A friend of mine living in Italy is looking to buy a Mercedes around the 2000 model year. She has asked me for my advice. The car will be used for short drives around town, basically a second car. She has a 7 seater now so space is not crucial regarding the new car. It has to be gas, manual transmission and no big engines.

I was thinking CLK, either coupe or cabrio. I really don't know how well these cars have been holding up or any of the trouble spots, so any advice is really appreciated. If there is a different model that anyone would like to recommend I'd love to hear about too.

I did a search and found some CLK 230 Kompressor Cabrios with a 6 Speed transmission. Would this be a good model? What years would be best? If this engine choice is not good than which one(s) would be best? Is the 200 Kompressor too weak and is the 320 not necessary?

Thank you in advance.


I found some pics of a UK spec car:

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

Unfortunately, Mercedes Benz build quality and reliability took a serious nose dive from 2000-2007 (<-------- inclusive, and for almost all models) so I would be wary of this move.


That said, though, Italian cars are a LAFF RIOT compared to ANY Mercedes Benz of ANY model year.....

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Are there any models you recommend?

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

1999 and older E class in good nick could be all right, so long as no rust, prior reapired collision damage, and with the W210 models from 1996 and up, the spring perch, and electrics are all ok; An E220 with manual could be nice, as they are the base model, and very fuel thrifty yet not tragically slow with a manual.

1993 to 1995 W124 models, same caveats as above apply except srping perches, especially beware of the "environmentally friendly" wiring harnesses on those that are VERY horrendous and costly to replace; otherwise excellent build quality and quite modern.


Actually if it was me, I would go to Austria or Germany or Switzerland and look for a 1993-1995 W124 series E220 cabriolet with manual, perhaps a wine red or a white one. Sweet!!


Basically the W210 and W124 models are Germany and Europes' "bread and butter" cars, and taxis too, so the company reputation is at stake over these best sellers: They HAVE to be good.


I would look on www.mobile.de and www.autoscout24.de for a real good example for sale in Germany

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Does the crazy above 2 liter engine tax in Italy apply to used cars?

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Great question. I'll have to find out.

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz

I was hoping the 2000 model W208 would be ok because of how much nicer the same color body cladding looks and the mirrors with the lights. That's all secondary, when it comes to realiability and quality. If 1999 and under is the way to go, then that's where we'll go.



I agree with you. I've always been a huge fan of the W124 cars too. The problem I'm noticing is that when you find one they don't seem to be in as nice condition as one would hope. A perfect cabrio example is fetching strong $$$ too.

There is a back up plan .... a BMW 3 series.

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1989 300CE Astralsilber/Schwarz
1992 300CE Schwarz/Schwarz