Yip the 2000 CLK 320 was a good vintage:angel

Having experience with W210s this will be a breeze in the park for you as they are very similar but luckily no rear window regulators to go wrong:laugh

I think they are excellent cars as long as they are maintained correctly, especially scheduled gearbox oil and coolant changes - but then you would know that.

 

Is the car a coupe, or a convertible?

Either way, it's a very similar car to the W210, with regard to running costs and maintenance. If it's a convertible then that adds another degree of complexity.

50,000 miles could be a true mileage reading, if it was a second or even third car. As long as maintenance has been done, the low mileage is an advantage.

Otherwise, everything you'd be looking for is the same as on a W210.

 

Thanks all for your feedback. I think I can handle it if it is like W210.

One question, it look like passenger side seat has tear in it. It seems to be common issue with CLK. I have seen same on one other CLK I was looking into. Is it easy fix?

The asking price is $3900, I will offer $2500. I believe the seat repair may be about $500.

Any advise on seat repair?

 

When reading a CarFax report, you have to take it with "a grain of salt". Some events might not be shown/reported.

As others have said, the CLK is very similar to the W210. It's a smaller chassis so working on some items is a little bit harder because of space limitation.

Changing things like pilot bushing, motor mounts and upper O2 sensors can be a bit*h

 

Original owner and 16+ years later, needed repairs have been very minimal (e.g. only HVAC blower voltage regulator, MAF and CPS). Other then PM, those DIY repairs have been less than $400.

The power roof system is very complex. It's not a question of 'if' it will break, but 'when'. Dealer repair will be $$$$, but if you're DIY capable, can be done for only $.

If you decide to purchase the car, have the transmission serviced, which should run around $350 to have the fluid, filter and pilot bushing replaced.

In regard to the seat repair, see post #6 at: https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class-w208/541487-front-seat-cover-replacement.html

That seam often fails, because the CLK seating is low and that area is used for additional leverage, when exiting the car.

 

Serndipity and 260e crusier, thank you so much for all the information. I really appreciate all the support I have got since 2004 here in this forum.

I have own 3 of W210, one was totaled by young lady texting while driving. Other 2 W210 I still have it and I enjoy them well.

I have seen MAF, CPS, Brake Switch, conductor plate, transmission connector etc. in mine W210.

I believe for the torn seat on CLK I just do simple fix.

Convertible roof, I will read more on it to make sure I can work on it in case if needed.

Thanks again for all your support.

Some photos of my W210's.

 

I always judge these cars by the condition of the plastic main headlight lenses - if bright and shiny clear then it has been well looked after and kept under cover.

My RHD drivers seat had exactly the same seat tear at the stitching. All the books and keys etc are with the CLK so that is good.

Go for it, all your cars look great - these V6 M112 engines are unbreakable.

 

hadam.....

While the power roof operation is complicated, involving 8 hydraulic cylinders, more than a dozen position/limit switches, couple of valve blocks, a micro-processor, hydraulic pump and CANBus communication with other vehicle controllers, you'll find lots of DIY help/information here and at https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class-w208-5/ , such that, 9 of 10 times, a shade tree mechanic can inexpensively repair.

Also, if needed the roof can be manually opened or closed.

Mechanically, the 722.6xx transmission has been bullet proof. The issues have almost always been with 1 of the 3 electronic control modules and all were preventable. Specifically, the conductor plate gets messed up, due to with not changing the filter and fluid, the shift module dies when a liquid is spilled onto the center console and the main control module becomes a problem when the transmission's pilot bushing leaks, upon which fluid wicks along the wiring harness, into the module.

You might want to have the car inspected by a qualified shop. An indy shop that I sometimes use (a previous dealer mechanic), charges $100 for a 1 hour inspection. This includes a test drive, readout of any stored/pending MB STAR diagnostic trouble codes and a bottoms/up visual inspection (e.g. leaks, suspension, brake lines etc.).

 

Thank you all for your great support and feedback. I am sorry to say that my CLK deal did not go through. I will keep eye for another CLK.

I am in no rush, I got 2 of W210, one W211 (2009), one of W221 (2007) and one of G-550 (2011). Plenty to drive and enjoy, I will keep looking for CLK 2000 through 2003.

 

Hello, All, I am back. I have found a 2003 CLK-320 with about 120000 miles on it. Interior is in good shape, exterior is ok, will need to remove all the hard water spot from it.

Car test drove good, engine is good, transmission is shifting good. I got the CarFax and it is clean car, originally from California, have spent 2 years in Arizona and back into California.

All working except for following. May I get your feed back or response to it.

1. The drive front window switch does not push window up or down. When you use convertible top button (RED) to drop the top down or bring the top up, you can see the driver front window goes up and down, but window switch can not move the driver front side window up or down. I know driver window regulator/motor is working, because it works with convertible top control button (RED) fine when all the windows goes up and down. Can someone tell me if I can buy window switch and it will fix the issue?

2. I have noticed on convertible cover, each side have small flap, that are part of convertible top mechanism and top is down, these 2 flaps, one on each side should sit flat. So when the convertible top is down, these 2 flap, one on each side should sit flat, but they are popping up. I notice that cable cord on these flap did not had good tension, see photos. Do some one know what can be wrong. See photos.

3. During the testing of convertible top, one time it was opening very very slow and go stuck half open. So I shutdown the car and restarted, which reset the timer on convertible top computer and then I was able to open and close the top. What is causing top to move slowly some time and other it worked fine.

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/EyFIkDVFBbVjk4WdKRyiNK5BAZFGz2MGwatsh5CWhY2


4. When opening the top (top down), in initial process, I have to give some push help to top to go down and get into trunk are. Why I have to give some push during the opening? What can be wrong and what is the remedies for this fix.

The over all car is good, except what I describe above. The sales price is $3300, I wanted to pay $3000.

Please can you review my questions and reply and let me know if it is worth to purchase car for $3300 with issue I have describe above.

 

Hi, please can some one reply to my questions that I have asked above please.

serndipity, any feedback on top opening slower some time during my car inspection? Also those right and left flap, not sitting flat with the back cover. Please can you kindly reply.

I am getting ready to purchase the car, but see if I can get some feedback on my questions.

 

hadam.......Based on the difficulties mentioned, when opening the power roof, the likely issues are:

1. Broken tension cables

There are 2 mechanical cables (e.g. passenger and driver side), that run between the front bow and and the rear roof frame. When you close the power roof and the the hydraulic operation completes, the front bow should remain at least 8" above the top of the windshield frame. Next, you will use the locking handle to pull the bow down onto the frame and lock the roof. Doing so closes the roof's folding joints and tensions the cables. Thereafter, when you want to open the roof, after unlocking the front bow, the cable tension is released and the front bow should automatically up, at least 8". This opens up the roof's folding joints (see enclosed picture), where the hydraulics will be able to open the roof. Note: If the joints do not sufficiently, the hydraulics will struggle or stall. The cost of a new pair of cables is around $200 and their installation is DIY possible.

2. An issue within the hydraulic system and per the details of your inspection, the most likely.

For reference go to Top Hydraulics web site at: https://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/content/53-mercedes-benz-a208-info

First thing I would check is the fluid level the hydraulic pump reservoir. There is a cutout in the trunk's rear panel carpeting to do this. Note: see page 4 in the 1st DIY .pdf tutorial link, at the above site.

If it's low, there is a leak in the hydraulic system. Given the difficulty your inspection described, in both opening and closing the roof, it's probably with the Top Drive cylinder(s). Fortunately, Top Hydraulics can rebuild them, as well as all other components, at reasonable cost.

BTW, I trust that what you were trying to show in your video, was only that the roof was having difficulty in coming out of the soft top compartment (e.g. not that it was reversing direction on its own), which indicates a problem with the Top Drive cylinder(s). Also, if that noise was from the pump, hopefully, it's only struggling due to low fluid and not about to die. As you already noticed. the power roof has watchdog timer, that will turn off the pump's motor, after 250 seconds, to prevent burnout. While turning the ignition switch off/on will reset the timer, the motor can overheat and burn out, if not allowed to cool down, between cycles.

Lastly, as of MY 2001, MB made a raft of upgrades (e.g Bosch 2.8 motronic engine management, spill resistant transmission shift module, power roof controller and pump etc.) and are considered the best of breed.

 

serndipity, thank you so much for your response and feed back. One last question, why these 2 flaps does not get flat when the roof is down? How to fix this issue? Is this something easy to fix them?

Please can you let me know.

 

hadam......Since I purchased my 2001 MY CLK320 cabrio, as new, I've never read a forum post, having an issue with those flaps.

If it was ever necessary to replace the flaps, it comes as an assembly (e.g. includes the flap, a bracket and a mechanical cable).

The flap is attached to one end of the bracket, with the other end attaching to the soft top cover. The bracket is made of sheet metal and has a spring loaded hinge. Additionally, one end of the cable is attached to the end of the flap and the other end is anchored inside the compartment storage area.

When the soft top compartment cover opens (e.g. to 90 degrees vertical), upon either opening or closing the roof, the cable becomes taut, which folds the flaps downward, about 90 degrees. After the rear bow completes it's movement, the compartment cover lowers, unloading the cable/spring tension and the flap returns to it's normal position. The purpose of the flaps folding, is avoid a potential collision between the normally extended flaps, when raising or lowering rear bow. It's a very simple system, none of the components are ever under high stress, which explains why no prior flap problem posts were found.

My suggestion would be to check that the brackets have not become bent, because if so, the cable may not fully release the tension to unload the spring hinges and/or spring end stops have moved, keeping the flaps from aligning with the adjacent panels.

One thing I forgot to mention in my prior note, is that the roof can be manually opened or closed. This is done by turning a screw to release the hydraulic system pressure, and opening the rear bow and soft top cover manually, with a special tool (e.g. provided in the trunk's MB tool kit).

Just a hunch. I'm wondering if the current owner had an issue with the power roof, attempted a repair, w/o success and decided to put the car on the market. Either they, or a shop, reduced the system pressure to operate the roof manually and/or to make the repair and then forgot to turn the aforementioned screw back, to restore full system pressure (e.g. it happens a lot). Carelessness when moving the roof components manually, also might explain how the flaps got messed up.

If you found no loss of fluid, check to see if the screw has been properly turned back. It's location is shown on page 4 in the document mentioned above and the screw should have beeen turned back, clockwise, to a stop.

 

Serndipity, you are good. Thank you so much for all your feed back and support for my search of W208. I greatly appreciate the time you put in reply to my post. Thank you.

I have 2009 W211 (sport package OK, but I don't like stagger wheels), 2007 W221 S-550 (What a boat, love the comfort, but its feel like boat), and got 2011 G-550 (Crazy bouncy off road truck driven in the city and freeways, feel bad for environment 12-14 MPG), but still love and enjoy driving my W210's. I don't know, may be I am crazy about the classic styling of W210's.

When I test drove many W208 convertible cars while searching for the good car, I have noticed that I feel like W208 Convertible, kind of little bouncy or slightly shaky and not quite good stable due to may be there is no solid roof and no pillars (A, B, C and D) that given me this slightly un-solidness feelings in convertible W208. For some reason I know W208 don't feel solid stable like W210, I think it is due to convertible soft top and no pillars.

Also, when I went under the W208, I have noticed that there are 2 cross members run from middle side bottom of car to front center, probably these are for giving support for stabilization of convertible car?? I probably need to check those to make sure they are good to get ride of slight shakiness.

The shakiness or not feeling solid is not kind of the one you get from engine mounts when they go bad, it is different kind of feeling. Like I said it is due to convertible soft top probably.

Anyhow, I believe I have found my W208 convertible, you will see me more on W208 forum now. I am making deal to purchase this 2003 CLK-320 convertible with 119600 miles on it. The Car Fax is clean, the exterior body is clean including the soft top, interior is clean, under the hood is clean, except there is small sipping of oil between back of engine and front of transmission (Common on high mileage W210's, I got on my 2001 E-320 same, little leak is ok, don't want to spend $$$ for the engine/trans seal) convertible top will need some service, it is working right now, but I have noticed 1 or 2 times some hesitant in open and closing, moving slow, like you said, it may be cables and lift cylinders. Or relief valve screw need to turn 2 times clockwise to get all the system pressure in the system. I physically check all the cylinder with flash light and touch where ever I can get access, I did not see any hydraulic oil leak evidence, but I did not remove the carpets.

One item to note that when I was in trunk of car, I can see this relief valve screw cut in carpet, but I could not see full cut for Hydraulic oil reservoir to check the level in the carpet. The cut for reservoir level is not open in carpet. The seller don't wanted me to cut the bottom part of the reservoir level part of the carpet to see the level of hydraulic oil in the tank.

I will post here some photos as soon as I get 2003 CLK-320 convertible in my drive way.

Thank you all for your feed back.

 

Hi hadam.......Sounds like you're zeroing in on a purchase and very happy to have been of help.......the W208/A208 are great examples of MB offering both a timeless/traditional design as well as, an example of a timeless quality/reliable product.

Yes, w/o the roof pillars, the chassis will have some flex. It's commonly known as cowl shake, on every convertible, as my prior ride, a 3 series BMW cabriolet

However, MB got the reinforcements right, with little to no difference, between a coupe or cabriolet.

I'm quite surprised that the current owner did not allow you inspect the roof's hydraulic fluid level.

While there is the possibility that there may be a significant red flag, after condition discounts from the asking price, my take is that you, probability got a bargain.

 

Serndipity, thank you. Yes, I got the car over the weekend. It is 2003 CLK-320, with 119600 miles on it.

I have already drove over 300 miles, engine is strong and transmission shifting nicely.

I will be busy for next couple of weeks, will start working on the car by last week of September.

I will order the cables for soft top. I will clean up the car little bit. I will do engine oil change and will check the transmission oil level/condition.

I will check the level on Hydraulic fluid tank for soft top by cutting the small area in trunk carpet to access level observation.

I will put the car on the lift and will do quick inspection (One of the friend has auto shop).

Look like front tires need some balancing, I feel some slight shaking from front tires at speed of 50 to 60 mph, below 50 mph smooth and above 60 mph is smooth.

You will be seeing me on W208 forum.

Below are some pics.

 

Just an update.

Finally got some time to inspect and work on car.

I did following.

Did Oil Change
Installed New Battery
Fixed the seat bolster seams by upholstery shop,mainly driver seat, but passenger seat and other inner side of seat bolster seams was restrained.
Detail by shop to remove hard water spot from external body.
4 New Michelin Tires
4 Wheel Alignment
Undercarriage Inspection
Steering button sticky out.
Got used Wind deflector. I am leaving in the car installed all the time, no one will sit on back seat.
Cup Holder got fixed, now working like new.
Got Bluetooth audio via aux input. I could not believe this 2003 CLK has Aux input in glove compartment.

Inspected hydraulic oil in trunk for soft top, level looks good, no sign of leakage from cylinders or lock or tank. All normal. To inspect, I have to make small cut in carpet, 2 sides had the cut/guide, I have to make 2" cut in bottom to access the visual for tank level.

Soft top is working good, except when I bring the roof down or open, I have to give slight nudge to help roof to go back in storage in trunk. Once the tension cables service is done, this will be good and will work normal, no more need nudge.

I still have to do following.

Transmission oil and filter change. I have seen during inspection slight sipping on transmission pan, this tells me that conductor plate has been replace before I purchased the car by previous owner.

Soft top tension cable either replacement or tightening.

Driver side front Window switch from central counsel is not working, I can open and closed driver front window with key lock and unlock remote. I can also open and closed driver front window with soft top button, but it does not work with central counsel window button.

Also, I don't like old NAVI head MB unit, it is double DIN, I will replace it with Pioneer Double DIN unit. I don't mind for steering wheel controls, I can leave without it.

Here are some photos of my inspection.

I will post separately question on driver side window switch issue.

 

More Photos

 

More set of photos

 

Last set of photos

 

CLK you eventually got looks to be in excellent condition, no signs of any rust which is great.

Well done on your search for the right car and enjoy the ride.

The rest of your fleet looks good too:smile

 

Rorypff, thanks. My heart cry when I see MB owners don't take care of their cars. These are good cars, as long as you take care of them. Some common sense, some knowledge and plenty of support from Forum community made my ownership of 6 MB's quite easy.

Attached are some more photos of engine mount etc. Look like previous owner recently installed the engine mounts.

There is typical oil sipping on these W210's and W208 between the engine and transmission, not big worry there.