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Excited new owner of 2003 CLK 320 Cabriolet (W209) that needs a lot of TLC
Hello Forum,
I am a lifelong car nut that just purchased a CLK 320 Cabriolet to be my daily driver. I live in Eastern Europe and bought the car in Germany. It's now in customs for a few days to be cleared here.
156.000 km's
Automatic
Driver's side electric memory seats
Bi-Xenon Headlamps
CD Player in Glovebox
2 keys
Just drove it back last night 1,100 kilometers in heavy rain. It ran great, and not a top leak to be seen. The engine seemed super smooth and the transmission shifted smoothly. Felt some vibrations around 120 km/h but think it was flat spots in the tires. That seemed to die down as the trip progressed. Finally got a reading of the dashboard oil level about half way through the trip and it said 1.5 liters from maximum, so we added 1 liter of oil. (That's about 1 quart for those of you in the states.)
All of the lights and electronics seem to work except the driver's side head rest which did go up and down by motor when I first sat in the car, the LED screen on the radio (although the radio works fine), and the top is inoperable, it does not go up and down I am told.
The wood all looks new, the dashboard looks great. Now curling or anything like it was baked in the sun.
The needs:
The following warning messages appear:
ABS
ESP
BAS
Brake Pad wear
and Speedcontrol (After I tried to usethe cruise control on the trip)
Plus the check engine light and what looks like an ABS light
We installed new brake pads on all four corners before we left. The sensors only seemed to go on the right side, front and rear. But after installation all of the warning lights above remained. The rotors looked fine.
There is a rattle inside the right side passenger door around 120 km/h.
Cosmetically, the front seats look very tired.
The glove box door is completely off. I haven't had a chance to get a close look at it out of the rain.
The CD changer in the glovebox looks destroyed, just bare metal.
The car had been sitting for a long time. The tires were down 50%. I think most of the flat spots worked themselves out on our trip. The tires had plenty of tread.
There is some rust along the bottom of the driver's door.
The wheels:
I don't know what kind of wheels are on the car, but unexpectedly the dealer said I have 4 Mercedes wheels to go with the car. Does anyone know if these could have come with the car? They are staggered, different width for the front than back. I would like to get them cleaned up. Not sure what the process is there, painting or plating???
There is a crack in the rear bumper corner.
The top:
I have read here and watched the TopHydraulics videos and look forward to tackling that myself with my own hands, as long as the shipping and customs duties are not prohibitive. The top is covered in some kind of green algae or mold. Will see how that cleans up.
The car passed German TUV inspection 4,000 kilometers ago.
My main focus now is fixing and clearing whatever is causing the error messages. Fix the rattle in the passenger door. Glovebox door, and then the top. After that the radio LED screen and CD player. The interior seats I will wait to see how they clean up after a professional detail. Then if those Mercedes wheels are appropriate mount them in the spring with summer tires.
I think I bought it right and could have a diamond in the rough here. More pics after I spring the car out of customs.
Look forward to hanging out here and sharing with and learning from others.
Well had some fun playing with my car today in my friend's driveway while I wait for plates.
Changed the Front Hood Struts
Removed the trashed CD Player from Glovebox
Looked at the ABS module contacts which were sparkling clean so I didn't touch
Changed the batteries in both key fobs. Neither one unlocks the doors still.
Tried to repair the driver's electric headrest. Nothing was cracked, it is still intermittent. Need to secure the posts to the plastic!
Troubleshooted my top a little.
Tried to repair the broken glove box door. Not the catch, the whole door falls off.
I wanted to see the manufacture date but could not find it in either door. However, on the paperwork there was a date of June 27, 2003. That wither has to be manufacture, first sale, or first registered. So I am looking pre September 2003. I did not know where to look for the radiator tag, Behr vs. Valeo.
Got my VIN:
WDB2094651T007454
If that means anything, please share.
My car came out of customs last week but we had been waiting for one piece of paper so we could take it to inspection. After inspection we can get plates from the police and I am done.
The car is 2 1/2 hours away from me at my friend's house. I am keeping it in his name. He's not really a car guy but just a great friend. So he took it to inspection today. Problem! They need to photograph the car with the top down. Why? I have no idea! They do not care if the top works, but they need a picture of the car with the top up the top down, Note in my first post the top does not work.
So I just sent my friend the @Top Hydraulics video on how to manually operate the top. I said I would drive down and up tomorrow but inspection has to be at 9 AM. Must be some former communist thing. It's always something.
I used to live in the Caribbean and we had an expression, "Don't stop the carnival." I think they have adapted that attitude here in Eastern Europe.
My friend took the car for inspection today and managed to open the top manually for its photo session. The inspector also opened the glovebox, which put the door on the floor after I worked so hard to temporarily secure it. And he managed to get plates for it. Great! I will pick it up tomorrow.
No, no, no!
Now we need to wait for the plastic registration card and the window sticker that comes from the capital city here. It will take 7 to 10 days!!! And for this great service the registration fees are nearly $1,000 for this 21 year old car.
Well got my ride back from the interior detail today. He did the interior, worked the stains in the convertible top, and polished the headlamps. He called me last night to warn me and lower my expectations about the interior. While everything is clean, and the leather is now soft, there are simply stains that can not come out of the seats, especially the passenger seat. On the top, he worked it 3 times and said he thinks if I let him do that every 3 months eventually the remaining spots/stains will come out.
The interior does look 1,000% better than when I got it. maybe I will do more in the future. He suggested new leather or alcantara on the non-wood portion of the steering wheel as well.
On previous fabric convertibles (Saabs) I've had good results with Milton sterilising solution (used for sterilising baby bottles, basically a really mild bleach) and then reproofed with Fabsil which is a camping water proofer for tents etc. Or there's the nuclear option of Renovo cleaner, dye and proofer but I'm a bit ham fisted and never felt brave enough to use the dye.
Not sure if any of those are available in your part of the world.
On previous fabric convertibles (Saabs) I've had good results with Milton sterilising solution (used for sterilising baby bottles, basically a really mild bleach) and then reproofed with Fabsil which is a camping water proofer for tents etc. Or there's the nuclear option of Renovo cleaner, dye and proofer but I'm a bit ham fisted and never felt brave enough to use the dye.
Not sure if any of those are available in your part of the world.
Regardless, car still looks great
Thank you!
I will see if I can find that, or something similar here.
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