tubaprde

Hello,

My brother-in-law's friend is selling his clk black series for $42k (firm).

Details:
69,100 miles
2 owner car
Black
Stock wheels, no aftermarket upgrades

What do you guys think of the price? I'd use this car on the weekends and maybe the track. I've been looking for a lower cost black series for months and the price looks very attractive, but the higher miles are a concern--but, it would be nice to buy from someone I can trust!

A warranty on a clk black with nearly 70k miles is prohibitively expensive so I'd be taking it to an independent shop for repairs. The thing is, I'm afraid to buy an AMG without a warranty because I witnessed first hand how expensive my SL55 cost to fix (it had a warranty thank god), and it broke down a lot...but maybe I shouldn't worry so much about repairs with a BS because it doesn't have ABC suspension or a supercharger that fails...then again, am I being naive here? The alternative of course it so pay up for a 30k mile car, say low $50s and get a 4-year warranty for around $5k.

Also, how would you compare the black to an SL55... power, handing, transmission and sound (if you've owned both)? I'd test drive the BS to compare for myself but it's in Florida and I'm in California.

Thank you for the input!

NYC_Z06

With the typical all cars are unique disclaimer, I've had mine for appx. 2 yrs w/o any issues. And haven't read or heard of any catastrophic failures so you can take some comfort in that. I'd price out that warrantybefore assuming it'll be cost prohibitive. Never driven an SL55 but haven't had one person drive my car and say, nah, not for me.

qjumpr

I've owned 2 BS's (traded my first one for a C63, and now picked up another) I've never had a problem with any of my 3 AMG's, all M156 engine models and collectively I've put over 50k miles on them in 2.5 years.

My current BS is about to hit 60k miles and I daily it 100 miles a day. I feel like they are solid cars, although I am completely comfortable doing all mechanical work on them and I haven't taken a car to a shop in 20 years. That said I've followed the service manual, looked after them and had a lot of enjoyment.

$42k is cheap if you ask me, I'd pick it up as a spare for that price!

I've never driven any other AMG's so no idea about the SL55

1JDM911

Florida car? I'd worry too. lol.

blackbenzz

If you are going to pass on it let me know. I'm interested

MOFLO

Go for it! These cars and motors are solid. If you trust the guy that the car wasn't abused and well maintained, then there should be no worries. If you don't get it, someone here will! LOL!

cyrekzz

Yeah I agree with MOFLO - I think a lot of the problems I've run into looking for cars is, you just don't know what's been done, how it's been driven/abused? etc... Awesome price for a black series from someone you know-ish. Well-built amg's are pretty solid through higher miles too. My friend has an slk55 amg - and it has around 90k on it now - he hasn't had any issues with it and he tracks it.

COOPERDB

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Interested

Or

Out Of Control!!!


I like your thought process

Enjoy ---


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ET550

Just out of curiosity since my extended MB warranty expires next month, can you really buy a worthwhile warranty on an AMG or Black Series that is over 7 years old and/or 70k miles?

COOPERDB

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https://mbworld.org/forums/extended-...scussions-191/


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Doctodd33

The SL55 is a fast leather sofa compared to the black. Adjustable to firm handling, but no turn-in like it's on rails.

tubaprde

hahaha! "fast leather sofa" that's a perfect description. Ok so the BS then is more similar to a 911 turbo or something of that sort

tubaprde

hahaha! "fast leather sofa" that's a perfect description. Ok so the BS then is more similar to a 911 awd turbo (that's what I think of a car that feels on rails or something of that sort)

Doctodd33

I've not driven a Porsche for any extended period of time, so I can't make that comparison. But my old SL55 had a ton of understeer, and you almost had to force it to turn, where the black just wants to turn easily. The adjustable suspension on the SL55 made it very comfortable which included lots of body roll. The black has none. Of course it's all relative.....compared to something else, the SL55 might feel like a go cart to some people.

1JDM911

Current having both in the stables, I can assure you they're two very different beasts.

blackbenzz

So did you buy it?

EVOII_Racer

Damn that's cheap

I will ship it to Europe if you don't buy it

1V8C55

Is this the same car?

http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...-11286911.html

70k miles and Black. Now at CarMax. Seems to match the description mentioned by original poster. Sad to see a car like this sold to CarMax. I'm guessing they bought it for much less than asking price.

MOFLO

I don't think its the same car because the original post mentioned the car was in Florida. The title report on this car shows it only being a CA car.

Looks like a pretty good deal so far...

tubaprde

Different car... the BS I was referring to belonged to my b-in-law's friend (and he ended up selling it locally).

I checked out the one on Carmax when it was still in Irvine. Stay away from this one... looks like it had bodywork done and the alignment felt off.

MOFLO

Good to know! Did anyone else check out this particular Black BS in person?

1JDM911

If it's still at the carmax in irvine, I can swing by and check it out for you guys.

dgsneller

What gives you that impression? I am currently the "owner" of the car (I have still got time to reverse the decision and I would definitely do so if something is wrong), so I'm interested to know what makes you think this. I'm not the most knowledgeable car shopper, which is why I use Carmax to begin with (plus, I had bought an ML350 from them in 2013 and have had no problems with it since), but the price seemed right and the car is amazing to drive. Drove it from Fairfield to Redwood City and it was a blast, but don't want to get caught up in the short-term fun over the potential for long-term pain.

tubaprde

Inside fenders were rolled. Front right panel color didn't match rest of car. Obvious shotty paintwork done on rear fenders. Interior scratches all over. Car pulled to the left. Tires were some off brand. Dealer's autocheck report showed 1 owner, carfax showed 2. Price seemed high for so many miles for a car that looked to have been abused. Cars with less than 20k miles are going for the same price at auction. just my 2 cents

dgsneller

FYI, the "check engine" light came on during that first drive. I brought it back up to Carmax. They sent it over to the MB dealer and they found a leaking gasket. They did more diagnostics and found the fuel pump needs to be replaced. I mentioned the alignment might be off. They checked and did a four wheel alignment because it was.

I have a couple of days left on my "5-day full refund" that Carmax offers. I'm going to see if they can find anything else to fix while they have the car. I have to think that the current fixes alone, with parts and labor, are already over $1K, which is $1K less that I would have had to spend.

Part of me wants to think that this free work is turning what was potentially a so-so deal into a better one, but part of me is worried what else might turn up, if I keep the car.

I ran the price/mileage of all BS I could find for sale online against this one and I wasn't too far off. That's a very simple analysis, though, and doesn't account for the possibility the car was owned by someone who just didn't know how to care for it.

Anyway, bottom line, thanks for your input.