Hey all,
i just wanted to hare my experience of going to check out a CLK55 in columbus ohio, maybe some will find the info useful or helpful if they are also considering buying, or id appreciate some owner feedback as well;

first, i have decided that i want to buy a w208 CLK55, i have an expiring lease in march so was planning to buy then, i have been watching these cars online to see how many are on the market and what the asking prices are for the past 4-5 months. But if a good one pops up before then.. i would act on it.

there was one in columbus, OH which was the only one i have seen that was not too far away from me (4.5 hours drive), so i decided to go check it out as the photos looked good and the dealer raved about the condition of the car and the price seemed fair at $11,995

from the photos and the dealer feedback my assumption was that the car was in 'very good' or possibly 'excellent' condition. As it turns out i would say that the car was closer to 'good' condition given its age. the car had 6-8 areas where it looked like rust had started to set in but it was covered with touch up paint. mind you these were very small spots, all smaller than your fingernail so if properly cleaned and garaged they would most likely not take over the body right away. the interior was in good shape and all the interior electronics worked properly (seat inflation, seat adjustment, HVAC, etc)

after i had the car inspected at the local dealer i found out that the car had the following issues:
- cracked front spring (upon the test drive the car had a obvious vibration in the front right wheel, could have been the spring only, but possibly more).
- rear pads and rotors need replacement
- slow leak from valve cover gaskets

other lesser problems included:
- recommended all fluids changed
- showed some seepage in the rear diff (not uncommon for a 14 year old car)

also the dealership or the used car dealer did not catch or mention that the gear select LED screen had burnt out pixels so you have no idea what gear you are in when using sportshift unless you are keeping track in your head

lastly, the car did not have the stock wheels, instead the dealer had installed a square setup of TSW wheels with cheap tires (design of the wheels i did not care for) and it also had a set of 2005 SL55 wheels that were in fair condition.

in the end the dealer agreed to fix the top 3 issues mentioned above, but for the wheel vibration he would only agree to the front springs and nothing more after that if the vibration was still there. and no budging on the price and no help on the gauge cluster.

for those reasons i decided to pass on the car, too many variables. if they would have taken $10,000 for the car i many have went for it given how badly i want a clk55, but in the end i decided id rather pay more and have a car in better shape overall. Also the dealer that had the car seemed to be either clueless of any of the issues or just had hoped that an uninformed buyer would not notice, so that affected my confidence in buying the car as well.

would you all have done the same?

 

Just for perspective I purchased 2003 CLK55 for 13,500 with about 80k on the clock. A w208 55 would have to be low mile and in great shape for 12k. They sell here for about 6k to 9k.

 

it was a 2001 with 69,000 miles
im looking for one with about 30k-70k miles

understood your point, what these cars LIST for and what they SELL for are usually quite a difference.
theres only about 6-7 for sale in the country right now with low miles (at least from searching online car sales sites, i havent combed craigslist) and none of them are anywhere near the price you are talking about... so if you see a few down there with low miles for $6-9k let me know ASAP

i figure i will end up in texas or florida to find the right one. i bought my C43 in texas

 

I am on the look out all the time for a great deal so I will keep you in mind. It seems like spring is the best time to find one. Also it seems like the w208 55s are getting harder to find, especially a low mileage one. In all honesty I don't know if I would want a w208 with only 30k. These cars need to be driven or they will start to fall apart. There are a few w209s in the area in your price range but they are all 100k cars. The can be found here just keep an eye on CL.

I know it is too high of miles but Looks nice to me. http://sarasota.craigslist.org/cto/5229995943.html

 

yea i agree with you, thats why 30,000 miles is the minimum i would want, and mostly likely a car with that low of miles would have too high of a asking price, but i would try to negotiate

its a bit of a catch 22, if you get a really low mileage car then the body, paint and interior are in perfect shape but then you have some of the drivetrain/suspension parts that need to be replaced because they never got used/worn in.
but then when you get closer to 100,000 miles (which is still pretty low for a 15 year old vehicle) you get interiors that are not in great shape, lots of dings or body chips and dents etc. and often those cars usually need a few repairs as well.

you could argue both sides of whuich repairs cost more/are more work... getting the interior/body back to excellent condition or replacing old unused parts on a car that was never driven. as long as you know what you are getting into then i think both can work out.

60k miles I think is the sweet spot, and the further away up or down you get from that then you run into one or the other above.

 

Maybe you should start looking in CA http://sacramento.craigslist.org/sea...=T&query=clk55

 

I say never go for a car that has rust issues. If you see rust starting then walk away. What did the underneath look like?

 

Keep searching. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for!

 

I drive my car a couple of times a month to keep it as new when is not raining or wet out.
The climate here is dry and is ideal at preserving any car indoors at top shape.

What would you think a car like this is worth.

I got it from the original owner that ordered it white with two tone silver interior identical to the elusive clk race car interior.
He paid over eighty K as is today and I got the car from the Ferrari dealer in Salt Lake that both the original owner and me have done business in the past with Ferraris
I have collected this car since it was three years old with very little miles and kept it driven carefully as a collectors car since I am single and own many cars
I feel this car at any price beats the heck out of some Ferrari cars

This 01 CLK 55 AMG with 33k on the clock is impossible to differentiate from new....still has the factory film on stock amg floor mats
Not one rock chip,door ding or anything what so ever in like new condition.
I challenge anyone to find one flaw in comparison to new in all respects both aesthetically and mechanically and totally original from exterior paint to everything else...except a stereo worth in its time more than the cars you are looking at and the original unit in a box coming with the car

I am willing to bet there is not another one like it in the world in that level of originality and condition.

I am moving back to Europe and debating if I should convert it to Euro specs and take it there or sell it

Most people do not know the difference between a collectors car in new condition or a used car that needs lots of work

The car has received fluid changes yearly regardless of being driven so little to stay as new.
Dry and new looking underneath also.

What do you think is worth?

Mario

 

Mario
Sounds like an amazing car. Now for the sad part. The w208 55 isn't worth much in today's market. You will be trying to compete with the used market full of c63 and e63 cars. The average person looking for an old Mercedes performance car only cares about price. Your low mileage unit will command a premium over other w208 55's, but since most w208 55's are under $10,000 now I'm not sure what the market will bear. You may get $20k for it if you find the right buyer.

 

I think you are right on the money.

Too much car for the money.

Mario

 

Mario, please make a new thread with some pictures. Would love to see it!

I just sold my 05 CLK, in like new condition with 36K miles. Never saw rain or snow.

Recently, picked up a C55 with 32K miles, also in great shape, but this one will serve as a daily.

 

i never got a full look at the undercarriage only the bottom edges of all of the bumpers fenders and rockers. I didnt really need to; after the test drive and talking to the salesman about the problems with the car, the most of which they were not going to fix or reduce the price for.... i wasn't really interested anymore.

 

just an update since i looked at the car from my OP the seller has reduced it by $2000... reduced it 4 times by $500 each time since then.
so funny that he wasn't willing to budge at all other than fixing the things that were blatantly in need of fixing. at this point im really glad he didn't budge as i would have still overpaid. the current price is probably more realistic though who knows if they fixed anything on the car yet.