I want a CLK for Christmas

[Mercenator]

Firstly, hello to one and all, great forum here!

Right, basically I went for a test drive in a 2006 CLK Sport 220 CDI from a main dealer on Sunday and from the moment I was presented with my seatbelt by the seatbelt butler, I was about sold! The ride was superb, very smooth for a diesel, loved all the kit inside the car.

This car is on at £15K, with 1 owner (and pre registered) 30,000 on the clock, lots of kit and 2 years warranty. While that sounds pretty good to me and I'd be comfortable with the deal, I've seen a couple higher mileage models (around 70-90K) for under 11 grand and I've heard lots of good things about the W209 running well with high mileage, so I'm putting it you experts, what to do?

I'm not bothered about having high mileage so long as it runs well and has been looked after and to save me £3-5K, seems worth considering, no? I'd really appreciate some advice here, particularly if there would be any serious issues to look out for with a higher mileage model?

Cheers folks!

 

[trapperjohn]

If you are buying from a main dealer - then paying a a couple of k extra could be worth it. *** a member on here had a few issues with a main dealer bought car. All sorted under various warranty and recovery plans provided by the dealer. When he had issues he had a seamless change to various bits of lovely transport to keep him going.

Other with more techie knowledge will be along to advise on oily bits and electrical gremlins (is the model prone or not) and other bits to watch out for.

Oh, welcome to the forum - Its a great place to be.

 

[st4]

I'd personally pay the £4k (about 30% more) for the significantly younger car, you can see the depreciation to 90k miles is low, and that you will probably recoup that money in lower maintenance.

Plus, as John says, I have had some issues with a main dealer car, actually thats being polite about it but the Mobilo breakdown and tier 1 warranty make it a compelling proposition, and 2 years of that (its normally one) I would bite their hands off for the CLK220cdi. Cracking motors.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I'd personally pay the £4k (about 30% more) for the significantly younger car, you can see the depreciation to 90k miles is low, and that you will probably recoup that money in lower maintenance.

Plus, as John says, I have had some issues with a main dealer car, actually thats being polite about it but the Mobilo breakdown and tier 1 warranty make it a compelling proposition, and 2 years of that (its normally one) I would bite their hands off for the CLK220cdi. Cracking motors.

That might be the clincher, I think that tier 1 becomes tier 2 at 60k miles.

While tier 2 is a good warranty it's not quite as good as tier 1.

The extra year if bought before end December would be welcome I'm sure.

For the OP, remember that you'll need to service the car on time at the dealer to retain warranty and MOBILO.

 

[jaymanek]

Shameless I know, but I have a couple in at the moment.

 

[Mercenator]

Thanks for the replies, I've just found one on a 57 plate with 120k - 1 owner and full mb service history for £9500. If it's tidy, what do people reckon?

 

[swannymere]

PM Jaymanek and see what he has and what Christmas deal he can do you!

 

[wemorgan]

I think his post count is too low to PM, but he can check Jay's stock here:

http://mercland.com/

 

[jaymanek]

mileage is not really an issue for these cars, the 220 engine and box are pretty well proven but all depends how many miles you are planning on doing. If you are doing 20-30K a year then it will be worth peanuts very quickly.
Remember that at the mileage, whilst the drivetrain will probably be ok, the car will be well worn...

If you are a sunday afternoon driver you probably wont lose too much on it.

 

[Mercenator]

Thanks Jaymanek, I do around 10-11K a year. I reckon I'll go and have a look, if it is well worn then I may not bother, but if it's nice I'll seriously consider it.

 

[st4]

That might be the clincher, I think that tier 1 becomes tier 2 at 60k miles.

While tier 2 is a good warranty it's not quite as good as tier 1.

The extra year if bought before end December would be welcome I'm sure.

For the OP, remember that you'll need to service the car on time at the dealer to retain warranty and MOBILO.

No it does not if the car starts life as tier one when purchased. If purchased after 60k miles it remains in tier 1.

Which is a sham as you get tier 1 3yrs unlimited miles if a new buyer. Tier one is what it should be all the way IMHO but a buyer of a 59,999 car will get tier 1 for the whole periord IIRC even if they do 200k miles in that period.

A 60,000 miler gets a tier 2 for the period.

Anyway thats not the issue for the OP at 10-11k/yr. I would say for the extra £4k and 2 years of tier 1 (must be worth £1600 that lot) they'd be barking mad not to go for the dealer car.

 

[320's Plenty]

Mercanator, any progress?

Out of idle curiosity, I took a look at the link wemorgan posted for jaymanek.

Some v good cars there including 320s. Did you have a look?

 

[rf065]

The only real problem I've had, was the turbo went at 20,000 miles taking half the engine with it too. Must have cost MB a small fortune to repair, so the best warranty you can get will give you some piece of mind. Mine was covered by the original manufacturers warranty.

The next 30,000 miles have been totally fault free until the MOT the other week which required a new ball joint to pass. I would highly recommend a CLK to anyone.

Russ

 

[Deleted member 37751]

First things first- these cars deserve better than a 220 CDi engine- go for the 320 CDi, the last time I looked Jay at Mercland had one in for reasonable money.
Secondly if you wanted to save a few quid and take the higher mileage route, make sure the car has as much service history as possible and preferably low owners.
Good luck either way.

 

[timskemp]

I'll harp on the only thing I say about used cars in general now, and that's condition, condition, condition.

If it's been looked after and it's a model not known for specific issues then age and mileage are less relevant than condition. If it's been looked after and has 100k miles on it's a much better buy than a poorly maintained 30k miler. 3 or 6 years old is irrelevant if the 3 yr old is poorly maintained.

You should barely notice the difference driving a 50k mile to a 100k mile, if it feels soggy or sounds rough then it is, and you should walk away. My E had 50k when I bought it and has 172k now, anything that breaks gets fixed quickly, every service is done on time, it still wafts along the motorways when I want it to without wandering (I have a damaged wheel at the moment, will be fixed in the new year when I can order a replacement) and can still hustle along B roads or drift around roundabouts if I want it to as well.

 

[br0ke]

I have one and it has been fantastically reliable and comfortable. Not as economical as I had hoped but more than reasonable given my normal driving profile.

One thing I would suggest seriously considering - extra kit.

If you are happy with it being standard then fair enough but if you want to add, then buy one with the most kit possible as they are very complicated and expensive to retrofit.

Heated seats would be my number one priority and I would discount one without. Parking sensors are excellent and very good to have. I fitted Comand - but although it's nice to have, it's a bit basic compared to standalone units.
I also waited for one with the AMG bodykit as I knew I wouldn't be happy if I didn't. 18" wheels look brilliant but mine rides better on my 16" winter wheels. All the same, I prefer it in the summer.
All these could add a few grand on a base price but easily cost double that they were to be retro fitted.

Good Luck with what you decide

 

[Mercenator]

Hi Fellas, no progress to report at the moment - due to a Wife-enforced car buying Christmas embargo, will probably be well in to the new year before I make a move - but I am still keeping an eye open for any high mileage models popping up. I am tempted to hold out a bit more for the dealer car as I know there's not much demand for rear wheel drive coupes mid-winter and they've already had it in stock longer than their target times for shifting used cars and the warranty is definitely preferable. I reckon I can get the price down a bit more....

 

[st4]

Mercantor, I'd go for the dealer car with the 2years warranty on it. The mechanicals of the cars are tough, but the small % money increase for a low milliage car like the dealer has makes it such a compelling purchase