Merc CLK500 private sale issue
Discussion
Hello all, had one hell of a day yesterday! I was the buyer in this instance. Bought a CLK500 on Ebay, travelled up to Liverpool by train to pick it up. It looked good, excellent service history, excellent MOT history. When I get there it runs nicely. So we do the deal.
Then, when I drive it away it jumps out of gear and won't go back in unless I put it in neutral and then back in drive. At that point the EML is on and it won't move from either first or second (not sure which). The tip-tronic function also not working. Luckily the guy I bought it off is quite possibly the nicest guy in the world! He tells me to get it back to his lot and his mechanic friend will look at it and sort something out, assuring me that he won't leave me stranded and we'll get something sorted - it's a 3 hour drive home or 5 hours on the train so I make it clear that is much appreciated and I know that he could technically was his hands of it as a 'sold as seen'.
Anyway I get it back, mechanic friend gets it up on a ramp (it isn't a dealer, it's a small business importing parts, refurbishing them and selling them - this car was the owners private vehicle. The ramp was for the mechanics own personal use and he is a well qualified and experienced mechanic for Audi who is in semi-retirement).
Plugs it in, clears fault codes. They are friendly with the guy who has been servicing the car at a MB indie. He gives advice that they follow. I'm not mechanically minded at all, but it seems that the problem is a leaking seal letting transmission fluid out, which is sending the car into limp mode.
Mechanic and I go out for a drive and it seems okay - except the tiptronic isn't working and I become convinced that the car won't move above 3rd gear. 3000 revs at 60 is not 5th gear - no chance. I used to have a CL500 and I know that could touch 50 in 1st gear so 3000 revs at 60 seems like 3rd to me. And then, it does it again - car out of gear, engine management light on, and won't shift up.
Back to the lot. At this point, it's six o clock. The guy offers me my money back. Not believing my luck, I take it. He drops me off at the train station and I've got an £80 train journey ahead of me (that ends up taking six f
king hours). The first thing I do of course, is jump on the wrong train, but at this point of the day I'm just feeling too relieved to care.
Anyway, guy was very apologetic. I have no issue with him trying to get rid of a lemon on me, as he could have washed his hands of it, and I am fully aware of how lucky I've been in that regard.
Anyway - the point of my post. He has offered to fix it and if I'm still interested then he will actually drive it down to me to complete the deal. Only thing is, I'm very dubious that the issue is the car being sent into limp mode - that won't make it jump into neutral with no provocation (I think) and doesn't answer the question of why it won't shift above third and the tiptronic shift being kaput.
Merc auto boxes from this era are literally as good as they come in terms of reliability but it seems to me that this one is, to put it bluntly, fked. It's not a common car at all and it was in good condition. I would like it but am willing to wait for a good one.
What's the consensus? I'm thinking walk away and thank my lucky stars that I came home with an envelope full of notes instead of a lemon of a (expensive to fix) car.
Thanks in advance PHers, as always appreciate all your opinions.
EDIT: Thanks for moving from General Gassing. I had never noticed this forum before!
Then, when I drive it away it jumps out of gear and won't go back in unless I put it in neutral and then back in drive. At that point the EML is on and it won't move from either first or second (not sure which). The tip-tronic function also not working. Luckily the guy I bought it off is quite possibly the nicest guy in the world! He tells me to get it back to his lot and his mechanic friend will look at it and sort something out, assuring me that he won't leave me stranded and we'll get something sorted - it's a 3 hour drive home or 5 hours on the train so I make it clear that is much appreciated and I know that he could technically was his hands of it as a 'sold as seen'.
Anyway I get it back, mechanic friend gets it up on a ramp (it isn't a dealer, it's a small business importing parts, refurbishing them and selling them - this car was the owners private vehicle. The ramp was for the mechanics own personal use and he is a well qualified and experienced mechanic for Audi who is in semi-retirement).
Plugs it in, clears fault codes. They are friendly with the guy who has been servicing the car at a MB indie. He gives advice that they follow. I'm not mechanically minded at all, but it seems that the problem is a leaking seal letting transmission fluid out, which is sending the car into limp mode.
Mechanic and I go out for a drive and it seems okay - except the tiptronic isn't working and I become convinced that the car won't move above 3rd gear. 3000 revs at 60 is not 5th gear - no chance. I used to have a CL500 and I know that could touch 50 in 1st gear so 3000 revs at 60 seems like 3rd to me. And then, it does it again - car out of gear, engine management light on, and won't shift up.
Back to the lot. At this point, it's six o clock. The guy offers me my money back. Not believing my luck, I take it. He drops me off at the train station and I've got an £80 train journey ahead of me (that ends up taking six f
king hours). The first thing I do of course, is jump on the wrong train, but at this point of the day I'm just feeling too relieved to care.Anyway, guy was very apologetic. I have no issue with him trying to get rid of a lemon on me, as he could have washed his hands of it, and I am fully aware of how lucky I've been in that regard.
Anyway - the point of my post. He has offered to fix it and if I'm still interested then he will actually drive it down to me to complete the deal. Only thing is, I'm very dubious that the issue is the car being sent into limp mode - that won't make it jump into neutral with no provocation (I think) and doesn't answer the question of why it won't shift above third and the tiptronic shift being kaput.
Merc auto boxes from this era are literally as good as they come in terms of reliability but it seems to me that this one is, to put it bluntly, f
ked. It's not a common car at all and it was in good condition. I would like it but am willing to wait for a good one.What's the consensus? I'm thinking walk away and thank my lucky stars that I came home with an envelope full of notes instead of a lemon of a (expensive to fix) car.
Thanks in advance PHers, as always appreciate all your opinions.
EDIT: Thanks for moving from General Gassing. I had never noticed this forum before!
Edited by scrubchub on Saturday 9th June 08:45
Edited by scrubchub on Saturday 9th June 08:52
TR4man said:
I think you have had a lucky escape.
I'd say "thanks, but no thanks" and move on.
I think I would change to that to a 'very lucky escape' and agree wholeheartedly.I'd say "thanks, but no thanks" and move on.
My father is friendly with his local MB indie so he is asking their opinion first thing Monday. We all know what they will say!
I had an issue with a CLK which wouldn't shift up. If I turned the engine off and on again, it would work intermittently, but it felt to me like it was sticking in 2nd or 3rd.
I took it to my main dealer (who I always use), and they diagnosed a small sensor on the side of the gearbox. I'm sorry, I don't recall what it was precisely, but I do remember that the bill was just shy of £1,500.
I'd walk away. Find another.
I took it to my main dealer (who I always use), and they diagnosed a small sensor on the side of the gearbox. I'm sorry, I don't recall what it was precisely, but I do remember that the bill was just shy of £1,500.
I'd walk away. Find another.
Did they fix the leaking seal? Is that the proposed fix? Could the MB indie do it and, if so, is their work guaranteed?
These are questions I would be asking and if the price was right, then with a written guarantee on the gearbox work it might be worth it.
I have no idea how rare these cars are, if it's rare and cosmetically good then mechanical stuff is the cheaper side to fix generally (rust etc needing welding and so on is expensive) and it could be a good buy. However, if they are quite common then just wait for the next one.
These are questions I would be asking and if the price was right, then with a written guarantee on the gearbox work it might be worth it.
I have no idea how rare these cars are, if it's rare and cosmetically good then mechanical stuff is the cheaper side to fix generally (rust etc needing welding and so on is expensive) and it could be a good buy. However, if they are quite common then just wait for the next one.
Desirable car from a back street dealer in Liverpool with major problems as soon as you drove off, safe to say not many get away from that situation without their wallet being severely hurt.
You’ve had a stroke of luck there, even if they claim to have got it working perfectly again I would politely decline. It’s not a rare enough car to be settling for one you aren’t 100% sure about in my opinion.
You’ve had a stroke of luck there, even if they claim to have got it working perfectly again I would politely decline. It’s not a rare enough car to be settling for one you aren’t 100% sure about in my opinion.
By the sound of it the seller did not know of the fault and was not trying to flog a known broken car, otherwise he would not have tried to help & eventually refund you. Bit of a coincidence but his behaviour would give me confidence that he's a normal human being and not out to try a rip people off.
If the rest of the car is good, I would be tempted to offer to buy it minus the cost of the repairs. Or ask him to have it fixed at a reputable garage and then purchase it. Things can break on cars, even parts that are known to be robust, it doesn't mean the rest of the car is a lemon.
The fault could be one of numerous things, maybe even totally unrelated to the box. I had an E39 that once slammed itself into 4th and displayed a message along the lines of "transmission failure". It turned out to be a dead alternator and that was a limp home mode, but when it happened I feared the worse.
If the rest of the car is good, I would be tempted to offer to buy it minus the cost of the repairs. Or ask him to have it fixed at a reputable garage and then purchase it. Things can break on cars, even parts that are known to be robust, it doesn't mean the rest of the car is a lemon.
The fault could be one of numerous things, maybe even totally unrelated to the box. I had an E39 that once slammed itself into 4th and displayed a message along the lines of "transmission failure". It turned out to be a dead alternator and that was a limp home mode, but when it happened I feared the worse.
I left a few details out of the OP that I'll fill in. The seal wasn't changed, no. He reset the fault codes, cleaned an electric plug going to the transmission (that did need it) and then we went out. We checked the transmission fluid level as well, which was ok. The leaky seal was the next fix, and the seller found somewhere he could get one at the hour, but it was at this point where he gave me the option of a refund and I took it (industrial estate in Liverpool at six o clock on a Friday evening, 4 hours from home - I'd had enough!).
The thing is, mechanic took it for a drive (at my request) with me in the passenger seat and that was when I noticed that it wasn't changing up to fourth and the tip-tronic wasn't working. Then it dropped out of gear again and the EML came on and then it wouldn't change up at all. Replacing the seal was the next idea.
There is clearly more to this than a leaky seal sending the car into limp mode.
As a caveat, the car was at such a good price that I could technically do the fix myself at the £1500 that was mentioned earlier and it still wouldn't have cost me much more than the going rate. But it's my daily driver so I can't risk having a car that needs to go in and out of the garage for a few weeks trying to diagnose a complicated gearbox issue.
The thing is, mechanic took it for a drive (at my request) with me in the passenger seat and that was when I noticed that it wasn't changing up to fourth and the tip-tronic wasn't working. Then it dropped out of gear again and the EML came on and then it wouldn't change up at all. Replacing the seal was the next idea.
There is clearly more to this than a leaky seal sending the car into limp mode.
As a caveat, the car was at such a good price that I could technically do the fix myself at the £1500 that was mentioned earlier and it still wouldn't have cost me much more than the going rate. But it's my daily driver so I can't risk having a car that needs to go in and out of the garage for a few weeks trying to diagnose a complicated gearbox issue.
TwyRob said:
Did they fix the leaking seal? Is that the proposed fix? Could the MB indie do it and, if so, is their work guaranteed?
These are questions I would be asking and if the price was right, then with a written guarantee on the gearbox work it might be worth it.
I have no idea how rare these cars are, if it's rare and cosmetically good then mechanical stuff is the cheaper side to fix generally (rust etc needing welding and so on is expensive) and it could be a good buy. However, if they are quite common then just wait for the next one.
Very good points. I'm no stranger to older second hand cars, so I know that things go wrong. Then, you fix them and the car is good again. Simple.These are questions I would be asking and if the price was right, then with a written guarantee on the gearbox work it might be worth it.
I have no idea how rare these cars are, if it's rare and cosmetically good then mechanical stuff is the cheaper side to fix generally (rust etc needing welding and so on is expensive) and it could be a good buy. However, if they are quite common then just wait for the next one.
In this case, it was clear that the guy's mechanic friend would be doing the work with advise from the MB mechanic. If I saw an invoice from a MB specialist with the fault diagnosed and fixed then I guess all would be good! At this price point though, that is asking a bit much perhaps. If they get back to me in the next few days I'll play it by ear of course, but at this point I'm thinking it was a lucky escape and getting back on the hunt this weekend. Might have the weekend off though!
dave_s13 said:
Then again, it could be something with a known fix like the conductor plate. It's a rare car but don't they share a gearbox with many thousands of other mercs?
But yeah, on the whole, probably best avoided.
They are relatively rare but you are 100 percent correct about the gear box. I think this is a car that needs a trip to a garage that knows what it is doing with them. They aren't in the same league of complexity as the CL500 I used to own but they certainly aren't simple cars. But yeah, on the whole, probably best avoided.
scrubchub said:
Is there perhaps a link missing there? I can't see one on my phone.
No I forgot to add the link:https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff