I'm going to take your word for that. I did a little research and it seems the 360 is a better performer than I had thought. I didn't realize the spyder came in under 3000lbs... I bet that's a blast to drive. Are you looking at a manual or F1?

As much as I hate Ferrari (I'm a McLaren fan), I will admit they're fun cars to drive. If you can live with the maintenance costs, I would highly suggest going that route, as everyone recognizes a Ferrari, and that's your #1 key value.

For 355's and 360's, I'd avoid the F1 transmission. It wasn't until the F430 before Ferrari got it right. The 355's I found were nearly undrivable, and 360's were livable, but would get annoying quick.

The one I'm looking at is an F1. Haven't driven the manual yet, but plan too!

You'll like the manual even more. I'm not a big fan of manual transmissions anymore, but in the 360's case, I wouldn't get the F1. Nightmare of a transmission, mediocre performance, especially in city traffic. Just not worth it.

Hey Joe,

I don't own a Ferrari but I have the next best thing....friends that own them! I get to drive them but they are the ones stuck with the maintenance bills. Cost of maintenance is no joke...make sure you get one that has just had its scheduled maintenance done.

As far as looks go(your number 1 criteria) Ferrari all the way unless you want to mostly impress the AMG crowd.. Most people will not know the difference between a BS and a clk350. Pull up or drive a F-car around and everyone and their mother will know or notice it. Rent one for a day and drive it around...you'll be sold on it.

Lastly, it is fast enough unless you are going to track it.

GL with whatever you decide on

Thanks Norcal, I am looking forward to making a decision soon.

remember with the fezza you are getting ferrari looks and technology 2 generations old . personally i do not rate the 360 at all . it is slow regardless of what they tell you , it does not handle very well on the limit .
its dated inside and the interior build quality is lacking .
i love 360 challenge stradales mind you .

This is so true! i just did a quick search on an Australian cars for sale website and found that they had 42 x 360 available and pretty much all had done less than 10000kms or just after the first service...haha

OK Brutha's,

I made my move! First off thanks to all of you for your input, I appreciate the enthusiasm on this site.

The SLK55 is sold! The car I chose....and let me say I'm so excited about it is the "CLK63 AMG Black Series". She will be named "BB", short for Black Beast!!

I pick her up at 10:00am tomorrow morning!!!!

MJ

I passed on the Ferrari for a variety of reasons, but my brain which wins out more often than not as I age, always knew I would pick the BS.

Good call, you're gonna love it! My list was similar to yours, and the BS is in my garage.

Congrats, and welcome to the club!

Wait till you drive it, it'll exceed all expectations!

Mellow,

I see you are in Atlanta as well. Gimmie a couple of weeks and maybe we hook up for a cup of coffee somewhere. Let me know if that works for you.

Joe

Rage,

I'm thrilled to be in this small prestigious BS club!!!

welcome to the club

I've had mine for about 4 months now and have loved every minute of it. None of my friends ever expected that kind of sound to come from a CLK. My biggest issue when I was looking for a car was actually fitting in it properly. I'm a little over 6'3" and fit so much better in my BS than most of the other cars I tested (though the Nissan GTR was also pretty roomy). The seats are tight but I still have room to wear a helmat. Even my 6'6" brother sat in it a didn't complain about leg room.

I live in Dallas where Porsches seem to make up about 1 out of every 3 cars and Lambos/Ferraris/Aston's are seen on a fairly regular basis. I will say that most people don't look twice at my car when I'm just driving, but when someone is a "car guy" they really appretiate what it is. To be honest, I don't care about turning the heads of people who only appretiate what they know to be expensive cars. The first month that I had the car, we went to the lake where I had 2 lake friends (that I don't see on a regular basis) show up with new cars. One was a Ford GT and the other an Aston Martin DBS. Needless to say, most people didn't even notice my new toy. I let my wife (sober) drive me (not so sober) back from the lake. On that drive home, a guy pulled up next to the car to check it out. His jaw dropped and he gave my wife a big thumbs up right before she dropped the hammer.

I guess what I've rambling about is the fact that I think you made a great choice. I may not be the fastest or lightest car out there and it won't turn heads like the Itlalian, but your BS will make you smile.

Awesome choice! I tend to go for the performance of the car over the looks, as I feel over time that is what will make you happy - and the BS is an absolute blast to drive - the 360 is nice to look at and more attention grabbing, but when it comes down to it the AMG Black Series just is much newer technology and a monster of an engine.

Post your driving impressions after you've taken it out a good bit!

I have been around the CLK63 and 360 modena. I would personally jump on the CLK63 black series over the 360. Dont get me wrong the ferrari is an Amazing machine and you can tell they built the car with passion, the drive, the looks, etc. my friends cousin owns one and we took out for a spin a couple of times. But after being in the black series id take it over the 360. Its honestly the most enjoyable/fun car you can have in your garage. Its aggressively styled, performs like a you just unleashed a rabid pit bull off the chain and you don't have to worry about very high maintenance costs like the Ferrari.

Congrats, you "chose wisely" said the old knight.

Sounds good - send me a PM. I am thinking of hitting Caffeine & Octane next weekend, maybe we can sync up there.

There's at least two other CLK Black Series owners here in the metro, probably more.

Indiana Jones and the last crusade...Great movie. lol

best thing I ever did, was get a Ferrari

Well.....How about an update!! The deal for the CLK63 fell through the cracks with the local Stealer! Said he liked having the car like he had a museum! So I told him to keep the car!

AND yes, I bought the Ferrari!!! Awesome driving experience with the F1 Tranny!!!

I'll stop by from time to time......But I'm off to Ferrari land!

Ciao

Hope you love your car!
Like the 360, the CLK BS will stand the test of time!

One day you'll want to experience torque and we'll see you again!

Dunno, F360 is showing its age, in terms of performance and looks. Ferrari v6/v8 line, especially since the F360, is mass produced and each subsequent models seems to blow the previous model out of the water.

For a long term buy/collect, I would go with the CLK63 BS all day long. CLK63BS is one of the best cars MB has ever made, period.