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Hi All! I've been lurking on this forum since adding an '05 CLK55 convertible weekender to our stable earlier this year; thought it's about time to join your fine online community.
Currently we also have two newer Volvo's as DD's ('15 V60 T6 R-Design, '15.5 XC60 T6 Ocean Race), but previously we've owned numerous Audi's (I know, shame on me). This is our first Benz, a triple black (well dk gray interior) with about 78K miles on the clock. I'd say it's in above average shape.
Unfortunately our new friend has been at the shop more than I've driven him, eating into my mod budget severely, but I think we're in the clear for awhile (knock on wood..inlay). Those repairs included resealing the breather caps on each valve cover, and the oil fill tube; replacing the front lower control arms, front wheel bearings, and just recently replacing the ABS control module. On that ABS module, I originally tried a much cheaper repair on the OEM unit (by BBA) but it didn't work, to resolve the common brake related malfunction faults, limp mode with gear change lockup. I decided to skip trying a used module, and just have a new unit installed $$$. Hey, it's been raining here in northern Maryland most of the spring, so I haven't quite been going nuts with the car in the shop.
Now that summer is near, it's time to enjoy the nicer weather properly, with the top down in a sexy roaring Benz vert!
Just added an identical '04 to my garage. No mods, or mechanical issues yet...knock on wood. Love the car, especially when you factor in the experience you get for the price.
Just added an identical '04 to my garage. No mods, or mechanical issues yet...knock on wood. Love the car, especially when you factor in the experience you get for the price.
Congrats on your new CLK! Have you had other Mercedes cars?
I agree, if you can find a well kept one, you can't beat the bang-for-the-buck with these little hot rods. I'm getting a lot of appreciation at our local Cars and Coffee, considering it's sitting among 6-7 figure exotics and classics. Last week, a gentleman (long time Benz owner) wanted to make me an offer, but I'm enjoying the car so much, I didn't want to entertain it. I may give in next time, if he offers me something starting with a 2; I see there are a couple lower mileage 55's for sale in the region.
Enjoy your new ride, and keep us posted on how it's treating you!
Yes, those are OEM LEDs I purchased from eBay. Plug and play - no decoding required (my old tail lights were halogen, non-LED). Thanks for the compliment on the quad exhaust. Bought used AMG E55 mufflers from Craigslist for $400 and had a local shop install them and do the bumper cutouts with a Dremel tool - came out great.
Yes, those are OEM LEDs I purchased from eBay. Plug and play - no decoding required (my old tail lights were halogen, non-LED). Thanks for the compliment on the quad exhaust. Bought used AMG E55 mufflers from Craigslist for $400 and had a local shop install them and do the bumper cutouts with a Dremel tool - came out great.
Can't beat $400 plus install on the exhaust, nice score!
I'll have to see if there's a comparable OEM (Euro?) LED tails for the CLK, would love those.
I looked on eBay and didn't see any facelift OEM W209 LED tail lights for sale There are however Depo brand tails from Seller fishcake. I actually had these same Depo units installed on my W211 and the look and feel was fantastic (near OEM). They worked great for about 6 months and then they started throwing error codes and the LEDs stopped lighting up when you hit the brakes. Fishcake was very helpful and sent me another pair for no charge - all I had to do was ship him back the old ones. The replacements worked fine for about another 4 or 5 months and then the same problem occurred. Not sure if Depo has corrected the problem or not but when these were working properly they were great. Seems the price on these W209 Depo units are quite a bit more than the ones for the W211 - I think I paid around $190 for the pair.
Now I see why the big price difference. The W209 Depo tails have LEDs top and bottom while the W211 units just have LEDs on the top for the brake lights.
I looked on eBay and didn't see any facelift OEM W209 LED tail lights for sale There are however Depo brand tails from Seller fishcake. I actually had these same Depo units installed on my W211 and the look and feel was fantastic (near OEM). They worked great for about 6 months and then they started throwing error codes and the LEDs stopped lighting up when you hit the brakes. Fishcake was very helpful and sent me another pair for no charge - all I had to do was ship him back the old ones. The replacements worked fine for about another 4 or 5 months and then the same problem occurred. Not sure if Depo has corrected the problem or not but when these were working properly they were great. Seems the price on these W209 Depo units are quite a bit more than the ones for the W211 - I think I paid around $190 for the pair.
Thank you for looking! I'll probably just get non-LED smoked facelift tails, as I'm a little gun shy after prior LED conversions, having had issues with DRL and fog light LED's throwing errors. I eventually was able to get the fogs to run LED's by piggy-backing resistors, but ultimately the output wasn't that impressive, so I removed them for Silver Star Ultras. Plus, the metal resistors got so hot (I had them attached to car metal for safety), it just didn't seem worth it. I have yellow pre-cut lens tint over the fogs for an old school fog light look vs. the off-yellow incandescent (which clash's with the white Xenon headlights, IMO). I'll keep an eye out for OEM's like you have though. Thanks again!
06-12-2018, 01:41 PM
