Attn: All original owners....please chime in!!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 422
Likes: 13
Attn: All original owners....please chime in!!
Well, I am the original owner of a 1998 CLK 320. (Black Opal) I was actually one of the very first to take delivery in the U.S.. 75k miles later I've come up with a list of repairs (warrenty/non warrenty). Just would like to see where I stand in comparison to all of you.
- MAF
- Evap Temp Sensor
- BAS Sensor (warrenty)
- Crankshaft position sensor
- Engine valve cover gaskets replaced (leaking)
- Engine oil pan re-sealed (leaking)
- AC Compressor
- AC Dryer
- a few bulbs
- rear shocks
- shifter bushing
- Front end rebuilt (tie rods, etc) (warrenty)
- Climate Control unit replaced (warrenty)
- washer motor/pump replaced
- front rotors (1 set)
- front and rear brake pads & sensors
- left side view mirror (cracked and the dimming liquid inside leaked out)
- steering wheel
- battery replaced
- front left door speaker
- 3 alignment kits from MB
- Finally, I forget the name of it but my service advisor told me to complain about a knocking noise from the engine that was non-existant because he found a crack in something that is problematic with the 208. Whatever it was, it cost $6k. (Warrenty of course)
All in all, I'm pretty happy with my baby. I don't think I'll ever sell this car, no matter how old it gets. The design in my opinion is timeless. I take delivery of my E55 next tuesday, and my fiance is giving me crap about selling my 208. Little does she know that I would get rid of her before my 208!
The only thing I regret, is seeing some of you guys picking up 430's and 55's used at the price I paid for my baby new. But I guess it's part of the game.
- MAF
- Evap Temp Sensor
- BAS Sensor (warrenty)
- Crankshaft position sensor
- Engine valve cover gaskets replaced (leaking)
- Engine oil pan re-sealed (leaking)
- AC Compressor
- AC Dryer
- a few bulbs
- rear shocks
- shifter bushing
- Front end rebuilt (tie rods, etc) (warrenty)
- Climate Control unit replaced (warrenty)
- washer motor/pump replaced
- front rotors (1 set)
- front and rear brake pads & sensors
- left side view mirror (cracked and the dimming liquid inside leaked out)
- steering wheel
- battery replaced
- front left door speaker
- 3 alignment kits from MB
- Finally, I forget the name of it but my service advisor told me to complain about a knocking noise from the engine that was non-existant because he found a crack in something that is problematic with the 208. Whatever it was, it cost $6k. (Warrenty of course)
All in all, I'm pretty happy with my baby. I don't think I'll ever sell this car, no matter how old it gets. The design in my opinion is timeless. I take delivery of my E55 next tuesday, and my fiance is giving me crap about selling my 208. Little does she know that I would get rid of her before my 208!
The only thing I regret, is seeing some of you guys picking up 430's and 55's used at the price I paid for my baby new. But I guess it's part of the game.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 422
Likes: 13
Forgot to mention
- Brake booster line
- Vacum hose
total out of pocket costs = about $3000. I did most of the work in my garage on the weekends except for the brake booster line and the ac compressor and dryer.
- Brake booster line
- Vacum hose
total out of pocket costs = about $3000. I did most of the work in my garage on the weekends except for the brake booster line and the ac compressor and dryer.
Almost a Member!
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Cambridge, UK
2005 W169 A150
blimey! sounds like you've been rather unlucky, or are the early cars much worse? My 2002 CLK320, which I'm giving back after 3 years in a few months has had only one issue, which was the climate control unit replacement. Other than that nothing, not even minor, not even a bulb failure... or have I been very lucky? 
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 9,734
Likes: 65
From: Hotlanta
AMG
I've had since since June 2002. No real issues, just a few annoying things on occasion (CD changer not recognized a few times), cranky SmartKey, and had a few squeaks looked at.
That's about it.
That's about it.
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Cheshire, UK
CLK320 Sport
I've had mine since September 99, now with 65k miles. The only fault has been a BAS sensor. Had a slight problem with the fuel gauge which has now corrected itself. Other than that it's been super reliable
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,781
Likes: 13
From: The Heights, CA
Tesla Model S
I'm an original owner as well. I've had one MAF meter go out prior to iunstalling my K&N's, a blower motor voltage regulator that went bad, and a faulty fuel sender unit. Other than that I've had 107K relatively trouble free miles. (Knock on wood)
Member
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
2003 CLK430 Cabriolet
original owner here...just one problem and they cannot fix it...front windows bounce back about half the time when rolling them up with the one-touch.
other than that, nothing.
other than that, nothing.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
From: Portland, OR
2001 CLK320
Also original owner -almost 4 years
All warranty:
-ECU - would lose power and throw fault codes
-Oil quality sensor
-Driver side power window motor
-Driver side window regulator
-Passenger side power window motor
-Passenger side regulator (2 x)
-Driver side power mirror motor
-Power window control module (2 x)
-Power window switch panel
-Fuel level sender (dealer found this fault on a unreleated repair)
-A/C temp sensor (dealer found fault code)
occaisonally doesn't recognize CD changer (only 2 x in the past 3 1/2 years)
on the positive side:
-never had to add any oil (average 11k on FSS oil changes)
-no mechanical malfunction, or breakdown
-milage keeps increasing with more accumulated miles
All warranty:
-ECU - would lose power and throw fault codes
-Oil quality sensor
-Driver side power window motor
-Driver side window regulator
-Passenger side power window motor
-Passenger side regulator (2 x)
-Driver side power mirror motor
-Power window control module (2 x)
-Power window switch panel
-Fuel level sender (dealer found this fault on a unreleated repair)
-A/C temp sensor (dealer found fault code)
occaisonally doesn't recognize CD changer (only 2 x in the past 3 1/2 years)
on the positive side:
-never had to add any oil (average 11k on FSS oil changes)
-no mechanical malfunction, or breakdown
-milage keeps increasing with more accumulated miles
