krisk85

OK here is hte Question, how would one go about switchin over their 2000 CLK320 Auto, to a manual. And how much are we looking at?

BANSASN

if you have to ask for the price you can't afford it. just kidden.......I heard it's around $15,000. Might as well use that money for a down payement for a CLK55.
Go to Brabus.com I think they have done that for there CLK60

-BANSASN

DSMIT

ABOT 55000.00 FOR THE CONVERSION TO A NEW CAR

mmgrad

i think Renntech has a conversion kit too...

karl k

Trade up to an AMG... and save!

911Jose

get an M5. dont waste you $$$ converting.

krisk85

Thank you all.. about getting a new car and saving... hehe that wont be happening for a LOOOONG time. im in yr12. And after i graduate dad is buyin me a 320. But i want it in manual, so it is upto me to pay for it. So that is why im going to go for the reintech kit. Hopefully after some researching.


Thank you all for your input
Kris

mmgrad

wow.... i wish my dad would buy me a Benz for graduation.... i guess lots of u are rolling pretty deep.... congrats on your upcoming new ride....

though the CLK only comes in an auto, the shifts are pretty tight.... give it some time before you decide to sink the $$$ to get a manual conversion

krisk85

allright will do.. seriously i dont care if its manual or auto.. im just happy that i have hte chance to get it. and if not thats my fault.

ps its not definite yet.. because along with graduating i need a good grade.. i think its more im his only child?

Petie

good grades will get you a long way with the parents. I got my CLK430 when i was 16 and had to keep at least a 4.0 to keep it (went to a challenging college prep school). Im the oldest of three boys in my family, my younger brothers never really making the same grades i did...haha but now my younger brother who is 16 has a 4.2 and is keeping it up, so now my dad has to go buy another benz....haha he wasnt expecting that from my brother, so he should be getting a C32 soon, im a bit jealous.

TNH

Damn, you boys are lucky! Getting those grades is a reward in itself, but getting a Benz with it.....that is awesome. That's cool that your parents make you earn it. 4.0 is no joke....some serious time and effort goes into that.

I had a similar agreement with my parents in high school....My dad kept me on dirt bikes as long as I kept 3.5+ gpa. Not as expensive as a benz, but still a lot of money goes into keeping them in race condition with new clutches, tires, etc.

Kris- I wouldn't spend the money for a manual tranny conversion. If you are into performance and gear shifting, the CLK 320 is the wrong choice. Its a great car, but it is no race car. An M3 is much more fitting for banging gears and racing around.

TNH

Also, Petie, how the hell do you afford to insure that thing???? a 430 at age 16!

I get insurance raped with my little 320, and I am 20 with a decent record.

mmgrad

Hmm.... how much are you paying for insurance?

I'm getting charged about $5K per year for my 430.

BlackC230Coupe

dont be jealous, your CLK430 is just as good, just not as fast.

My parents kinda do the same thing as yours but a little different.
I got my C230 at 16 and my parents would only pay for it if i get a 4.0 GPA which luckly i have and keep trying to keep up.
I am now 17 and i got a CLK430 along with my C230 because my grades. My parents would never let me have it if i did not have the good grades. Only unlike your parents my parents want me to start paying. Not the incurance but just for the car payments, soon i will have to start to pay for half my c230 then the whole thing, i got out of paying for the CLK only if i can let my mom use it sometimes which i will definitly allow if thats what it takes for me to not pay.

AndrewEclipse

5K a year??????? Damnnnnnnnnn, you are getting bent over. Call around, im almost CERTAIN you can find a better deal than that. Try AAA, State Farm, Survival, whatever.........5K a year is just wayyy tooo much. Thats how much we pay for about 6 of our cars.

mmgrad

the story goes something like this... i'm 24, male, drives a lot 20,000+ miles per year, plus, i got into 2 accidents in 1 year, both claiming injuries, and 1 accident where i flipped and totalled my car. I have AAA right now.

its a bummer... $5K wasted paying for insurance.... sigh

Petie

The way it works, is we have 7 cars in my family, my dad has 3, my mom has 2, i have 2, one of which is now my brothers temporarily. Our insurance allows me to drive all 7 cars, and i am listed primary driver of just mine. So the insurance comes as one bill. The payments for me to be the primary driver of my car are about as much as all our other cars combined as both of my parents have completely clean records. While i dont have to actually pay my insurance, i have gotten a ticket, which i have to work off with my dad. Translates to about 4 hours of work for him a week, this usually means i have to detail his cars, which i enjoy anyway. Now that i am away at college, im essentially being worthless...i think my payment for insurance for my car for a year after my ticket is about $6 a year...

AndrewEclipse

Ok, nevermind. 5K is a bargain.

karl k

...and still driving WITHOUT license...what a country!!

fehguy

I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear anything about people getting CLK's as gifts from parents and certainly before they're out of high school.

I looked into the manual transmission for my '00 430. Renntech was the place to do it, it would cost about $25k + 5 weeks to do the job. If it were 10k, I'd probably do it.

I was told that the car is actually significantly faster 0-60 with the automatic transmission, even with a good driver on the stick.

You've gotta put it in perspective. The CLK is a great car but an M3 will run circles around it on the track. Save your money.