02> CLK 500 Tell me about them

Capt Doufos

Capt Doufos

Capt Doufos

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Joined
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Nr Colchester, Essex
I have been having a look at what I might consider for a next car, and a W209CLK 500 Elegance caught my eye. They appear to be very well regarded, both by press and owners reviews.

They seem a huge amount of car for the money. For those who don't know they are a 5.0L V8 with 306BHP, 0-60 in approx 5.9s, pretty much every gizmo going and some very funky Bpillerless coupe styling especially when coupled with the AMG wheels/bodykit.

Does anyone have experience of living with one and the running costs? All I can find is info on an A and B service coming in at around £200 and £400. MPG is supposed to be relativley good for a V8 as the car is quite light. I assume it's a case of being a Merc it's if somthing goes wrong it could turn out very expensive.

I also thought about an SLK32 AMG but being AMG I assume the running costs are in line with BMW M3's / Z4M's etc.

*I know those 2 cars are almost complete opposites but I am not sure where I want to go yet. I Fancy a bit of Luxury and refinement for my next car but not sure if I can face loosing a convertable.

Thanks :)
 
Buy an Avantgarde, Elegance is for old people - light interiors, wood trim, small wheels!

Avantgarde - bigger wheels, darker interior, Alu trim or Black Ash Wood trim.

Make sure it has a FMBSH, as these cars benefit from Mobilio life - which is breakdown cover for 30 years from DOR, but also rust guarantee and you can squeeze contributions out of MB should anything major fail.

Must must must have COMAND if it's a 500 you want, cars without are less desirable and worth less.

MPG your looking at 20ish depending on how you drive.
 
Ah ok I wasn't sure of the differences of the two trim levels. Most of the 500's I have seen have been very well specced and have most if not all of the options. I guess people splashing out on the V8 also had the money for the options list.

Thanks :)
 
Capt Doufos said:
Ah ok I wasn't sure of the differences of the two trim levels. Most of the 500's I have seen have been very well specced and have most if not all of the options. I guess people splashing out on the V8 also had the money for the options list.

Thanks :)
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Not a lot of basic ones about, my ideal spec would be:

CLK500 Avantgarde, COMAND, Parktronic, Telephone Prep, HFS, Memory Pack, And Upgrade Wheels.

But if I was looking 06> I'd get a Sport.
 
I used to run a CL500, which has the same engine I believe. Those servicing costs look optimistic, but I could be proved wrong. I also think the running costs would be no less than something like an M3 or Z4M (which coincidentally is what I currently own). Big 5 litre V8, 20mpg, expensive synthetic oil, expensive electrics if it goes wrong, umpteen spark plugs to change, expensive cats/exhaust to replace etc. etc. The Merc V8s are not cheap to work on and look after like an American V8.

I think it is a very pretty car, but my fundamental problem with the CLK was that you wouldn't buy one over a BMW as a driver's car so you are buying it for the waftability and effortless cruising. And if you're going to do that in a 2 door Merc and happy with all the running costs of a V8, then why not get the range topping Merc Coupe for the same price on the second hand market? Sure there's more toys and fancy suspension to go wrong, but if you're going to do it then do it in the best. Your money buys a similar age CL500 which fully specced up could have been as much as £90K when new.

Having said that, if you like the Mercs, want waftability and don't want to move away from a soft top then get a CLK carbio.
 
Well I have seen 02 500's from £7-8k with FMBSH and fantastic condition, I assume it's the engine causing the low prices. Which when you consider 8 years ago someone would have paid £45-48k is stonking value.

I can understand the CL costing more to maintain but then isn't the CLK supposed to be the cheaper alternative at nearly half the cost new.
 
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Get a 320 the 500 will cost you a fortune in running costs.
 
Had a brief look at these and decided they are fundamentally pointless. They look pretty nice, though.

BigT has touched on my reasoning above - its no 3 Series, which is fine, its more of a wafty cruiser. But it isnt that, either really, its a C Class Coupe so you dont get a fantastically built lovely luxurious interior, either.

So what you get is a Coupe that isnt very sporting and isnt very luxurious but is very expensive to run.
 
I'd rather have an SLK 32 AMG, but it's a completely different car to the CLK 500. And much older too.

I'm no expert, but it can't cost that much more to run than a xx 500 if at all?
 
I just assumed being an AMG they slap a AMG tax on Parts/Servicing etc. Consumables (Brake pads / Discs, filters and plugs) were pretty reasonable I thought considering it was MB's fastest car when it was produced. A supercharged V6 is quite appealling though.
 
I mentioned them in the Z4 3.0 thread last week, but it was dismissed as a hairdresser's car.
Not as good as a Z4M (probably), but then it's from a previous generation.
I'd take one in a heartbeat. Seriously considering them as a next car, but they're €15,000 minimum. Which is rather a lot :o
 
im thinking abuot the slk 32 amg, supercharged v6

i really fancy those as well as the as the c32 amg... even though theyre auto only, i do still fancy one
 
Matt82 said:
im thinking abuot the slk 32 amg, supercharged v6

i really fancy those as well as the as the c32 amg... even though theyre auto only, i do still fancy one
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The problem with the C32 AMG is that those C-Classes weren't particularly well built, especially when compared to the very solid SLK.
I'm not a fan of the interior or switchgear either. The big rounded buttons look very dated, as it didn't make it past the facelift.
To be honest, the whole car looks very dated.

I'd be more interested in the C 30 AMG, but you still end up with a dated C Class. It's 30bhp up on the 330d though.
 
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