Wanted - W209 CLK Sport Coupe (Facelift)

[mbenz1]

Hi All,

I am in the market for a Facelift (2005 onwards) W209 CLK Sport Coupe.

I have been looking for around 6 months but have been struggling to find something with the right spec/mileage/colour etc so thought I'd try my luck on here.

Please see the what I'm after below:

Engine - 220 CDI, 320 CDI or 200 Kompressor
Mileage - Under 130,000 miles
Colour - any apart from Black or Red
Interior - any
Wanted Spec - Bi-Xenon Headlights, Heated Seats, Parktronic, Full Leather package
Service History - Full
Budget - ~£3000 (adjustable if the car is right)

I would greatly appreciate if anyone can offer me their vehicle or point me in the direction of someone selling somthing similar to the above.

Thanks!

 

[DSM10000]

Looking on Autotrader shows quite a few that seem to fit your requirements.

 

[mbenz1]

Looking on Autotrader shows quite a few that seem to fit your requirements.

I have been keeping a lookout for the last few months but haven’t found anything which ticks all the boxes above (unless I’m searching wrong!)

Have you got any advert links I can check?

 

[DSM10000]

I have been keeping a lookout for the last few months but haven’t found anything which ticks all the boxes above (unless I’m searching wrong!)

Have you got any advert links I can check?

I tried copying from AT but it only seemed to let me save them as favourites.

I put in your criteria for Sport, cost etc and most came back with the majority of your wish list.

You may have to be flexible though as the pool of up to 20 year old cars is limited. If I can find a way of getting the link I will post

 

[mbenz1]

Bump - still having a hard time to find one which ticks all the boxes…

 

[W1ghty]

Bump - still having a hard time to find one which ticks all the boxes…

It’s going to get harder to find as time passes .

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

Bump - still having a hard time to find one which ticks all the boxes…

I just looked through all auto trader, piston heads, and car and classic. It is very hard to find one that exactly fits your spec. I found it hard to know if they had the xenons or full service history. There were lots of examples that were missing just one of you desires. I think you should wait a bit longer otherwise you’ll end up buying a car and then a week later the right spec will be available.


This was the closest I could find service history is unclear:

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

 

[MD5]

I tried copying from AT but it only seemed to let me save them as favourites

When you click on the ad in AT, it opens in a new page. If you copy the link from the address bar at the top, you could paste it here.

If you're using Android to search, click on the share icon, top right, and it will reveal a "copy link" option below.

A quick search found this, for example, but not one car showed as having bi xenons

 

[mbenz1]

I just looked through all auto trader, piston heads, and car and classic. It is very hard to find one that exactly fits your spec. I found it hard to know if they had the xenons or full service history. There were lots of examples that were missing just one of you desires. I think you should wait a bit longer otherwise you’ll end up buying a car and then a week later the right spec will be available.


This was the closest I could find service history is unclear:

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

Thanks for having a look for me. I do appreciate it is a older model so finding one with the right spec and sound mechanically is a big ask.

The linked car is an Elegance model but I after the Sport trim (looks like a nice car nonetheless!)

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

Thanks for having a look for me. I do appreciate it is a older model so finding one with the right spec and sound mechanically is a big ask.

The linked car is an Elegance model but I after the Sport trim (looks like a nice car nonetheless!)

Good luck with your search - does seem hard to find the exact car. It will pop up eventually!

 

[mbenz1]

When you click on the ad in AT, it opens in a new page. If you copy the link from the address bar at the top, you could paste it here.

If you're using Android to search, click on the share icon, top right, and it will reveal a "copy link" option below.

A quick search found this, for example, but not one car showed as having bi xenons

I am honestly shocked with how uncommon Bi-Xenons were on the facelift CLK's! There seem to be quite a few pre-facelift cars with it

Thanks for the linked advert. I think it was a Black one (looking to avoid Black and Red) but the advert seems to have been deleted/car has been sold

 

[WilliamMaldivess211]

I am honestly shocked with how uncommon Bi-Xenons were on the facelift CLK's! There seem to be quite a few pre-facelift cars with it

Thanks for the linked advert. I think it was a Black one (looking to avoid Black and Red) but the advert seems to have been deleted/car has been sold

I would wait until there is one with the xenons - I have them on my w211 and they are the best headlights we’ve had on any car. Also red is a Mercedes colour you should avoid.

 

[mbenz1]

I would wait until there is one with the xenons - I have them on my w211 and they are the best headlights we’ve had on any car. Also red is a Mercedes colour you should avoid.

I agree, think it makes a massive difference to the presence of the CLK with the AMG Bodykit!

Having said that, if a car becomes available with everything else on the checklist but no Xenons I would be willing to consider this

 

[MD5]

I am honestly shocked with how uncommon Bi-Xenons were on the facelift CLK's! There seem to be quite a few pre-facelift cars with it

Thanks for the linked advert. I think it was a Black one (looking to avoid Black and Red) but the advert seems to have been deleted/car has been sold

I think/thought the original car was a dark blue, maybe tanzanite? Anyway, good luck with the search.

 

[poormansporsche]

The facelift "Sport" W209 is a bit of a curio really. They were "quite" hi spec with the AMG kit and ortho seats. It seems to me that the majority were bought new "as is" and it was only the 350 (which now in hindsight, nobody in their right mind would want) was the only one that people "specced" extra options. Back in the day I looked at loads of 220 diesels and 200 k's Sports and every single one had zero extra options. It was just plain weird having ortho but non heated seats.

Not saying that specced cars don't exist but if they were rare back in the day they are going to be even rarer now.

But he ho you never know . (I missed out on a 5.5 Sport, low mileage, went for 5 grand, less than 12 hours after being listed on AT )

 

[mbenz1]

The facelift "Sport" W209 is a bit of a curio really. They were "quite" hi spec with the AMG kit and ortho seats. It seems to me that the majority were bought new "as is" and it was only the 350 (which now in hindsight, nobody in their right mind would want) was the only one that people "specced" extra options. Back in the day I looked at loads of 220 diesels and 200 k's Sports and every single one had zero extra options. It was just plain weird having ortho but non heated seats.

Not saying that specced cars don't exist but if they were rare back in the day they are going to be even rarer now.

But he ho you never know . (I missed out on a 5.5 Sport, low mileage, went for 5 grand, less than 12 hours after being listed on AT )

I guess the people buying this package were just happy to splash some extra cash on the AMG Styling and call it a day!

The smaller engine variants are generally quite low spec anyway but seems to be across the whole range on the W209s - I've seen 320 CDI/350 models with part leather seats!

It's the first MB model I've struggled so much to find an example with all the bells and whistles but I will stay strong in my search!

 

[poormansporsche]

I guess the people buying this package were just happy to splash some extra cash on the AMG Styling and call it a day!

The smaller engine variants are generally quite low spec anyway but seems to be across the whole range on the W209s - I've seen 320 CDI/350 models with part leather seats!

It's the first MB model I've struggled so much to find an example with all the bells and whistles but I will stay strong in my search!

My old 320cdi avantgarde had xenons, sunroof and HK but had the non heated half plastic seats madness.

Certainly some funny people out there......

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

In period xenon’s were an expensive option, and most people buying a car wouldn’t have experience of driving a car xenon lights in darkness, and would no doubt have thought “how good can they be?”. Then more recently the same would be true about LED lights.

With the CLK specifically, the prefacelift model had “frosted” lenses halogen headlights, and so speccing bi-xenon headlamps was an aesthetic thing for many buyers. Then the facelift introduced clear headlamp lenses on halogen headlamps, giving a similar look to expensive bi-xenon.

The CLK is a from an era when PCP car finance was popular, but high spec or packaged models were not popular: At that time, the importer hadn’t yet fully cottoned on to the fact that people weren't buying options because of the disproportionate impact in monthly payments.

The importer then introduced higher spec models which included the popular options in the base price. This reduced the monthly payments considerably - as options are fully paid for within the finance term, but base price is not - and so people were able to buy the higher spec car again.

Good luck with your search.

 

[mbenz1]

In period xenon’s were an expensive option, and most people buying a car wouldn’t have experience of driving a car xenon lights in darkness, and would no doubt have thought “how good can they be?”. Then more recently the same would be true about LED lights.

With the CLK specifically, the prefacelift model had “frosted” lenses halogen headlights, and so speccing bi-xenon headlamps was an aesthetic thing for many buyers. Then the facelift introduced clear headlamp lenses on halogen headlamps, giving a similar look to expensive bi-xenon.

The CLK is a from an era when PCP car finance was popular, but high spec or packaged models were not popular: At that time, the importer hadn’t yet fully cottoned on to the fact that people weren't buying options because of the disproportionate impact in monthly payments.

The importer then introduced higher spec models which included the popular options in the base price. This reduced the monthly payments considerably - as options are fully paid for within the finance term, but base price is not - and so people were able to buy the higher spec car again.

Good luck with your search.

Interesting insight - thanks for sharing this.

The facelift Halogen headlights definitely look less dated compared to the pre-facelift ones.

From a financial point of view, it makes perfect sense to go for a package/trim with most of the 'important' options at an attractive monthly cost.

It's only the used car market buyers after a 'high spec' model who get frustrated with this (i.e. me)!