2005 Mercedes CLK 500 Convertible. Car is outstanding condition inside and out, you will not believe the car is almost 20 years old. Let’s talk color combo, Alabaster White over Stone leather interior and Burl Walnut trim. The touches of chrome in the right places makes the combo classy and elegant. The front grille has been replaced with an updated one which makes it look even nicer. The original one is available if you want to switch it back for some reason. Everything works, car is in tip top shape serviced at local Mercedes dealerships if it needed anything. This likely is THE nicest 2005 CLK out there and with the desirable V8 engine, look at the pics there’s not even a rub mark on any of the corners and the front license plate has never been installed (no holes). With the 500 you get a 7 speed transmission. There are a lot of 320 converts out there, the 500 was over $8k more and if you have never driven a 500 CLK but only driven a 320 CLK you need to drive a 500. It’s a completely different car. The 500 CLK, is like driving an S Class….its incredibly smooth, incredibly smooth shifts it glides along the road. More hp is always nice, but it’s the power delivery of the 500 which is literally same engine that was in the S Class at the time – its just so much smoother than the V6 in the 320.
I’ve driven both they are totally different driving and handling cars in my opinion. The way to describe it is while performance might not be what you’re into, the differences below point out the car just doesn’t need to work as hard to get you where you’re going, that’s partially why its so much smoother of a drive its literally like an S Class on the road. Here’s the specs:
•0-60 in 6 seconds compared to 8 seconds which is a huge difference and not winding out engine
•339 lb-ft compared to 229 lb-ft which demonstrates just how much easier car gets up and goes
•302 hp compared to 215, that’s almost 100 more hp……..world of difference
This particular one has a lot of great options:
•Leather and wood steering wheel which you don’t see a lot of
•Command with DVD navigation system
•Has single CD player behind radio
•Also 6 cd changer in glovebox
•Parktronic system has front and rear sensors, they all work and beep also
•Keyless go, while this is standard in most cars today but for 2005 it was an option keep keyfob in your pocket and press button top of shifter to start/stop engine, also can open/lock door by pressing door button with keyfob in pocket
•Front seats auto move up and forward for easier access to rear seats
•Dual digital climate controls
The automatic seat belt presenter, when you start car the seat belt comes out via a motorized arm and basically hands you the seat belt. Anyways, this works lot of cars this will be broken and/or missing the trim pieces.
500 has the rear spoiler lip, also has mesh grills in lower valance I’m not sure if that’s only 500 might not be.
The last 3 owners as an fyi are me……..I bought this a few years ago for my parents as a gift. We move title to them in their name, and recently moved it back to me. Reason for selling, my father passed away last Oct and my mother doesn’t want to take care of car and pay for insurance and cost of any repairs if they come up. I already have 3 cars myself, this one makes 4 so am selling this because I want my other car back in the garage. If I had a 4th garage there’s no way I would sell car, its too nice and it took me 2 years to find a car this nice. Clear Illinois title is in hand.
All forms of payment need to clear bank before title will be released. For anybody hasn’t bought a car recently, a cashiers check is no longer considered same as cash by any bank anymore a cashiers check can still take 3-5 days to clear. It was explained to me digital printers are so good there’s so many fraud cashiers checks today. Car is in my garage I temporarily put my suv outside, so happy to hold on to it inside garage while you arrange pickup/shipping for a few days/weeks. Typically a car shipper can pickup within a few days from contacting them.
MY FREE ADVICE AND WHY YOU SHOULD REALLY BUY MY CONVERT
First keep in mind I’m not a dealer, this was my personal car and I spent forever looking for the best one for my parents. I’m just like you, want the convert and see some selling really cheap. But while that may be tempting, please learn from my experience. These cars while awesome, are all about the top cylinders. So besides my car being in outstanding condition overall, this one is also a little special. All of the convert top cylinders have been replaced with the industry’s best products from Top Hydraulics, and the pump. A lot of these cars come from Florida or other high heat and high humidity climates like Texas and from owning two of these you can learn from me that you can expect the convert top to stop working/leaking at some point. Stock Mercedes cylinders, the seals used in them do not stand up to the high temp of Florida type climates, and the humidity just destroys them they leak easily. You will be hard pressed to find a SL, CLK etc convert from Florida/Texas that isn’t either leaking somewhere or soon will be when you buy it. Keep putting top up and down and won’t be long before you hear SQUIRT!
There are 7 cylinders that operate the top on the car. The seals that Top Hydraulics use are of the highest quality material and aren’t affected by moisture or additives like the stock ones are, I believe in some of the cylinders there’s up to 7 seals in the cylinder. According to Klaus who owns Top Hydraulics a rebuilt cylinder from them should last 30-50 years compared to stock polymer seals. If you want more information reach out to Klaus at Top Hydraulics he is friendly and helpful. I can tell you why buy mine apart from looks and runs like it’s a 2022 model year car…….you should be set with the top. Buying that $15k 320 example from Pompano Beach wholesale dealer you never heard of has tons of bad reviews? PASS…….you’ll thank me for it. You will be disappointed if you try go cheap you WILL pay for it later and be frustrated. And if its broke, you HAVE to get it fixed or you’ll never sell the car. Would you still be interested in a $15k 320 knowing you will HAVE to pay probably half the cost of the car in repairs? I’m trying my best to help you save money and frustration later because half of the people still reading this are thinking all CLK are the same and are thinking I can get one for $15k. Go right ahead…….and just remember this when it happens to you that I told you so. If you do buy somebody else’s especially from a dealer you HAVE to go in person and you HAVE to literally put the top up and down like 10 times. Before you touch the top, go in trunk left side panel is a small carpeted cover you can easily pull and right behind it is the pump and hydraulic fluid tank that’s why its so easy to access. Visually mark where the fluid line is, THEN get in car and open and close top 10+ times and listen for any squirt sounds. Doing it up and down like 10 times can possibly undo whatever backyard mechanic fix that dealership on the side of the road did to temporarily get it to work properly. Putting top up and down 10 times or more isn’t a guarantee, but if you DO have a leak and they filled the pump with fluid just to sell it for example after all who puts the top up and down 10 times when buying a used car nobody – by the 10th time or so it will be low on fluid and the top won’t operate correctly when its low on hydraulic fluid. THAT’S BEST FREE ADVICE I CAN GIVE and PLEASE TRUST ME these used car clowns have all kinds of tricks to patch lines, switches, and pump to get working temporarily but a leaking cylinder will not last long and you can burn out your pump also from it which is even more money.
Reach out if you have any questions. I welcome test drives, you’re guaranteed to want my car if you come and see it/drive it in person and you’ll see firsthand how much nicer it is than anything else you’ll likely come across so by all means come on out! LOL
Actual mileage may vary, I do regularly drive car on nice days here and there. I reserve right to end auction at anytime for any reason prior to winning bidder.
THERE IS NO ODOMETER ISSUE, this was a fun car for myself and parents (80yrs old) was not a daily driver, plus was not driven most months of year like fall and winter. Odometer is accurate at about 70k as listed.........