Scott Simoncic

Before (Just a little dirty, but not too bad)


All Done:



Got inside the wheels, clayed the outside of the wheels as well:

ThatsMyDawg

Nice job, clearly time well spent.

Scott Simoncic

Thanks dude, I appreciate it!

JackRobinson

Yes Sir, That is a sweet looking ride.
Nothing more rewarding then spending a few hours going over the car with a fine tooth comb.
I can spend hours.. Conditioning the leather; wiping out the trunk and engine compartment. Scrubbing the wheels. Inside and under the door frames. Some people never even look there let alone clean it.
Yep, my car is like new when it comes to being clean...
Hopefully with these repairs it will also perform like new..
Nice color BTW....
Thanks....

Scott Simoncic

Thank You Sir! I generally take 8-9 hours when I detail as well.. Even under the hood is just as clean as the outside, so I know exactly what you mean, I clean / condition the leather about twice a month, and I have an extremely strict wash regiment.... Nice thing about having a well kept W208 is people think it's new. I get people asking me all the time about it.

JackRobinson

Hey Scott,
Yep me too. Unless people are owners of MB they are hard pressed to know just what year it is.
Many people can't believe the car is 10 years old. I still like the look of mine over many newer cars. I guess I'm just partial to German cars. I've owned 7 Porsche over the years.
It's hard for me to understand why anyone would buy a new Toyota or other car common car and pay twice or three times the amount to get something new when they could buy a nice used Mercedes.
People assume my car is very expensive. It was... But not anymore, unfortunately.
I think the Designo Edition with all the upgrades was around $80,000 to $85,000 when new. Actually hard to find the price of cars in 2003. Also hard to believe how little value is has now but to me worth more then a new Toyota any day..
BTW Fresno here; not all that far from Lodi..
Have a great day Scott....

MarcusF

Depends who you ask.

An MSRP of $85K was possible in 2002. A 2002 CLK55 cab was $79K and the designo Cashmere package was another $6200. Alternatively, the Espresso was a $5400 option on a CLK55. The designo was less expensive on an AMG because it didn't involve shipping a specific car to the AMG Performance Studio. Adding a designo to a CLK320 or CLK430 was another $800. In 2003, there was no CLK55 cab, so you couldn't run the tab up to $85K for a standard CLK during that model year.

As for your car -
2003 CLK430 Cabriolet - $58,315
designo Espresso Edition - $6,310

The 2003 designo Espresso option required heated front seats. So..... does your car has a full K4 option (heated front seats, rain sensing wipers, and Xenons) or stand alone heated seats (which I've never seen on either an Espresso or a Cashmere). In 2003, the K4 had a list of $1610 and stand alone heated seats were $650. Does your car have K2 ($1830)? K2A ($2230)? COMAND ($2120)?

These are the initial prices, and don't include model year increases or destination charges. Also, this isn't a guess. I have MSRPs for Mercedes back to when Max Hoffman was the official importer. Not every model, but a lot of them. For example, need an MSRP for a 1954 180D? $3575.

Sorry for jacking the thread - Scott your car looks fantastic.

JackRobinson

Hey Marcus, I appreciate the information. I was always curious as to the original price of my car. I got it in 2006.

I guess mine has the whole kit and caboodle.
I do have heated seats, rain sensor windshield, Xenons. Also have navigation and Bose stereo. I think those were also upgraded from the standard CLK 430.

Scott did get me thinking about maybe selling mine and getting a CLK AMG 55 but I still have a love affair with mine.

I do get almost daily comments about how nice it is. I've been driving a 2013 C 230 as a loner now for three weeks and have only gotten a couple of comments about it being a nice car. And just as a note I've tried to get into the wrong car about three times now; thinking it was the loner; when there are six or seven in the lot and they all look identical.

I looked on E-bay and there are some beautiful 2005 and 2006 AMG 55's for sale at a very reasonable price but then; like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get. At least I know my car and how it's been driven and serviced. Of course that doesn't mean it can't break down.

And as a side note. Man; that seal in the radiator that breaks down over time and causes contamination of the transmission fluid and destroys the transmission.?? That should be a recall issue in my opinion. Or at least someone should warn us that could be an issue. I would have had that replaced before now to save my transmission and the cost of all these repairs. At only 70,000 miles I would have never thought my transmission would fail especially the way I drive. Hey, live and learn..
Thanks again for the information.....
Jack

MarcusF

The radiator issue impacts early W209 cars. The 2003 CLK is a W208, so you're in the clear.

JackRobinson

Apparently my car hadn't heard about that.
That's exactly the issue I'm having with my 2003. That's what brought me to this forum in the first place.
You Marcus were the one gave me the bad news.... lol after the dealer told me about it... Sounded strange to me and you explained it clearer to me.. Thanks for that... also..
I guess I'll be in the clear; for another 10 years I hope after I get this very expensive issue fixed.......
Jack

Scott Simoncic

Thanks Marcus! The next day, we had a dust storm (first time in my 32 years of living here) and it was dusty as all get out, then it rained for about a minute the next morning, go figure! Since, I've washed it again, and it looks fantastic again. I'm a little concerned now about the radiator, who made the radiator for the W208's? I know it's mostly specific to the 03's, but if they start failing on the 208's now at this age, I'd like to be ahead of the curve ball and just replace my radiator before it dishes a fatal blow to my trans. That being said, I am actually in the market for a W208 55 compliments of my recent Job promotion. I could easily do a W209, but they aren't my cup of tea. My plan was to keep the 430 and use it day to day, and get an E55 but considering it is in such good condition mechanically and cosmetically, I'd like someone else to enjoy it, and not have it beat up as my commuter.

MarcusF

The original equipment radiator for W208s was made by Behr. The radiators with the manufacturing defect were made by a company called Valeo. With age and deterioration any radiator can wear out and fail, but the Behr units don't have a known defect.

Both Behr and Valeo radiators were used for the W209. However, not all Valeo radiators were bad. The Valeo radiators at issue had a build date prior to September of 2003. That means some 2003 and some 2004 W209s were effected.


As for warning people, Mercedes issued TSB P-B-27.55/50f. My service writer at my local dealer is pretty good about checking for TSBs. He caught my last TSB in 2006. Of course checking for TSBs is something the service writer has to do. That's why some people (like me) only use specific writers. If my guy is out, I'll bring the car back later. According to the Valeo radiator TSB, this problem effected the following models through 9/2003:

• W203.040/061/064/065/081/084/261/264/281/284/740/747/764
• W209.365/375/376/465/475
• W211.065/070/076/083/265/283

Replacement W208 Behr radiators are currently available at AutohausAZ for $235. Unfortunately, if the transmission fluid gets contaminated, a rebuilt transmission is $2500.

Scott Simoncic

You're a Mountain of Knowledge sir..... $235 sounds like cheap insurance..... I might just do a huge service to my car and replace the Radiator, antifreeze flush, trans fluid flush, water pump, tensioner and idler pulleys, serpentine belt, expansion tank, and Spark Plugs since I'm coming up on 100K... Lots of the work will be done by me, so I'll probably end up spending $1200, which is about the price of a 90K mile service on a Lexus for a timing belt, so, really not that bad.

Oh, since I have you here Marcus, do you know why my 430 has Xenons, ski pass through, headlamp washers, but no rain-sensing wipers? It isn't a stock windshield, but I've taken the overhead light out, and there is no spare connector up there for the rain sensor. I'm guessing the dealership went cheap and replaced the cracked windshield for "safety" and omitted the feature, I'd really like to add it back, does it plug into a specific connector that maybe is just tucked way in there? I think my windshield should also have a slightly blue tint like the rest of the car did, but it doesn't.

MarcusF

Scott, thanks for the complements, but I just keep good notes. Do you have the power rear sunshade? The K3 package included the sunshade & rain sensing wipers. If the car doesn't have the K3 package, it may not have rain sensing wipers.

I've had my windshield replaced twice, once by the dealer and once by a glass chain store ( both times paid by insurance). Both times they used the rain sensor windshield, which I think is physically different from the standard glass. Does your windshield have a tint along the top? Both the OE windshield and the dealer replacement do not. Our other Benz had the glass replaced on the dealer's dime, and they did not use OE glass. OE glass is about $600 plus installation (and many dealers don't install windshields - they call a glass guy). My local glass guy charges less than $300 for glass and the install.

Scott Simoncic

Yes, I have the power rear sunshade, heated seats, xenons, headlamp washers, basically everything besides the phone, Nav and COMAND. My wiper stalk has three positions, the first that is supposed to be rain sensing that acts as somewhat intermittent now, slow, then fast. It is an off-brand windshield which is what threw me when I first started looking into this, and I also looked up my VIN and it is equipped with the K3 package. So what I should do is go to a local glass shop and pay for a windshield that has the spot available for the rain sensor and purchase the rain sensor and have them install the both of them? Maybe they'll kick me a little discount for the perfect windshield they could resell as used, seriously, it has absolutely no rock chips in it. Hmm

MarcusF

The windshield thread jack that no one will be able to find in six months


I took some photos when I had my windshield replaced again last summer and this will probably show why dealers typically farm out the work – it takes specialized tools.

After removing the top, both sides, and bottom border for the windshield, it’s still locked in place. The tech uses a specialized tool that cuts through the seal with something that looks like piano wire.





After cutting through the seal, he disconnected the rain sensor, and used suction cups to pull the glass.



Then he put the rain sensor on the new glass.


Then the tech applied the new seal. The seal went all around the windshield. Although the seal was at least an inch tall, it was compressed when the new glass was set in place.





The final photo shows the new glass in place. You’ll note the glass is made by Pilkington, the OE manufacturer.

Scott Simoncic

Haha, Very true. They definitely used the wrong windshield on mine. The "Dot Matrix" as known by tinters is about half the length on yours than it is on mine, which I believe is to hide the sensor from the outside. You're the man dude! Looks like I'll be having a new windshield and sensor put in here in a month or two... I can't stand having features that are supposed to be working on my car not working... Then again I could sell it and buy an AMG, I just love how mine looks in Opal Black, hard to find in AMG form. Funny, when I bought it, I looked at lots of CLK's, W208's and W209's, AMG's to 500's... I got used to driving so many that were mistreated, that I thought I was settling for this one (color wise) and 430 wise... I was happy with the Xenon Package and heated seats, that's all I wanted. Luckily this one was well kept, and 1 owner with full records. Once I did a Paint restoration (cut and buff) and full detail, I found it was gorgeous, and I fell in love with the color...

Thanks Again!!! Extremely Helpful!

JackRobinson

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]Hey Marcus,
So' I've determined mine is the Espresso Designo Edition 2003 CLK 430. It did have the heated seats, rain sensing windshield, tinted a slight blue I think, Xenons. Navigation, phone. headlightwashers. of course the AMG trim package and low profile wheels. the special mocca black paint and the nappa brown leather interior with maple wood trim. Some of these I assume were also standard..
So since you seem to be a good resource for the price of cars. Could you tell me again the price of my car new. I was confused about the K2 or K4 or COMAND, what that means? And was also wondering if it's rare. Where there many made? And it is worth much more then a standard CLK430 of the same year?
Thanks for any advice or information.
Putting almost 7000 for repairs of transmission, radiator, parts and labor.
But I really like my car....

MarcusF

Using your VIN on the Russian site will list all the options, but it sounds like your car is equipped as follows-

2003 CLK430 Cabriolet - $58,315
designo Espresso Edition - $6,310
K4 (Heated front seats, rain-sensing wipers for a convertible, & Xenon headlights w/washers) $1610
COMAND (navigation unit) $2120
K2 (phone) - $1830
If the phone was voice activated, you have a K2A rather than a K2. The K2A was $2230

If so, your car had a list of either $70,185 or $70,485.

The designo option is worth more. How much depends on condition and, as always, what the buyer is willing to spend.

abstract

Wow what a difference.A lot of hard work gone into that. Very good mate

Scott Simoncic

Thank You! I appreciate the compliment!

JackRobinson

Just looking at some of my old posts and ran across this old thread. Want to say thanks again so very much for all the information and research you've done. I included a pic of my independently controlled heated front seats as you mentioned you'd never seen that in a 2003 CLK. Also a question? Any information about how many Designo Editions were made in 2003?
Thanks again, Jack