Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with CLK55k? W209 based. Dad came across a 2003 hardtop parked on a corner with a "4sell" sign on it. Seller says it has 95k miles and is asking $7500, I'm not sure about maint records. Seems like a hell of a lot of car for the money - Too good to be true? Now that he's retired dad has more time to spend on bad ideas!
I would also love to know the answer to this.
55 makes it an AMG yes? For that money it is basically disposable.
Clk55.....K ?? That aint a normal model. The "k" implies a blower, which did not come standard in that car. Kleeman and other outfits have of course done this mod. It would be interesting to peek under the hood..
Other than that, I don't like the steering feel and they have not enough brakes. Not much room in back but that may not be important!
Jay_W said:Clk55.....K ?? That aint a normal model. The "k" implies a blower, which did not come standard in that car. Kleeman and other outfits have of course done this mod. It would be interesting to peek under the hood..
Other than that, I don't like the steering feel and they have not enough brakes. Not much room in back but that may not be important!
No, the M113 engine 55AMG's didnt get the supercharger until 2004. This is a natural aspirated CLK55 AMG which is good for about 350hp. The "K" in CLK and SLK stands for Kompakt, not Kompressor. The M113K is the supercharged motor and I do not believe they made a CLK55 AMG with the M113K except for the DTM car. So, this car in question is a naturally aspirated CLK55 AMG and NOT the supercharged one. That price is an okay one, the 2003 CLK55 was pretty rare.
Fun fact: The CLK63 are very rare and can sell for nearly 50k with some Black Series selling for 80k, USED!
Price seems a bit high for what you're getting with those miles. I had a C55 AMG, same engine in a small sedan. It's a very underrated engine, gobs of linear power and torque. A little more expensive to maintain than a Ford or Chevy V8, it has 16 spark plugs instead of 8, and 8 liters of full synthetic at oil changes. It's a thirsty engine though, I was only able to eak out 15mpg on the daily drive to and from work which was a 50/50 mix of city/hwy driving. The motor mounts are probably shot, so expect to change those, which isn't the easiest of jobs, and coil packs are probably on the way out at that mileage also.
I enjoyed my C55 while I had it, but the fuel mileage wa sa deal breaker for me in the end as a daily.
In my search earlier this year for a big flagship Euro car, I learned much. In general, the smaller MB cars are to be avoided. The bigger ones too, but that's a different thread :)
For $6k, you can buy an S-class, so I wouldn't even think about a CLK at 7500. $4k, maybe.
My specialty is finding diamonds in the pile of coal. That is to say, the whole lines of luxo Euro cars like MB, Jag, BMW, etc depreciate like a cannonball in a lake. The secret is to find a model that is actually a good car but suffers from its sisters' depreciation. Early S-class is a good bet. W210 E-class is a winner. Pretty much none of the C-class, M-class, or CLK fit that bill.
My initial reaction to that particular car is that it fits neither of the criteria: Its not one of the good bets, and they price they're asking isn't properly depreciated. I wouldn't even test drive it until they lower the price to $6000, and then I'd offer $4500.
Then expect to buy a $400 battery every couple years, $150 brake rotors every 1.5 years, and don't be surprised if the oil cooler o-rings blow out and the motor seizes about the same time the "low oil" light comes on.
I'm being apocalyptic and snarky, but the CLK is not one of MB's best. The rampant depreciation on these cars means you can shop around and find them cheap enough to cover the rampant problems on some, or use the depreciation of whole brand across the board and buy a rock solid model instead. If it weren't for the dated styling, I would buy another W210 E-class in a heartbeat, although their excellent track record is starting to bring prices back up.
Edit: Just did some checking on the local CL. A CLS55s for $7500, a 2003 E500 for $6000 with 100k, a clean-title 2006 S-class with 130k for $4000, and even an 01 loaded CLK at a dealer for $4k with 120k. Long story short, you can get the same car from a used lot for $4k. Like I said, depreciation is your friend if you find a model that isn't a turd.
You asked if it was too good to be true. I say he's asking double what its worth.
In reply to curtis73 :
Link to 7k CLS55, thanks!
In reply to yupididit :
Here you go From the ad: Runs and Drives perfect Leather Int, P.W. P.L. Sunroof $7500 Price Negotiable
But I lied... CLS 500, not 55
2001 S500 AMG for $4600 with every option
2002 Kompressor with full dealer records for $1950
The 2001 CLK I referenced earlier at a used lot for $4500
These are from a search in my relatively small, middle-class town. All are within 30 miles of me.
Dammit... now I want an S-class again.
01 S55 with 105k for $4000 (R title)
This was a 200 mile radius search for S55 on CL. I got tired of copying and pasting URLs about halfway through the results. They are out there.
Heck, for less than double the OP's $7500, he could have an 06 S65 AMG with 150k. Pretty rare, super fast, originally about $190,000, now a bargain for $14k
Eww all nw cars. That cls55 interesting but Houston cl full of hurricane flood cars.
That s65 is interesting curtis, the rest are bland Mercedes minus the late w220 s55's.
I think I was spoiled from living in socal lol
The CLK is more or less a 2 door W210 sedan.
I love that cheap, fast Mercedes exist. I think if i had never bought a GS450h i would be intensely curious about several of them. As it stands i figure only the 500+ hp supercharged (or turbo v12..) versions are enough faster to make up for the fact that they're basically inferior in every other way from an actual ownership experience point of view. But you can't easily get a 350hp GS for 7k. It happens occasionally. I saw a weird purplish one (some Neiman Marcus edition maybe) for like 7k that i probably should have at least gone and looked at. I liked the color..
The only 'cheap amg' I've been tempted to test drive lately was a C32 AMG.
C32 and C36 for me
I am more than somewhat biased but you get one helluva lotta car when shopping for an 03 -06 e55...shop carefully though.
I drove my tuned, almost 200k mile, v12 twin turbo Mercedes to work this morning. Cheap, forced induction Mercedes can be addicting.
Curtis, not sure where the $400 batteries are coming from. I don't think the dealer even charges that much. My Mercedes and Porsches take the same size batteries and I'm always under $200.
I got rotors for my s600 on closeout from RockAuto for around $12 bucks a piece. I realize that's an anomoly, but even the non closeouts weren't horrible. A lot of parts aren't as bad as most people think.
yupididit said:I think I was spoiled from living in socal lol
Preach. I had a permanent search set up on CL when I lived in LA. Cars under $1500. It netted me a 74 Maverick for $500, a 62 Rat Caddy for $1500, a 73 AMC Hornet sportabout for $1500, and a Yamaha R6 for $1500.
Cotton said:I drove my tuned, almost 200k mile, v12 twin turbo Mercedes to work this morning. Cheap, forced induction Mercedes can be addicting.
Curtis, not sure where the $400 batteries are coming from. I don't think the dealer even charges that much. My Mercedes and Porsches take the same size batteries and I'm always under $200.
I got rotors for my s600 on closeout from RockAuto for around $12 bucks a piece. I realize that's an anomoly, but even the non closeouts weren't horrible. A lot of parts aren't as bad as most people think.
I was rounding up (read: exaggerating). Dealer wanted $320 for my W210 battery. List price on rotors for a CLK are something like $132, but yes you can find them cheaper.
curtis73 said:Cotton said:I drove my tuned, almost 200k mile, v12 twin turbo Mercedes to work this morning. Cheap, forced induction Mercedes can be addicting.
Curtis, not sure where the $400 batteries are coming from. I don't think the dealer even charges that much. My Mercedes and Porsches take the same size batteries and I'm always under $200.
I got rotors for my s600 on closeout from RockAuto for around $12 bucks a piece. I realize that's an anomoly, but even the non closeouts weren't horrible. A lot of parts aren't as bad as most people think.
I was rounding up (read: exaggerating). Dealer wanted $320 for my W210 battery. List price on rotors for a CLK are something like $132, but yes you can find them cheaper.
Yeah, you're looking in all the wrong places.
m4ff3w said:7995 CLS55:
https://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2007-mercedes-cls-55/6337040579.html
Man this could be worth a look as long as it isn’t a flood car.
Cotton said:m4ff3w said:7995 CLS55:
https://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2007-mercedes-cls-55/6337040579.html
Man this could be worth a look as long as it isn’t a flood car.
That’s not actually a CLS55, it is a CLS500 with different badges. Cues are the grille, exhaust, tach and speedometer. Most of the “AMG” examples that Curtis posted were not AMG cars at all, people like to put the badge on any Mercedes to feel better about themselves.
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