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i currently have a bmw e46 3 series convertible. i hate the 3 series due to all the problems i have had with my current car and the coupe i had before. i am VERY close to buying a w209 clk 320 this week. can anyone give me some insight on these cars as i have little knowledge about mercedes. i always hear that the quality is going down and mb's have a lot of mechancile problems too. im 24 and have only driven bmws since i got my liscence...so i have no idea what i am getting myself into. any help will be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[Ashar]

MB quality control has picked up esp. if you go for Dec.03 onwards production. CLKs provide elegance, luxury and style with a sport/performance package that no car can match...period! There can be irritating problems but it's usually worth it considering how you end up hooked on a 209. frankly , I don't think any American & US car manufacturer's can compete with the Japanese when it comes to quality control..eg. Lexus etc. One more thing... Watch out for the CLK 350 on the road soon. Frankly...if you can afford it..you can't loose with any V8 CLKs. After having said all this...no one can predict who ends up with a lemon!!

Best of luck!

 

[ian-kent]

I have owned my CLK320 Elegance cabriolet from new for a year and a half now and what a beautiful car. The ride and standard/quality of equipment/leather etc is second to none.
BUT I have had 3 electrical faults and now an oil leak has developed, but that is not where the problem is. Every time it has gone in for some work, the mechanics have damaged the vehicle in some way and it is not just me being unlucky. My brother is on his second new E class and he has more problems with the mechanics/quality of work than I have.

List of issues(me):

crushed key
cut the workings of the soft top(no convertible for 3 weeks)
covered the whole of the interior in oil and grease(had to replace 2 of the seats)
damaged the paintwork - twice

My brothers car:

They actually dropped an engine/pallet on the front of his car and had to rebuild the front of the car.
During a service they forgot to replace the seals causing oil to spray and cover the engine bay.
He has had to have both cars interiors replaced due to them covering them in oil/grease etc
They have also damaged the paintwork on his second car.
They failed to carry out the routine services correctly - only changing one of the four glow plugs etc etc etc
Plus every one of my friends who own Mercedes have had similar issues.

But they are nice cars!

 

[Ashar]

That is one sick & incompetent dealership. Have you talked to MB HQ in UK? I would....as I am not taking this rubbish for all the hard earned bucks earned.

Cheers.

 

[ian-kent]

Ashar - 3/9/2005 10:41 AM


That is one sick & incompetent dealership. Have you talked to MB HQ in UK? I would....as I am not taking this rubbish for all the hard earned bucks earned.

Cheers.

The worst part about it is it is not just one dealer, it is 4 different ones - London/Birmingham/Newcastle.
Yes I have contacted :
DaimlerChrysler UK, LtdTongwell,Milton Keynes,BuckinghamshireMK15 8BA

I wish I had kept there response as you would not believe it, they are even more incompetent than the dealers/mechanics. They twice avoided the issues trying to palm me off with excuses and tried to get off of the subject telling me about different deals and upcomming models etc etc - Pure and Utter Bullshit.
Mercedes may make nice cars but every other service is less that pathetic.
To be honest after DaimlerChrysler UK's 2nd response I gave up.

 

[rbrylaw]

I'm happy to report that my '05 CLK Cab's (320 and 500) have been absolutely flawless. I've been driving MB cars pretty exclusively since 1995 and I've never had any significant issues with any of the almost 15 I have owned.

Rod