Project CLK55 AMG

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Sasha94

Sasha94

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Yeah that's what I'm worried about, it's not good enough for me to be 100% happy but it's not financially viable to have it done properly. It begs the question, what to do? Leave it as it is, with at least 2 panels that have obviously been painted and are deteriorating, the rear arches starting to turn brown again, some seriously bad stone chipping, wear and tear to the bumpers etc etc... or stuff the cost and have it done anyway. You only live once and all that.

I was sort of hoping that the job up to the window line (I could get away with that if the bonnet and bootlid were done) would be around the £15-1800 mark to try and save a little bit of cash but then I thought, why pay all that and still risk having a blend on a silver car, best have the whole car done. When I think I'm ready to tackle it I'll take it to some bodyshops and see what the damage could be. The upside could potentially be that there are no dents so it should be pretty straightforward, the downside is that the 2 resprayed panels could be full of filler!!! Then the cost of new trims, badges and all that carry on starts to make it even more expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if someone quoted me what I paid for the whole car just to have it painted!!
 

m2287

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In my opinion it's just not worth it, 10mins down the road and it will have a stone chip! I have considered the same with my S55 but unless it was kept in a garage and the money was spare I don't see the point... I'd rather take the kids on holiday!
 

LostKiwi

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My local paint guy (who does an amazing job of colour matching) charges £300 per panel.
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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I don't think it's ever worth it but I can't shake the feeling that it would complete the car. Will be a while off yet though, it's good enough for now.
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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So my day at the track was today and I have to say, it was a mixed bag. It was great fun and very worthwhile doing, I'd like to do it again sometime, but probably not in my car. The day was cut short when I heard a 'thud thud thud thud thud....' sound from the front left when turning right which sounds a lot like a wheel bearing dying so I decided not to push the car any further and I went home. On the way home, limping the car all the way it seemed unhappy, there seems to be a pronounced vibration that wasn't there before and the tyres on the front, that were nearly new look a lot less new on the outer edge already!

I feel bad for inflicting pain on the car but when it was out there it was a lot of fun. Hopefully it's just the wheel bearing though it seemed better on the drive home. I'll get the car seen to shortly and see what's what, just waiting to see if any photos of the car were taken as it'd be nice if there was at least one. Will find out tomorrow!
 

Frosty149

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Shame, takes the edge off a good day (no pun intended), hoping it's something simple and cheap.
Did the car live up to your expectations?
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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I was (and there's no point pretending to hide it) furious at the time but I guess that whatever has happened would have happened at some point anyway so it's not too much of a chore to have to sort it.

The car held its own against the other stuff on track, pretty much everyone else was purpose made track cars/race cars and what was standard were Ferrari's/Porsche's/McLaren's anyway but it had plenty of power down the straights and it really handled the track well. What helped was having a really good instructor who was very thorough and easy to communicate with. He gave me the confidence to put the power down and I feel I learned a lot just from having him in the car with me. I was planning on having another session after lunch on the Coastal track as there were plenty of spaces, owing to the vast majority of drivers on track being experienced but the car didn't make it that far.

I had the camera running so I'll look through the footage later, see if any of it is worth showing or if it's too embarrassing haha
 

Frosty149

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You gained some valuable knowledge about the car, that's hard to put a price on and may keep you out of trouble sometime on the roads...
I firmly believe that people need to know a cars limitations and what it's capable of, visits to the track enhance this experience and are enjoyable into the bargain!
Let us know the diagnosis of the problem when you find it, hopefully it's not too serious.
 

Uncle Benz

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Unless you cleaned the black paint off the hub face, under the disc, it could well be that the paint has softened with heat and allowed the wheel to come loose.

Good on you for giving it a go though!
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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I sorted the paint, the wheel wasn't coming loose, I checked that (I was almost hoping it was that!) so I don't know what it's going to be yet. Will sort it shortly. Hopefully nothing too serious :)
 

Frosty149

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Track steward stuck on the front tyre?
Then again what's left would have worn off by time you got home...;)
 

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Shame about the issue Sasha but glad to hear that your motor held its own against newer and purpose built machines... Sometimes that alone is a good feeling in itself!

Whatever the problem is though, hope it's not something serious, if it's a result of wear and tear then I guess it is what it is.

As for the tyre edges, lol I know the feeling! I'd gone to Snetterton as part of a group from the BMW 5 series forum in my 5 series some years ago with then recent tyres, I had to stick to 60-ish on the way home as I'd worn the edges and rears to the limit treads... Expensive day out but thoroughly worth it though!
 

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I've always thought the best way to understand your vehicles (And more importantly your own) limits was to do some form of motorsport be it rallying, sprints, hillclimbs or circuit work.
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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I enjoyed driving the car on the track very much and it was a worthwhile experience. I'm back to the daily grind today though so I don't know when I'll get chance to look at the car. Hopefully the photos from the event will be up by tonight, see if the car is in any of them!
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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After the slight disappointment of having to come home early yesterday I was quite glad to find the track photographer managed to get some photos of the car, I think about 10 in all but they are mostly the same angles as I wasn't around long enough for him to move around much. Testament to how much I was concentrating, I didn't see him at all haha :D

I might have to nip out later for a quick spin so I may take the CLK to have a listen, see if it sounds any better!!

IMG_6636.JPG

IMG_6640.JPG

IMG_6642.JPG
 

silestanix

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Some good pics there! Gotta love that 1st one though, that's like Desktop/Laptop computer wallpaper material...
 
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Sasha94

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Yes that's a good one, it's a shame I didn't make it through all day, the photographer gets some amazing side shots by the pit lane of all the cars so it's a shame I couldn't have stayed for those but such is life. I am happy with the pictures that were taken though so all is well.

The car sounds better today but there is still a noise although slightly quieter. I'll fix it shortly though :)
 
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Sasha94

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THE BENZ LIVES!!!!! My Dad had a go in it today while I am at work and he has declared, no funny noises, a slight vibration from the back when travelling uphill at 50 mph (which I suspect is a UJ and it has always been there) but most importantly, no funny noises. I'm not 100% sure myself really how bad the noise was on track but I suspect it wasn't as bad in real life as it was in my head. I arrived on track pretty paranoid about breaking it so maybe I mentally lived up to that paranoia. I fixed my painted hub mistake a while back, I removed everything and used the method described by someone on here earlier, used grinding paste to clean the surface off before I went on track. I also made sure the wheel nuts were properly torqued up while I was there. It's a 14 year old car with 120,000 miles on the clock so I was expecting to find wear and tear. I'll still have a proper mechanic check the wheel bearings and surrounding areas just in case there is a component potentially at the end of it's useful life and severely hard driving is making it show it's age.

But I guess I feel better about it all today. Yesterday I was on eBay looking as used prices, almost listing it for sale as I felt bad I had wounded it but we're past that now. More AMG adventures will be coming soon :)
 

John Laidlaw

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Glad youre feeling better about it all Sasha. Like you I do feel somehow bad when I'm thrashing machinery (even though it's designed to take it), and feel guilt afterwards...it wears off!
 
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Sasha94

Sasha94

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I did feel terrible about it on Monday but it's not so bad now. I enjoyed the track and would love to have a cheap car to thrash. Myself and a few friends are discussing getting a such a car because they have the room to store one. Doesn't have to be insured for the road so it makes it much more reasonable to arrange ;)
 


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