CLK,facelift model worth the extra money?

[YamR1,V64motion]

just as the title sugests really,is the facelift model worth the extra when looking for a used one,also if a car has been serviced when it should be by Merc are the gearboxes likely to pack up?,is one with 70 or 80k on the clock still worht looking at?

[seamus]

When I tried to sell my 1999 pre face lift the phone rang off the hook - for post face lift cars.... "is it a facelift model".. had real problems selling it despite having nearly every factory option. Personally I don't see the difference in the cars other than electric seats and indicators in the mirrors. From what I gather these things are strong enough to do monty miles despite the irratic build quality since the 90s.

[YamR1,V64motion]

thanks for the help, ive been looking into it quite alot and although i wanted a 320 ideally, ive found a low milage 1999 230k elegance which im picking up tonight, a friend has a 2001 model and the only difference i ca rally tell is the buttons on the steering wheel, the indicators on the mirrors and the tiptronic gearbox, the electric seats belive it or not were an option on them from the begining so i was told, when looking around for one i found an S reg 320 with the electric seats and digital climate, i would have bought it too but it didnt have the visable vin and turned out it was an import, something just didnt seem right with that one so i walked away, btw love the Cerb,must have been a huge change after a CLK

>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Monday 14th November 13:24

[steve-p]

I prefer the 400SE - a proper V8, and in one of the best colours too

[seamus]

Hope you got your 230 ok, funnily enough I picked up another CLK 320 myself last night.. liked it so much the first time round decided to get another one, it will mean leaving the TVR fraternity for the time being, although I'm sure I'll return. The Cerb is monster fun, scrapping your a*se 4" off the ground with that kind of power is hilarious - if I could I'd hold onto it along with the 400 SE (sold this weekend) I would, but needs as must.

>> Edited by seamus on Tuesday 15th November 09:56

[YamR1,V64motion]

good luck with the CLK, i picked mine up last night, was on the way home when it started to lose alot of power and of course i got rather nervous as it happened on the motorway, stopped in the first petrol station to hear it mis firing badly so pulled off the HT leads and re attached them and its now running fine, the car was driven by a middle aged couple who only used it for local trips etc so it needs to be broken in gently, by the way what 320 did you get? sorry to hear you had to sell the Cerb you must have been gutted, im hoping to buy a Tuscan myself in about a year or so,until then i just have to make do with sportsbikes but im not complaining

>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Tuesday 15th November 12:03

[Seamus]

Phew - glad it was just the HT leads.. sure it will be fine from here on.. all part of the fun. I got an Elegance Convertible with AMG kit/alloys, got it for a good price. Gutted is not the word I would use for selling the Cerb but don't really want to be sinbinned Unfortunately I've had to sell both TVRs and the daily hack (Syncro) and take half the cash to buy the CLK.. was the only car I felt I could live with having had to give the others up. If things sort themselves out in the future I'll be back. Hope the 230 behaves itself from here on out..

[YamR1,V64motion]

i hope your 320 cab is ok too, i did want a cab myself but didnt want to get an older one as i was worried about problems with the roof, the 230 seems good and im happy with it, 1 thing i will say though is the gearbox is smoother in the facelift model, my one is fine but if you use the kick down and i revs very high it feels a tiny bit clunky when you back off and it changes into the next gear, i hope this isnt a fault with it as in normal driving it seems very smooth,one thing im impressed with is the fuel economy over my golf,ive done about 100 miles today for £15,i bet the cab looks good with the AMG kit and wheels,been honest my wheels are the only thing that let the car down and im hoping to find some AMGS at some point but i dont have the spare cash with christmas coming up.

>> Edited by YamR1,V64motion on Tuesday 15th November 23:37

[seamus]

The cab seems fine after the first few hundred miles thanks, had it inspected as part of the purchase and it didn't throw up any undue concerns, have already had to put on new boots all round and did the 4 wheel tracking which made the drive much smoother. The gearbox certainly does seem better from what I remember, wouldn't worry about yours, seem to recall my old one did that. Fuel economy on the Audi/VWs is cr4p compared to its German rivals, the 320 does much better than the 2.8 Syncro. Will drop a photo on profile soon - the AMG kit makes the car much better asthetically IMHO compared to the standard look. Get a set of AMGs as an Xmas present to yourself..

[YamR1,V64motion]

seamus said:

The cab seems fine after the first few hundred miles thanks, had it inspected as part of the purchase and it didn't throw up any undue concerns, have already had to put on new boots all round and did the 4 wheel tracking which made the drive much smoother. The gearbox certainly does seem better from what I remember, wouldn't worry about yours, seem to recall my old one did that. Fuel economy on the Audi/VWs is cr4p compared to its German rivals, the 320 does much better than the 2.8 Syncro. Will drop a photo on profile soon - the AMG kit makes the car much better asthetically IMHO compared to the standard look. Get a set of AMGs as an Xmas present to yourself..

i agree about the AMG kit, i might tret myself to some wheels sooner rather than later if i can find a decently priced set, while on the subject of add ons,do you know if a command unit can be fitted in the pre face lift models? as i would quite like one at some point, good luck with yours and if you ever fancy swapping those AMG wheels for a set of standard Merc ones then let me know
, sadly dont think mine will get treated to a set until the new year, i really like the way they drive and might buy a cab in the future.

[seamus]

[quote=YamR1,V64motion] Do you know if a command unit can be fitted in the pre face lift models? [quote]
The command unit can be retro fitted to the earlier cars, you'd need the unit/leads/aerial/latest disc which are all available on fleabay - apparently it's a sod of a job to fit - I looked into this but decided that it will be easier and cheaper to buy a TomTom which also has the option to download scamera sites onto it, although having just sold a car with factory fitted satnav it does look better than having a box on your dash... if you do go down that route would be interested in how you get on. BTW depending on which AMG wheels you want there are always a selection on ebay.. plus the copy version with tyre packages.. something for the future.

[YamR1,V64motion]

seamus said:

[quote=YamR1,V64motion] Do you know if a command unit can be fitted in the pre face lift models? [quote] The command unit can be retro fitted to the earlier cars, you'd need the unit/leads/aerial/latest disc which are all available on fleabay - apparently it's a sod of a job to fit - I looked into this but decided that it will be easier and cheaper to buy a TomTom which also has the option to download scamera sites onto it, although having just sold a car with factory fitted satnav it does look better than having a box on your dash... if you do go down that route would be interested in how you get on. BTW depending on which AMG wheels you want there are always a selection on ebay.. plus the copy version with tyre packages.. something for the future.

im going to enquire about command and se ehow much of a pain it is to do,if its too severe i wont bother, i saw a set of AMG wheels for i think it was £800 on e bay, my plan is to get christmas out of the way and then buy a set.

[sneijder]

Good thread here for retro fitting Comand to a W208 CLK

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5565

You may have to register to the Website, but you'll be glad you did, properly run thing like Pistonheads.

I have to say though if it was my money, with the costs involved I'd be going for a good Tomtom or similar and using the spare money to get AMG'd up.

[YamR1,V64motion]

sneijder said:

Good thread here for retro fitting Comand to a W208 CLK http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5565 You may have to register to the Website, but you'll be glad you did, properly run thing like Pistonheads. I have to say though if it was my money, with the costs involved I'd be going for a good Tomtom or similar and using the spare money to get AMG'd up.

thanks for the link, i have considered Tom-Tom also but if command is easily available it would be my first choise as its more aestheticly(sp?) pleasing than a portable unit.

[sneijder]

I know Comand looks nicer, bit the early versions really do look a little dated now esp. not being able to enter postcodes.

[seamus]

Had that problem with the Passats Satnav, have to say it really didn't affect the use of it, just a little more input at the beginning. Would prefer the original Satnav as well but think the cost may be prohibitive... hence TomTom. Let me know how you get on.. good luck with the search for AMGs.

[steve-p]

On any rational basis, the top end portable units are way better than the built in versions. Not only do they have more features, but you can use them in any car, even on holiday in Europe for example, and they are of course a fraction of the price. However, many people don't want the clutter of additional things on the dash that they have to take out every time they park up. Additionally, COMAND screens are usually bigger and brighter than any separate unit's screen, and of course the audio and operating system settings are integrated into COMAND nowadays. On balance I wouldn't retrofit it, but I would seek out a car that had it already, if buying used.

[seamus]

Agree Steve, the only problem is trying to find a car with the SatNav that also has all the other bits, in my case I specifically wanted one with all the buttons, Satnav and AMG kit but it seems you can rarely find a car with all 3. Incidentally I spoke to a dealer this morning and they reckon £4.5K to do an entire fit on an Audio 30 (verbal sat nav) which is a direct replacement for an Audio 10 or £6.5K to fit a full comand system.. Even with the supposed bargains you can get on fleabay I doubt it will come in much under £1K including fitting kits etc, and then you have to hope it works! TomTom it is then

[YamR1,V64motion]

seamus said:

Agree Steve, the only problem is trying to find a car with the SatNav that also has all the other bits, in my case I specifically wanted one with all the buttons, Satnav and AMG kit but it seems you can rarely find a car with all 3. Incidentally I spoke to a dealer this morning and they reckon £4.5K to do an entire fit on an Audio 30 (verbal sat nav) which is a direct replacement for an Audio 10 or £6.5K to fit a full comand system.. Even with the supposed bargains you can get on fleabay I doubt it will come in much under £1K including fitting kits etc, and then you have to hope it works! TomTom it is then

that pricing is stupid form a main dealer, after hearing that i dont think i will bother.

[steve-p]

You guys should look at http://mbenznl.com/ who retrofit COMAND or anything else electrical, to any Mercedes-Benz, for much less than a main dealer would charge. They travel (for a fee - even to the US) or I think you can take the car to them in Holland. Lots of people on the main MB forums have used them.