lupo7791

Hi everybody, as you can tell I'm new. Just bought a 2001 clk320 and I was wondering on its reliability. I just look at the consumer report and it got me really concern, it made the list of not to buy model actually from 00-02. The car is in perfect conditons it only has 22,000 miles it just came off lease, carfax showed a perfect history, even when the woman took the car for the maintenance. Could anybody elaborate from their experinces with this cars, and what should I look for (problem areas) it's under warranty for 8 more months. Thank you for reading this long message, and thank you in advance for the replies. Lupo

2001CLK

Hey Lupo,

Congratulations on you new purchase and welcome to the site! My '01 320 is at 41k and so far no major problems. Only a few minor issues with the gas sender, window seals, and squeaky seats which were fixed under warranty at the dealer.

-2001CLK

mmgrad

the CLK is a great car to have as long as it has warranty on it...

there are lots of little nit-picky problems like 2001CLK mentioned (squeaks, window regulartors, O2 sensors, fuel gauge, etc...)

mechanically, the car is pretty sturdy... just, some of the minor electronics could use some fine tuning. most MB owners are too much of cry babies, so when something breaks and it needs to go in for service, they leave bad feedback on those consumer reports...

i had a good number of little problems, but... i still love my CLK... but, thank god for the warranty

mmgrad

BTW, 2001CLK, are your wheels 18? they look very nice... fits the look of the CLK very well...

I thought about picking up a set of those in 19s for my CLK....

2001CLK

yup 18's.. I originally wanted 19's but was concerned about the ride..

mmgrad

yeah... i've had 17s/18s/19s, and i must say, 18s are a good balance... 19s do get a little rough sometimes... have you tried 19s?

Luckily, 'most' of the LA streets are nicely paved...

lupo7791

Thanks 2001clk and mmgrad for your replies, I know now what to expect for my car, by the way those rides of yours look sweet. I got another question, pick the car last night and the dealer had only one key, does anybody know what is the best way of obtaining another key? Thanks in advance Lupo

3199cc

My CLK has a little less than 104,000 Miles. Transmission still shifts perfect on only one fluid change, although I have to admit its rough during cold starts. Engine revs freely and sounds great. Car was serviced with oil changes every 5K miles and all fluids changed on every other oil change which although excessive gives me peace of mind.

Changed the rotors at 96K miles. Had 1 MAF go bad and I use a K&N Filter. AC compressor replaced at around 93,000. Steering damper needs to be changed soon.

As you can see, I really have had no serious problems with the car. Always starts and drives and I am not concerned with its reliability. Treat it right and it will treat you right.

What you should worry about is the interior. The stitching on the upper side bolsters of the seat came loose in one area. Cost me about $45 to get that area restitched. Rear hat deck rattles a little but thats common, when I go home for Thanksgiving break I am going to have it padded. Also, I had to replace an upper control arm. I was very lucky and never really had to replace anything that wasn't worn out as a result of my driving.

Its a great car. However, make sure you use only MB parts, filters, and fluids.

OVERALL VERY VERY RELIABLE. NEVER LEFT ME STRANDED. BOSE SYSTEM STILL SOUNDS LIKE NEW, and I DRIVE IT LIKE A NASCAR.

As I manage to save more money I will be adding a G35 Coupe or used E46 M3 to my car stable soon. I will keep the 1998 320 as it's basically worthless (although beautiful) as a project car.

Maestro

What? You should easily get $15K-$20K for a 1998 CLK320 in good shape.

3199cc

keep in mind the car has over 100k miles with no warranty. The CLK was my first car. We bought it with something like 65K miles for 24,000 at a dealer auction.

Basically, I love having a 2 door coupe. The CL is out of my price range, and I despise Mercedes for the new CLK.

I've been looking at the BMW forums for a while and all I can say is their boards are alot more lively. More mods, more pictures, more videos. To tell you the truth I'm young. I wanna get a feel for whats out there and I love the E46 M3 and the G35 Coupe. Its a real hard choice between the 2.

Regardless, I couldn't bring myself to sell the CLK. So many memories in that car (and its backseat) that I feel keeping it as a project car gives me an excuse to keep it. I'm a real car fanatic, and I really want to build a fast MB.

I also feel like the design of our cars is truly a classic. I'll be that guy in 30 years bragging about my antique benz that I maintained all these years. I'm still bitter that Mercedes still isnt producing that 208.

Maestro

The E46 has world-famous agility, and has that famous "German Feel". Drive them both, and i'm sure that you'll concede. I was actually looking into the G35 a few weeks ago as the price and design, along with the options, reliability, and 280hp v6 make it very desirable. After driving it, I completely lost interest.

3199cc

some people dont like the g35 but its a real comfortable riding car and it handles fairly well, im sure not in the league of the e46 but it handles at least as well as our CLK's and rides much nicer even on 18" wheels. I'm so jealous of the californians who can rock out 19 and 20" wheels and not worry about the roads.

Maestro

While it does outhandle the W208, i'd have to argue that the W208 is far more comfortable and luxurious than the G35.

tokomo

At one point my car, CLk320 2000, was sitting in the garage for about 7 monthes and few sensors failed(O2 sensor, fuel gage, and brake) and I fixed it under warrenty. After that I decided to drive it everyday and not a single problem so far.
I don't even have those minor problem that people talk about in this forum. I think it's one of the greatest car you can see out there today.

The only thing that I might not like is that the monoblade eats up the blade really quick compared to those regular double blades. It has to work double time and eats up that rubber blade pretty quick. I end up changing them twice a year but it only cost $10 for the blade so I don't mind as much.