xaveon

I just purchased a 04 CLK and have 4k miles on it. And after reading a few threads and checking out the 05 CLK with the new COMMAND, DVD NAV, 7 Speed, New controls for Heat/AC. I got the 04 CLK for $8k under MSRP with COMMAND and everything. But the 05 is so tempting. I'm wondering if I can trade it in for a 05? How much would I lose? I know I would be losing the free maintenance. But I would get an extra year of warranty. What do you guys think? How much would maintenance cost for the life of the car? Would it be worth it?

tampaclk

at lease wait 2 years to get passed the initial first year drop in depreciation.
plus if a redesign occurs in '06, you'll get beat down on your '05.

RJC

With 8k off msrp you're off to a great start, if you can get say $5k off the 05 you may not be so bad off in the trade. The redesign seems to be for MY 2007 and as the poster above states it would probably be best to wait for that...

LILRAJA

how did u get 8k off clk? Let me know.

jello2594

I paid about 8K under MSRP for my CLK500. It wasnt very difficult, I went through a broker. I did all the deals over the phone and never visited a dealer in the whole process. The car was delivered to me, tinted, rims changed, ready to go.

AMG///Merc

It seems that only the kompressor 55 cars are really holding their resale value. I have an immaculate 2003 CLK55 with 18,000 miles, it had an MSRP of $79,075, and from what I understand, I'd get about $45,000 on a trade, if that!

I had been thinking about trading into an SLK55, but it seems that I'll need to cough up about $20,000 to do so, which ain't happening. I figure for less money, I could get the new intercooled HPS supercharger, a complete suspension upgrade, and a few other extra bits to boot. If the difference was less than $10,000, I would have seriously considered it...

Also, if you were able to get $8000 off of sticker, which means you must have bought it at or below cost (The CLK's have surprisingly little mark-up, and there are no factory incentives). That to me indicates that they must not be seling well in your area (Unless it was brought in from out of state), so I have to think that the dealership may not be willing to give you fair market value (By fair market, I mean fair for dealer wholesale)...

Fortunately, I am happy with my car, because it appears that I'll be owning it for awhile!

Best regards,
Matt

AMG///Merc

You apparantely got an extraordinary deal, being that you bought your CLK for almost $3000 below invoice!! I priced up both a fully loaded 2004 CLK500 coupe and cabriolet. I priced both cars with EVERY single available option. Loaded as such, the coupe MSRP's for $69,580, with an invoice of $64,452, which means there is only $5168 worth of mark-up!

A loaded-to-the-gills cabriolet has a sticker of $75,220, with an invoice of $69,657, which leaves only $5,563 of mark-up. There are NO rebates or factory incentives with the CLK's either...

I've checked several different sources for the pricing, and they all come up with the same figures. I don't know how your broker managed that deal, but needless to say he certainly knows how to broker a good deal!! The more I think about it, if I can sell my CLK55 privately, and find a broker who can manage a similar deal on an SLK55, it just might happen! Do you know if your broker can work deals in Pennsylvania? If he can broker me a similar deal, I'll owe you the best steak dinner in the finest restaraunt in your town!


Best regards,
Matt

tampaclk

I got about $7500 off my pretty loaded '04 clk 320 in July.