99-01 Mercedes CLK & E-Class 320/430?

our 2001 CLK55 has been perfect, has 85K miles on it now and running strong, granted we got the car with 70K miles, but no problems with the previous owner, however our CD changer and tape deck(for the ipod) have gone (the dealer said this was very common) and since mercedes uses some stupid fiber optic cable to connect everything its about $800 to get an system reinstalled(non-command), and i dont really want an after market system put in and the radio isnt covered by warranty. otherwise its the A and B maintaince every 8K miles i think including oil changes which i dont like but the car doesnt seem to mind. my only gripes are the squeeks and sounds of the car as it gets older, im used to the older benz's that were built like a tank and didnt make so much noise, then again its an AMG and a little rougher on the road, so maybe an 430/320 will be a little more forgiving

also if your looking to haul people around forget the CLK, its ok for around the town, but the back seats are useless for long distances

 

I've owned a CLK 320 in the past and enjoyed it quite a bit. Like Seth said, the back seat is nearly worthless for anything more than a storage area, but if you needed the rear space you'd opt for the E-class anyway. I never had any mechanical problems with the car and felt that it made a pretty decent daily driver. It's no hot-rod, but it wasn't a slouch either.

 

I had the 99 CLK430.

It was the worst car I ever owned, absolute junk. There were too many squeaks and rattles to count. The transmission failed on me three times and the dealership could never explain the problem. The sunroof stopped working and the cheap little accordion-like piece of rubber that surrounded the sun roof always fell off. The overall quality of the interior materials was no better than a same year Honda Accord.

However, it was one of the best looking cars MB has ever made. The latest CLK looks like it was made for a girl, similar to a mid 80's Camaro Berlinetta.

 

it always seems real hit and miss with these cars, some are fine, and others put people off benz's forever, i think REMIX on the board had a clk55 and is always saying how bad his was, yet ours has been perfect... we were lucky as the car was with the 1st owner when we bought ours and knew the entire history, also if the car has been serviced at a dealer they can pull all the service records and if anything major has happened, well yea dont get the car, doesnt really help much assuming im a diehard benz/AMG fan

 

Same here. Had an 01 CLK 55 and it fell apart piece by piece. I would not want to own such a vehicle outside of warranty. Coming from a former Honda owner, the quality of the interior wasn't bad...Hondas have much more durable material than MBenz.

I did - and still do - love the look of the 99-01 CLKs...they had very good curb appeal. With the exception of the black series, the new ones look like a wussy, female-drivin', tampon-wearin', shoe-shoppin', toenail-paintin' Volvo-type-thing. The older design has held up well IMO. I used to get a ton of compliments on that car.

They should have left it alone.

RMX

 

Fabulous cars for the money they command today. Pennies on the dollar.

 

+1

I own a CLK 320 and it has been a great car and I've been fortunate with few issues. A air mass sensor went out a few months ago and that set me back about 400 dollars., but other than that it has been trouble free.

The single biggest surprise about this car has been the gas mileage. I can get close to 30 MPG on the highway. Yet the engine, for a v-6 has plenty of pep and like most mercedes you can find yourself well above the speed limit if you aren't careful. Agree with the backseat as being worthless....except that most of my friend's girlfriends are petite and you can fit a few back there with ease....men or larger women? no way.

But I can't exactly say I found the CLS to be roomy in the backseat either.

 

I recently sold a 2002 CLK430 coupe for $22K last month.......it had 80KM on it and was in immaculate condition........cheap eh ?

The original MSRP was $87K........
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is the orginal MSRP in CAD$??? no way the 430 was that, our orginal sticker was around $72K USD i think...

 

Yep........CAD $ when loaded up with options.