DGCars

Hey everyone, so I have been looking for a weekend car for awhile now. I came across a beautiful 2003 CLK55 AMG a neighbor owns. It has a little high mileage, 80k, to be exact.

I just wanted to know what y'all think about the car? I have never owned anything outside of an American Muscle car...

How's performance? Assuming it's an AMG car, I'm assuming it's outstanding.
How is it perceived? I am a young male, and one of my biggest drawbacks is it is a little less sporty than my mustang.

And how is the ride and reliability? I won't be putting a lot of miles on it, but I don't want it in the shop a lot neither...

Thanks for the help guys! Hope I can be a lot more active on this forum soon!

Rudeney

OK is not high mileage for a MY2003 car. The CLK55 is fairly reliable. Compared to a non-AMG CLK, just expect more money for tires and brakes. It has a solid engine and transmission that will last a long time with proper maintenance. In terms of performance, the CLK55 is decent even byh today's standards (remember, this is a nearly 12 year old car now). As for its image, I can't help you there, but I can tell you that a CLK, even a V6, will likely get more attention than even a Mustang GT convertible. I mean, you can't hardly swing a dead cat at a traffic light without hitting two Mustangs.

Yidney

It's funny how car ownership is regional. I always say that if you told me to leave my office in downtown Denver and not stop walking until I saw a four-door Ford sedan, I might be gone all day. But I could walk 4 miles to work using BMWs, Volvos or MBs as stepping stones. Way more likely to see two MBs at any stop light than two Mustangs.

Rudeney

Oh, MBZs are not uncommon around here - just CLKs. And they should be fairly rare everywhere. There were about 7 C-classed built for every CLK. Even more S-Classes were built than CLKs.

Having spent a lot of time in Denver, SUVs and AWD vehicles seem to be the most common there.

mguerrero

you're damn right about that! go to the craigslist and see how man clk55's you find vs mustang GT's -- it took me 2-3 months and flying 1200 miles to find my MY2003 clk55 and well worth it! there were 12k M3's produced for US market bewteen 2001-2006 -- how many for CLK55/63??? not even half of that!

mguerrero

in terms of the ladies ... you'll get a lot more ladies to notice you in Benz than a Stang ... AND you will spank the snot out of a Stang with the w209 CLK55

tw2

Yep very reliable when taken care of. Lots of fun and you get attention.

Unfortunately where I am not many people know anything about mercedes let alone amg. To my dismay, most of the interest comes from older guys who actually know something about european cars and can afford them or young guys who think you're rich but still have no idea what an amg is.

Just look around the interior, it doesn't compare to any american or japanese cars.

ambit

Haha, yes. Same here. The only people that have ever asked about my car were older males. Sigh.

Bill51sdr

"Sick 'Benz bro..." from a young tatooed (male ) kid in a Honda as he drove by my 550. Lots of admiring looks from women, but no comments yet.

DGCars

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have decided to go ahead and purchase the benz. Should be acquiring it soon!

BlankProc

Good decision! Got my first CLK (A low-miles 2009 350) last October and was a great move. I get compliments all the time from strangers, especially in my complex when I'm washing the car.

Little do they know they could have the same car I do for the price of a new Honda Civic.

They're more expensive to maintain, and every now and then a light will pop on and off, but you're proud jumping in to your car every morning on the way to work. Enjoy and post some pictures when you have it!