omega48er

Hi guys,
i currently own a 09 clk350 and was in the market for a clk550, i love the CLK and think its a great car but i wanted more power, i decided to shop for a clk550 .

almost made the deal on one untill the dealer tried to screw me by saying " that price is only for people who finance with us" blah blah blah.

any ways, i was about to go look at clk550 and the dealer was closed so i came across a 2009 E550. it has about 50k miles and its in budget.

now im torn between the 2. after doing research on the E, it seems that the AIRMATIC can be a big problem, the car already has a saggy front right bag (which is being replaced) my clk350 has been good, really good with nothing else but the scheduled maintenance. and the clk550s are pretty worry free.

the E has all the options, pano roof, push start, cool heated seats, open closes trunk.

what is the maintenance like on one of these? just do not have the extra 3 k to dump into a warranty. would it be my best bet to get a clk? the E is starting to grow on me.
Thanks.

AMGAffalterbach

Airmatic, like any suspension component, is a wear component that will probably not last the life of the car in most cases so that is something you'll have to replace. If you go with lifetime warranty Arnott parts for replacement you'll save a LOT and have replacement free minus labor for life. If you get the vehicle, know that it will cost you about $1500 for each front Airmatic strut (you need to replace these in pairs almost always) plus labor. For the back Airmatic struts it will be $700 for both rears plus labor (I think it was $450 for me at an independent shop).

The E-Class is a very versatile, spacious, comfortable, and with the V8 engine very powerful. Solid Mercedes overall and the interior quality is excellent. The 2009 is a great car and not sluggish at all (same M273 engine in the CLK550 from 09 I believe). Maintenance is what you would expect with an average Mercedes with similar intervals that will cost you more at service time but are spaced out more than your average Japanese car. Parts are very expensive on any German car though, so it's pretty much everything you've already found with your CLK as much of the engineering and many parts are shared. I would personally pick the E-Class over the CLK as it is much more masculine to me and I like the look a lot more.

However, as with any Mercedes (I can't speak to your financial situation so this is just a general note of caution) if you don't have a few thousand in savings for possible repairs and you're straining your budget to upgrade than don't do it. Also remember that gas mileage will be less than the CLK. For me here in Colorado, I spend about $70-85 dollars every 2 weeks on gas as I can get 19 city and 27 highway with my E550 driving super carefully & 11-16 city and 19 highway with my normal driving techniques. Remember I am at 6000ft of elevation and gas prices vary, as with all of these relative expenses.

omega48er

^thank you very much.

I was just scared about spending 3k on the airmatic lol.

the good thing is the car i am looking was sold and serviced at my service center. i am going in to get a copy of the service record and speak with my service adviser.

Thanks again

omega48er

also, not worried much about the gas and other things, just mainly concerned about the airmatic. plus i only drive at most 9k a year.. if that lol.

I will look into an aftermarket warranty.
Thanks

The Thomas J

Aftermarket warranty's don't cover air suspension.

AMGAffalterbach

Aftermarket warranties also fight you on everything you could possibly imagine, or most do anyways. Don't dump the money into a warranty, just save it and use it for repairs. If you are really that strained for money though I would reconsider the decision to upgrade, but I can't speak for your situation.

omega48er

^ thanks again.

also, would it be best to go with MB extended warranty?

I know what the v8 is pretty solid and has very few problems. (going in to the service center where this car was maintained and looking over the records.

last thing, i looked at Arnott suspention and the prices are reasonable. so, if everything works out i might have a 09 e550 black on black =]

P.S MBworld is one of the best car forums i have been a part of. a while back i was about to purchase a 09 335i and those guys at Bimmerfest are JERKS!

AMGAffalterbach

The 2009 is a solid car and the M273 is a great V8, and black on black is super hard to maintain as I'm sure you know if you are **** about it being perfect paint and completely clean, but damn does it look good. I would not have it any other way, as black is definitely the sexiest color for a Mercedes - good choice!

As for the warranty, it's hard to say. I have had my car for a year and a half without a warranty and while I've paid quite a bit in maintenance and a few repairs it hasn't been to bad - nothing unexpected and the car drives like new. I would do more research on warranties - if it is from Mercedes-Benz then I would say you should be good to go, but I know many people that have had nightmare stories about third party warranty solutions so research the provider you go with carefully. Can't offer too much advice above that. Glad you enjoy MBWorld, I seriously love it!

goodmaj

I picked up a 2009 E550 a month and a half ago. Previously, I had an e39 M5 that cost A LOT of money to maintain even though I did some of it myself. In fact, that's really why I got rid of it, that and I was getting tired of driving a manual.

Now, you might be saying WTH, you bought an E550 and don't expect to pay a lot on maintenance? Answer - got it CPO and bought another two years of CPO for a whopping $2295. MB has one of the better CPO programs around, certainly better than BMW's, though it's rare a dealer doesn't sign up for more than the first year.

So, the first question I'd be asking is why isn't the car CPO? MBFS is running 1.99% right now for 09-11 CPO E Classes, so ostensibly the dealer will have an easier time selling it if it's CPO both from a peace of mind perspective and a financial perspective.

If you do consider a 3rd party warranty, just make sure it's one that's very national in nature. You don't want to be stuck in Iowa only to find out the dealer doesn't have a relationship with your warranty company.

For our GL, I decided against buying the MB extended warranty. I think it was around $5.6K for two or three years. Of course, the PS pump went out, the pump that powers the airmatic went out, one of the front struts went out, on and on. Needless to say the GL is now gone.