Well guys, I've been searching for a V8. I looked at a bunch of E550s and CLS550s as i want a 4-door. After no luck in finding a clean one at the right price I widened my search and found a sweet 2007 BMW 550i 4.8 360HP and bought it at a great price. So this is goodbye guys, thanks for all the help you've given me over the years, i'll still pop in every couple days. You guys need help with anything i might know about just let xsever know as he's a close friend.

 

Good luck with the Bimmer. My wife has a Z3 and I've had a 2002 and two 535's. Good cars!

 

I almost did the same after writing off my first CLK, but I just wasn't impressed with the interior of the 5, it doesn't look or feel anywhere near that of the later CLKs imo. But good luck with your purchase, it's quite an engine.

 

All the best to you Daniel...... I've enjoyed reading your posts and have gotten a lot of benefit from them... We're gonna miss you until you find your way back here or on the C63 forum...

 

I still would have loved to see Daniel in an E550 or a CLS550, but I couldn't persuade him and the BMW's price was unrefusable.

Thanks a lot Daniel for all the information you have given to this forum and all your help with my CLK which I won't be trading for a bimmer.

If I ever move into a 550 or a 63, I'll definitely race you! (and beat you!)

 

Sorry to see you leave the MBZ family, but congrats on the new car. Enjoy!

 

eteller - thanks man, yea i'm really enjoying the car lots of cool things i keep discovering!

sailorben - I actually considered an e60 530i before buying the CLK and searched intensively for one with the specs i wanted but found a great deal on my CLK and bought it, I'm suprised you didn't like the interior though i found it to be very functional and comforting at the same time. though the open space in a CLK is great for sure.

Fatz - Thank for the compliment, I too enjoying your posts and your contributions to the forum, very helpful!

xsever - I'll take you up on that, still waiting to show you the car man, call me this week when your free

Rudeney - The 5series forum should could use a guy like you, thanks for all the help over the years from me c230 and CLK, you been a great help.

 

thought i'd update the thread with the differences i felt between the 550i and the clk 320. well first of all i know theres a big difference between the cars. the 550i is comparable to the E550 so i wont be talking about how big it is or how beautiful the powerful valve controlled throttle thundering v8 is (yes i love the engine and its note). really this is about how simple a CLK is. I loved that about it, simple operation, reliable everything, and very easy to DIY. The BMW is over engineered. Its great but complicated, the antiroll bars have little hydraulic motors powered by the steering pump that twist or separate to give a soft ride while driving straight or really stable cornering at speed. The engine has a throttle body but only works when the car is turned on for an easier start. The rest of the time valve lifters that open up to 10cm control all throttle for the engine, and its light! the block itself is 30lbs, all that makes the v8 rev very fast like an inline 4 and helps idle at 500rpm, you can barely tell its running. there are maybe 20+ computers in the car so anything to do with diagnosis and coding is complicated but can be done. with the CLK it was so simple just plug in STAR and enter developer mode and do whatever. with the BMW its reading the info of of each module then modifying files then uploading them back to the car, which takes time. sometimes a full car update on older hardware can take up to 6-8 hours! so i do miss the simplicity of the CLK. Also that m112.. yes it might not have a lot of power compared to today's standards but its simple and runs like a normal engine, easy to DIY, easy to clean, Easy to diagnose, i'm going to miss that for sure. the E60 isn't for everybody anymore now that most are into high mileage, they need a lot of maintenance. But I think it fits me, all the complicated engine and modules in the car, I love technology and this car is bursting with it so i'm pretty happy with my choice! Also the size is a big bonus! Its half aluminium so its light and i'm averaging 18L/100km, thats pretty good! the CLK would average 15L/100km. (we have a lot of mountain driving and traffic on highways and small streets in Lebanon thats why these numbers may seem pretty high)

 

Good luck with the car. They are great engines. Just keep an eye on leaks. I get allot with all kind of oil leaks

 

Another example of annoying "over-engineering" in BMWs is that you can't just replace the vehicle battery when it dies - you have to re-code the voltage regulator. Apparently, the system detects a weak battery and adjusts the voltage regulator output. If you install a new battery without resetting this, it will cook the new battery. Personally, I find that a bit ridiculous. At the very least, the system should be able to detect the amperage draw of the new battery being lower and self-adjust.

I've had a few BMWs (the last one was a MY2006 X3). I really enjoyed the handling and brakes on that car. Even being an SUV, it drove like a sports car. I also enjoyed free maintenance for 4 years (that MBZ used to offer!). The dealership was also 10x better than my local MBZ dealer (and that's with me knowing many of the guys at the MBZ dealership!). Now, things I didn't like? A four year old BMW has more squeaks and rattles that my nearly 10 year old CLK550 cabriolet or my 14 year old C240. Also, the interior trim on the BMW after 3-4 years is worse for the wear than any 10 year old MBZ I've owned. I could probably be persuaded to buy another BMW, but I'd probably only buy or lease a new one. I don't see myself having one that's 10 years old like my MBZs.

 

Gixxerboy - yea i looked into them, doesnt seem hard just very time consuming!

Rudeney - thats weirdd! I found the BMW has way way less squeaks (in fact non at all!) then my clk and the interior is way more durable maybe its the class difference that causes this, ive seen a couple 3 series (e90, e46) with really tired down interiors. Though i do agree, BMWs arent cars you keep for a long time just based on how much high maintenance these cars are. I went into the parts department at my local BMW dealership and told them how MB used to give me 10% discount on parts and so forth then told them i dont need a discount i just need somebody to go over parts diagrams with me when i need a part. I then ordered some oil and a couple various filters and got a 10% haha not bad!

 

I worked at a MBZ dealership for about 6 months, about 4 months on the sales/finance side. I saw a lot of trade-ins come through during that time and I began to notice which makes seemed to be in better condition. Now, I know a lot of it has to do with how the owners treat their cars, but some seemed to routinely be in really great condition and some in really poor condition. I am not talking about things like cuts and scrapes that happen accidentally, but just things like how well the surfaces and attachments hold up. What I observed is that by far, MBZs were on top. The worst cars were Kia/Hyundai, Toyota/Lexus, GM, Chrysler and Nissan/Infiniti. Ford and BMW seemed to be middle of the road, with Honda/Acura right behind MBZ. In fact, I saw a lot of 10+ year old Hondas that just looked great, but many 4 year old Lexus that were crap. One that really surprised me was Jaguar. Most all of them looked fabulous. We didn't see many exotic cars, but the one Ferrari I took in was really nice at 8 years old, but then it only had 20K miles.