wem

The wife and I went to pick up the new Cab that we ordered a year ago. Black exterior with Stone leather. There are more changes to the 2005 than previously mentioned on the board. The phone option is no longer 051. It is now 050 which means no more voice recognition and a different model phone (it looks like a V60p - the one with a built in speakerphone). Another surprise was that the DVD Nav system in the new center stack has more features than the DVD Nav system in the E320 that I picked up last month, including a screen that tilts down to reveal the slot for the single CD. The biggest surprise was that although it can't be configured this way on the MBUSA website (and was not ordered by me this way either), the appearance package which is now standard on the CLK320 has aluminum trim instead of the burl walnut. When the dealer first told me this yesterday, I was not too thrilled since I wasn't sure how the stone interior would match with aluminum (apparently this combination is available outside the US). Thankfully, when we saw the car in person the combination looked great. The car looks more sporty without the wood. (I also save $975 by not having a wood wheel installed by the dealer as originally planned). The aluminum trim fits in well with the aluminum pedals and the new rims.

DTMCLK

WOW !!

NICE new features, is the 05 alumin trim same as 04 alumin trim?
Did u get Michellin PS or PS2 tyre from the factory?

This is one nice Cab!!!!

MarcusBenz

The aluminum trim is the default on the Appearance pkg., the Burl wood has to be selected in Netstar when ordering the car!

Del

I'm just about to finalise mine next week. Thanks for the info on the trim BTW. I think I'm going with the wood (obsidian black with charcoal interior. anybody think this might be a bad idea?)
anyway, my main question is whether there's gonna be a sub like there was in the 04's?

anybody know?

Cheers,

Del

wem

DTMCLK: The tires are Michellin Pilot Sports. The aluminum trim looks like the same trim that was in the 2004 CLK catalogue.

MarcusBenz: The dealer discovered the same default setting yesterday after I asked how the factory built a 320 with the Stone leather/Aluminum trim combo that supposedly was not available according to the MBUSA.com Build It site. The funniest part is that the window sticker on my car still says "Burl Walnut Wood Trim", no mention of aluminum except for the "Aluminum & Rubber Studded Pedals"

Del: I don't think you can go wrong with either the wood or the aluminum. I'm just glad that the aluminum turned out okay. I would have been pissed if it looked like crap after waiting 12 months for the car.

For anyone who orders the Stone leather, ask the dealer for a set of the all season mats. Otherwise the carpet and fabric mats (very, very light in color) will be trashed the first time someone steps foot in the car.

MarcusBenz

Actually, your car must have been an early production '05 because the Appearance should have came with the Burl Walnut. After doing a bit more investigating, they discontinued the aluminum trim in that package for MY05 as they made the Appearance w/Burl Walnut a standard on the CLK320's! Look at it this way, your car is one of a kind for '05!!

mis3

When I went shopping for a CLK320 last November, I did have to decide if I wanted the appearance package or not.

After checking the aluminium trim and the burl walnut trim, I dropped the appearance package. In my opinion, the wood trim made the interior a lot more elegant. I can always upgrade to 17-inch wheels later on but I cannot upgrade the interior trim.

MarcusBenz

I double checked the Netstar ordering bank and on the '05 CLK320's (Coupe or Cab.) you have to select the Burl Walnut trim. If you try to order a car without clicking that trim, it will not let you exit the update screen. So, your car with the Aluminum trim is a rare vehicle and clearly an early production car that slipped thru the cracks at the factory!

caneguy

I just took delivery of an '05 clk 320 cab, black/stone and mine came with the default burl walnut trim. Mine has been in the shop for the last 3 days, though....it was delivered with a missing component for the navi and it is not functioning correctly and my Sirius radio antenna was installed wrong....I am supposed to have it back tommorrow. Apparently there is a new antenna for the '05 Sirius radio and the antenna is invisible, there isn't the globe sticking out of the trunk anymore.

wem

MarcusBenz: Thank you for your diligence in digging into the '05 CLK320 aluminum trim issue. It's nice to know that for once a screw up turned out so nicely (and makes the car rare too!!). Everyone comments on how the aluminum trim really works well with the stone leather and the rest of the appearance package bits and pieces (especially the aluminum pedals, the polished chrome on the shifter, and the 17" rims).

caneguy: Yes, the Sirius antenna on the CLK Cab is "invisible". It's installed under the trunk deck lid. The SAT radio is my wife's favorite feature. You will notice that the signal it greatly affected by the presence/absence of a clear view to the sky. On many of the smaller roads with heavy tree cover, the signal will clip in and out. I'm also waiting for a part on backorder (the cradle for the integrated cellphone).

Del

wem: that aluminium trim looks REALLY nice on your car. I tried to order it my self but Netstar didn't have it as an option. I'm really envious now.

Everyone else: I went to my dealer yesterday and unfortunately, he didn't have much of a clue as to the phone cradles that you can order (the MB website isn't much of a help either).

Now, as far as I know, I thought the cradles were only available on the Euro models. Is it now available for US models as well? Which phones can you get cradles for? When I was finalising my order at the dealer, the Netstar system only had one phone option and according to the dealer that was to have the Motorola phone. Anyone have any mor information on this?

Cheers,


Del

wem

The current Motorola phone for the '05 CLK Cab is the V60S. It is slightly thicker than my old Verizon Wireless V60 phone. I believe the cradle is on order b/c the center stack in the '05 was changed which requires a different cradle than the '04. The same thing happened with the Sirius antenna. They had to order the '05 antenna b/c of the different Command unit in the '05.

caneguy

Fortunately, my car is back from the dealer...any everything is finally working! Apparently, Mercedes never installed the antenna for the Navi and the dealer installed the Sirius antenna wrong! Anyway...the car is great now, but it's unfortunate the car wasn't delivered in the proper condition.