2001 Mercedes-Benz CLK Advangarde 3.2

Summary:

Best car I have owned

Faults:

The only thing that has gone wrong with the car is that there is a slight oil leak from the gear box. Its been back to the garage once and had a new sump gasket fitted, the leak now seems to come from the back of the gear box and only seems apparent after a long run.

Other than that, the car has been faultless (fingers crossed).

General Comments:

Probably one of the best cars I have owned.

Looks good, got all the toys, excellent speed and comfortable to drive.

My car has now covered 92500 miles and is still crisp and smooth, the only niggles being the gear box leak which is detailed above.

Excellent economy considering it's a 3.2 engine, On long trips I get between 31 and 35mpg!!, Short journeys are a lot less, but this is not a town car, it's a motorway driving car.

Big difference in service costs, with one merc dealer charging £90+vat/hr and another charging £45+vat/hr, can't work that out!!!

Variable service indicator works well, its indicating that I will 13000 miles between services at the moment.

Would I buy another one? Yes Please.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th July, 2005

1st Jan 2011, 08:57

The CLK 320 is one of the best cars I have ever owned, you can keep your Bugatti Veyron; the CLK 320 is the car. It's a head turner, and you can raise your shoulders up high and be counted. It roars, it chews up the miles, and overtaking other cars becomes a non event. Bring it on MB, that's your best production car - well to me.

Enias Mubaira.

2001 Mercedes-Benz CLK 200 K 2.0

Summary:

The gearbox is made out of Mecano

Faults:

Gearbox, clutch and flywheel replaced at 6,000 miles.

Cruse control stalk ceased to work, replaced, but still faulty.

Electric windows often automatically open when trying to shut.

General Comments:

I would never buy a Mercedes manual transmission ever again, they live up to their terrible reputation.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th October, 2002

2001 Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 Avantgarde 3.2

Summary:

Reliable, fast and beautiful

General Comments:

This is one of the best cars I have driven for comfort and performance.

I would highly recommend the 320 over the 230 Kompressor.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th September, 2001

27th Sep 2006, 14:37

On paper the power and torque of the CLK 230K is close to the CLK 320. Why do you highly recommend the CLK 320 in comparison?

16th May 2007, 21:01

Because compared to V6's Turbo cars are high maintenance cars.

21st Jun 2007, 08:00

Sorry, a Kompressor is not a turbo, it is a supercharger. And, the 3.2 Daimler Benz engine is just straight, pure kinetic energy vs. supercharging a 2.3 litre engine which you are actually creating extra potential energy which is converted to kinetic energy - so you feel the stress as you accelerate.

I was on the Neurburgring circuit for an a.m. last week in my 186,000 km 1997 CLK 320. All the way from the Austrian border to past Frankfurt, I averaged 220 km/hr and when I paid and got onto the circuit I was drifting on the hairpins with my 1997 factory shocks and 16 inch rims and snow tires. If I converted to DTM standards, this car will kick the derriere of those M5 taxis any day. Yeah, I love my 320 and sneer at the Kompressor 230.

29th Jun 2007, 03:06

I converted the body of my 1997 CLK 320 to look like the 2001 AMG CL 55. The body tuning begins with a metal Mercedes logo worked into the front grille (got it off a salvage MB truck), and taking off the hood ornament and putting on a flat logo (got it off my wife's SLK and I got her a new one from the dealer).

Next, I converted the side rear view mirrors by adding signal lights using an after-market kit. I replaced the 16 inch rims with 18 inch AMG rims and low profile tires (this was the most expensive bit, but I got an AMG sticker out of it and legitimately claim at least some AMG aspects).

Next I had my exhaust pipe converted to a Y-joint and got a 2nd chrome cover on the second pipe (had to slice off a concave portion in the rear bumper). This actually messed up my 3.2 litre's performance, but what the heck, it looks like an old AMG CL now!