CLK Facelift Confusion

[Storm]

A friend of mine his selling his '05 plate CLK 270CDi and I'm quite interested in buying it. He's the second owner (the first being Merc themselves) and I know he'll have looked after the car.

Now for the confusion - I asked him a few questions about what additional kit it had, and amongst other options he said it had the CD based Comand system. Now I thought that all post 2004/54 plate models have the DVD based unit (unless I'm very mistaken).

The only possible explanation that I can see is that the car has been sitting around since mid 2004 until may 2005 (when it was first registered) and is therefore a pre-facelift model. That's a long time for a car to sit about though, isn't it?

Basically, I'm wondering if there's another possibility that I've overlooked, and/or what changes were introduced with the 2004 facelift (basically what would I be missing out on).

Originally it seemed like a fairly good deal, Green/black '05 CLK, with Comand, leather, 28k on the clock, 270CDi for £22,000, but I'm getting more warey now.

If anyone has any opinion or advice then I'd greatly appreciate it.

Mike
​

 

[pammy]

If he's got all the documentation won;t that tell you when it left the factory The certificate of compliance should be dated.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Front grill changed from 4 bars to 3, rear clusters have a dark grey/greenish solid centre instead of the white part.

Only things spring to mind at the mo

 

[Storm]

Thanks for the replies. I'll get him to double check the documentation, or I will myself when I take another look this weekend. I think he's as surprised to find out that it's a pre-face lift as I am at the moment.

The changes seem pretty minor to me, at least on the exterior. The interior post facelift have the widescreen DVD comand system, right?

Rather than me create another thread and spam the poor forum - is the earlier CD based comand system pretty good? I realise you can have it detecting speed cameras, but is it something people could live without?

Thanks again, I hope to become a more active member of the forum in the future.

 

[BarryS]

My CLK 270CDi is registered Sept 2004. I bought it 6-months later from a Merc dealer as it was their demonstrator. Also surprised to discover that mine is pre-facelift since I thought the change-over date preceded Sept. Probably just on the cusp. In your case May 05 sounds to be too late for the "old" model. Are you sure it's not a facelifted model. (Did the nav really change to DVD? I don't think it went widescreen, so maybe your friend's is the facelift afterall.) In any case, I don't think you will notice a difference for the minor facelift changes. And it's a real nice car. And the CD-based COMAND works well.

 

[C240Sport97]

there has been two facelifts ..

first when the direct control stuff was implemented. at this point, the center console went all 'square' with the advent of DVD COMAND. no exterior changes.

later on, about jan 06, there was another facelift when the bumpers and rear lights were also changed.

when looking around at CLKs and also SLs, it is not at all unusual for a car that was registered some months after the facelift is a pre facelift.

I think the 1st facelift CLKs came on stream on 54 reg.

 

[Storm]

Thanks again for the replies. I took a trip to my local merc dealer today to

a)see the difference between the facelifts
b)test drive a petrol and a diesel
c)speak to someone "in the know" about the CLK (about extras etc.)

a) went fine - the exterior differences seem to be minimal, the major internal difference is the stereo/control unit, it's nicer in the later models, but that's far from a show stopper.

b)I test drove a 200k, a 270CDi and a 240, and really liked all of them. The 200k is nippy enough thanks to the supercharger, the 270CDi has pleanty of grunt, is quiet enough once warmed up or at high speeds but is a little noiser when idling than I'm used to (but hell it costs less to run), I loved the 240 though - it felt much smoother than the 200k, more powerful and sounded great too.

c) Didn't... exactly... work out. My sales rep wasn't brilliant and overused the word "truthfully" which always sets alarm bells ringing when uttered by used car salesmen. He knew nothing of the bluetooth kit that can be plugged in to the telephone pre-prep kit (I wanted to know if it was compatible with both pre and post-facelift models), he didn't know it existed, I asked about ISOFIX seats as I've read that the CLKs have the connections - he claims they don't, I asked him to check and he said only if they were requested as an option extra when the car was built - which seems very strange to me. I didn't even bother asking about the iPod adaptor at that stage, so I don't know if anyone here can help me out?

-Is the Bluetooth phone adaptor compatible with all models providing they have the phone-prep kit installed?
-Do *all* CLKs have ISOFIX connections as standard - the manual seemed to indicate this but the salesman assured me they didn't
-The iPod adaptor - does it work with non-comand vehicles? I ask because I've spotted a beauty of a car...

...CLK, 240, convertable, black with black hood, cream interior, 54 plate (post facelift), parktronic, heated seats, mint condition. I was this close to putting down a deposit but we just couldn't get the deal worked out - I'll put a bit more pressure on them tomorrow - if I could squeeze another £1000 out of them it'd be an easy decision!

 

[C240Sport97]

if it is a post face lift, the iPOD kit will fit even without COMAND .. I think!

hold out .. no one is buying cars in January. Wait for him to call. Will require some nerve

-The iPod adaptor - does it work with non-comand vehicles? I ask because I've spotted a beauty of a car...

...CLK, 240, convertable, black with black hood, cream interior, 54 plate (post facelift), parktronic, heated seats, mint condition. I was this close to putting down a deposit but we just couldn't get the deal worked out - I'll put a bit more pressure on them tomorrow - if I could squeeze another £1000 out of them it'd be an easy decision!

 

[Storm]

It'll require a lot of nerve as another couple were test driving the car when I arrived at the dealers - plus it's not even been advertised yet. Still, I've set myself a limit and I'll stick to it, so we'll see.

Can I just say thanks for everyone who's taken the time to look into this thread and even more thanks to all who have responded. This looks to be a great forum filled with very helpful members.

 

[Alfie]

if it is a post face lift, the iPOD kit will fit even without COMAND .. I think!

hold out .. no one is buying cars in January. Wait for him to call. Will require some nerve

IPOD kit WILL work with the standard audio 20 fitted to the post facelifted cars. Its a simple plug and play and will work with the cluster if you have telephone pre wiring. COMAND in the post facelifted cars does look very good though.

The post facelifted cars do drive a lot better than the pre-facelifted cars. The steering is greatly improved, not that it was bad before - it wasnt. The comand on the post facelifted cars is DVD based and way way better than the comand 2 fitted to the earlier W209's

 

[Storm]

Well, Mr C240, looks like you churn out sound advice. I didn't phone the dealer they called me back and asked if I'd thought any more about the car. I told him that I was very keen but it's just priced out of my bracket. He did the usual "someone else is interested in the car and I'm just giving you a courtesy call and providing you with the opportunity to secure the vehicle" Thanks, but it's still too expensive. He phoned back 30 minutes later and offered to meet me half way by dropping £1000 off the list price. "I appreciate your efforts, but that still leaves me short, I'm going to look at one in my price range at Bolton Merc later, it's got more miles but it's much more affordable". 10 minutes later - "Ok, you can have a futher £1000 off it you put a deposit down now". "I would, but I can't guarantee the private sale of my car next weekend (I've got a very likely buyer coming to look at it)". Another 15 minutes later "If you put the deposit down now we'll offer you £500 less the the price your getting privately for your vehicle, so you've some assurance if it falls through (this is a very generous price!). So yup, snapped it up (after checking it's a lot cheaper than any other similar cars out there) and I should hopefully be a fellow merc owner in a couple of weeks time!

Wow, that was a lot of info - sorry for boring you!

Thanks Alfie - this car doesn't have the telephone pre-wiring, which is a pain as from what I can tell the iPod unit is great. I might try and get them to throw in the labour costs for that too, but it's unlikely as I've already paid the deposit. Dang. I take it my only option is a Merc dealer? Thanks for the info on Comand - I may treat myself to a unit for the summer (if my finances have recovered by then!).

 

[Alfie]

Well done.

Are you sure you dont have the pre-wiring. An awful lot of cars do have it. If you check for any sort of cradle in the car, in the centre armrest then if its there, you most likely have it. Alernatively you can enter the VIN into the Russian VIN checker and that will tell you exactly what the car has/hasnt got.

 

[Storm]

Well I checked the centre armrest and it was empty, I didn't know where else to look.

I'll give them a call and grab the VIN - thanks for that tip!

Is the unit something you could supply (I'm not sure if you're allowed to talk 'shop' on the forum), or would I be best going direct to Merc?

 

[fuzzer]

A friend of mine his selling his '05 plate CLK 270CDi and I'm quite interested in buying it. He's the second owner (the first being Merc themselves) and I know he'll have looked after the car.

Now for the confusion - I asked him a few questions about what additional kit it had, and amongst other options he said it had the CD based Comand system. Now I thought that all post 2004/54 plate models have the DVD based unit (unless I'm very mistaken).

The only possible explanation that I can see is that the car has been sitting around since mid 2004 until may 2005 (when it was first registered) and is therefore a pre-facelift model. That's a long time for a car to sit about though, isn't it?

Basically, I'm wondering if there's another possibility that I've overlooked, and/or what changes were introduced with the 2004 facelift (basically what would I be missing out on).

Originally it seemed like a fairly good deal, Green/black '05 CLK, with Comand, leather, 28k on the clock, 270CDi for £22,000, but I'm getting more warey now.

If anyone has any opinion or advice then I'd greatly appreciate it.

Mike
​

The explaination for this is .... At the end of 2004/ start of 2005 , mercedes were selling off the 270 cdi engined cars at greatly recudes prices because it was EU3 and the new clk220 and clk320cdi engined models were appearing ever so close to mayish 2005 time.

More than likely this cars been sitting about waiting on someone buying it , and the ones that were left were " done up like christmas trees" and the most expensive ones like this one with comand in it. These options are liked used because you get something cool for very little money , but in a new car your pretty much chucking away £2g's buying navigation as you get sod all back for it.

To answer your other question , as far as i know , ISOfix is a £60 option on all mercedes.

 

[C240Sport97]

well done!

my bill for professional services will be along shortly

Well, Mr C240, looks like you churn out sound advice. I didn't phone the dealer they called me back and asked if I'd thought any more about the car. I told him that I was very keen but it's just priced out of my bracket. He did the usual "someone else is interested in the car and I'm just giving you a courtesy call and providing you with the opportunity to secure the vehicle" Thanks, but it's still too expensive. He phoned back 30 minutes later and offered to meet me half way by dropping £1000 off the list price. "I appreciate your efforts, but that still leaves me short, I'm going to look at one in my price range at Bolton Merc later, it's got more miles but it's much more affordable". 10 minutes later - "Ok, you can have a futher £1000 off it you put a deposit down now". "I would, but I can't guarantee the private sale of my car next weekend (I've got a very likely buyer coming to look at it)". Another 15 minutes later "If you put the deposit down now we'll offer you £500 less the the price your getting privately for your vehicle, so you've some assurance if it falls through (this is a very generous price!). So yup, snapped it up (after checking it's a lot cheaper than any other similar cars out there) and I should hopefully be a fellow merc owner in a couple of weeks time!

Wow, that was a lot of info - sorry for boring you!

Thanks Alfie - this car doesn't have the telephone pre-wiring, which is a pain as from what I can tell the iPod unit is great. I might try and get them to throw in the labour costs for that too, but it's unlikely as I've already paid the deposit. Dang. I take it my only option is a Merc dealer? Thanks for the info on Comand - I may treat myself to a unit for the summer (if my finances have recovered by then!).

 

[Storm]

I can't believe ISOFIX is an OPTION, it just seems crazy. If MB charge £60 the cost to them is going to be next to nothing, why not include it as standard? Oh well. The seat we've got (maxi-cosi-cabrio) appears to be compatible and I can have the EasyFix base too to save messing about with belts.

C240 - why do I get the feeling that your bill will seriously cut into any savings I made.

 

[C240Sport97]

don't worry, my reward will be in the next life

C240 - why do I get the feeling that your bill will seriously cut into any savings I made.

 

[jeremytaylor]

I'm sure you'll be very happy with you 240, I know my wife loves ours!

 

[Peewee]

I have a '54' reg (September) CLK270Cdi and the local Mercedes garage told me that it is impossible to retrofit Isofix. It has to be ordered when the car is ordered. Some garbage about welding to the chassis!

 

[Storm]

I understand the reluctance to retrofit a safety feature. The whole point of ISOFIX is that you're phyiscally attaching the child seat to the car chassis. I was just shocked that it didn't come as standard. Blimmin' crazy.