Novushc

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if you can help me.
I'm thinking of buying a 2003 clk 500 convertible. I owned a e320 previously and I loved it. Unfortunately I had to sell her to help finance a new business.

Now I'm ready to purchase my next mb. I'm thinking convertible. I looked at a BMW 330ci. I like them too. But when I saw the clk500 I was blown away by how stunning it looks. Just add a nice set of gloss rims and it will look amazing.

Before I go ahead and decide with my heart and buy . is there any advice you guys can give me like. What to watch out for. Common problems etc. thank you in advance

pskdude

well depending how the top mechanisms and condition are. I myself purchased one that was ok in the begg and lately has given me hell. had to remove all the hydraulics and send them to be fixed. was not as easy as i imagined. other than that and the low mpg its fun as hell. =P

squid23

I actually looked at that when I bought the 330Ci you are considering. These older Mercedes do not have any capability to drive the automatic in manual mode, unless you go AMG. Drove me nuats.

The rooftop mechanism for the e46 was highly developed over BMW's convertible making career and seems to be exceptionally robust. Mine never made a beep. Too bad they dropped it for a hardtop now.

Maintenance wise I don't have much to report. Of course the 330Ci has much better mpg.

I also perceived the CLK as being bigger from the outside and smaller from the inside. Not entirely sure whether that is true but it felt that way.

Between these two the ride in the e46 combined with manual transmission control made me go where I am. However, I am looking to replace the aging e46 now and things I am tempted by include a newish SLK (has manual mode) and an older AMG CLK, even a SL55.

Rudeney

There is no "MY2003 CLK500 Cabriolet". For MY2003, the cabriolet was still a W208, which would be either a CLK320 or CLK430. The W209 cabriolet was introduced in late calendar year 2003 as a MY2004 (CLK320 oro CLK500).

As for that as a choice, the M113 engine and 722.6 transmission is a solid choice - no majot problems with proper maintenance.

I won't get into the MBZ vs. BMW argument. The CLK is a larger vehicle than the BMW 3-series (inside and out).