d6lc

So I am starting to look at my next summer car, I have a2004 40th Anniversary 911 Coupe at the moment but want a change. I’dlike to get a cabriolet, to try and enjoy eth short summers here, and a carthat I could enjoy more with my family.


I started looking at 911 Turbo cabs, but the 997 is a littletoo expensive, and the 996 is pretty much what I have now in terms of interior.


I have always loved the W208 CLK (Had a 230k many years agoin the UK). So just looking around I realized what a bargain the CLK63 is,around $30k seems to get you a nice car, great performance, room for 4, prettyrare…….. and 475hp!!


I’ve been looking through the forum and there doesn’t seemto be a lot of issues with these, or at least there isn’t many posts withissues. So a few questions:

1. What are they like to own?

2. Any issues with them?, things to look out for?

3. I read that it has composite front brakes, arethese an issue as eth Porsche PCCB brakes are horrendously expensive and hadsome issues. Does the CLK63 have composite discs, i.e. they should have 100k+miles?



Any feedback would be much appreciated, I really like thelook of the car, and will do around 4k summer miles a year with maybe a trackday thrown in.



Cheers Ross

MarcusF

Three engine issues that I know of.

1: Early M156s have top end issues. The least of the issues involves noise. Some engines are a little noisy due to cam gear lash. As long as the gears themselves don't show wear, a little too much lash is usually just an annoyance.

2: The second issue is cam wear. When the car is turned off, the camshaft buckets typically bleed down. When the buckets have bled down and the car is restarted, a gap will exist between the cam lobes and the buckets. This is noticeable by the tapping noise that exists until the oil pressure builds back up. The cam lobes are made of a softer material than the buckets and the cams wear the entire time the engine is tapping. The fix is to replace the M156 valve buckets with the M159 (SLS) buckets. The M159 buckets are an improved design that doesn't bleed down like the original equipment buckets. The M159 buckets also have an antifriction coating to reduce cam wear. M159 buckets are less than $1K. The labor will take several hours because the cams have to be removed to access the buckets.

3: The cylinder head bolts are defective. The heads of the cylinder head bolts have been known to break off. When that happens, the head gasket can catastrophically fail. Normally, when a head gasket fails, it's a gradual process and coolant is eventually either pulled into the combustion chamber or the cooling system gets pressurized. When the head bolt breaks, the coolant seal can be instantaneously lost. If that happens, a cylinder can rapidly ingest coolant and hydrolock before the driver recognizes the problem. When an engine hydrolocks while running, it typically bends a rod. This isn't conjecture, it has happened more than once. The good news is; that's not always the case. A head bolt could break and only result in an oil leak. It's not likely, but that could happen. One last thing to consider about what goes on when the head on a cylinder head bolt snaps off; that chunk of metal usually bangs around under the valve cover until the engine stops running. Sometimes it gets wedged between expensive moving parts. If it causes the valvetrain to stop while the crank is still in motion, a full rebuild will probably be required. Of course, if a rod is bent, the motor's going to be rebuilt anyway.

aljohnso

The 7 speed automatic has issues, according to the mechanics I've spoken to. The previous transmission (i.e. the CLK 55) is more rugged.

Get a good relationship with a Mercedes mechanic, and have him check out any car you find yourself interested in before purchase.

Learn to read CarFax reports - perhaps series of auto liens means decreased financial circumstance -> deferred maintenance, and attendant issues.

I'd budget 10% of purchase price to fix up the car once you have it - even if it is from a dealer. If from a dealer, see what you can get as an extended warranty. These cars might be CPO - if so, good.

Seriously consider the clk55.

aljohnso

KENNY94945

Wow. Ours is an earlier 2007 and have not had any of the issues mentioned in post #2 and #3. Maybe our regular oil changes with MO spec Mobil 1 and Benz filters and letting the engine warm up before accelerating hard are the key.

Live w:
CLK63 Cabrio is a powerful 4 seater.
Can carry four adults.
At the time, IMO only Bentley was a direct apple to apple vehicle we chose AMG.
Car needs traction (LSD) that's the only real performance mod needed.
Harmon stereo system is weak so an upgrade of speakers could be another mod.
OEM Sport Continental tires wear at about 12K mileage.
Fuel 12/19.
Easy to park, good AC/Heater, drives great in the rain.
Adding a built in telephone system is difficult and expensive - even though the car is wire for it to be plug and play.
7 speed transmission works great...love the manual flappy paddle shifter.
Only two options were available...Gas headlights w/ a H/L washer and push button trunk closer.

Brakes:
No carbon option. Two pads placements then rotor replace. Rotors are expensive, yet this car has great brake performance.

Issues:
All minor.
Accessory CD changer can get stuck..unplugging resets it.
Alarm siren battery expires at about 7 years.
Trunk lid latch has a plastic gear that can wear not allowing the trunk to open.
Trunk partition hydraulic strut looses pressure not allowing top to open.
Price - the AMG depreciation ratio is unbelievable - great buy.
No other issues.

Our AMG has never left up stranded or has never not started.
Really a good car.

d6lc

Thanks for the feedback guys, very helpful

MarcusF

Despite what I wrote previously, the CLK63 is a fantastic car. If I could buy an ROW CLK63 coupe, I wouldn't hesitate. The head bolts are the biggest issue and those are not that big a deal. As an ex P-car owner, I know what a big deal is and this ain't it. If you want to seat four with an open top, "damn the torpedoes" because the CLK63 is the best reasonably priced true high performance car available.

aljohnso

@Kenny94945:

Thanks for the feedback - I just bought a $30K clk63, and am in the "not sure I did the right thing" stage.

I will say that it can carry 2 adults, and two in the back if they are not too big.

The engine bolt and follower issue is not evident in my car (44K miles)... but longer term there may be issues.

The car does not come with a spare, or a place to put one. But I am looking into fixing that.

Certainly regular maintenance is key - best if you know the previous owner.

The phone - I've found a $15 aux to radio adapter (with usb power) that gives me most of what you might want in a phone system - if you have a large screen phone, then it is an internet driven nav system as well.

How long have you owned your clk63? How much do you drive it?

Thanks for the tip on the changer - how do you unplug it?

I think that for 95% of the use of the car, the clk55 might be a better choice. Tracking the car I think is a bit of a "I don't know..."... state of the art track cars these days get 0-60 in the mid 2 seconds, the clk is a mid 4 car, modulo getting massive supercharging... which ruins the price advantage, not to speak of the 20% lower turning gees which can't be easily fixed. I prefer a 4 passenger car, and the modern uber car styling leaves me flat... who wants to drive something that looks like a teenaged boy's idea of a spaceship?... other than teenaged boys, of course. The clk63 is a "sleeper" car... one for you if you don't want to be bragging every time you drive.

When speaking to a mercedes mechanic, he said at a recent seminar he went to the head bolt issue is not evident in western cars, but is starting to be seen in eastern cars. That is rumor, of course. I would be interested in hearing what the european experience with the M156 engine is with respect to these issues. The M156 engine is still used - and if you want non-turbo'd power, it is quite the piece of kit - but turbos give you power when you need it and lets the engine be sized more economically when you don't.

But then you are buying a new car, and that is more expensive... but do factor in the value of the factory warranty if you do look at new.

aljohnso

schorert1

I'm finishing up my first summer with the clk63....I f-ing LOVE this car. I haven't put ONE mile on it with the top up! It has a ridiculous amount of power, makes incredible noise...and eats tires with the traction control off. Quite frankly this is the most insane bang for the buck car.
It is a definite sleeper car, so coming from a porsche it does not have the curb appeal...it takes someone who knows cars to recognize an AMG.
It is a fairly blunt instrument, not the surgical instrument that a 911 is, you will notice some twisting of the body as you push it in the corners.

try it, you'll like it!

d6lc

Thanks for all the feedback, Ironically (as the are sorare), I have found one at a local dealer, so I am going to test drive it the weekend.

I’m very happy with the sleeper image, I don’t want a ‘Lookat me’ car, I bought the 911 as I always wanted one and the way they drive, thedownside is the image people have of you thinking you got it to show off.

So the 911 drives great but with the firm suspension and MNroads, day to day living with the car you cant push it even to 30% of it’sability around here, only the odd DE where you can truly drive it.



That’s where the appeal of the CLK cab comes in, 90% of the timecruising around enjoying the car. But I do still want something with a sportingedge, I know it won’t be as sharp as the 911, but hope it’s brute acceleration,sound of fun offsets it J+being auto my wife can enjoy it as she hates the manual 911 and has onlydriven it once.



Looking forward to the drive Saturday, won’t be tempted tobuy it though as it’s the wrong color, doesn’t have cooled seats and the dealerhas it marked up at least $10-15k overpriced, in a way I am glad so I don’t makea rush purchase if I enjoy the ride.

aljohnso

Good luck!

Have fun...

wamer27

What dealer has it? I'm in MN too, and I got my clk63 this past winter from a VW Bentley dealer in Atlanta. (They shipped it at no extra cost to me) I've already had to replace try rear tires, a fog lamp (rock cracked it) the glove box is where the aux chord plugs in, so using it you have to shut the door kinda hard which somewhat broke the hinge and wouldn't close. I took it to Maplewood MB and they got it closed, but couldn't get it open. Ordered parts ($610 range) and then door just suddenly worked, took the 500 page novel called owners manual out and now door works just fine without the weight stress of the manual and cancelled the new box. I had a coolant leak with plastic tube going into the reservoir cracking, ordered a new reservoir on eBay for less then $40 and replaced on my own. My neighbor is mechanic and showed me a common problem I had (coolant reservior he said is common) of loose front wheel bearings, took rim off, popped a cap off and adjusted it with an allen wrench, did both sides as both rims had movement top to bottom. I use Autohaus for oem parts at a fraction of dealers prices. My car is silver with a grayish interior and has the ventilated seats along with nav, both were options I needed and finding both is kinda hard to find.

d6lc

The cars at St Paul Audi, 25k miles, black on black, no ventilated seats, and they want an eye watering $50k for it.
Im actually going to pass on the test drive now, I cant make it this weekend due to some family commitments, so I think I will keep the 911 for another year and do some more DE's in it
Thank you all for all the great advise, going to keep my eye out on the CLK though, definately getting one at some stage

KENNY94945

I believe all CLK63 Cabrios came with heated and vented seats.
So dealer may not know what they are talking about.

I'm original owner, so 7 yrs, drive as a daily, 40K miles.

Yes those front fog lights are expensive and can be cracked on a regular basis from road debris. Best to cover them with some type of plastic 3-5 mil film.

CD Player..unscrew the torx screw on the mounting bracket and slide the player out. Unplug the player from the harness for a minute and re-install. You can also pull a fuse in the trunk to reset..I forget which number fuse.

Compared to a CLK55 there is a strong 100 or more additional horsepower, much better brakes, better transmission IMO. Last iteration of the model run so well de-bugged. Other minor stuff and only 300 imported to USA I believe.
So I think the 63 is worth the difference.

Again if tracking the car...do the limited slip differential...get rear traction...modification.
You can also add the Black Series front and rear tower strut braces with little difficulty I believe. Coil overs, lowers springs, headers, air filters, autocross tires...that a personal choice yet I won't spend my money there...again get LSD.

Pricing again; those blue books really show that famous AMG depreciation.
I think a CLK500 Cabrio was $60K
These AMGs CLK63 Cabrio were $100K cars when new.
The AMG CLK Black Series Coupe was 140K I recall.

HollidayCLK63

I have the 2008 CLK63 AMG and just had to replace the Motor and Transmision mounts at 46,000k. Total cost including parts and labor at the MB dealer $1010. Yes rotors are super expensive. Shop online to get a good deal.

wamer27

Ventilated seats is an option and after looking at many cars online before I found the right one, most don't have the buttons on the upper center dash. Many don't have navigation either. I ordered 3 oem oil filters from autohausaz.com that I won't be using (easier and not much price difference to have dealer change oil) Anyone interested in them? I'll sell'em for cheap.

Mr. Wizard

10 months of just furious fast fun! We've put on about 6000 miles in that time its been a blast. I have put on new Continental tires, ROW air boxes with K&N filters, Weistec Stage 1 tune. About 525hp now! Mileage hasn't changed but it's not bad. My next upgrade would be to the infotainment system. Any recommendations would be appreciated. My mechanic did a total systems check and he said the car was like new but he recommended changing oil every 5000 miles. I use Mobile One Euro grade 0-40. If you buy one just have fun with it.