Hello everyone! I'm looking for a fun vehicle to buy and i have my mind set on a clk55 (2001 or 2002). Does this particular car require a lot of maintenance? I plan on buying the car off of ebay and most have between 30,000 to 50,000 miles (some under warranty and some not).

I'm looking for some advice and information from current 55amg owners, so any information you can provide me (a newbie) would be greatly appreciated!

thanks again-

 

First, congrats on your decision to go with the W208-55!

As far as maintenance....that depends on your definition of "a lot" happens to be...... I change the oil and filter every 5K miles and do either an A or B service at least annually.

Parts are expensive, if your not accustomed to european parts prices. Triple that for any AMG-specific part (like brakes). Pads alone used to run $300 just for the fronts! Parts only, no labor! I think W208 AMG parts prices have come down in price slighty, at last peek.

Tires wear quickly on this car. I got 16,000 miles our of my last set....then throw another $1000 log onto the fire.

HOWEVER!

.......the power is intoxicating and you won't regret one single minute of ownership.

That said, you'll lay claim to a sexy beast that gets 20mpg around town with nearly 350hp on tap!

My advice is to purchase the newest car with the lowest mileage you can afford. Then get a thorough PPI done and purchase from an individual that is holding a factory transferrable extended warranty. The powertrain is fairly bulletproof.....If anything does go wrong, it will likely be an ECU or other electronic gremlin, though I've been really pleased with mine.

 

what color

 

I really like black! THis will be my first car (that i am buying myself), so i'm a bit nervous about getting ripped off. I currently drive a ML320 and have had absolutely no trouble with it. It has really been a great vehicle.

EBAY prices are close to 10,000 cheaper then the dealership, so that is why i am considering purchasing a CLK55 through ebay. Any tips about buying an ebay car?

Thanks for the advice!

 

Ebay is wholesale. Remember, make sure it aint a smoker car. Also, make sure you get some sort of 1month warranty from the dealership u buy from online. They are usually 1month 50/50 cost. Remember shipping will run you about 1,500.00. Dont buy an East coast car! If buying from Texas keep your eyes open even more and questions everything, Texas has different laws about cars and they liek to roll clocks back.

 

Heh! I am happy with 18-20 on a highway! ('03) Is something wrong with my car? And at the traffic light it gets down to 6-8. So the city mode is about 8-9.

 

I got mine thur my Benz dealer back in December 32,000 mls and factory warrantee thru July 2006. 3rd Benz, my first (but not last) AMG.

I could not be happier. Yes I paid a bit more than ebay but not much. The peace of mind knowing the car had been fully ecked out by my dealer was worth it. Plus anything needed to be done was covered and performed at no cost before I bought it.

DO IT!!!!

 

Great Advice!! Exactly what to look out for on ebay. I would avoid TEXAS all together. They have very loose title laws.

 

What is differnet about the Texas Title laws? I didn't know there was someting to watch out for here.

 

I bought my CLK on ebay. It was in Chicago by way of New York according to Carfax. It was overall a frustrating, but ultimately rewarding experience. Here's my story...

I had an audi which my dad was convinced was unsave (he drives an E430 Tank), and so he offered to pay a small amount to help me trade to a more substancial Mercedes. I selected the CLK because i liked the two door look, rear wheel drive, and the reasonable practicallity. The problem came with pricing. I know a guy who will go to used car auctions and sell me the car for $500 over wholesale (thats how i got the audi and the volvo before that), in hindsight i should have waited on him to find something, but i found a clk 320 on ebay for a good price and bought it.
Once i bought it, i planned to fly to Chicago and inspect it myself, but was unable to do so. I instead used one of ebay's promoted car inspection companies. The reports came back great, as had carfax, so i had it shipped to NC in a covered trailer. It turns out that these inspectors lack an eye for detail. The car was filthy when it arrived, and had swirl marks everywhere (it's black), and badly needed to be serviced. Long story short i put about 3-4K into it getting it back up to good condition. This included a new differential, belts, fluids, brakes, filters, and several long hours of detailing to get the paint back into good shape. It still needs to have the sunroof fixed and the hood repainted and i just had the wheels redone. The car looks great now, but i had to look at it as a restoration project for a while.

My advice on ebay:
1) VISIT THE CAR IN PERSON
2) Drive it to an MB dealer and have them inspect it closely (dont settle for an OBD II scan)
3) Establish reasonable expectations on what you are willing to overlook cosmetically, if you are looking for perfection, go to a dealer.
4) Establish reasonable expectations regarding your willingness to deal with minor problems arising as you own the car (i found out my shocks were bad when i upgraded to Konis, but would have had to replace them eventually), if you are easily frustrated by this, again, go to a dealer.
5) Look on the dash above the airbag to make sure that there is no crack in the dash running from the top of the airbag to the wood trim near the windshield. This is very common.
6) Drive it, drive it, drive it. Take it up to 80-90 (if you are comfortable), alot of cars problems are hidden at low speeds but become visible at or past this point. This should help you test the brakes too.

Hope this helps. Post pics and a price once you get one. I hope to be in your shoes in a few years so i'd like to see what the market is like now.

 

That's very low....

 

Not sure whether you've purchased- I have a little less miles than you are looking for but it is for sale on ebay! LOL, Cheap plug! (12k miles)

 

I've had mine nearly four years. I think onesidezero may be the one shopping.

 

Sorry, Chappy. I didn't mean to include your quote... I intended to direct my comment toward onesidezero. Best!

 

No prob....you had me thinking I needed to pick up another CLK55!

 

Just paid $29,000 for my 2001 CLK 55 AMG with 21,000 miles. It inspected perfectly and has a 2-year starmark warranty - $0 ded / 100,000 miles. So, how did I do?

 

I would say you got a steal....

Congrats and welcome Don't forget to sign up for the AMG Private Lounge.

 

Thanks. How do I sign up??

 

You'll need your VIN, then go here:

http://www.mercedes-amg.com/privatelounge/index.php

 

Can I ask which dealership in Chicago you got it from?