RJC

My 04 CLK500 lease is ending in early May.

Here's my choices:

1) Keep the car for one more year (MB will extend the lease) and wait for the 08's. My car has only 18,500 miles has another year of warranty and is so damn mint it literally still looks and smells new; there is not one swirl mark, the interior is perfect and the rims/tires (Pilot's) are off a new CLK500.

2) Get one of the first 07 CLK550's in July.

3) Get a new 06 E55 with the special killer lease deal that's available. I've never owned a 4 door car however, but the deal is very tempting not to mention the 469 hp and the 516 lbft of torque.

Suggestions?

Frisco

E55

RJC

What about the "4 door car" sedan thing ?

Toog4me

What's the difference between a 2 year lease and a 3 year? I say go for a 2 year on the E55 and then slide right into the 2008 CLK.

blume

get a 2-3 year on the 550 so that you dont have to get the first round of 2008's. isnt it a 80 hp upgrade? that would be huge!

clkcadet

e55's are great! and im sure if you have any rear seat passengers it will be so much easier for them to get in/out of the car


first test drive it and youll see how you like it!

RJC

Thanks guy's. I did test the E55 and here's my initial impressions:

The AMG leather work is unreal

The dash design of the E is excellent and I love the black wood

The power is astonishing

The exhuast is not overpowering at all and safe for business use

The suspension is not overly hard, but the stock Conti tires sucked. See my post in the E55 section for details.

The lines of the car especially from the side are fair compared to the CLK's

The discount is hudge approx $10k off MSRP and the lease money factor is a very low .00125 or 3% (I am using a great auto broker to get the discount, if you want his info let me know).

The E55 has 4 doors, never had a "sedan" before

I'll say this, if the new CLK 63 had the same lease deal and was available now, there would'nt even be a discussion.

Dave OH

E55. You Wont be disappointed.

clkcadet

i just looked into a bmw 550i, great car as well but the lease was a little out of my range

Chi500

Can you PM me more info on the auto broker? I've always leased straight from the stealership and would like to know more about this. Thanks.

nytojerz

E55 No question

rainesa1

What is the residual?

RJC

58%

cntlaw

Apart from money view point, no matter how tempting the E55 is gonna be, it wont be that tempting after six months:-

1. A major W211 facelift this year
2. You really deserve a 7G tronic in a 'next' Benz !
3. Do you still care for a 3-valve Benz SOHC ?
4. E63/CLK63 or nothing

Having said that, the incremental fun factor goes to E55.
CLK550 is the same car as CLK500 except performance and 7G, if you love the CLK so much and not tired of it, go for the CLK550 and don't cry when you see the new generation CLK in 2008.

I would seriously consider CLK63 or stay with my CLK500.
You never owned 4-door, fcking dont then, you will feel an old cow being in the bulky saloon E.

RJC

Thanks for the info.

I saw the facelift pics for the E...pretty minor

The SOHC engine is not the best agreed, but the kompressor really helps

I'm a bit concerened about the 7G, sooo many problems reported on this board

The CLK550 should really be a fast car with so much more power and torque than the 500

I cannot seem to find out for certain if the new body CLK is for MY2008 or CY 2008

I agree the 4 door thing is a major concern for me but the deal is great, not to mention the E55's interior; just awesome.

As I mentioned my 04 500 is mint. mint, mint and I have one more year of warranty

If my broker can locate exactly what I want and the price is right the 55 could be in my garage within a week, if not;then the beat goes on....

clkcadet

Cls!

RJC

I know, I know LOL..

There are no great deals on a CLS 55 at the moment, however that could change later this year.

Frisco

You never seemed to be very happy with your CLK based on your posts over the last couple years, so I would suggest that whatever you do, you make sure you don't end up with any regrets afterwards and feel like you made a rushed decision.

RJC

Regarding my 04, I wasn't very happy about the brake squeal which I ended up fixing myself (so much for MB service ). Also my AC compressor makes a buzzing sound most of the time and MB can't seem to figure out why. Otherwise the car has been great; smooth, powerful and nice.

I agree and I've been very careful about jumping into a 4 door albeit an E55.

joeybenz106

e55 or the clk 63!

cntlaw

Thanks for the info.

I saw the facelift pics for the E...pretty minor
The SOHC engine is not the best agreed, but the kompressor really helps

=== Can't argue with that

I'm a bit concerened about the 7G, sooo many problems reported on this board

=== check if the CLK550 will have all these 7G probems fixed? A 5-speed is definitely dated as now I have a 6speed E90 to compare with my W203. On the C55, 3rd gear and 4th gear has a big power gap to fill. Whereas, on the E90's 6speed auto, the 4th gear is so practical that it gives both torque and better fuel economy.

The CLK550 should really be a fast car with so much more power and torque than the 500

=== yes, almost as fast as my C55 and is DOHC powered ! The only issue being, you probably deserve a little bit more on a new car than just engine power. e.g. you probably want to invest more on CLK550 by having the CLK63 AMG spoliers , rims etc.

I cannot seem to find out for certain if the new body CLK is for MY2008 or CY 2008

=== dunno also ; I really like the 'iDrive', Night Vision system of S class and I guess most probably these features will be in the new generation of many luxury models, and CLK is a candidate. I am hoping to see a lot of new features in coming W204 or new CLK..

I agree the 4 door thing is a major concern for me but the deal is great, not to mention the E55's interior; just awesome.

=== yes, not until one has owned a E-class, then , I would say, he would not really know what 'fully loaded' means. . And yes, very tempting indeed, and I am sure the E55 may only look bulky, but based on my experience with C55 suspension, transmission, steering as tuned by AMG, I have great faith to AMG sports engineering no matter what models. You just have to be careful if you really want to be diverting your taste of coupe to now a fully loaded luxury sedan The more expensive CLS55 is probably not the best time to acquire as the CLS63 is coming soon.

As I mentioned my 04 500 is mint. mint, mint and I have one more year of warranty If my broker can locate exactly what I want and the price is right the 55 could be in my garage within a week, if not;then the beat goes on.

=== best of luck , I am sure you get better comfort and sports from the E55 than the CLK500; hope it works out for you.

RJC

Thanks. I'll keep you posted

RJC

The broker I've been using (Amil, great guy who works very hard to get what you want ) finally found a car(06 E55) that's as close to what I wanted as possible. Silver/Charc, Keyless, Lighting and Premimum, the car also has Pano roof and trunk closer. I could care less about the trunk closer and Pano scares me with potential rattles and problems but I wanted a car that will be fresh off the truck and this will be. The only rub is it may not make it to the dealer before Friday March 31st which is the last day of the MB special money factor whiich could screw up the whole deal; I could sign all the paperwork before hand, but I'm not about to lease a $91,000.00+ car if I can't see and test it first. It's always something...

clkcadet

is there another 06 e55 to test? im test driving a slk280 later today but it wont be the actual car if i decide to get it.

RJC

I've tested one new 06 E55 already and it had some problems with a shimmy and a very bad brake vibration that shook the entire car. I will only sign on the dotted line after I drive the exact car I'll be paying for; just don't want to throw the dice especially with MB's "ify" quality as of late.