New member / Tempted by a CLK

[bingo55]

Hi Guys, ive been offered a sweet deal on a CLK, but I just want some advice on it

The car has very low mileage at around 45k, its a 2009 320 CDI AMG, However the car comes without any history, the previous MOT's all look good, with just a couple of minor fails for coil spring and ball joints, the car only done about 25k until 2020 until the second owner seemingly used it more.

I've had 2 mercs before, a little A160 wedge, probably one of the best cars I ever had to be honest!

The Second one is a SLK 1.8 171, its a bit gutless and currently sat in the driveway needing a timing chain and this car has been a pain in the backside but has quite a lot of miles on it at 120k

So what about the CLK what are the pitfalls with this car? same engine as used in an Eclass right? and they were pretty bulletproof IIRC

Do you think its worth the risk? Because the SLK needs fixed I don't have any budget to play around with other than buying the car

Any advice welcome

 

[SmartAmg]

 

[slade1]

Do your research on forums and internet.
Check road tax as big increase after April 2006
Welcome.

 

[Sweetooth]

Hi and welcome

 

[ALFAitalia]

Do your research on forums and internet.
Check road tax as big increase after April 2006
Welcome.

People keep saying that....but it isn't true as far as I can tell.....and not according to .gov.....only the FIRST time tax discs on new cars are going up significantly........older cars are "only" going up by inflation like normal.

Road Tax 2025: Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Rates Explained

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates are changing in 2025 and may have an impact on your fleet management strategy. Discover how much you'll have to pay.

www.pendragonvehiclemanagement.co.uk

 

[W1ghty]

Hi Guys, ive been offered a sweet deal on a CLK, but I just want some advice on it

The car has very low mileage at around 45k, its a 2009 320 CDI AMG, However the car comes without any history, the previous MOT's all look good, with just a couple of minor fails for coil spring and ball joints, the car only done about 25k until 2020 until the second owner seemingly used it more.

I've had 2 mercs before, a little A160 wedge, probably one of the best cars I ever had to be honest!

The Second one is a SLK 1.8 171, its a bit gutless and currently sat in the driveway needing a timing chain and this car has been a pain in the backside but has quite a lot of miles on it at 120k

So what about the CLK what are the pitfalls with this car? same engine as used in an Eclass right? and they were pretty bulletproof IIRC

Do you think its worth the risk? Because the SLK needs fixed I don't have any budget to play around with other than buying the car

Any advice welcome

Does that CLK 320cdi have a dpf ?

 

[Flyinspanner]

Is it ULEZ compliant? Even if you don’t live in London, more and more cities will be adopting this. (£ generator)
Plus diesels can attract a higher parking charge in some areas ( in Hammersmith it’s a £5 diesel charge on top of parking where it’s App controlled parking (ring go).

Do you need a diesel for generally high mileages/ long journies? If not, and it has a dpf, short drives can cause them to clog up.
If you generally do short drives and want silky smoothness then go for the 320 petrol version.

I think that Slade 1 above was referring to the annual tax bracket it falls into rather than the 5 year luxury tax.

(I’ve got my 320CLK Convertible up for sale )

 

[bingo55]

Is it ULEZ compliant? Even if you don’t live in London, more and more cities will be adopting this. (£ generator)
Plus diesels can attract a higher parking charge in some areas ( in Hammersmith it’s a £5 diesel charge on top of parking where it’s App controlled parking (ring go).

Do you need a diesel for generally high mileages/ long journies? If not, and it has a dpf, short drives can cause them to clog up.
If you generally do short drives and want silky smoothness then go for the 320 petrol version.

I think that Slade 1 above was referring to the annual tax bracket it falls into rather than the 5 year luxury tax.

(I’ve got my 320CLK Convertible up for sale )

It’s not a problem for me here in Northern Ireland, we don’t have parking charges or ULEZ zones thankfully

I do about 26 miles motorway and a few miles b road on the way to work.
Although I don’t know if this model has DPF

 

[bingo55]

Would buying the car without a service history be a problem for you guys?

Even on a car with just 40k on the clock

 

[W1ghty]

Would buying the car without a service history be a problem for you guys?

Even on a car with just 40k on the clock

Doesn’t have a service history as in no paperwork , or has never had an oil and filter change ?

 

[W1ghty]

I’ve got both the CLK with a petrol engine and an E class with the same engine as you are looking at in your CLK .
I’ve done over 100k in each car over the last 10+ years of ownership .
CLK has some subframe rot issues at this age , some people have managed to get MB to replace them foc.
The OM642 engine can suffer oil cooler seals failure , but I don’t believe it happens at that low mileage ??
Expensive 8 hour+ job
Other om642 issues again at higher mileages are turbo replacement £1500+ ?
I’ve got nearly 140k miles on mine with neither of the above issues .
So yes , if the car is cheap enough and you have a bit of spare cash then go for it .
You will have age related suspenion , brake pipe rust , the need to change all the filters and service the gearbox etc as work needed to be done .
The om642 is a great engine to drive .

 

[W1ghty]

I would say a good deal is around £3000

 

[bingo55]

Yeah as I recently found out, you can spend as much as the car is worth in repairs alone on a Mercedes.

Yeah I think it pass this one by, I would be going against my better judgement, I don’t buy cars without history and seeing someone has cared for it so I shouldn’t start now

 

[DSM10000]

Yeah as I recently found out, you can spend as much as the car is worth in repairs alone on a Mercedes.

For any car, not just Mercedes.