Hi everyone.

Im new to this board. Im seeking advice as to what Benz to get next week. Here are my choice.

2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class CLK55 AMG BLACK 69,990miles
or

2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class CLK500 SILVER 50,283 miles


I am lost. They are both the same price. I have a few days to decide. Can anyone help me?

I'm a 34 year old guy in NYC (wont be driving my car around the city). I have no kids.. and I want something that will hold its value and resell well in a few years.

Thank you

Both will lose a lot of their value and there's nothing that you can do about it. The AMG might be more fun.

Howa bout the cost of the AMG overall? Is it that much more to fuel this bad boy? And will it kill me in the long run on parts and service? Is there really much difference?

I guess it depends on how many chicks you want to beat away from your car with a stick.

If you are married, go with the 500, if you are single......... no brainer????

There are a few key words on your inquire, which are at the last of your post:

" ...and I want something that will hold its value and resell well in a few years."

Based on that I will definitely go with the CLK 500 instead of the AMG.

The basic problem is this: most AMG owners buy their cars to put them to the extreme constantly (who wouldn't???). That is the general idea on the used car market, hence second or third hand owners are really uneasy about buying AMG models. Proof of my statement: Both 2003 models are now the SAME price, while brand new the AMG was more expensive than the 500.

Although they are equal now, as time passes by, the AMG will depreciate faster and harder.

In terms of maintenance, I will be also a little bit less worried about the CLK 500. The AMG always has special parts which have to be constantly special ordered and are more expensive (I know this from a friend that owns an S 55 AMG, while most S 500 get their parts on site).

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

why only a few days to decide?

Have you gone to the Mercedes International Site and then to the German Homepage and checked out the new 2008 C-class do out in the second half of the year. Bigger then the current model there wil be a 450h.p. AMG plus a range of v6's up to around 270h.p.
Build quality and handling should be much better then these 203, and 208's.

An AMG will take a beating on the horrible roads leading into and out of the New York area.

If you need to ask if you should get an AMG it probably means (my opinion) you should avoid it.

have you browsed these forums and gotten familiar with the problems Mercedes has been having in the past few years? seems that by 2005 the cars have been sorted out in a major way. 2003 model year is a sketchy model to aquire.

Diversifiedauto is a freakin Suzuki dealership, don't by a Mercedes from them.

Dude, trust me on this, go to your nearest BMW dealership and check out a new 3 series coupe, or live big and admire the new X5 - big money but very nice. Or else wait for thr new C-class, wild looking.

If you buy one of the Mercedes you've provided links to you'll regret it. Go spend your money on a mechanical Swiss watch and a deSede leather couch.

I wouldn't buy either car without having a qualified Mercedes technician do a pre-purchase inspection first. I would also pull a CARFAX.

__________________
Bill Wood - Retired Webmaster
My Personal Website
1998 Mercedes E430
2010 Toyota Sequoia
My Photo Albums

I totally disagree with your comment that AMG owners buy their cars to abuse them.
Not true.
As a mobile technician, I have found that most owners of the AMG vehicles take really good care of them as opposed to the lower performance vehicles.
Most of the ones I deal with as customers have had many mercedes through the years and have finally stepped up for the top of the line vehicle and treat them as such.
At least here in Atlanta, that's the general concensus, although they do get their occasional romping on, but in this traffic, you can't ever get the chance to really clean out the pipes.
Also ,theese are the types of owners who make sure they fix everything as needed and do not neglect even the simplest minor problem.
In general, theese owners expect the best , that's why they bought the car in the first place.
I just speak from my personal client experiences.

It's not that the AMG variants' don't hold up well to hard driving, they do. After all, that's what they're made for, and they definitely perform well. True, the wear-and-tear items (brake pads, tires, etc.) will cost more than non-AMG parts. They just don't retain much value when it comes time to sell.

A client of mine bought a new (at the time) 2004 SL55 for about $115,000. Fourteen months, and 11,000 miles later, he couldn't give it away. Want-Ads, e-bay, brokers, he tried everything. He finally sold the car back to us for $83,000, and he was happy to get that much. You do the math. We wound up getting less than $90,000 for it at auction.


AMG = Additional Money Gone

I agree with Bill, do yourself a favor and have it checked out by a reputable Benz shop or tech.

Neither car would be a good choice as an investment.

For that matter, I only owned one car that had a good resale value upon trade in and that was a Honda Prelude. But I believe the extremely low miles after a 5-yr. period of ownership (20K) had more to do with that...my wife rarely drives her cars, but piles the miles on mine!

That said, I would opt for the "fun factor! The AMG! My 430 CLK is no slouch however, and I would think the 500 would still smolder the pavement almost as well as the AMG!

Whichever you choose, the wisdom dispensed here regarding a thorough check by a qualified tech is paramount!

Good Luck!

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I did not say that AMG owners buy their cars to abuse them. I did say they buy their cars to put them to the extreme constantly (and who wouldn't?).

Who buys an AMG to only take it to the local grocery store at 30 mph???

You might be right about AMG owner forking more money on their car's maintenance, but what about the ones who don't? An abused AMG is worse than an abused regular 500 to bring back to life, and that is what the used car market believes.

The local dealer here had an S 55 AMG and two S 500s, all 2005 and with similar mileage. The AMG was priced LOWER than the 500's. Both 500s sold, the AMG stills there. Is easy to figure out how the used car market reacts against special sport versions.

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]