About to Order New CLK Opinons Please

[dchaddah]

Im going to order a New CLK Convertible this week :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
and I've decided to get the following
Auto, Met Paint, Heated Memory Leather Seats, command & Wind Deflector.

Do you guys think I need to add anything else?
Also how do I cope till August prob not going to get delivery till then!

Cheers

 

[Tan]

Xenons and phone are also worth considering. I have the Bose sound system in my SL so would consider this also. ( Is it Bose or HK on the CLK???)

 

[fuzzer]

its bose , get the bose if you can.

Also , the comfort vent front seats might be cool since youre getting the heated ones anyways.

Might stop that hot sticky seatback when you get in after the sun was shining on them

 

[lotusmark2]

I second the suggestion for xenons!!

 

[pammy]

deffo xenons and Bose. The vented seats is also a good idea - especially if you're having a dark colour interior!

Which model are you going for?

 

[RobCLK]

If you order a July make CLK, you should receive the MY05 model, which has the new DVD based NAV system (from the C-Class). Also, the audio option will be the Harman Kardon Logic 7 (not Bose).

Other new features are the Direct control power steering and BiXenon light option will also get the cornering light integration (someone may be able to elaborate on these two).

The CLK500 upwards is also reported to get the 7 gear auto.

You will need to assess if any of these improvements are important or if an update straight after you take delivery is going to annoy you!

Good Luck though. Great choice of car!

 

[Flash]

Take the advise that everyone has provided above - I'm due to take delivery in Sept of a CLK500 Elegance Convertible - me and my wife have opted for pretty much most of the goodies already mentioned above and in addition a wooden trim steering wheel... because elegance alloys are horriable we have upgraded these with sports suspension and gone for the debadging option... car is coming with parktronic too which is another must. Did not opt for the Avantgarde because we wanted wooden interior.

Enjoy ur car....

Flash

 

[saorbust]

I would echo the comments re parktronic - definately a must on this car. Otherwise its a fabulous car - enjoy !

 

[Satch]

Whatever else you go for, three must haves, although may be included in with your other options:

Telephone pre-wire

CD Multichanger

Xenons

Do not bother with the MB Nokia 6310i, just the prewire: I found I could upgrade my old phone to a 6310i FOC and my wifes cost £10!

Screwed up as I mistakenly though a CD multichanger was included with my E class and failed to notice until it was too late. Retofitting possible, but damn expensive. May be different on a CLK, but better check if you think you may want one.

Xenons are great, although I have read that the "look round corners" units sometimes seem to have a mind of their own and the movement mechanism is likely to fail a long time before before the Xenon units themselves.

Enjoy!

 

[RobCLK]

Whatever else you go for, three must haves, although may be included in with your other options:

Telephone pre-wire

CD Multichanger

Xenons

Do not bother with the MB Nokia 6310i, just the prewire: I found I could upgrade my old phone to a 6310i FOC and my wifes cost £10!
Enjoy!

I am under the impression that all CLK's now come standard with pre-wired phone connection up to the centre box (euro and other non usa countries). All you need to do is add the UHI cradle. Nokia, Seimans cradles are available and Motorola and Sony/Ericson versions are out soon!

Also, Bluetooth areials are now being added in some MBs windscreens and the SL may even have the Bluetooth fully enabled now.

Someone may be able to add more information, but regardless, the days of being locked into the Nokia 6210/Motorola V's are nearly over, if not gone!

 

[dchaddah]

Thanks for all your replies.....
Going for a CLK200K due to the fact i do a lot of miles so got to have my sensible cap on! However would love a 320!
Spoke to my dealer this morning he's advised me to wait a few weeks before ordereing so that he can make sure for defo that I get the new model, he rekons information is scarce at the moment on the new model. Is he lying????

 

[pammy]

Thanks for all your replies.....
Going for a CLK200K due to the fact i do a lot of miles so got to have my sensible cap on! However would love a 320!

Go for the 320 - the fact you do lots of miles means you'll appreciate the bigger engine!! Course you could always go for the CLK500 which I drove on Wednesday - bloody brill!!!

 

[saorbust]

I do a lot of miles in a CLK240. If you are ordering the cab then get the larger engine sizes - the body weight makes a mark on the performance when comparing directly.

As for the dealer - sounds like a load of rubbish. New model CLK (or rather facelifted version) isn't due till June 05, and the waiting time for a Cab is now about 4 months. I'd say you have plently of room to order now.

 

[fuzzer]

As for the dealer - sounds like a load of rubbish. New model CLK (or rather facelifted version) isn't due till June 05, and the waiting time for a Cab is now about 4 months. I'd say you have plently of room to order now.

4 months ? is that it? How is that affecting the residual values?

Don't people like the new clk or something?

 

[Aswall]

I'd agree about the Parktronic, I haven't got it and and rear visibility is very poor due to it's high backside. The 2.6 engine really struggles to shift it so I would think very seriously before getting the 200, might be worth sacrificing some of the bits for a more powerful engine, it really is too heavy a car for the smaller engine. Make sure you get a good test drive in a 200 first, and make sure it's a cab not a coupe as they're much heavier, to see if you can cope with it. You might feel it's acceptable, depends on what you've had previously.

Also - Elegance trim - NO! No wood in a Merc, esp a sporty one - just horrible but thats IMHO, each to their own.

Enjoy

Cheers
Andy

 

[Ralph]

In order of importance
Shame they don't do the 270D cabrio. Would suit your high milage.
Leather / Automatic / Metallic (important for resale value)
Telephone or just pre wiring is another essential choice. If Bluetooth or UHI (Universal Handy Interface) is to be an option, this will give you an upgrade / replacement path for future phones. I just paid MB £238.50 for the updated interface (6210 > 6310i).
Xenons a good idea if you do a lot of out of town night driving.
DO NOT ORDER WITHOUT THE PARKTRONIC. Wish I had it.
Definitely wait for the DVD Comand if due this summer. CD stacker not essential with the DVD SatNav as (correct me if I'm wrong) the DVD unit is in the boot and you get a single slot CD player in the dashboard.

Electric / heated seats are nice - but pure luxury, especial if you're largely the sole driver.
Before you order the (much more stylish) low profile tyres on 17in wheels, consider the MUCH higher cost of a replacement set of tyres, about £150 extra!
Up rated sound system is again another luxury item.
320 is nice - but much thirstier - I know!

 

[Paul Grainger]

As the owner of a W208 cabriolet I echo most of the above. Parktronic is an absolute must. Rear visibility in both the 208 and 209 is an absolute joke, but with parktronic you only need to take a cursory glance backwards before you reverse.
Go for the 320 engine. The difference in fuel consumption is negligible, but the difference in performance, engine tone, and second-hand desirability is massive.
When I was buying my car all the dealers that I spoke to said the same thing - Leather, auto, avantegarde, silver or black, 320 engine, FSH - these are the things that people look for when they are buying a CLK cab, and these are the things that make a used one easy to sell at a good price.

Paul G

 

[Ralph]

Below I have tabulated the official fuel consumption & 0 - 62.5MPH times for the various automatics. I used the Coupe stats so as to include the diesel (which has better mid range torque than a 320!) WHAT A SHAME THEY DON'T OFFER CABRIO DIESEL. I'm not a great fan (pun) of Turbos / Superchargers due to past (non MB) experience. It's amazing how similar the fuel stats are, at face value, for the 240 & 320!

___ | City | Xurb |Comb | CO2 | 0-62.5MPH
200 | 21.4 | 43.5 | 31.7 | 206 | 9.9
240 | 18.3 | 37.7 | 27.2 | 238 | 9.5
270 | 29.1 | 53.3 | 40.9 | 183 | 9.4 (Diesel)
320 | 18.1 | 37.7 | 27.2 | 245 | 7.9
500 | 16.7 | 33.6 | 24.6 | 276 | 6.0

 

[pwhite8314]

Like everyone else, you have to go for leather, auto and mett paint, otherwise you'll really suffer on resale. I guess COMAND falls into the 'should have for resale' slot as well. I agree that parktronic is almost a 'must have', but IMHO not absolutly essential; like any car, you get used to where the edges of it are. For me, as I do a lot of motorway miles (30k pa), I went fo the Bose and also the TV. The latter is a luxury, but good when I'm stuck on the M25 going nowhere. Bose is essential if you like your music, there's a stark difference between that and the non-Bose system.

Don't forget the free cupholder and CD storage!

Finally, another very nice-to-have is the keyless go, although it appears to be a bit of a gimmick, it's amazing how quickly you get used to having it. If the budget it tight though, I'd forget about that (and parktronic), and try and get a bigger engine if at all possible; the 200 is a bit gutless, and all the more noticable in a cabriolet.

 

[pwhite8314]

Forgot to say - heated seats are worth having in any convertable IMHO, unless you're just a fair-weather drop-topper ;-)