Mercedes-Benz CLK Cabriolet (2003 - 2009) 350 Sport 2d Tip Auto Owner Review

I had a test ride in a 3.5 "Avant-garde" version in the summer of '23 and even as a passenger realised this was a special car.

Later I sourced a 2005 CLK350 Sport in a private sale from a guy literally half way across the country, normally I'd have considered it too far, but he was willing to drive it down to Newbury, where I live, on a mini-break with his wife (which was a good start, he obviously trusted the car) and we arranged to meet for a viewing.

The car looked and sounded amazing, no clunks from the suspension, gearbox smooth, and the mechanic I took along to be the voice of reason fell in love with it saying "Snatch his hand off"... so I had no bargaining angle, and no choice but to dive in...

The drive 150 mile back when I collected it was uneventful, but the motorways were all limited to 50mph, so I set the speed limiter to 50, and took it easy.
That night I averaged 40 mpg. It literally wafted along, excellent start.

Since then with occasionally more spirited driving I'm getting 32½ mpg, with medium length trips where there's town or traffic down to as low as 28.
That's been confirmed by my measuring what I put in the tank, it's amazing really.

Within a week I'd booked the car for a proper inspection with a local Mercedes "specialist". That didn't go too well. They said it needed some urgent work that neither the previous owner, or my friendly mechanic had spotted.
So, after 4 new brake lines, 2 new FRONT CALIPERS(!), a parking sensor, gearbox service and a deep investigation to see if it was a "peach" or a "lemon", I ended up with a bill for £1700, and an assurance it was sound... thank God!
Now that sounds bad, but honestly pretty much everything they found was stuff that, taking the long view, were service items. It was just that I'd done most of them simultaneously, and pre-emptively. And driving the car, you wouldn't have known anything was needing doing.

After that I took it to another German car specialist, who is actually a good mate, and we really went to town on the car:
New tyres all round.
Old under-seal removed, checked for rot, and new sealant applied.
Aircon stripped, all seals replaced, new condensor/drier, re-gas.
Rear differential oil changed.
New gearbox mount (the originals are known to go soft and allow the 'box to rotate under load).
Interior electrics all checked, including sun visor lights, and the pneumatic seat pillows (a second hand controller unit from ebay for £25 got them working fine).

Then we discovered that a metal plate under the front steering rack had been chaffing a lower coolant hose and if I'd driven it much further it could have split without warning so...
Complete set of hoses (but at 18 years old, they SHOULD have been replaced already).
New radiator (mounts had snapped, and although it appeared to be working fine, at 18 years old, you know it was getting to be gunged up and near the end of its life).
New water pump (bearing was noisy, but you couldn't tell with the engine running).
New V belt and tensioners.
New fasteners for the under trays.

Now it was a lot of work, BUT it was done in one hit, and none of the parts had given trouble, but were at 18 years and 94,000 old, going to need replacing on ANY car soon. And don't believe the hype about Merc parts being expensive, they most certainly were not.

Eg from AutoDoc we got a Nissins Aircon condensor for just £90, a (good) new radiator was £150, water pump just £70.

New parts from Mercedes are ridiculously cheap. I needed a set of wheel nuts for the steel spare... £49 for a second hand set on ebay, or £10.60 BRAND NEW for 5 from Mercedes.
Plastic trim for seats and bolts, less than £5 genuine and new.
A repair kit for the plug-in part of a cam sensor (previously bodged with zip ties to hold it together) £2.65 + VAT.
A "rivet" to hold the boot carpet in place just £1.35!

And from Germany I got (ready for some time in the future) 2 rear discs, pads, fixing kits and sensor, all genuine Brembo as fitted originally... for less than £80, for BOTH rear wheels.
Honestly, this Merc is cheaper to run than my old Toyota, and Mercedes dealers are offering MOTs for £20 each... really don't believe the stories about them being expensive.

Right, now having blown the budget on putting the clock back on this car, was it worth it?

Oh, my goodness yes.
The seats (I shampood them and treated the leather to lanolin) are ultra comfy (and heated), the handling is superb (18" alloys are good for spirited driving but not too fragile for our pot-holed roads), the acceleration in "C" for Comfort mode on the gearbox makes you smile, and in "S" for Sport mode makes you hang on for dear life!
The '350 allows you to use the power without the "Oh No!" feeling you might get from the larger engined cars' tendency to kick the rear out if you go for it.
What I particularly like is the button under the accerator pedal. If your foot is already touching the floor, then you are no doubt intent on mischief. But if you depress the pedal further... you activate the Mr Hyde personality of this car, the revs scramble up to 4..5..6.. thousand and "mischief managed" as they say in Harry Potter.

It's got comfort, performance, room for 4 real sized people, very decent economy, practical boot space with the roof up, stunning looks, and a 30 year anti corrosion warranty!

I only wish that we had spotted that some parts were at the end of their life when negotiating the purchase price, but it had been MOT'd literally 3 weeks earlier with only minor advisories (rear discs a bit worn). But saying that, I could have spent £2,500 more on a car a couple of years younger, and I would STILL have had to get all those jobs done, peacemeal, at far more expense (particularly if a part had failed on the road, like the radiator or a hose) as the miles racked up.
As it is, I know the gearbox is working perfectly and has fresh oil and filters, I know the diff' is good, the tyres are excellent, the brakes perfect, and the electrics and chassis in perfect condition. Even the cup holder works (a common failure).

I think these cars represent excellent value for money, almost as fast a Jaguar XK but half the money, they are practical, elegant and under £5,000.
I paid £3950, plus £3,500 in replacing/servicing parts, which DOES sound eye watering, but I have a car that I know is rust free, drives like new, has virtually all consumables either new or with plenty of life left, and has the AMG body kit, full one piece exhaust, AMG wheels, and suspension kit all factory fitted, and looks like it could not only go head to head with any Porsche or BMW, but you could drive to the South of France with the top down, like a movie star.

Yes I love this car, it's the car you always wanted, but don't realise (until you sit in one).