Factory fresh

[puffsorted]

Well over 6 months after purchasing a virtually mint CLK55 AMG - its now fully mint and ready for its public unveilling.

Work has gone into the bonnet and bumper, the drivers side rear arch, all 4 alloys, leather, replaced even one of the wing Avantgarde badges as it had a little water ingress etc to bring the condition back to near perfection.

Hopefully I have achieved my goal to own one of the best righthand drive CLK55's still remaining in completely original condition. She is very high spec with Comand, Bose, Nappa, PDC, Folding Mirrors, Xenons

 

[DJC013]

Hello, looks very nice indeed !! Nice set of pictures ! Enjoy the car, regards Damian.

 

[peterg1965]

I think you will have a bit of competition with Will, who bought my CLK55. He also is bringing his car up to near perfect condition!

Looks fantastic.

 

[Will]

Looks great! I think our two '55s are almost twins - even the spec/colour is virtually identical

Have done quite a fair amount of work to Peter's old CLK55 but still have some minor fettling to make her perfect (in my eyes anyway).

Be nice to see them both in the flesh one day!

Will

 

[vibesg]

Does look quite fresh and sorted. The car is the main attraction but I like the image against the fields in the background. Always wondered why Autocar and other mags shoot lots of nice cars in aircraft hangars or disused warehouses. I suppose they do make a nice contrast.

 

[puffsorted]

Looks great! I think our two '55s are almost twins - even the spec/colour is virtually identical

Have done quite a fair amount of work to Peter's old CLK55 but still have some minor fettling to make her perfect (in my eyes anyway).

Be nice to see them both in the flesh one day!

Will

Yes, but you have the phone option, mine doesn't (very jealous)
Although I do have folding mirrors

I really happy with the way she has come up. When I picked her up she looked stunning from 15feet but up close there were a list of little jobs.

Tiny bit of rust of the drivers rear arch (fixed under warranty)

Lacquer peeling on the bumper (Resprayed)

Stone chips to the bonnet (Resprayed)

Lacquer peeling on all alloys (Re-Con'd)

Bumper cracked underneath (Repaired and resprayed)

3 Interior vents broken (Fished the the little metal adjuster clip out of the vent hoses with a kids magnetic toy fishing rod)

Drivers Auto Button on Climate Control broken (Repaired with the use of a nail!!!)

Both speedo bulbs blown (Replaced)

Sunroof stuck (Reset)

Avantgarde wing badge water ingress (Replaced)

Leather cracked on drivers seat (Repaired)


Sounds a lot but most of it was pretty standard. Now she is nearly flawless. The eagle eyed will spot that the centre vane in the bumper under the numberplate is missing. I actually have it - I just forgot to give it to the bodyshop. It will be on soon once its sprayed. And there is a tiny stonechip near the bootline on the wing.

Inside is like new, everything works perfectly and the leather looks fantastic now.

She is a toy so will spend her retirement coming out on sunny days and running my little girl to nursery (Daddy, can we take fast car )

Rustwise there is non and unlikely ever to be any as she will never see rain again under my ownership.

Even the air filters are perfect I spent Saturday morning with a K&N filter cleaning kit

 

[puffsorted]

Does look quite fresh and sorted. The car is the main attraction but I like the image against the fields in the background. Always wondered why Autocar and other mags shoot lots of nice cars in aircraft hangars or disused warehouses. I suppose they do make a nice contrast.

Says the man who lives near the Lake District! - how good backdrops do you have

 

[dazza02]

Tiny bit of rust of the drivers rear arch (fixed under warranty)

Lacquer peeling on all alloys (Re-Con'd)

The car looks absolutely stunning.

I'm interested in your rust repair under warranty though. I've got a W-reg '55 with some bubbling coming up around the rear number plate. What did you do to get yours fixed?

I've also got lacquer peeling off the polished portion of the AMG alloys caused by oxidation to the metal beneath. Did you get yours redone to original spec or did you simply relacquer the entire wheel in silver?

Cheers

 

[Will]

The car looks absolutely stunning.

I'm interested in your rust repair under warranty though. I've got a W-reg '55 with some bubbling coming up around the rear number plate. What did you do to get yours fixed?

I've also got lacquer peeling off the polished portion of the AMG alloys caused by oxidation to the metal beneath. Did you get yours redone to original spec or did you simply relacquer the entire wheel in silver?

Cheers

Hi Dazza,

Your car being a 'W' registration will unfortunately be outside of the bodywork warranty from MB (6 years, extended to 8 under 'goodwill'). There is of course the 30-year 'Mobilo' cover that is for rust that is from the inside of the panel, out (almost none of the cases that occur).

Nothing to lose by asking your dealer, but realistically you'll be better off finding a quality local garage to repair it for you.

Wheel refurbishment is what you need for the alloys. Many different places and different options.

In a nutshell - wheels stripped and finished in plain silver all over will last for ages, whereas wheels with the machined/polished lip and laqcuered are more susceptable to corrosion and peeling laqcuer (as you currently have). They do obviously look very nice though! The third option would be a painted centre and bare-alloy polished lip, but this obviously involves a greater degree of commitment to maintain the finish regularly by using metal polish and elbow grease!

Will

 

[Barbanasos]

nice car dazza. by the way, what did you do on the seat? my drivers seat is not cracked but it has the mild creasing you get on the nappa on the amgs. Can that be ironed out, I want it to look like new as the passenger's. It is the perforated/ventilated type. Only mild but if there is a way to sort I would like to know.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Fantastic looking car and great photography too.

Congratulations!

Out of interest, what did you use to clean up the leather, it looks fantastic.

 

[dazza02]

Hi Dazza,

Your car being a 'W' registration will unfortunately be outside of the bodywork warranty from MB (6 years, extended to 8 under 'goodwill'). There is of course the 30-year 'Mobilo' cover that is for rust that is from the inside of the panel, out (almost none of the cases that occur).

Nothing to lose by asking your dealer, but realistically you'll be better off finding a quality local garage to repair it for you.

Wheel refurbishment is what you need for the alloys. Many different places and different options.

In a nutshell - wheels stripped and finished in plain silver all over will last for ages, whereas wheels with the machined/polished lip and laqcuered are more susceptable to corrosion and peeling laqcuer (as you currently have). They do obviously look very nice though! The third option would be a painted centre and bare-alloy polished lip, but this obviously involves a greater degree of commitment to maintain the finish regularly by using metal polish and elbow grease!

Will

Cheers, Will

I think that will be my Saturday morning task this weekend - a visit to my local service centre.

I know what you mean about the refurbishment options available. A full lacquer would be ideal from a maintenance standpoint but damn the original diamond-cut finish looks good!

I'm loathe to get the bodywork and wheels refinished as it's parked on the street and I don't get the chance to drive her enough (X-reg, 56k miles - 5k miles in 18 mths of ownership!). Possibly worth it in order to boost resale value if the price of repair is right!

Darren

 

[puffsorted]

Fantastic looking car and great photography too.

Congratulations!

Out of interest, what did you use to clean up the leather, it looks fantastic.

The leather was cleaned with Autogym leather cleaner and conditioner - and when I mean conditioner I mean the whole bottle! Treated time and time again and left to soak in each time. I also never let the leather get dirt on it, I go through Armorall leather wipes like loo roll!

The drivers seat bolster was a little cracked so I had it filled and re-painted to bring it back to new.

 

[puffsorted]

Cheers, Will

I think that will be my Saturday morning task this weekend - a visit to my local service centre.

I know what you mean about the refurbishment options available. A full lacquer would be ideal from a maintenance standpoint but damn the original diamond-cut finish looks good!

I'm loathe to get the bodywork and wheels refinished as it's parked on the street and I don't get the chance to drive her enough (X-reg, 56k miles - 5k miles in 18 mths of ownership!). Possibly worth it in order to boost resale value if the price of repair is right!

Darren

I had mine done by a company called WheelRepairIt (google them) Their excellent and I have used them for years. They do a great job and come to you - they turn in in a monster van with all the kit on board and restore them at your home. The most important thing is they de-bead the tyre before repairing otherwise water will get under the lacquer and the finish won't last