rennwerkes

Thinking of picking up a 2009 CLK550.
Was wondering what were options to look out for?
Thanks!

Yidney

The option list is pretty simple. There were two packages in 2009 - P1 or P2. P2 included everything in P1 as well as some other stuff. Definitely get a P2 car. The main thing P2 adds is the xenon headlights instead of halogen. You can easily tell from pictures in ads because the xenons have the round projector. After that, there are just a handful of standalone options. Nav, keyless go, seat heaters, hydraulic trunk closer (not sure if only convertibles offer this or not), wood steering wheel (but that deletes paddle shifters), multi-contour drivers' seat, and ventilated front seats. In 2008 the multi-contour and ventilated seats came together, and were called P3. In 2009 they were separated out.

My car has all of the above. The seat ventilation is comically useless, but it is still one of my favorite options because it comes with perforated leather, which is sewn tighter and looks cooler in my opinion. I never really use the multi-contour either. Other than that, I like all of them. I like keyless go largely because it makes it impossible to lock your keys in the car. It won't lock if they are anywhere inside, and the trunk will not close if they are in there.

rennwerkes

Thanks! That's pretty simple! LOL!
I guess the car I'm looking at doesn't have the xenon's.
Can never understand why you'd pay the for the premium of owning a 550 and then not getting the xenon's.
Still, hard to disregard this car. Very clean with only 46k on it for about $11k.
There's also a nice 09 CLK350 with about the same mileage for about $9k and has the xenon's.
Car is for my wife so the 350 may be the way to go.

Yidney

The 350 is plenty powerful unless you like power for the heck of it. Many 350s have fewer options - like keyless go is more uncommon. The vented seats are very uncommon in 350s.

xsever

Even AMG models came and still come without Xenon. I can never understand that with Mercedes to the point where I feel insulted by how cheap they make the brand look when they do that. Ok I understand you want to nickel and dime your customer, but come on! An AMG without Xenon!

rennwerkes

xsever

Yeah exactly. My 2005 CLK 320 came with Xenon but no sunroof because it's German-spec, but I've seen 2017 C63s with halogens and I couldn't believe it. These cars retail for $80+k in the US and you MB can't fit a $1k Xenon system as standard?

gaazmon

Would definitely go with a 550 over a 350. The gas mileage difference is almost negligible (around 1-2 maybe 3 mpg less) and I have had friends with M272 350s complain regarding there gas mileage. The 550 I would go with an 08 or 09 (you get 18 inch wheels and lowered sport suspension). Between 08 and 09 differences, 09 came with heated seats standard and iPod input standard (but lose AUX plug). From my experience, I would try to find one with P2 so you get the BiXenon headlamps (big help on darker and curvy roads such as where I live). The Nav is really outdated even with the latest 2015 map (no 3D, no touch screen, no traffic, etc). The electronic trunk is not that big of a deal (especially since the standard trunk pops up all the way when opened versus some other older models that just unlatch and the user has to open it up). I don't use SIRIUS radio so I would not care for that either. Keyless Go is a nice convenience, but I don't use it and it just ends up killing my remote batteries faster.

Yeah I've never understood how Mercedes can cheap out on headlights. Really annoying. I mean the new Toyota Corollas come with better lights. Even the older G35s came with Xenon standard. And now with the move to LEDs, some of the vehicles come with LED lights but no projectors, no LED high beam, no curve illumination (such as the facelifted W212). They look nice, but really don't work well on darker roads and the light just scatters everywhere.

Rudeney

Yeah, I never understood why MBZ made HIDs an option on its cars. i guess they were just trying to let people customize their cars and not pay for anything they didn't want. Then again this is a company that in 2004 was still selling cars with cassette tape players and to get a CD player, it was an expensive option with a changer mounted in the trunk. Every other car on the market, even the cheapest econo-boxes had at least a single CD slot in the dash.

C280 Sport

My 2005 CLK55 AMG has no xenons, ipod, phone, navigation, keyless go or parking sensors lol. About as basic as you can get! I still love it thou. The V8 sound makes up for it

C280 Sport

I have a 2009 CLK350 and it has nearly everything except keyless go basically. Just make sure you do not get a basic model without heated seats because I could not live without them! I like the wood steering wheel as well. I have ventilated seats in like 4 of my MB's but they do not do much. Nice to look at I guess?

C280 Sport

You can also get quad xenons aftermarket that work good. Not as good as factory but if you do not get lucky enough to get a CLK with those they do just fine.

shahram72

Hey as a new user I don't want to start a new thread, and it appears my topic is covered here. I am looking at 07 or 08 CLK 550. What are the difference in those years? Also if the 07 has softer suspension, how soft is it? If it's like my older 05 Acura RL its perfect. I just remember driving a E350 and the suspension was way too soft. Is the 550 like that?

Rudeney

The 550 without the Sport Suspension option would ride maybe just slightly stiffer than the 350, only due to the additional weight of the V8. There are no diiferences between the MY2007 and MY2008 except improved reliability on the MY2008. The MY2007 coudl have an engine in the range for potential "balance shaft" failure (actually, the timing chain idler sprocket). By MY2008, this was resolved. Also, the MY2008 transmission will be more reliable. I'm not sure what the cut-off is, but there is a speed sensor int he conductor plate that fails on the earlier 722.9 transmissions. When it does, it's pretty much a dealer-only job (due to special coding required) and cost is around $1400.

gaazmon

The main difference with the 07 and 08 ride wise is the wheels (17 versus 18). The ride is a bit firm, but not like a 3/4 series with sport package. I think it has just enough sportiness to it, but would recommend as always try to drive both and see the difference. If you're looking for RL ride style then yeah the 08 will feel stiff.

shahram72

Have you driven a 2G RL? They are the good ones. The 1G and the 3G are straight up luxury cars. Even if it's a little firmer, that's still good I'm sure it's not uncomfortable. I'm just looking at the 08 for this and also to avoid the engine issue in the 07 that's in the sticky. Right now I can't find anything good enough within 600 miles of SC. I also must have the Harmon Kardon stereo and heated seats.

Yidney

Are you looking for a coupe or convert? If convert, the one is my sig block is for sale, even though I have not yet formally put it up for sale. I can assure you it is "good enough" and then some.

Rudeney

What? Why are you selling it? And what are you looking to replace it with?

Yidney

I am only selling it because I've had it more than 7 years and have the "new" car bug. For a car guy, I don't change cars very often. I'm looking at gently used 650i converts. I mean, how can anybody live without a 445 hp twin-turbo V8?

Yidney

And I have to say that the search for a new car has been sort of frustrating. I started by looking at a BMW 4 series with the retractable hardtop. One of my criteria is livability on long road trips. When I got that car on the highway, the noise from the run flats was so ungodly I would need to wear noise cancelling headphones on a road trip. Totally unacceptable. When I got back in my car it was like "Ahhhh, so peaceful." But the 6 series mass mostly cancels that out. But being the sort who likes fully optioned models with low miles, I'm looking at $60k for a 2015. Oh well, you only live once.

gaazmon

Ah those are good cars. I didn't realize 05 was the first year of the 2nd gen model (with the AWD standard) It is firm, but like I said not like BMW m sport style. I think more of the firmness is realized because of the standard seats not having many adjustments, but they are a good size. Honestly though, its a great balance of performance and luxury the CLK V8s. I would definitely opt for the 08 or 09 to avoid idle gear failure and less chance of 7G auto issues.

P1 is quite common (if not all of them in the US having it). Heated seats are standard on 09 (option on 08 either as stand alone or with P3 which includes vented seats, multicontour drivers seat, and perforated leather front seats).

MacVidMB-V8

Distronic is the one option I wish mine had.

I even bought most of the parts but they sit collecting dust...

Would be really cool to have

91ser

I hear this all the time, but I am going to go ahead and blame part of that on MB's logistics in the hvac settings. Here is a neat hack that makes the seats pretty dang cold. Take a shirt/towel, roll it up, stuff it under the back of the seat, where people in the back would put their feet. Then direct the airflow to your feet in the hvac settings. The cold air will now flow a lot more to the rear passengers feet area. But since its blocked off, it basically has to go thru the seat. I know the fans blow the opposite way, but once you throw those things on, it really gets cold quick!!

I might take a look into printing something out of plastic as a guard that would direct the air thru the seats. Although the towel isnt very noticeable, its still not a great looking solution. A nice 3d print in black might work well.

91ser

I find that the clk550 is a little soft myself. However, I think most of that is just the rear swaybar. The rest isnt too bad. I have Bilstein B8s and H&R sways on my clk500 (also works on the 550). I thought that was pretty awesome as a street combo and was fine on track as well. I might try the same setup on my 550 soon. If you are trying to get the best bang for your $, start with the rear sway and go from there, imho.

rennwerkes

Damn! The forum didn't notify me of additional posts! Wonder why that happens?
Regardless, seems as though the consensus is to go with the 550.
The only bummer is that it comes with halogens so I'll probably look for a used set.
If someone could confirm that the OEM units are plug and play BUT will not have automatic height adjustment? So I'm guessing height/leveling will have to be done manually?
Thanks!