siyan

Always had a soft spot for the CLK and I'm hoping tomorrows test drive will either result in a purchase, or cure me of this affliction.

Car in question is an 07 CLK 550 Coupe, 49,000 kms (roughly 30k miles?), with HK Audio. Black on black.

What kind of stuff should I look out for? Did the engine issues (camshaft timing?) affect the 550s or only the 500s?

The car is at a franchise MB dealer (in Canada) and its CPO (2 year).

Currently driving a Z4 Roadster (prev gen, 255hp version) and a TSX (also prev gen). I really like the handling and "feel" of both those cars so I'm hoping the Merc won't disappoint. Yes, even the FWD TSX drives nicely.

Thanks

Yidney

The shaft/gear issue did affect early 550s, not the 500. Make sure yours is not in the range. Otherwise, not really any specifics to look out for besides speeding tickets and grins.

siyan

Thanks. I found the TSB I think. Goes up to M273 #"2739..30 088611" if I am not mistaken.

Is the idler issue really widespread or more of a 1% of owners type of thing?

Forgot to mention. Car was sold in Jan of 2008 so its possible that its from quite late in the production cycle, but its a low volume car so could have been sitting a while also.

Yidney

I don't think anybody knows the total # of affected cars. I did not even learn of the problem until a week after I got mne, and was happy to discover it fell outside the range. There are enough of these cars that I would not buy one in the range. That's just me.

Rudeney

Mine failed at around 33,000 miles. Some go over 100K with no problems. I was lucky enough to have MBZ cover mine under "goodwill" since the warranty had expired and I was the 2nd owner. I don't know if that is typical or not. I do know several people who were turned down when theirs failed at the 80K/90K mark. It may be mileage, it may be "customer relationship" or it may be which MBZ corporate rep you talk to on which day of the month. My advice is that if the engine serial number is within the affected range, pass on it unless it's an MBZ dealer and you get in writing that they will warrant the repair if needed.

K550

Hi Siyan,
I got my 07 CLK cabrio at years of age with 10k miles: LOVE IT! HP & torque are ridiculous -- for a non-tuned, "regular" ride!
It's very "understatement", but very much fun to bring out the "German muscle car"!

siyan

Thanks all.

Any other common problems besides the engine TSB I should look out for as far as reliability goes?

The car itself looked to be in excellent shape physically and mechanically, at least from what I could tell. No shudder under braking, no weird noises.

Two things did put me off

1. On the initial startup, the climate control buttons didn't seem like they wanted to respond. I pressed Auto, and the light came on briefly, but then it went back off again. Tried again and the same thing happened. Pressed off, but it wouldn't even turn off. Eventually I just held down Auto for about 2 sec and then all became normal.

I'm not 100% sure if this was the sales guy in the other seat as he may have been hitting some temperature buttons at the same time or something?

2. The radio cut out a few times briefly, but only on one station. Does the radio mute itself when the signal is weak instead of playing static? Just wondering if it was bad reception or a genuine electrical thing.

kbahl21

I like my car. I am at about 70K miles and no problems at all.

The only issue i had was changing my cylinder 5 misfire. I went to autozone had them read the code for me. Then bought a spark plug, that didnt fix it so i bought a coil pack and that made it work perfectly. Easy fix.

kbahl21

they are alot faster than you'd expect

siyan

I had the service records pulled. Most of it looks innocent but there are a few things that piqued my attention.

Fog lamp cracked and replaced. No big deal, probably a rock or something.
Chrome console handle peeling, replaced.
Right rear brake light keeps going out. Replaced wiring harness.
Sunroof rattle when open. Fixed.
Weston MB picking up car this afternoon for bodywork 23400km -- Looking into this one. Carproof was clean.
Oil leak under front of engine. Replaced camshaft end plugs. 41000km

Below all at 49500km, probably stuff the dealer did to it once it was traded in:
Driver side sunvisor torn at seem. Replaced
Replaced right front inner fender - no reason given
Bulkhead front right section, replace ($66 part...can't be THAT much stuff...)
Check Engine Light: Magnet for camshaft adjustment of camshaft / replace ($50 labour, no parts) - wtf
Both front rims bent - repaired
All 4 rims scratched - repaired
Front seat head rest needs to be reset - whatever that means
Ashtray door sticking, repaired
New wipers, new front tires.

lazlion99

Judging by service records it seems the previous owner was pretty rough on the car.

siyan

Slight snag. I don't think the car has Bluetooth built in. It has the TEL button but when you press it it just says "NO PHONE". I also looked for the cradle thing in the center storage but could not find anything.

The dealer said he knows a guy who will install a (fully integrated) system for about $1k. I thought this was pretty damn steep but I suspect I can get him down on the price.

Just curious if people have experience with aftermarket / retrofit systems? Something that will be 100% integrated with the headunit. Car does not have Nav, but it is the Harman Kardon unit with glovebox CD changer.

Saddleskim

Hi...can you tell me what the serial number range is and what the exact issue is? Im looking at 08 CLK550 and it has 34k miles. Wondering why it's been listed for over three weeks.

MrChanlyn

VIN WDBTK72F47T080251