Iam fairly new on this board and considering buying a CLK550. I have some questions and would appreciate any help possible before going to the dealer.

1) 2007 is the first year with anupdated body right?
2) Will they sell the AMG front apron for the CLK550? I don't need the extra HP but love the new front apron.
3) Never owned a Mercedes but I have heard a lot of bad things about serivice, how you have to do everything through the dealer or it voids your warrany. Is that true or a myth?
4) I was considering a 2005 CLK55 AMG but for a little more I would rather have a brand new car with about the same HP and options. What would you do?

Thanks for any response!

 

1) 2007 is the first year with anupdated body right?
By updated body do you mean the existing chasis and body style? If so, no. The current CLK (W209) was first released in 2003. The only thing that has changed since, interms of appearance, is the styling of the front bumper. The exterior of the current model and the first year are interchangeable.

2) Will they sell the AMG front apron for the CLK550? I don't need the extra HP but love the new front apron.
The CLK550 should come standard with the AMG package. It's the same bumpers and rocker panels (at least it was with the CLK500s). If it doesn't, yes you can purchase the bumper seperately, but my recommendation is if you're ordering a new car, buy the factory option as opposed to ad hoc. You will be happier purchasing the entire body kit as an option than sepreately.

3) Never owned a Mercedes but I have heard a lot of bad things about serivice, how you have to do everything through the dealer or it voids your warrany. Is that true or a myth?
The service is dependant on the dealership. You will always find poor service as well as excellent service. If you go to a reputable dealer they will treat you right... do your research before you go to them. This applies to all shops, not just MB. I've heard horror stories about BMW shops as well as Audi as well. I've had nothing but praise for my dealership albeit they're always busy but that's because they're that good. Some people buy a Mercedes, and yes it is up there in price, but they expect the dealership to basically bend over backwards to kiss their butts. Just a note, MBUSA no longer provides free loaner cars to everybody when you bring your vehicle in for servicing.

The issue of a void warranty is not true. You are free to go to any shop you feel like . The dealership will not fix a problem that was caused by an error "other" shops make, but will cover any parts that do fail. The dealerships basically do not want to be the people fixing other people's messes and that is why they will not cover some of the problems under warranty, for example the other shop using the wrong timing belt. This applies to all dealerships not just MB.

We generally go to the dealer when we first purchase the cars because the parts covered by the warranty will be through the dealer. Also when under warranty, any labour and parts to replace will be free as well. If you're not planning on tuning your vehicle or modifying it (depending on which country you are in), the warranty may still be intact (this applies in the US but not Canada). For example you can install an aftermarket muffler and the warranty will be fine, on the other hand if you bore out your engine for more displacement then, no. Rule of thumbs about mods are anything that is reversable is fine and warranty will be intact.

You may want to read up more on extended warranties as well while you're contemplating purchasing a new vehicle.

4) I was considering a 2005 CLK55 AMG but for a little more I would rather have a brand new car with about the same HP and options. What would you do?
I too like buying new cars, but the CLK55 is much nicer interms of what a car can do. It depends on what you're buying this car for.Ifyou're using this car as a commuter car or in the city most of the time then buya new car. The warranty is well worth it as Mercedes in general are expensive to maintain and keep.

If you're however like me, a speed junky, and plan on tuning the car well you definately want to spend the extra money for the performance of the CLK55.They are a lot easier to tune and you can squeeze that much more out of the engine with minor modifications. That's all thanks to the "Kompressor" (supercharger).


Hope that answers all your questions. If you're looking for more information I would suggest you looking through the mbworld forum. I check this forum occaisonally as this is not a very active forum.


Chix

 

chixdiggit,

Thanks for the information. LOL - justread your screenname.

When I look at the MB website on the CL550, the front apron is similar but does not have the vents on the bottom sides like the CLK63. I know it is minor. Also, I don't see the option for some of the different wheels.

I know what you mean about service. I have had a few Lexus (dealer has been good), Range Rover (ok service), Volvo (pretty good). So I guess it really does depend. I am not looking for them to bend over backwards but to be at least as good as a Honda Service center. They actually treat you pretty well.

 

Not all wheels are available for the CLKs. If you want the OEM look, you could go the the AMG website and download an accessories catalog. You will find the parts number for AMG rims which you can request your dealer to put on your car. If you're lucky they may do a straight swap depending on the wheel that comes with your vehicle. I believe retail, AMG rims will run you somewhere around $2000 - $2500 for a set.

You will also notice that there are certain rims that are not available for the that you may like as well. Although all Mercedes share the 5x112 bolt pattern the wheels are not compatable across the board because of the different size bolts they use. Smaller vehicles such as the C, SLK, CLK classes use a 12mm width bolt to hold the wheels in place, whereas the larger models, CLS, E, S, SL class, etc... uses a 14mm wide bolt. This is because MB uses radius seat bolts as opposed to cone seats.

More detailed information can be found on the mbworld forum's Tirerack thread.

 

The 2003 CLK is the old body. Model year 2004 started the new body. I have a 2003 CLK and also looking at a new clk 550. I was disappointed to se that the interior is just about the same on the 350/500. That's not the way it was earlier.

 

The W209 was available for 2003 as I had purchased mine then. The W208 was also available that year, but I believe it was only for the cabriolet.