CLK350 Sport - Coupe
Discussion
My fiancée came up with the great idea of going halves on a new daily driver - this seemed like a good plan to me! We wanted something comfortable with a large - or relatively large - V6 or V8 petrol engine mated to a torque converter auto gearbox. My fiancée was at first bit reticent about loosing the engagement factor of a manual, but we will be doing a lot of miles over the next year to sort wedding stuff and a lot of it will be in peak time motorway traffic, so the comfort factor seemed ideal - she plans to get her her manual fix in a 500 Abarth later on!
I forget now what cars we short-listed but we settled on a facelift W209 CLK. I've owned a couple of CLK's in the past: a 270CDi which was a bit agricultural but still a nice car, and a facelift 55 Cabriolet which had a fantastic engine but suffered quite a lot from having the roof removed, so this time around it would be a petrol coupe. Aside from a rear SAM unit going (electronic module that manages the lights etc. in the rear end of the car) in my last one I never really had any problems with them. I suggested we get a 'Sport' optioned car because the exhaust sounds better, the brakes are more powerful, and the handling is a nice balance of comfort and responsiveness. I personally prefer wood trim and a cream interior but that isn't something that comes up with the Sport which is based on the Avantgarde trim level that is mostly black with silver trim. The occasional Designo (custom trim) car comes up for sale but that's needle in a hay stack stuff. Sat nav and heated seats were a must.
As an aside it has been interesting to see how the market has changed since 2013 when I last owned one; back then the CDi models held a premium over their petrol counterparts and the 500's & 55's used to hang around for quite a while - actually the 500's were relatively cheap. In 2017 I have found the exact opposite is true and it has become very hard to get a nice example of the large engine petrol variants and the good ones command a high price.
Anyway, we ruled out black and silver but in doing so cut ourselves off from 90% of cars for sale! I also really wanted a contrasting interior found in the later cars which could be 'Stone' (cream), 'Cappuccino' (tan), or 'Ash' (grey) seats and inserts with black carpets and plastics. We found a fantastic colour combination 280 for sale which was Thulite red (light maroon) metallic and contrast Stone interior, so went to have a look at it, but ultimately it wasn't the right car for us. The next day I mentioned it to my Dad and asked him to keep an eye out when he was browsing the market, for either a 350 or 500, and he suggested I look at a black on black 350 - obviously something we would have overlooked.
I ended up buying the car. It's funny how things turn out - in the beginning we thought the black exterior and interior was boring but having looked at a nice example in person we completely revised our opinion!
Exterior:
It is in near immaculate overall condition and has covered a genuine 49k miles. The paint is original and I struggled to find any chips. It has one owner and a full Mecedes main dealer service history, and has been serviced every year regardless of mileage! It has a year's MOT without advisories, both remote keys, original book pack, service book, and all of the Mercedes invoices. It still smells new inside so overall is a real credit to the previous owner.
Spec-wise it has:
- Antracite wood
- Aux in
- Bluetooth
- COMAND sat nav
- Electric seats and steering column
- Heated seats
- Parktronic
- Real leather (standard is 'Artico' faux leather)
I think things like cruise control and dual zone climate were always standard fit, and being a 350 it has the 345mm brakes from the pre-facelift CLK55 AMG. I plan to add bi-xenons and if we so change our minds about the interior colour I may well change it at a later stage. The only fault I can find is scuff marks on the drivers' bolster but that's easily sorted with some Liquid Leather. I will also remove the wheels and paint the non contact areas of the brake discs and tidy up the calipers a bit where TFR has marred the original finish.
Interior:
Interestingly it came with a Road Angel Professional Connected which was a dealer fit option at the time.
To say thank you to Dad we went out for the afternoon to the Norfolk Broads - where the car was - to collect it and then a pub lunch by the river.
It drives like an absolute dream; the sports exhaust system sounds lovely - very, very subtle and ideally balanced with the engine noise which is sublime. I can't report about economy as it wasn't really a consideration. The 7G tronic works really well although to be fair in a non-AMG variant I found the old five speed was pretty good for mooching around. In manual mode however the 7G is a lot more responsive. The ride is excellent and the shell very stiff; it generally feels like a very solid piece of kit. The steering is certainly more responsive than the pre-facelift but not so sharp that it does not fit the comfort orientated character of the car.
To say we are pleased with the car is an understatement.
I should also mention the seller - Josh, from JLF http://www.joshfiles.co.uk - top chap to deal with and a very nice car collection!
I forget now what cars we short-listed but we settled on a facelift W209 CLK. I've owned a couple of CLK's in the past: a 270CDi which was a bit agricultural but still a nice car, and a facelift 55 Cabriolet which had a fantastic engine but suffered quite a lot from having the roof removed, so this time around it would be a petrol coupe. Aside from a rear SAM unit going (electronic module that manages the lights etc. in the rear end of the car) in my last one I never really had any problems with them. I suggested we get a 'Sport' optioned car because the exhaust sounds better, the brakes are more powerful, and the handling is a nice balance of comfort and responsiveness. I personally prefer wood trim and a cream interior but that isn't something that comes up with the Sport which is based on the Avantgarde trim level that is mostly black with silver trim. The occasional Designo (custom trim) car comes up for sale but that's needle in a hay stack stuff. Sat nav and heated seats were a must.
As an aside it has been interesting to see how the market has changed since 2013 when I last owned one; back then the CDi models held a premium over their petrol counterparts and the 500's & 55's used to hang around for quite a while - actually the 500's were relatively cheap. In 2017 I have found the exact opposite is true and it has become very hard to get a nice example of the large engine petrol variants and the good ones command a high price.
Anyway, we ruled out black and silver but in doing so cut ourselves off from 90% of cars for sale! I also really wanted a contrasting interior found in the later cars which could be 'Stone' (cream), 'Cappuccino' (tan), or 'Ash' (grey) seats and inserts with black carpets and plastics. We found a fantastic colour combination 280 for sale which was Thulite red (light maroon) metallic and contrast Stone interior, so went to have a look at it, but ultimately it wasn't the right car for us. The next day I mentioned it to my Dad and asked him to keep an eye out when he was browsing the market, for either a 350 or 500, and he suggested I look at a black on black 350 - obviously something we would have overlooked.
I ended up buying the car. It's funny how things turn out - in the beginning we thought the black exterior and interior was boring but having looked at a nice example in person we completely revised our opinion!
Exterior:
It is in near immaculate overall condition and has covered a genuine 49k miles. The paint is original and I struggled to find any chips. It has one owner and a full Mecedes main dealer service history, and has been serviced every year regardless of mileage! It has a year's MOT without advisories, both remote keys, original book pack, service book, and all of the Mercedes invoices. It still smells new inside so overall is a real credit to the previous owner.
Spec-wise it has:
- Antracite wood
- Aux in
- Bluetooth
- COMAND sat nav
- Electric seats and steering column
- Heated seats
- Parktronic
- Real leather (standard is 'Artico' faux leather)
I think things like cruise control and dual zone climate were always standard fit, and being a 350 it has the 345mm brakes from the pre-facelift CLK55 AMG. I plan to add bi-xenons and if we so change our minds about the interior colour I may well change it at a later stage. The only fault I can find is scuff marks on the drivers' bolster but that's easily sorted with some Liquid Leather. I will also remove the wheels and paint the non contact areas of the brake discs and tidy up the calipers a bit where TFR has marred the original finish.
Interior:
Interestingly it came with a Road Angel Professional Connected which was a dealer fit option at the time.
To say thank you to Dad we went out for the afternoon to the Norfolk Broads - where the car was - to collect it and then a pub lunch by the river.
It drives like an absolute dream; the sports exhaust system sounds lovely - very, very subtle and ideally balanced with the engine noise which is sublime. I can't report about economy as it wasn't really a consideration. The 7G tronic works really well although to be fair in a non-AMG variant I found the old five speed was pretty good for mooching around. In manual mode however the 7G is a lot more responsive. The ride is excellent and the shell very stiff; it generally feels like a very solid piece of kit. The steering is certainly more responsive than the pre-facelift but not so sharp that it does not fit the comfort orientated character of the car.
To say we are pleased with the car is an understatement.
I should also mention the seller - Josh, from JLF http://www.joshfiles.co.uk - top chap to deal with and a very nice car collection!
That is lovely, and a car ending up with you is like winning the lottery for it !
If you ever get an oily smell, it will be the cam blanking plugs and oil separator on the back of the engine, they weep onto the exhaust in the 272 and 273 engines, dead cheap to do though. Watch out for the EML coming on as that can be worn cam sprockets, which is a hell of a job.
If you ever get an oily smell, it will be the cam blanking plugs and oil separator on the back of the engine, they weep onto the exhaust in the 272 and 273 engines, dead cheap to do though. Watch out for the EML coming on as that can be worn cam sprockets, which is a hell of a job.
J4CKO said:
That is lovely, and a car ending up with you is like winning the lottery for it !
If you ever get an oily smell, it will be the cam blanking plugs and oil separator on the back of the engine, they weep onto the exhaust in the 272 and 273 engines, dead cheap to do though. Watch out for the EML coming on as that can be worn cam sprockets, which is a hell of a job.
Thank you If you ever get an oily smell, it will be the cam blanking plugs and oil separator on the back of the engine, they weep onto the exhaust in the 272 and 273 engines, dead cheap to do though. Watch out for the EML coming on as that can be worn cam sprockets, which is a hell of a job.
Good to know about the plugs! I checked the engine number range for the sprocket issue and this one has the revised part. Bit of a cock up there by Merc!Lovely car, I had the same engine in a GLK. Lovely smooth engine with healthy progressive delivery. I really liked it and like you say, it does sound good on song.
One thing I disliked about the GLK and I wonder if it's the same on your CLK?, is that under fast road use, the ABS would kick in earlier than expected. Stopping power was good just early intervention
One thing I disliked about the GLK and I wonder if it's the same on your CLK?, is that under fast road use, the ABS would kick in earlier than expected. Stopping power was good just early intervention
KillerHERTZ said:
Facelift interiors are a world away from the early ones eh?
I bet you regret selling me the quad tail pipes now?
Tempted to change the paddles to the E63 ones? I have the part number if required.
Yes - a massive improvement. I specifically wanted the Black Ash trim as well. Love it.I bet you regret selling me the quad tail pipes now?
Tempted to change the paddles to the E63 ones? I have the part number if required.
I'd forgotten about those!
I am going to try to leave this one alone...
Shadow R1 said:
Looks a great car for the job.
I look forward to the updates on it.
Cheers I look forward to the updates on it.
JakeT said:
Nice looking thing, that. I like the later CLK's, a 5.5 500 would do me just right. Does this mean the end of the Golf?
How are the seats? They look like they have the Orthopaedic controls on them?
Those 5.5's are rapid things! Yes, the Golf will be for sale this week. I'm going to send it to VW tomorrow for it's annual service then I'll put it on eBay.How are the seats? They look like they have the Orthopaedic controls on them?
The extra seat adjustments 'multi-contour' come with the Sports package. The Recaros in the Golf are so good I was worried the new ones wouldn't compare, but if anything they are better.
TimeFlies said:
Lovely car, I had the same engine in a GLK. Lovely smooth engine with healthy progressive delivery. I really liked it and like you say, it does sound good on song.
One thing I disliked about the GLK and I wonder if it's the same on your CLK?, is that under fast road use, the ABS would kick in earlier than expected. Stopping power was good just early intervention
Thank you. Yes - this 350 is the same as was the CLK55 I owned previously. Dyno mode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ceK9h21uo is the only option to get around it. I won't bother as this car will be used for wafting but it's useful to know the option is there.One thing I disliked about the GLK and I wonder if it's the same on your CLK?, is that under fast road use, the ABS would kick in earlier than expected. Stopping power was good just early intervention
LanceRS said:
I take it that we will have wait a bit longer for Fiesta updates?
On a serious note, looks like a nice car and I shall enjoy watching you do your thing with it.
Haha - afraid so On a serious note, looks like a nice car and I shall enjoy watching you do your thing with it.
J4CKO said:
My CLS has the 5.5 engine, still amazed how quick it feels, must be mad in a smaller CLK, very rare combination though, god only knows what the AMG ones are like.
Ahh, I think yours is the supercharged M113 - 5.4l 476 hp? There are quite a few v8's:- The pre-facelift CLK500 had the M113 E50 which prodcued 306 bhp;
- The CLK55 has the naturally aspirated version of your engine (342 hp);
- Later CLK500's had the M273 E55 (confusingly no relation to the E class) which is an n/a 5.5l producing 382bhp.
Good to see you back in CLK ownership. Your former CLK still providing plenty of fun, update here [https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1215317]. Crank position sensor failed in BH traffic start of month-car stopped in central motorway in Newcastle during rush hour-fortunately restarted again after 10 mins, but replaced now by top team in Staithes. At least you won't have all the roof squeaks in the 350 but I am getting used to them!
Glad you like your CLK I have had a few I really like them they have the right mix of size & performance, I like to fit X pipes in place of the resonators as it gives a deeper engine note.
You can get the Avantgarde Sport (it has the same suspension/interior as the Sport it's just minus the bodykit) they're very rare but they are out there, the wheels are the only giveaway.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I have had a few & am now on the lookout for a 5.5 CLK500 to replace my CLK55 with but the CLK63 is going nowhere.
You can get the Avantgarde Sport (it has the same suspension/interior as the Sport it's just minus the bodykit) they're very rare but they are out there, the wheels are the only giveaway.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
I have had a few & am now on the lookout for a 5.5 CLK500 to replace my CLK55 with but the CLK63 is going nowhere.
bmw5921 said:
Good to see you back in CLK ownership. Your former CLK still providing plenty of fun, update here [https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1215317]. Crank position sensor failed in BH traffic start of month-car stopped in central motorway in Newcastle during rush hour-fortunately restarted again after 10 mins, but replaced now by top team in Staithes. At least you won't have all the roof squeaks in the 350 but I am getting used to them!
Ahh! Hello Sion, long time no speak. I had no idea you'd created an ownership thread so I will start to keep an eye on it. For the roof I recommend applying https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gummi-Pflege-Rubber-Stick... to all of the seals. It is possible to treat most of them with the roof down but I think some need the roof to be stopped half way open. The treatment keeps the rubber supple and prevents the squeaks caused by dry/hard seals rubbing together.
ZX10R NIN said:
Glad you like your CLK I have had a few I really like them they have the right mix of size & performance, I like to fit X pipes in place of the resonators as it gives a deeper engine note.
You can get the Avantgarde Sport (it has the same suspension/interior as the Sport it's just minus the bodykit) they're very rare but they are out there, the wheels are the only giveaway.
I have had a few & am now on the lookout for a 5.5 CLK500 to replace my CLK55 with but the CLK63 is going nowhere.
Nice collection! I think a V8 will come our way at some point. It's hard to beat that sound.You can get the Avantgarde Sport (it has the same suspension/interior as the Sport it's just minus the bodykit) they're very rare but they are out there, the wheels are the only giveaway.
I have had a few & am now on the lookout for a 5.5 CLK500 to replace my CLK55 with but the CLK63 is going nowhere.
EJH said:
What, I bookmarked this for nothing...
<<Eagerly awaits the inevitable modification>>
Trying very hard with this one <<Eagerly awaits the inevitable modification>>
Thanks for the tip. I have the Gummi Pflege stick which worked a treat on door seals to stop freezing up in the NE winters and I should have thought a bit more that it may help the squeaks of the roof too! Even up here it is warm enough for roof down so no excuse not to get at those seals!
n_const said:
This thread is not helping my urge to own a CLK500 !
Go on Max M4X WW said:
Looks great Mark! I've always fancied one of these, possibly a more simple and slightly more modern alternative to another CL! I'd like a cabriolet though, as it would suit what we 'need' a bit better!
Thanks Max. They are nice cars - really good value for money. There are bits and bobs to keep an eye on but generally they don't turn up anything ruinous like the larger models.mwstewart said:
Max M4X WW said:
Looks great Mark! I've always fancied one of these, possibly a more simple and slightly more modern alternative to another CL! I'd like a cabriolet though, as it would suit what we 'need' a bit better!
Thanks Max. They are nice cars - really good value for money. There are bits and bobs to keep an eye on but generally they don't turn up anything ruinous like the larger models.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff