Hello everyone, I have been on the forum for years lurking out of the allure of getting a Mercedes but as time has gone by I have had myself wrapped up in American Muscle cars, Trans Ams, Mustangs etc. But after selling my most current mustang I found a good deal on a 2000 CLK 430, after days of research on here i pulled the trigger yesterday. So far i couldnt be happier. I'm from Indiana, Fort Wayne Area. Pics Below.
Let me know what you think!

Looks very nice! My GF who I live with just got a CLK320 and we love it! What are your impressions compared to the previous cars you own?

Thanks! So far i love it. It different in all aspects and i like that. I miss the sound of my mustang but i was so tired of every child in a diesel truck or a pos car trying to race at any light. The power feels similar but the delivery is so much smoother, the handling is on par with the previous cars for sure but still a bit too much body roll for my liking. This is truely the most enjoyable convertible i have ever driven and it just looks gorgeous and badass all at the same time. I dont miss my clunky, rattly, uncomfortable summer cruisers one bit. Im still getting used to it so i'll post a better comparison in a few weeks!

Nice find looks awsome. What did you get it for and how many miles! Good luck Any pics with the top down!!

Congrats on the German Muscle car! My buddies black 430 is what made me fall in love with the w208. I was a drag racer for many years as a hobby and love power as well...you nailed it when you said that you were sick of the squeeks and rattles. Its soo nice to have a powerful car that is quiet and refined and doesnt feel like a tent on wheels. Enjoy

fine specimen of a 208 cab...looks new!

if the body roll annoys you, look into H&Rs and a Bilstein sport setup. huge improvement over stock.

Good choice! It looks like a very tidy car! Congratulations

Thanks man! I got it for 9,000 with 83k miles. After a full carfax and I spent an hour or more under it on a lift inspecting i found it to be a great price. And i will post them up ASAP weathers been pretty lame the past few days.

Thank ya! Yeah it was getting old especially when i cruise 15 times for every 1 trip to the strip. Also your right, this car feels sure and stable, it doesnt seem to do anything unexpected and just goes where you want it to!

Thanks, its pretty darn clean, just a few rock chips. And i will check that out, i have had many bilstein set ups but never used H&Rs.

Thank you sir!

Welcome to the club.

Your car will look nice with our new Mesh-7! visit our website at www.Acealloywheel.com
wish you an ACE day!

It's all over for you now buddy. I've bought 5 older Benz's over the last 25 years. The lowest mileage was about 120K and the highest was my 87 SEC I just sold. It had 153K when I got it and it had 248K when I sold it about a month ago. Every one of them has been great, just normal maintenance and one tranny on my first one a 300SD Turbo D.

I was getting my window tint done on my CLK430 several months ago and a cop was there getting his tint done on a brand new silver Camaro. First time I had a chance to really check one of those out. Very cool car and I really like the look of it. I sat in it and while it's pretty nice my Benz is just a lot classier and almost as fast. If you really want that speed, pick up a CLK55. That'll rock your world.

You sound like a car guy like most of us here. Just learn the maintenance schedule, find a good indy mechanic and keep it current, you'll be fine. I bought my CLK last December with 130K on it and except for replacing a broken fog light, I've done absolutely nothing to it. The dealer did the oil, tranny and brake services when I bought it and nothing's happened since, it runs perfect. It's about due for an oil change but that's it so far.

Bob

Thanks everyone! I truely love this car now. I havent missed any of my other cars since I have bought it. Off the line shes a bit of a slug but highway pulls its strong as the mustang was or stronger.

And i know what i have started! Haha i have already found a few W210 E55, and W208 CLK 55 coupes im considering once i see how this car treats me. I dont feel i'll be selling it for a long while but i hate to daily drive a cab. I'm sure this will be my first of many MB's. Also my area is pretty limited on specialized shops for MB or imports in general. I'm planning on doing general maintenance myself and I have a friend that is a BMW Mechanic so for now that should cover any potential problems.

Also anyone in Indiana? FW Area?

Nice ride man - congrats. Welcome to W208land

Its look very nice! and the V8 is so beautiful!

I hope you can see enough because you havent the pdc..

congrats, good price. Welcome!

You said off the line it's a slug. Of course that's relative, your 'stang would be a slug compared to a Viper, lol. Do you know about the Tiptronic shifting and the Sport switch? If it's set for winter mode, the car starts off in second gear. Also the ESP switch. That turns on/off the traction control. With it off I can spin the rears very easily.

Bob

Yes, it is relative lol Mustangs power was unusable though because you couldnt get off the line with any tires i tried :p. It is in sport mode instead of winter, and i have checked he difference its major lol. Also i feel the tiptronic will shift like a monster sometimes and others be delayed until the rev limiter cuts the car, guess it will take some getting used to. I have not tried to spin the tires off the line yet but cant tell if it will do it with its nearly new kuhmos. Also does turning off esp on these cars yield lower 0-60 / 1/4mile times?

P.S I already did the ECU reset and like the way it responds with the crisper shifts but had surgery this week and really dont feel like any spirited driving at the moment to go test this out lol

Sounds like you've basically got it going. As for the Tip, I'm not a racer anymore and I've only had my car since last Dec. I did run it out pretty good a few times late at night using the Tip. It definitely holds whatever gear very strictly. It really is a manual without the clutch if you tap the shift lever to the left for downshifting and right for up. One time I started off from a stop in first with the Tip showing a 1 on the dash display and it held first gear. It went to the redline and stayed there until I tapped it to the right and it went into second very quickly and positively and held that too. I ran it up and down through the gears like that and it's pretty cool. My problem is except for 3am around here, there's way too much traffic to have much fun doing that.

Bob

Thanks! I feel bad for you, we have open backroads and country roads you can barrel down all day with no traffic, nice curvy sideroads too. I also just took it out and was wrong about the tires they are Hankook* and 95% tread, turned off ESP can to a stop and hammered it, they lit up i was very impressed. This is my first automatic muscle car and I know Automatic mustangs espeically my body style are SLOW they cant break the tires stock at all. The tiptronic is cool but not too useful unless you want to do downshifting for some corners, wish you had open roads to really let the 430 sing! ON the plus side, you can drive in December, we drive 4x4's in December with about 2ft of snow lol.

Congrats. That is a Nice 430 you got there and convertible too !
Enjoy ;-)

Yep. Rag top makes me feel like I own two cars. It's an even more beautiful world with the top down.

Nice Cab 430 you scored ! I haven't been here for quite some time, but was a PITA way back in '99 while I was waiting for my special build Cab 430 to arrive here, which it did on Dec. 14th of '99 for the best early Xmas I ever have had!
Still own it, and with only 83,000 miles on it, and kept in the garage, I'll keep it for many more years. Second Benz I've owned, with the wife getting the '98 ML320, which I don't think I could pry her out of it, unless I got her a new one.
I'm old enough now to have medicare as of last month, and owned my share of muscle cars thru the years, but never owned any car this long, and enjoyed ever mile of driving it as well. YMMV, but I feel that you'll probably find ownership is near a privilege, and owning one, to me, is pure pleasure.

Welcome and Nice Ride. Looks like you and I are the only people from Indiana. Fortunately I broke out of Gary Indiana to live in Japan

Thanks everyone! Im glad to see you owners that are original owners and still love your cars, especially with similar miles as mine. Im sure im going to be buying alot less GM vehicles and alot more MB haha. Also, top down pictures.
Cheers!

Also how the hell did you get from Gary to Japan, military?