advice please on running a clk 320 cdi

[mercatwerc]

hi guys

I'm considering getting clk 320 cdi 7g tip, around the 56/07 plate, probably in obsidian black. But my question is this ....

whilst I love the look of the car and enjoyed the two I've test driven, I'm really worried about both the reliability and the servicing/ repair costs.

I've had a c250 estate as a company car between 97-2000 and it was a great dissapointment with a serious of electrical and minor faults and a rude and unnterested main dealer. As my then company was paying it didn't matter.

Now I'm self employed, it's more of an issue. As much as I want one and am happy to commit £25K +, I'm still haunted by the stories I've read and my experiences with MB dealers have also been poor ( rude, not interested unless I wanted finance etc.)

Any Feedback about the car, knowledge and wisdom about the 320 clk would greatly appreciated, plus any recommended specialist to buy/service around wilts/berks.

Many thanks

ps ...is Black the best colour for this beauty...I'm financial adviser, not a drug dealer.....thoughts please.;-)

 

[jberks]

A friend has a 2005 E320cdi. He's had it a year and hasn't stopped grinning yet. Reliability wise, nothing has gone wrong at all.

In terms of dealers, most are better than they were (MB won the "most improved" award last year) and competition is hot these days so if you find a dud, bin them and use another.

 

[David Nock]

The CLK 270 CDI is excellent, no problems with our Sept 2004 car up to present 23000, (other than a couple of small warranty items). So much so that the 320 CDI is top of our short list for next car. From membership of this forum I've noticed that reliability seems to be tops on the CLK (W209, which is what your talking about).
Of course they tend to be more of a leisure machine than a workhorse, so perhaps better treated?
Colour is personal....we like light interiors for 1 thing. Have tended to silver cars like most people but recently taken with 'fire opal', a solid red colour. Matched with 'sand' interior it's great. Strangely a bit ordinary matched with black interior.
Servicing costs can be hedged against with merc's own 'Service Contract Plus' Do a search on here under 'S-C-P' and you'll hopefully find it an interesting scheme with many benefits and not many downsides that we can see.

 

[NewMB]

I would say that there will be no issues with the engine.

The 320 Cdi is one of the best in the whole line-up and is very strong. As a company, we operate several cars with this engine and none have had any problems.

Warranty work, well.... thats another thing. My command unit gave up the ghost last year, but obviously had nothing to do with the engine.

I would go for Obsidian Black anyday..... looks great (except looks dirty 1 hour after wash).

 

[DougCLK320]

I tend to like contrasting interiors - black interior with silvers and other light metallics, light grey, sand or cream (leather of course) with the blacks, dark blues etc. I've not seen one in "fire opal" (aka red) yet, so will reserve judgement.

 

[David Nock]

I tend to like contrasting interiors - black interior with silvers and other light metallics, light grey, sand or cream (leather of course) with the blacks, dark blues etc. I've not seen one in "fire opal" (aka red) yet, so will reserve judgement.

I've posted some pics Doug on another thread about Fire Opal Red.

 

[Blobcat]

ps ...is Black the best colour for this beauty...I'm financial adviser, not a drug dealer.....thoughts please.;-)

Well you wouldn't want a silver one would you....:mrgreen: