chriskurn

I will soon be moving from a BMW to MB.

For those ex BMW people, any regrets? Was the BMW driving experience better? or is the MB driving experience better?



I'm going from a M Roadster to a CLK500.

MARK335

no question, stock 330ci handles better than stock clk500. but thats not the reason i purchased the clk. clk feels more luxurious than the 330. its a different type of car. bottom line, no regrets.

FrankW

one thing i can say is that you'll love the interior quality of the CLK500 compare to the M roadster's crappy interior (no offense).

as for my experience, going from 2000 328Ci sport/premium to C32. Other than the steering feed back is a little numb compare to the Bimmer, C32 is hella fun, but i definitely like the Harman Kardon stereo in the Bimmer much better than the Bose system on the MBs. The orange instrutment is much cooler and easier to look at too. I definitely miss my 328Ci alright because it was my first car. Interior quality of the 3er and the C-class is very similar, they are both very well designed. One thing i like about the MB is that the information screen give me much more information than the Bimmer did.

rocky

I recently went from a BMW 540i to a CLK-500. Absolutely no regrets. Although the CLK-500 is a softer ride than the Bimmer, the power is awesome, the options are a blast and the car is dynamite looking. If I ever start missing the BMW I still have a 2002 BMW 330xi I can get behind the wheel of.

xyzpl

e36 M3 to CLK430, the only thing i miss is the speed... but that's nothing a supercharger kit won't fix

FrankW

you should've trade in the 330xi instead of the 540i unless ur 540i was really that old

Serndipity

3 series cab ---> CLK cab.......miss the BMW....much more fun to drive (e.g. responsive, sure footed) and found the BMW ownership and service experience to be much better (e.g. have still yet to be contacted by MB-NA or dealer on either, whereas BMW and dealer was always calling to insure customer satisfaction).

However, the CLK has good looks.....is perhaps more luxurious and is equipped with more features as standard (but does cost more).

davidb

Went from a 330ci to a CLK55 as my daily driver. I still drive the BMW on occasion - just because, I guess.

The BMW wins hands down in the handling department - I echo the previous poster in that it always feels more surefooted when taking that big sweeping curve at high speeds or taking those very sharp curves at a more reasonable speed. It is a bit more fun to drive.

The fit and finish of the Benz is much higher - the 330ci has numerous squeaks and rattles that the dealership(s) have only been moderately successful in resolving. On a related note, I've had wonderful service at the Benz dealership - it always took a threatened slamming on the survey to get anything done at both BMW service departments that I have visited.

Of course, the 330ci can't compare to the thrust of the AMG. There was always the M3, but it would've felt, to me, like I was driving substantially the same car.

I picked up the W208 AMG as a stopgap measure until the new CLK55 arrives. I'm much, much more partial to the W208 styling, but I'm sure that ithe 209 will grow on me, given time, which usually happens. (For example, I don't even despise the new 7 series any more, just very strong dislike at this point). I'm pretty sure I'll slap the Kleeman compressor on the W209 at some point in the future as it will upset me to no end whenever I see the supercharged 5.5L AMG's around town.

In short, no regrets. Well, just a minor gripe in that the 2 tone grey leather makes for a very dirty steering wheel almost all the time. I use the leather cleaner so much on the steering wheel that the light grey color is starting to rub off.

FrankW

that's part of the reason i didn't pick the M3.

btw u r comparing the fit and finish of the AMG and a regular Bimmer 3er, of course the AMG will be better (i guess).

davidb

"btw u r comparing the fit and finish of the AMG and a regular Bimmer 3er, of course the AMG will be better (i guess)."

True. However, I do wonder if the build quality of the AMG products is any higher than the normal Benz model of which each is based. I'd suspect probably not.

As a point of comparison, I have heard two of my friends who own E46 M3's voice similar complaints about the build quality of their BMW's. I rode in an '02 and heard many of the same noises I hear in my 330ci, albeit less of them. Not sure if this is purely a function of a newer car or higher build quality on the M models. Probably the former.

Don't get me wrong, the Benz build quality, at least in my car, is not perfect. But, since the Chrysler merger, what has been.

FrankW

it probably depends on individual car. all i can say about my sis's 2000 clk320 is POS on quality. Squeak here and there. There is really a difference between her car and my brother's friend's 01 CLK55. The clk55 is much more quieter on ride. My 32 also has squeaks here and there. So i guess it's solely dependent on the individual cars, and my 328Ci was squeak, and problem free till i totaled it .

vodc4

i dont think CLK 320 differs from clk55 in terms of reliability
it has the same body and platform.....maybe ur sis just happened to get the bad one....yeah ur right i also think it depends on indidual car,,,

FrankW

probably...lol...her car was delivered in December of 1999 as a 2000 model. reliability and quality is different. quality = fit & finish, which in my sis's car's case is pretty sad...lol

btw, another one of my bro's friend has a 02 CLK320, and that car feels more solid than my sis's. The 02's suspension feels more firm than the 00. I've driven both back to back. There is definitely a difference in the suspension setup.

rocky

I would have kept the 540 but it was coming off a lease and I have a 6 series on order for the middle of next year.

MMAfia

er... CLK55's have a lotta parts assembled and fitted by human hands and are subject to a higher scrutinization during the build process. sorta like how audi's RS4s and RS6s are sorta built by hand...

CLK320s are churn and burn machine assembled mass produced vehicles that don't get nearly as much attention during the build process.

MMAfia

chriskurn

I agree with the fit and finish. BMW has great fit and finish, but Mercedes is better.

I have many friends with BMW's and their biggest complaint and mine also are the sqeaks and rattles which the dealer can't seem to fix.

Beside having a 2000 M roadster, my wife drives a 2001 C240. The car has 24k on it and not a squeak or rattle. It is just as tight as the day we got it. It was the solid feel of her car that led me to a CLK500 and not the M3 (was my first choice).


The interior of my M roadster may be a little dated, but the car is wicked fast. Few engines produce the hp/torque that the 3.2L M motor does. It's too bad the BMW has stressed the motor to the point that it has in the current M3.

For those who follow the M3 roadfly board, all BMW BS about the drivers killing the M3 motor was put to rest with the death of "Stonewalks" engine.

davidb

"CLK55's have a lotta parts assembled and fitted by human hands and are subject to a higher scrutinization during the build process. sorta like how audi's RS4s and RS6s are sorta built by hand..."

I'd be interested to know to what extent this is true for parts other than the engine, which I would imagine is pretty much hand built (or at least "guided" by human hands through the process).

I don't think that there are very many technicians crawling inside the AMG versions of these vehicles installing interior panels, etc. AMG cars are nice and somewhat special, but we are not talking Rolls Royce here. I'd imagine that those tasks as taken care of by the same machines that construct the analogous cars on the normal Benz assembly line. AMG may have their own in their in-house manufacturing shop for their vehicles, but it's probably pretty much the same process. I'd love to be proved wrong on this point, but the concepts of manufacturing efficiences, automation and eye on the bottom line make me think there is probably not that much that is done by hand anymore in auto manufacturing.

Aus

I second that theory

FrankW

can't wait to see what the 6-series will look like too...lol. My gut feeling is telling me that the 6er will look somewhat like the Z9 concept car.

chriskurn

I have stood 2 feet from the Z9, and let me tell you that it was cool!

The Z9 was the prototype car for idrive.