ryan83

Hello friends,

I’m sorry this is so long, but I think mostly everything is necessary, and I would really appreciate some advice!

I have found a 2004 CLK500 with almost 116,000 miles on it for $9,000 before taxes. CarFax shows that the one-owner California car was serviced at MB dealers till '11 and then at a single independent high-end shop (5 star Yelp with Lamborghinis and AMGs in the pictures), until auctioned off to this dealer less than a month ago.

Silver outside, black inside.
The car is super clean inside and out and has Navigation and Xenons as options. (I'd have liked keyless-go too, but at least it's the lighter key than the post 07's...)
I'd have preferred a 2007 CLK550 for important updates I assume would have been done with the facelift, but that would cost around 2-3X the price.

This used dealer (friend of a friend) let me take the car for a couple of days, the day it arrived from auction, and I have the following to report:
It feels smooth in both Comfort and Sport modes, with no weird power feelings and no weird gear changes at high/low speeds or when the car is cold or warm.
Car barely gives off any odor when it's cold and warming up.
There is a sound that seems to come from the front-passenger wheel area, which I'm hoping is just a bushing.
Also, there is a tiny bit of motor oil all around the valve covers, no-doubt because the seals were never changed.
The 2 minor flaws I could find were a broken passenger fog light and a slow retracting driver seatbelt.
Lastly, in my obsessive look around, I noticed that the little OBD-II door was open, so I feared that the previous owner/dealership (or whoever auctioned it off) might have cleared some trouble codes before the auction. I managed to drive 100 miles in the 2 days and there was no problem.

I gave it back to them to do the smog check, oil change and have their mechanic check the whole thing, the latter two of which he said is routine on all the cars he sells (and detail it). And I'm waiting to hear back in a day or 2.

I'm thinking I should also give it to someone to check everything myself after he says it's ready, but I don't really have a mechanic that I trust as I do most stuff myself (thanks to this awesome forum).
Should I take it to the Stealership for this? Alternatively, I live in Los Angeles CA (near UCLA), anyone know a good and affordable mechanic in the area?

Everything seems relatively easily mendable with guidance I’ve seen on the forum, but what do you guys think about everything?
Any major problems this car commonly gets that I should have checked?
I'm worried because this is the first used Mercedes I've ever purchased (380SL is my father's car), but I'm less worried when I see the similarities it shares with my '03 C230 Coupe.
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

Rudeney

The M113 engine with the 722.6 transmission is a great combination. The valve cover leak is common and an easy fix (esp. if you DIY - cost is about $50 and a few hours of wrenching. Suspension bushings are a common problem - replacing all four front control arms is about $350 in parts and 3-4 hours of DIY time.

ryan83

Thanks a lot Rodney, I was hoping to hear something like that about the engine and transmission

lmal355

just bought a 2004 CLK500 6 months ago and i freaking love it, very solid car compare to the problem ridden 550's and underpowered 320's/350's

gaazmon

the 550 engines only had an issue for the 07 MY

Rudeney

The CLK350 is 0.7 seconds slower 0-60 than the CLK500. The CLK550 had a problem analogous to M272 V6's "balance shaft" issue. It affected the firs 88,611 engine built, some of which were int he CLK550. Also, the earlier CLK550s had more problematic 722.9 transmissions (but so did CLK350's and MY2006 CLK320's and MY2005/MY2006 CLK500's).

Regardless, the MY2004 CLK500 is a great vehicle with a solid, proven engine and transmission.

ryan83

I didn't know any of that, thanks for the knowledge guys!
Rodney, brother, thanks for that awesome feedback again.

I'm excited to say that I bought up the car just a few hours ago friends!

I will post some pictures by this time tomorrow

By the way, does MY mean model year?

DanielFD

Congrats! Welcome to the forum. Yes MY means model year. It took me some time to get used to that myself hehe

gaazmon

The 500 engines are almost bulletproof. Great combo with the 5 speed tranny. Probably the best bet for models of CLK in US to buy (minus AMGs) are:

04 500, 05 320, 08-09 350 or 550

ryan83

I so glad to hear of the consensus of my new car

Some photos are attached

I took the plastic off the freshly cleaned carpet, put the mats in and put the plastic back on. I think it was a great idea but I'm not sure if the glue from the plastic might come off onto the carpet over time or ruin the fabric... anyone know?

lmal355

WOW nice! that is the exact same car i bought to every detail haha

Rudeney

I'd remove that plastic. It will deteriorate and be more of a mess. If your mats get dirty or frayed, just buy new ones - if you shop around, you can find them for around $120, sometimes less (though not the same part number, W203 C-class mats will fit just fine).

ryan83

@lmal355: nice!

@Rodney: I just removed them, thanks. Do you happen to know where I can get a new fog light at a good price (assuming the lens isn't sold separately)?

Rudeney

The right fog light is A2098200756. Yes, you have to buy the entire assembly - the lens is not a separate part. You can find it at parts.com for $120 + S&H:

https://www.parts.com/index.cfm?fuse...BER=2098200756

squid23

Did you consciously omit 2004 CLK500 and 2004 CLK320? Anything wrong with those?

ryan83

Thanks, but I actually did some research and saw that this ^ is actually the MY2006 and newer versions' fog light. It's weird that they changed the MY2006 fog lights before they did the MY2007 updates (facelift, engines, etc.), but then again they also changed the rims and navigation for MY2005...

The CLK500 (right) fog light, MY2004 and MY2005, is part number 2308200456.

Rudeney

Sorry for the confusion - I forgot about that change! I just happened to put in my own VIN (MY2007) in EPC to get the part. Thanks for catching that!

DanielFD

He didn't omit the 04 500. Because of the problem with the 05 500 (7 speed trans) its probably best not to buy an 05. the 04 320 is omitted probably because of the face lift in the 05 year. Small difference to pay between an 04 and 05 320, but you get that much better looking interior.

squid23

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks so much. Did the 320 not get the 7-speed or is it just considered to wimpy to crush it?

DanielFD

The 320 never got the 7- speed probably because mercedes needed an extra push to market the 500 in 2005 before releasing the 550. Dont underestimate the good old 722.6 5 speed. That transmission is in the SLR because it was the only transmission able to withstand all that torque (with some modification, obviously).

squid23

Oh yeah. I'd only buy a 5-speed one.

Maybe the right CLK55 will be around after my lease.

xsever

I own an 05 320 with the 722.6 and couldn't be any happier.

I'd only trade it with an 08-09 350 722.9 because only then they had all the issues sorted out.

gaazmon

I prefer the downshift gear selection on the 722.6 (one by one) over the 722.9 (lowest possible gear).

xsever

The 722.6 in my 2005 German spec CLK 320 is of the "lowest gear possible" type rather than "one by one". My previous 2003 North American spec CLK 320 was of the "one by one" type.

I think they updated the 722.6 to "lowest gear possible" in 2005.

squid23

Chances are that it was a software update that was applied to older cars when in service on a random basis.