My friend(original owner) is selling his 2004 CLK55 AMG with 34K miles. It was very well maintained as you can see in the Carfax report. The camshaft position sensor and transmission were replaced(kind of weird for such a low miles car NO?).

I have a 2001 C320 with 49k miles which had a lot of problems and has made me skeptical of the MB car reliability. So its either the CLK55 or a Lexus IS350.
How similar/different is the CLK55 AMG to the C320 in terms of parts quality?
How reliable is the CKL55?
What should I look for when inspecting it?
What are the common problems?
What should I expect in terms of service costs in the future compared to the C320?
What would you pay for this car(what would be a good deal)?
Any other help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

 

Does the CLK55 have any options? I believe these were the major options that year:

Xenons?
Nav?
Parking Sensors?
Rear Window Sunshade?
Keyless Go?
CD Changer?
Blue or Red color seat/door inserts?


On Autotrader they are hovering around the $20K mark.
How bad your buddy wants to sell this beast is the deciding factor for price.
Maybe he will bite for something below $20K. I would try for $17K but thats just my cheap side coming through.

As far as common problems go, I think by 2004 they had resolved the whole radiator issue. But do a search here for that just in case.
The fuel pump died on my car but I don't know how common of a problem that is for the W209's.
Other than that, just a few small electrical problems like my headrests would go up but not down. Also sensor in driver's side door handle died that controls window up and down feature from key.
I say go for it. It will be a great improvement over your C320.
Have you test driven it yet? thats the key right there!
If it puts a smile on your face like mine does then you're sold!

 

I have an 04 CLK55 that I bought with 88k miles. Only things I have had to replace are engine mounts, tranny mount, and trans service. If you buy your parts online at good prices and have a good mechanic who will install them at a good price your set. I would get the CLK55 over an IS350 anyday!

 

re your PM. Firstly ~ the 2001 W203 320 is probably the most troublesome car Benz has ever made other than the W211 E Class of similar era. Computer simulated endurance testing backfired. Benz went back to their standard proving grounds in Namibia, Finland, SA etc & they were sorted by 2003.

The CLK 55 is a tough well sorted vehicle. The engine is bullet proof & the 722.6 5 speed tranny is usually tough. I see she suffered a transmission oil leak which was probably the stupid $9 electrohydraulic bush where the TCU plugs into the tranny. A known cause of trouble & maybe the transmission ran low on fluid?? The bush has been redesigned & O ring elastomer updated 4 times.

Other than driving the car & ensuring no gremlins show themselves Check:

- Castor bushes (Front thrust arm bushes) They crack & leak, clonk & effect wheel alignment. Redesigned & cheap.






- Check electrohydraulic bush for fluid weeping (should be new if transmission was changed.) 115, 120 & 125 here. Now sold as a unit.







- Ask your friend why the transmission was changed. Likely causes would have been a spurious TC failure that took out the oil pump. A lazy dealer that did not want to change a faulty conductor plate or a broken solenoid spring on the valve body. If it has a new transmission you should have nothing to worry about. I've known 722.6 transmissions do 1 million Km's if serviced every 39K miles or 60K Kms.

Otherwise no major niggles.

If the car pulls to the passenger side with the camber of the road. Fit the fluted caster & camber bolts & dial in 1 more degree caster on the passenger side (max 2 deg permitted) Typically 9.6 & 10.6 degrees caster.

Listen to stiggs. Bix, Parktronic, Nav etc. are very nice to have. All AMG's come to SA fully loaded. I notice these items were options in the US.

Good luck.

 

I would suspect the 320 gets much better highway mileage @ 70 mph than the 55. The 55 gets around 23/24 average if you keep your foot out of it.
The 55 with 24 valve 113 engine is as tough as it gets. I read a post that a dealer stated the engine is rated for 300,000 miles. Your maintenance will predict that.
The 32 valve engine is the latest of MB AMG pro-powerplants. I hear rumors that the heads are not removable hence the engine is not modifiable or serviceable.
Guys tell me I am wrong.

Cheers, Gator