem there.

These are the best one's I've seen while taking a quick look.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Depending on your budget you could have a CLK55.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

Or a coupe Clk500 with the seven speed & the facelift interior.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

What was your budget?

[PTE993]

Thanks for the recommendations...this was the one that caught my eye and I viewed last week.

http://www.bonnevillesofberkshire.co.uk/used-cars/...

Spec was excellent. However it was a little tired..but did have plenty of history. At that price point I am not expecting perfection but it felt it showed its 85K more than I was expecting.

I want the lowest cost to change for my S2000 which after 2 years and 27K as my daily driver I'm looking for something different.

I don't mind the fuel economy side of things...and am prepared for higher running costs...the Honda has been largely faultless.

[ZX10R NIN]

The only downside I can see with that car is that it's not got Full Service History with slightly more miles & a more expensive price than the CLK500 I found on Trader but it does have the facelift interior personally I'd go for the FSH one but that's a choice for you to make. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[PTE993]

Yes...you're right. I had seen the 2003 one you pointed out too...it's further away..the other one was just down the road...which made it easy to view last week. But it didn't do it really. I should compare really.

Galvanising was introduced during 2003...do you know if there is a model code to that indicates this that would allow me to confirm whether a 2003 car is galvanised or not?

[ZX10R NIN]

The change of shape means that it's the fully galvanised car so basically all W209 models don't suffer with rust issues that afflicted the W208 models

[PTE993]

Thanks!