Talk me out of a high mileage CLK 230K

[MantaMike]

I'm looking for something to replace my Mondeo as it bores me with it's unfailing competence, i want to replace it with somthing a bit more "Premium", but my budget is anything but.

I've been looking at 2000/2001 E46 BMW's with mileages around 100K-150K, i know these cars well and am quite comfortable with that, but finding one that hasn't been owned by some Oik is proving tricky. but today i have come across a 2000(w) CLK 230K Avantgarde, Manual on 154K, facelift model with indicators in mirrors, and on the face of it looks very smart and well cared for. Its for sale from a respected dealer who took it as part ex and i reckon i can get it for around £1500.

High mileages don't scare me at all (my Mondeo has done 163K!), i have never owned or even played with Mercs.... will this be a disaster?

talk me out of it please.

Edited by MantaMike on Thursday 27th January 16:57

[splodge s4]

Ive just part ex'd my 2001 CLK 200 after 5 years of ownership & its been a great car. Bought it with 95k on the clock & it had just passed 130k when i let it go. The only bits I had to change were brake disks, pads & tyres and a couple of rear suspension springs. Is it a manual or auto your looking at? Mine was a manual & I always wished it was an auto.

Having said that I briefly had a 1998 E240 auto with 143k miles & the auto box failed & needed a rebuild, this is £1,200ish.

ah just re read it & you mentioned its a manual so forget that about the auto box!

Edited by splodge s4 on Thursday 27th January 17:46

[Dog Star]

I have a suspicion that any car that's had more than 4 or 5 owners that is around 10 years old and is low mileage has been clocked - it's rife.

So when I see something like this CLK you are looking at - seems fine - average-ish miles per year. I'd go off condition and servicing alone. And you can't go too far wrong for £1500!

[Meeja]

Bookmarked.

I've long fancied a CLK, but as an additional toy rather than a replacement to my current daily driver.

As it would not be a primary car, the budget would be minimal... so in a similar position to the OP I suppose.

High mileages don't particularly worry me either.... as long as decent maintenance has taken place. I racked up 170,000 miles on a Focus (bought at 30k, sold at just over 200k) and it never missed a beat.

[angusc43]

Just look out for rust - this was a bad period. On a CLK arches and bootlid.

On my 99 C43 - all four arches, bonnet and roof (!)

[cramorra]

Why????????

[angusc43]

cramorra said:

Why????????

Why what?

If you mean "why was the roof rusty?" there were paint imperfections everywhere, many of which had spidered - ie water had got in. So it was a bodywork time bomb.

Mercedes had just bought Chrysler at this time and quality had fallen through the floor. There was something seriously wrong with mine which must have been to do with a switch to water based paints/poor prep/poor paint adhesion or something.

The guy in the bodyshop I use had rarely seen something that bad. So I just had to stop spending money on it and eventually trade it for something with paint that actually did its job.

Edit; the original damage may well have been stone chips - but that should have never happened on the roof - the paint was just not adhering correctly. And it was rusting where the roof rails met the roof. Gulp. That's an expensive roof-lining-out job. The arches go because of stone chips inside the lips - they should have had propoer protection in there but didn't.

My first one, oddly enough, had almost perfect paint. You've just got be careful. And lucky. Best way to avoid is to by a later car like my 211 - galvanised panels and proper build quality.

Edited by angusc43 on Friday 25th March 11:25

[MarsellusWallace]

I had a customer trying to px a 1997 slk with me the other day and I've never seen a car as rusty-it was literally falling to pieces,rust EVERYWHERE.