5439cc

AMEN - See Ya On The TRACK !
Remember Gents, One Man's CLK Is Another Man PORSCHE - There all great auto - Just sit back, stop *****ing and enjoy the ride...

Sleestack

Exactly.

ldangeli

My limited experience? Riight.. It is limited according to you. If you look back, there is a post somewhere on the forum that goes into great depth of just how many problems the CLK 208 really has. And it was chrysler who partnered with Benz and basically took over their operations, in 99.

42k miles on a CLK55, and no problems, I find that hard to believe. I know of the problems associated with the 55 all too well.

And you all are so right, I will never buy another MB. The new designs are mediocre, they are using alot of the same framesets. They are plagued with electrical problems. I will acquire something that has more bang for the buck.

And you are wrong about the track handling of the M5 and CLK55, the M5 won hands down. Straight line the CLK55 can compete, not beat, but track, there is no question. And as far as engines are concerned, you might want to read up more on both forums. The BMW engine is far more superior perfomance and reliabilty - wise than any of the CLK's.

But I forgot, you all have very extensive knowledge of the CLK and all it's pitfalls. But not one person can reply to a technical question about brakes, with a technical answer.

This forum is all about who beat who in a race and how much someone spent on mod'ing their car. Hey personal preference is right, but this is one of the weakest forums that I have ever had the opportunity to participate in.

Its just plan sad...


Porsche - there is no substitute.

Sleestack

Your last post seems to be repsonding to my comment on your limited experience and Burat's poast about everything else.

I wasn't saying you had limited experience with your CLK. I was saying that it is obvious that your experience with modified CLKs is limited and that you assumptions about the potential of a CLK is based on those limited experiences.

As for the rest of your comments.... I'm left wondering why you bother coming to this forum?

burat

"42k miles on a CLK55, and no problems, I find that hard to believe. I know of the problems associated with the 55 all too well. "

Are you gonna argue with that? That's my experience. No problems at all.

"And you are wrong about the track handling of the M5 and CLK55, the M5 won hands down. Straight line the CLK55 can compete, not beat, but track, there is no question. And as far as engines are concerned, you might want to read up more on both forums. The BMW engine is far more superior perfomance and reliabilty - wise than any of the CLK's."

Yeah right. Check this out. http://members.roadfly.com/jason/m3engines.htm
Reliable huh.
Can't compete with the M5. You probably don't know how to drive an automatic car. LOL. Check this site from a German test
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jsurendr/images/23-0a.jpg

All I can say is you bought a car you don't even know what's gonna give you.

burat

I agree it's very unlimited. Damn, he lowered the car without changing the shocks. He probably is in some kind of budget. If he is then again,
He bought a car that he doesn't know what it is.

ldangeli

I often wonder and ask myself the same question. My answer; I thought this would be a great place to get much needed info on repetitive issues with my s&%t box.

As for my limited experience with Mod'ing a car, well that again is an assumption on your part. But thats fine..

Just an FYI to all you avid CLK 208 owners who intend on Mod'ing a car, check with your local shop first. When I added the H&R set, it voided most of my warranty with MB, and now I can't get a simple alignement done. The laser machine doesn't fit, supposedly.

All I am saying is, for the money they charge you for a nicely appointed couch, why bother..

If I could get out of this car today, I would, but its worth nothing.
For Sale: 02' CLK430 all but the Nav, 29k miles, Black / Ash

asking 10 bucks. The dealer was going to give me 8...

ldangeli

Budget, right.. That must be it.. It has the whole H&R Set.

Burat, I wasn't arguing with you on your 55 and not having issues, I just don't believe it. I have known a few who have had nothing but problems. Electrical mostly, sensors that sort of thing. Some mechanical, trans, engine. Nothing major just annoying and unwarranted when buying an alreay 80k car.

Sleestack

I was talking about your CLK specifically, not cars in general. That is an assumption based on information in your own posts. But thats fine...

burat

Yeah, the whole set huh. 4 springs. H&R doesn't sell shocks for W208s. You forgot to replace the shocks.

ldangeli

Sorry Burat, I wasn't informative enough. Purchased from Tirerack H&R Springs, with Koni Sport Shock Housings. Sorry, I was so vague.. Must be the constraints on my budget...

And you are right Sleestack, with the CLK it is limited, but like I said unfortunate that I will not be back to MB. I can't see it being plagued with problems for over 2 years now.

And check out the rack, H&R does make the whole kit now.

burat

As I have said no problems. That's my experience. I'll let you know if the first problem occurs. All cars are prone to problems. They just lucked out. It's all about statistics. M cars is more prone to having a problem than AMG cars because they are highly tune. No room for mods. That's why there are no BMW tuners that heavily modify their car unlike MBs.

theine

No complaints here. For a city driving car, mine handles more than enough. I can easily do 40-50 mph turns as long as you keep your foot on the throtle to keep it under control.

bzliteyear

hey, maybe when you decide to sell your white CLK430 you can post it on this board for everyone...looks like you take good care of your cars.

midget fidger

yea, especially if you'd let it go for $10 :P. bzliteyear - what happened to your c230? was gonna get one of those but found a nice clk320 on ebay...

bzliteyear

C230...bummer.

Got the car for my wife as a surprise for her 29th b-day(she had wanted a honda accord). Unfortunately some dude ran a red lights and smashed right into the car(i think it had less than 1k mi. on it)...we didn't even have the license plates from DMV yet. Anway, it was a Kompressor w/ the Sports pkg on it and I actually liked the car quite a bit. Although the engine idle sound is not that quiet and other interior pieces were a bit "plasticky" (what did you expect for $33k), it was a very nice looking and handling car.

The insurance issue is a LONG story, but the net/net is that AAA sucks for not totalling the car. Estimates came in a $17k so they wouldn't "total" the car, but I KNEW the bodyshops were just lying/lowballing. The final total repair bill was $26k(which AAA did pay for), but then we just sold the car and took the loss. Thought it was a bit of BAD LUCK. Anyway, wife fell in love w/ the brand new BMW X5 4.4i w/ Xenon, Nav, and sports pkg(19" wheels) so....You know that old saying, "happy wife, happy life"...

P.S In case you're wondering what happened to the X5...as many people will tell you, NEVER buy the first year of any new BMW. Being the first in NorCal was fun in the beginning, but the rough ride of the 19" wheels along w/ the numerous electronic problems(including engine replacement at 44k mi)...geez. thank goodness we leased it for just 3 yrs. Plus, there's really no trunk in the X5...smaller than the 5-Series wagons. Who knows, maybe go ck out Cayenne one day.

p.p.s. As for current Saab wagon it's not bad. Plenty of torque and tons of storage. I've never been crazy about the steering wheel vibrating a idle for the 4 cylinder front wheel drive cars, but other than that...it's a pretty nice car, esp. for $18k We'll drive it for a while and then probably move to a Sienna minivan next.

midget fidger

ow, thats terrible...those X5s are pretty fast, though. you ever seen the site with the videos of the new 7-series spitting out the key while driving and randomly downshifting and opening the trunk?

BlackC230Coupe

The CLK430 handles so bad its almost embarrassing! My C230 with RennTech shocks, H&R springs, and Eibach Sway bars, and wide tires feels like a race car around turns compared to my CLK430! That just goes to show u how bad the CLK setup is!
A stock CLK is a great cruiser, but besides around turns, any slight input on the brake or accelerator makes the car dive or squat! I hate it!

theine

Put RennTech shocks, H&R springs, Eibach Sway bars and wide tires to the CLK and it will also feel and drive like a race car.

J Lucas

Where do you get and how much to renntech shocks cost?Are they better than the kleeman because those were the only ones I was planning on getting due to the rave reviews from mbworld'ers.

Ebrigham

When I had my 430, I did not like the steering feel at all. But I was too lazy to go after market. My guess is that the 209's move to rack and pinion helped that a bit.

BlackC230Coupe

LOL! True!


I think for $1190, u can get the Renntech Shocks and Renntech springs. You can buy them directly from Renntech. I am am Renntech fan, if i was to change the suspension on my CLK i would go for that over the Kleemann setup.



How do u like your Maserati? I drove a Cambiocorsa Coupe the other day and am seriously thinking about trading in my CLK430 for one.

Ebrigham

If you can do it, I would recommend the trade. Since owning my car for just over a year, I have become a big fan of the Masers, and I think they are under-rated. It’s a great luxury GT that can seat 4 real people. The car has very good handling and excellent straight line acceleration; great brakes too. Not as tossable as a Porsche, but still holds its own very well in the handling department. The driving experience is much different than a Benz – much less technological do-dads, with more of a Ferrari flavor; especially the engine noise and steering/braking feel. You could also say it’s a combination of a CL500 and a 911 – better performance than the CL 500 and better luxury than the Porsche. One thing though is lack of storage space. Very small trunk, and no rear folding seats like in the Benz…

The only possible drawback I can pin point is reliability - the early cambiocorsa mechanisms were buggy. But recent technical campaigns have sorted out the problem and I now consider the cambiocorsa a big selling point. However, a recall recently announced by Maserati is a reminder that this is not a Honda civic. My customer service experience has been fantastic and Maserati has been very good in stepping up to its warranty obligations thus far. Anyway, my overall ownership experience has been great, and it’s a shame I can’t drive it more often than I already do.

BlackC230Coupe

Yes, the driving experience i noticed just from the test drive was night and day compared to any Mercedes. The sound is incredible, even just putting it in reverse and backing out of the spot it sounded sweet! I loved the cambiocorsa tranny! it was lots of fun, and the shifts in sport mode were lighting fast. The trunk was smallish but i can deal with that. I would buy it and not expect any civic reliablity from it!:p But what kind of changes had to be or would be done on the early model cambiocorsas to make them a little more reliable? It will be my daily driver and i would like to have as little problems as possible naturally. I do have my mind pretty much made up to get one and hopefully will have one in the next coupe months.

Ebrigham

The campaigns were mostly centered on software/ecu updates which are responsible for the clutch action. The improvements were huge in terms of driveability and all the new models have this stuff included (and hardware changes too). Since the glitchiness I experienced was over and beyond what was considered normal, mine also had a few hardware fixes as well. Keep in mind that I have a zero tolerance with regard to my car since it is under warranty. Any glitchiness in the system was brought in for warranty service immediately. My cambiocorsa has been 100% reliable since these changes and I believe the new Masers are also just as reliable. These cars are meant to be driven and I think that the fact my car sits for weeks/months at a time might have had something to do with its earlier quirkiness.

My car only leaves the garage a dozen times a year, so I can't comment on how it is as a daily driver - but I have heard that it is indeed good as one. Good air conditioning and heating systems. Car is heavy so is good in the rain and snow (get snow tires). Actually fits 4 people. Light-colored leather seats might be hard to maintain, but overall build quality up to par for the class. I would not hesitate to have it as a daily driver.

If you buy a used one, try to get a 2003 or make sure it is 2002 with all the updates. Keep an eye on remaining warranty. If you buy new, try to get below MSRP, and don't get too ambitious about the resale value. Buying these cars is not for the faint of heart!

Hope this helps! You can go to Ferrarichat where there are more owners in the "other italians" section. Just sift through all the flamewars and you can get one or two nuggets of additional info...