considering buying 2007 CLK63 AMG - need advice
10-12-2014, 01:20 AM
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acura
considering buying 2007 CLK63 AMG - need advice
I am looking at a 2007 CLK63 AMG with 105,000 miles on it. Price is good, but mileage is obviously high. California car, two owners, apparently maintained at a MB dealer. How long do these cars last? How expensive are high-mileage ones to maintain? Any thoughts about a CLK63 AMG with over 100k miles?
Many thanks!
Many thanks!
10-12-2014, 02:35 AM
#2
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The answers are, it depends. Many cars will log several hundred thousand miles with basic maintenance. Others will break in horrifically expensive fashion before 100K. It depends on how well it was maintained and whether the head bolts come apart on your watch.
Maintenance cost may depend on how much work you can do. If the dealer does all the work, this will be very expensive. If you have no mechanical experience and try to learn on a CLK63, it could cost even more. For the experienced mechanic with tools and a WIS, this can be quite inexpensive. Yep, depends.
Maintenance cost may depend on how much work you can do. If the dealer does all the work, this will be very expensive. If you have no mechanical experience and try to learn on a CLK63, it could cost even more. For the experienced mechanic with tools and a WIS, this can be quite inexpensive. Yep, depends.
10-12-2014, 08:03 PM
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acura
Thank you. I would not be doing the work myself if something goes wrong, would have to rely on a mechanic.
I assume most of these cars are relatively low mileage. But typically, how long does an average CLK63 AMG last assuming reasonably good maintenance performed at a dealer? Do many make it from 100k to 150k miles without horribly expensive repairs?
I assume most of these cars are relatively low mileage. But typically, how long does an average CLK63 AMG last assuming reasonably good maintenance performed at a dealer? Do many make it from 100k to 150k miles without horribly expensive repairs?
10-13-2014, 03:31 AM
#4
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In theory, it's a MB and should run practically forever.
In practice, there are only 250 of these baby's on the road, and I'd imagine less than 10% of them are over 100k miles. That's fewer than 25 cars. It's impossible to get any statistical significance from such a small population. That's IF you could find some of the 25 cars to sample them, which you likely can't.
You can MAYBE get some anecdotes, if you're lucky enough to find a couple of the 25. Or maybe you can get some C63 owners to chip and and use them as a crude proxy. But that's all they'll be... isolated experiences which can't be extrapolated for any kind of a reasonable prediction.
In practice, there are only 250 of these baby's on the road, and I'd imagine less than 10% of them are over 100k miles. That's fewer than 25 cars. It's impossible to get any statistical significance from such a small population. That's IF you could find some of the 25 cars to sample them, which you likely can't.
You can MAYBE get some anecdotes, if you're lucky enough to find a couple of the 25. Or maybe you can get some C63 owners to chip and and use them as a crude proxy. But that's all they'll be... isolated experiences which can't be extrapolated for any kind of a reasonable prediction.
10-13-2014, 08:11 AM
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C63 507 AMG DA Car #19
Mlg
I look at cars differently.... IMHO there are very rarely or perhaps never bad cars.......... A car is just a collection of elec and mech systems. It's not like it gets a. Bad car disease that infects the whole car...... So if some thing fails. Which happens, get it fixed. And then enjoy the car.
You just want to avoid the extreme neglect cases which can be weeded out via owner, records, car review.
Cheers
You just want to avoid the extreme neglect cases which can be weeded out via owner, records, car review.
Cheers
10-13-2014, 08:37 PM
#6
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I wouldn't worry about it. It should easily do 150-200k if serviced well. There is a minuscule chance of headbolt failure which i wouldn't think twice about. Otherwise it is the same as any other Benz in terms of reliability etc. Of course an aftermarket warranty is a good idea anyway.
10-13-2014, 11:04 PM
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'12 C63BS "SlickTop", '08 CLK63BS, '16 E63S wagon, '12 CLS63, amongst other non-Merc toys
how good of a price did you land on this car?
I'm interested to pick one up myself for a project-build, got the mod bugs bitting me as of late, but don't want to touch a thing on my Black Series.
I'm interested to pick one up myself for a project-build, got the mod bugs bitting me as of late, but don't want to touch a thing on my Black Series.
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12-05-2014, 08:39 PM
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2019 C63s, 2021 E63s Estate
I know this is digging up an old thread as I found it while researching the head bolt issue, but I thought it might be helpful to provide some real world numbers
Have a 2007 CLK63 that I bought new, and it now has ~150K on it. It was my daily driver until last year, and it hasn't been too bad to maintain (until last week, that is)...
Oil changes have to be done every 10K - whether or not you get them done at the dealer is your choice (service A and B are mostly "inspections" instead of actual serviceable work) - service A is typically ~3-400, service B is around 5-700 depending on the dealer (as opposed to an indy, who charges $150 for an oil change)
Transmission flush is every 39K miles as well, which is crap as the dealer originally told me it was "non serviceable, lifetime fluid"
(so the first transmission flush was ohh, around 130K .. but no metal, and still shifts perfect *whew*) - around $7-800 depending on where
Tires are every 5-7K miles (back) and 12-15K (front) depending on the tire and mostly indifferent of driving habit (a lot of torque over the rear wheels at normal operating range). I found that the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports (not to be confused with Pilot Sports, or PS2/3) provided an excellent trade-off, a bit of a harder compound but double the useful life (I now routinely get 15K out of the rears) - $1-2K depending on the tire selected. This car has a LOT of negative camber in the rear, and will shred the insides of the back tires routinely. Tire pressure must be constantly monitored (and a touch lower than the MB rating, I found). I did grow tired of having to be flat-bedded home, though I have to say, this car handles incredibly when the interior wall of the tire blows out at 80mph...
Top end on mine went out right @ 50K, covered under some combination of warranty and extended warranty (~7K to replace all four cams, sensors, lifters, etc - known issue now that I think I was one of the first to uncover
)
Convertible top was replaced @ 130K (surprised it lasted that long) - the seam above the window started to come apart - $2200 for an OEM top
Convertible top motor went out @ 135K (right after I got the top replaced, DOH) - did the work myself to remove, had it rebuilt instead of replaced - $800 in parts vs $2K (MB price) + labor
Still battling with a radio issue, the COMAND unit works properly, but there's an issue with the inline amp or the processor or something... it emits a tremendous amount of static if it's turned on prior to warming up. New COMAND unit is around 6K, rebuild is much less. (Haven't driven it enough lately for this to bug me, yet)
Brakes are another high ticket item - been through two sets of rotors (and four sets of front pads, two rears) - Fronts are $2K for rotors and pads, rears are 750-1K depending on who does them. Front pads seem to last around 30-40K before before they start fading (which, coincidentally, is long before the life meter comes up) and you only seem to get two sets of pads per rotor change; rear pads seem to last much longer, I got 90K out of the rears before they even looked like they needed to be replaced
Engine mounts seem to be every 50K or so (and have them do the transmission mount while they're in there, it's easy to get at)
Tensioner pullies went at ~130K, they had the ribs completely worn off of them.
And now I'm staring down the barrel of the head bolt issue... empty coolant reservoir and engulfed the neighborhood in white smoke earlier today. Not sure what this will cost yet, as I don't know how bad the damage is. No coolant in the oil, though, so I'm hoping it isn't too bad... *fingers crossed* May be an opportunity for some new parts while it's apart.
Most "simple" repairs with this car seem to come with a $1000 price tag. Between parts, labor, etc .. you're best to find an certified indy shop. For reference, my local dealer's shop rate was $195/hr, whereas my indy is $100/hr.
I still have some little things that need to be done, the wiper arm needs to be replaced, as it only hits half of the windshield on the right side, a couple of interior trim pieces need replaced..
That said - I absolutely love this car and will likely never get rid of it. (Not that there are many people standing in line to buy a high mileage AMG
) It has provided me with many years of driving pleasure and I hope many more.
Cheers,
Chris
Have a 2007 CLK63 that I bought new, and it now has ~150K on it. It was my daily driver until last year, and it hasn't been too bad to maintain (until last week, that is)...
Oil changes have to be done every 10K - whether or not you get them done at the dealer is your choice (service A and B are mostly "inspections" instead of actual serviceable work) - service A is typically ~3-400, service B is around 5-700 depending on the dealer (as opposed to an indy, who charges $150 for an oil change)
Transmission flush is every 39K miles as well, which is crap as the dealer originally told me it was "non serviceable, lifetime fluid"
(so the first transmission flush was ohh, around 130K .. but no metal, and still shifts perfect *whew*) - around $7-800 depending on where Tires are every 5-7K miles (back) and 12-15K (front) depending on the tire and mostly indifferent of driving habit (a lot of torque over the rear wheels at normal operating range). I found that the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports (not to be confused with Pilot Sports, or PS2/3) provided an excellent trade-off, a bit of a harder compound but double the useful life (I now routinely get 15K out of the rears) - $1-2K depending on the tire selected. This car has a LOT of negative camber in the rear, and will shred the insides of the back tires routinely. Tire pressure must be constantly monitored (and a touch lower than the MB rating, I found). I did grow tired of having to be flat-bedded home, though I have to say, this car handles incredibly when the interior wall of the tire blows out at 80mph...
Top end on mine went out right @ 50K, covered under some combination of warranty and extended warranty (~7K to replace all four cams, sensors, lifters, etc - known issue now that I think I was one of the first to uncover
)Convertible top was replaced @ 130K (surprised it lasted that long) - the seam above the window started to come apart - $2200 for an OEM top
Convertible top motor went out @ 135K (right after I got the top replaced, DOH) - did the work myself to remove, had it rebuilt instead of replaced - $800 in parts vs $2K (MB price) + labor
Still battling with a radio issue, the COMAND unit works properly, but there's an issue with the inline amp or the processor or something... it emits a tremendous amount of static if it's turned on prior to warming up. New COMAND unit is around 6K, rebuild is much less. (Haven't driven it enough lately for this to bug me, yet)
Brakes are another high ticket item - been through two sets of rotors (and four sets of front pads, two rears) - Fronts are $2K for rotors and pads, rears are 750-1K depending on who does them. Front pads seem to last around 30-40K before before they start fading (which, coincidentally, is long before the life meter comes up) and you only seem to get two sets of pads per rotor change; rear pads seem to last much longer, I got 90K out of the rears before they even looked like they needed to be replaced
Engine mounts seem to be every 50K or so (and have them do the transmission mount while they're in there, it's easy to get at)
Tensioner pullies went at ~130K, they had the ribs completely worn off of them.
And now I'm staring down the barrel of the head bolt issue... empty coolant reservoir and engulfed the neighborhood in white smoke earlier today. Not sure what this will cost yet, as I don't know how bad the damage is. No coolant in the oil, though, so I'm hoping it isn't too bad... *fingers crossed* May be an opportunity for some new parts while it's apart.
Most "simple" repairs with this car seem to come with a $1000 price tag. Between parts, labor, etc .. you're best to find an certified indy shop. For reference, my local dealer's shop rate was $195/hr, whereas my indy is $100/hr.
I still have some little things that need to be done, the wiper arm needs to be replaced, as it only hits half of the windshield on the right side, a couple of interior trim pieces need replaced..
That said - I absolutely love this car and will likely never get rid of it. (Not that there are many people standing in line to buy a high mileage AMG
) It has provided me with many years of driving pleasure and I hope many more. Cheers,
Chris
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GatorMB (12-16-2017)
12-07-2014, 06:37 PM
#10
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Tires are every 5-7K miles (back) and 12-15K (front) depending on the tire and mostly indifferent of driving habit (a lot of torque over the rear wheels at normal operating range). I found that the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports (not to be confused with Pilot Sports, or PS2/3) provided an excellent trade-off, a bit of a harder compound but double the useful life (I now routinely get 15K out of the rears) - $1-2K depending on the tire selected. This car has a LOT of negative camber in the rear, and will shred the insides of the back tires routinely. Tire pressure must be constantly monitored (and a touch lower than the MB rating, I found). I did grow tired of having to be flat-bedded home, though I have to say, this car handles incredibly when the interior wall of the tire blows out at 80mph...
Fact is “Full front and rear wheel alignment” is no more!
Since the mid ‘90 model’s, with the ever increasing speed of vehicle assembly lines there has been no front or rear Camber (or front Caster) adjustment facility fitted OEM
Only current adjustment is front and rear Toe!
To attempt to return vehicle to factory specs to resolve costly premature inner edge tire wear, improve traction, and fix steering pull the only current alternative for Camber and Caster is to fit offset, slotted bolts (for the front only). But these are inaccurate - one only position bolts - offering a minimal .3 of one degree adjustment (3mm / 1/8”).
It’s no wonder many owners continually change tire brands or go from one MB Dealer or alignment shop to another trying to get it right/fix the problem!
We saw the need therefore "to fix it right the first time" by designing, developing, patenting (and re-instating from the 1990's) fully adjustable front (and rear) suspension for virtually all models.
The current K-MAC kits have up to 4 times the adjustment of these one only position offset bolts (both Positive or Negative). And unlike these one position bolts they can be accurately adjusted on car(under load) direct on alignment turntable (no need for labor intensive removal/replacement each time).
Providing ongoing full, precise adjustment of both Camber and Caster settings if altering suspension height, fitting wide profile tires/wheels, curb knock damage or being able to quickly fine tune/change specs on race days (extra Negative/plus track width to go deeper into the corners/lower lap times). With the unique K-MAC patented design only requiring use of a single wrench/no disassembly.
For the rear, similar kits for precise Camber adjustment (with additional Toe to compensate for the new Camber facility). Importantly unlike the alternative rear adjustable Camber control arms available K-MAC kits do not move top of tire outwards - this reducing essential clearance top of tire to outer fender when adjusting to fix premature inner edge tire wear/improve rear traction.
Also instead of spherical bearings as used on control arms which prematurely pound out allowing metal to metal contact. At K-MAC we have developed long life elastomer bushings.
Bonus with the four front and four rear bushes is that they are also designed with twice the load bearing area and replace the highest wearing suspension bushings. And with K-MAC no special tools are required to fit.
Note (Product background re bushings): Majority OEM bushes have air voids to allow 2 axis movement. So control arms can travel through their required arcs without binding, locking up.
Essential with today’s modern designs of “multi-link” arms with different angle mount points!
Yet most “aftermarket” replacement bushes the industry standard is to eliminate these air voids in an attempt to improve both steering response and reduce wheel hop, loss of traction under brake and acceleration.
The opposite is often the case – the elimination of the air voids causes even more severe wheel hop, loss of traction through binding, locking up of arms.
K-MAC bushes – with 50 years now of bush technology are designed without the air voids but where needed with “full 2 axis movement”. Result is power to the ground – maximum traction/acceleration/braking - along with noticeably improved directional control and steering response for highway driving, lane changing.
12-15-2017, 09:25 PM
#11
I purchased a 2005 E320 CDI (diesel) for my wife in 2013 with about 60k miles on it. She commutes about 90 miles per day so we now have about 147k on it. I do any maintenance I can on the car. MB are different. I purchase a portable boat bilge pump system from a marine supply in order to change the oil. It is a 5-gallon plastic bucket with a 12 VDC motor/pump on top. MB oil drain plugs are not really meant to be removed regularly since they are hidden behind panels. The pump sucks the oil out of the motor from the top access hole. This is how a MB shop would change the oil. I found the more consistent source of European Spec Mobile-1 (required) is from Wal-Mart. I order most of my parts from AutoHuasAz. I have had multiple diesel leaks in the fuel filter lines which I eventually solved by replacing all the hoses and clamps with parts found locally. I had to have a dealer repair leaking rear axel seals. I have had the #1 and 2 cylinder injector seals fail which I replaced myself. I'm planning to replace the other four seals tomorrow. The navigation system is now delivering an error for unknown reasons which I will trouble-shoot later. Overall I'd say I am not impressed with the reliability, but the issues have been manageable. I am most impressed with the sedan and it's combination of economy, comfort and performance. I purchased a subscription to alldatadiy.com so I have access to a good MB E320 CDI maintenance manual. When my wife tires of the E320 (she wants an SLK-350) I am considering turning it into a a "Benzamino." I've got this idea to turn the car into a 2-seat El Camino sort of pickup. I'd buy one tomorrow if MB had one. Overall I really like the E320 CDI and it has been worth supporting.
12-15-2017, 10:38 PM
#12
MBWorld Fanatic!
Not sure how this relates to the CLK63 or just advice for general reliability? Very different animal to an E320 diesel.
I now have a different opinion from above in relation to head bolts- definitely fix it preventatively.
I now have a different opinion from above in relation to head bolts- definitely fix it preventatively.
01-14-2018, 11:35 AM
#13
Newbie
Hey all, an update is in order. After looking at a lot of cars, I had narrowed it down to a quite nice 06 E350 4MATIC with the Balance Shaft and SBC repairs (supposedly) done in the last 20k miles. It needed some cosmetic work, but not much aside. Unfortunately, when meeting with the dealer for the final inspection and paperwork, we discovered multiple cases of dishonesty and misrepresentation (such as not having the repair documentation he promised to provide previously and using excuses to sell us the car at $1k above what was previously agreed), not to mention he was extremely rude. Worst experience imaginable.
This set off plenty of red flags, and the deal was called off. There was a backup 05 E320 in the area, which I went to check out, but had potential mechanical issues I didn't want to deal with. Instead, that dealer had the car I finally bought - a Lexus IS 250.
Maybe a W211 will be my 2nd car someday...
This set off plenty of red flags, and the deal was called off. There was a backup 05 E320 in the area, which I went to check out, but had potential mechanical issues I didn't want to deal with. Instead, that dealer had the car I finally bought - a Lexus IS 250.
Maybe a W211 will be my 2nd car someday...
01-25-2018, 03:04 AM
#14
Super Member
I hate to contradict but I would love to find a clk 63 with a ton of miles on it.....just taking something and making it your own is the best part!
02-21-2018, 03:21 AM
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2005 Mercedes Benz CLK 500; 2007 CLK 63 AMG; 2014 E350; 13 Porsche Boxster
Wow, nice history and awesome to be the first and only owner from beginning to present. It has been a while, do you still have the car?
So, you never had to replace the camshaft adjusters?
My convertible top was replaced at 104k miles, but I paid $650 for the top and $1100 for the labor. Mercedes dealer wanted $9000 for it. INSANE! Glad I found someone local to do it. It took him 2 days/14 hours so he says, so it really is one of the most difficult things to do from the sound of it.
So, you never had to replace the camshaft adjusters?
My convertible top was replaced at 104k miles, but I paid $650 for the top and $1100 for the labor. Mercedes dealer wanted $9000 for it. INSANE! Glad I found someone local to do it. It took him 2 days/14 hours so he says, so it really is one of the most difficult things to do from the sound of it.
Last edited by Skorp; 02-21-2018 at 03:24 AM.
03-01-2018, 09:04 AM
#16
MBWorld Fanatic!
I wouldn't worry about it. It should easily do 150-200k if serviced well. There is a minuscule chance of headbolt failure which i wouldn't think twice about. Otherwise it is the same as any other Benz in terms of reliability etc. Of course an aftermarket warranty is a good idea anyway.
03-01-2018, 01:49 PM
#17
MBWorld Fanatic!
That was 4 years ago. I don't think you'll find any decent aftermarket warranty for any car 11 years old anywhere. Last time I looked at a warranty was for a Nissan 350z. $3000 cost, only covers up to $10,000 and obviously doesn't include drivetrain repairs. Most of them are overpriced and useless. If I were buying I would factor in having the bolts replaced.
