Just to be clear, we couldn’t book a hotel as an alternative as I needed to get back to London for family commitments that weekend. Do you think this was a good idea?
Love the Merc, get rid of that hideous grille and put the original back on with the 3 pointed star on top of the bonnet leading the way, have it detailed, and enjoy a comfortable, reliable cruiser that seems to age gracefully....hey just think of it as a starter legendary CLK GTR LEMANS super car haha
The nearest train station would have been over an hour drive away, nobody could have given us a lift in time with all of our luggage, and yes, probably would have cost hundreds, whereas with the Merc I’ll likely make money
@@somalianpirate47 Well ours was completely problem AND somehow rust free up to 18 years of age and 280k km-s, where we sold it. If you maintain them well they really are reliable cars, just gotta be careful about rust.
What I struggle to understand is how a LR specialist who produced a “to fix” list as part of their arrangement with your channel, and has been all over the underside of that vehicle to do the suspension failed to spot brake pipes that were about to go pop. I’d be pretty upset and I am sure they must be seriously embarrassed at missing such a dangerous fault.
I think I would be pretty upset with the specialist you have just spent 3k with who have had it up on a ramp replacing suspension arms and I thought you mentioned front brake components. “Really not a great advertisement for them to miss something like corroded brake pipes”!
Joel, you are going to adore that car. I used to own a CLK 320 2003 model, it was a MK2 model tho but same engine as yours i suppose. This thing was really reliable and really ahead of its time. I actually went with it from London To Greece in summer 2020 and back, in total of around 6.000 kms (with 1.000km driven in Greece) car was really reliable. But i unfortunately had to sell it because of ULEZ. I hope you enjoy the car. 🙂
Those "been bags" are actually reusable moisture absorbers which are quite useful this time of the year,... in an old convertible... with a potential water leak or two ;-) Re; Range Rover Life, I do feel your pain Joel having owned a V8 RR myself. One thing that I remember the most from my 2.5 year ownership is they (Range Rovers) absolutely love the taste of your wallet on all accounts, not just the Go Go juice. You throw a bunch of parts at it and the following day the Range Rover decides it wants some more ... usually the expensive, main dealer only parts.
Would not have known that. So the technical term would be 'desiccant bags', like the little inserts shippers put in boxes to suck up moisture from the air. A home-made way to do that is to fill a pair of old socks with kitty litter and stick them underneath the seats and in other areas of a car's interior.
Awesome purchase! Dump the Range Rover! I want to see road trips with this beast! And some detailing, getting it in mint state, maybe tune up that 3.2l to the limit
Only a true petrolhead would make the man maths work to making buying an old Merc seem like a logical option! Brilliant! Damn you Joel, now I’m on the Bay of E looking for one.
So your Range Rover "Specialists" missed your brake lines on your own RR, didn't they also lend you the RR to do your Scotland Trip? which broke down! Time to find a new specialist I think.
Loved this one! A mate and I went halves on one of these when we were at uni, bought it with 166k on the clock for £750. It was quick and kept us poor due to insurance and fuel. Some great memories in that thing.
I once, back in about 2003, bought a Volvo 440 for £37 in Ipswich where I was staying for the weekend. It was cheaper than taxi fares. I then drove it back to the North East of England, used it until the tax and MOT ran out and sold it for £84 on ebay.
That Merc is a hidden gem. Looks a beauty & will be infinitely more reliable than the Rangie. The Rangie will be great for content (and your mechanics bank balance) but awful for your bank account and stress levels! I think the Merc looks great alongside the BMW & Porsche in your driveway. Keep the old girl & get her done up, will be cracking content.
@@itsjoel oof Bentley is one of the most unreliable cars ever re sold. Even tho I am also a fan of Bentley if you think your range rover is bad, just do a whole lot of research first😂
@@timothydolk3606 only difference is the Phaeton W12 is naturally aspirated whereas the Conti GT/Flying Spud are twin turbo. Also, the pre VW Bentleys are very reliable, with a ludicrously understressed big-block pushrod V8 coupled to a General Motors automatic gearbox (Turbo 400/4L80E) which is commonly used in drag racing with up to 5000bhp being put through it... the later V8s used a VAG reworked version of the Bridgnorth big block, coupled to a ZF autobox (not quite as strong as the old GM box, but more ratios, better economy and still robust enough to withstand up to 1100Nm torque). Even since they discontinued the big V8, VAG has continued to employ its manufacturer, Grainger & Worrall, to do all their prototyping work. G&W also cast and build Koenigsegg's engines, which have to withstand extraordinarily high boost pressures and high RPM.
I have the same model and year here in Spain, albeit with around 40K miles on it and in pretty much as new condition. The engine is immensely reliable the only issue you may have on that generation of Mercedes in the U.K. is rust. Having watched a few of your videos now I would think you would be better off tidying up the Mercedes and getting rid of the Range Rover before the next inevitable breakdown. Would also drive better with smaller original wheels, I’d also change the silly after market grill.
I've had 3 CLK's all cabrios and never had a problem with any of them, the last one was a 3.5 it was a such a great car, I actually owned this car twice, I traded it in for a RR vogue and missed it so much I went back to the garage and bought it back from them 2 weeks later, the RR gave me so many problems I'm glad I had the CLK to fall back on, I eventually sold the RR. I do understand that when a RR is going good they are the best, but it's just not worth the hassle when they go wrong. Love the channel keep up the good work..
My friend used to have a clk320 convertible in blue years ago. Only spent short amount of time in it but having top down a summers day with that v6 sound was a good feeling
It is a very reliable car. I have the 99 e320 sedan and it's a smooth, decently powerful car. The engine is a 3v twin spark engine and is the first v6 mercedes ever made, even basing the v8 varient off of the v6. Even with the miles climbing up itll still be reliable. I'd keep it as a back up car or the ol beater. And the coupes are pretty cool and stylish in my opinion.
Love this car! Not a fan of the aftermarket grille and it’s missing bonnet ornament but it looks like a wonderful machine! I have an E-class of the same era and that single wiper is one of my favourite unique quirks. I would love to see more content with this budget Mercedes if possible and kinda wish you would keep it 😂, love the video and your channel!
Bean bags are moisture absorbers - microwave them to 'reset' them. Then stick them in the Rangie behind the trim either side in the boot to prevent moisture in your electricals!
Keep that beauty ! Or at least spend some more time with it. Would love to see it detailed and restored a bit, these models ars massively underrated, as is this era of Mercedes. An era of comfort that was centered around feel and quality, rather than gismo's. And it's also quite a lot more reliable than your range rover 😅. Love your content, would love to see more of this (nowadays quite rare) beast !
Those bean bags seem to be silica bags which suck moisture out of the air, as convertibles never seal properly. If that is what they are put them in the oven for 90 min on lowest heat to drive the water out.
Would be good to see how they clean that roof up, my C70's roof is going the same way as I drive the 35i every day and I bet I'm not the only one. Good vid mate.
The bean bags are humidity bags, they absorb damp, then you warm them/microwave them to dry them, then re use. Implies that the roof leaks/the drain channels are blocked?
Welcome to the world of Merc! The foot brake is a quirk common to all the Mercs I've driven. I had a 99 CLK 230K Cab for 9 years. Totally reliable, great cruiser, lovely in summer with the roof down. Servicing and MOTs were suprprisingly cheap. Merc have always claimed low TCO, and I must agree. On my second Merc now, and loving it. Had one Land Rover - a Disco3 - never again!
Great vid mate! I own a FFRR L405 and I bought a CLK320 convertible this summer as a “project” with a view to it being a future classic and I love it! Just make sure the roof works, get it detailed and drive it some more! Those 3.2 V6 engines are bombproof and when tidied up they’re a real head turner in the summer with the roof down! I paid £1000 for mine and it came with a private reg which has since been valued at £400 so realistically only paid £600 but I’ve already spent a further £1500 on preventative maintenance, gearbox and coolant flush, springs all round, new sound system, upgraded lights all round, wheels refurbished and new tyres and an engine seal kit and spark plugs to do myself over the winter. Enjoy it mate, you won’t regret it 👍🏻😎
Get it a good detailing fix up the paintwork and you have a very cheap reliable future classic car . Sell your Range Rover and find a good P38 (not easy but they are out there) instead and both cars will definitely increase in value while you enjoy them. Sean
I’d absolutely see what can be done with that interior. Knowing Mercs it will come up really well, as will the roof with some Renovo roof cleaner and weather proofer (easily the best stuff and you can hang on to it and use it on your Porsche). From a content point of view perhaps drive it to Stuttgart? And you need to get rid of the Rangie. It’s gonna break you man.
Agreed on the renovo re colouring. But I found Johnson's non perfumed baby shampoo cleaned my Saab roof better than the renovo cleaner (which took forever to stop foaming, and I used tent water proofer,which is 1/3 the price of the renovo proofer.
Hi Joel keep the merc have it detailed and serviced then drive it to the ring then on to Italy and lake como, and see how well the 1000 pound merc compares to the range rover 👍
Honestly, with how much trouble that Range Rover has been I think it’s a question of how much longer will it be affordable to even keep on the road. I’ve always liked that shape of CLK and if I were in your position, I’d sell that and the Range Rover, then buy a CLK55 AMG.
Those bean bags are to put by your front and back windows and they are meant to help demist the windscreens when it’s cold overnight etc. I’ve never found them that effective though
Keep the merc, and get some tinkering done, especially to that exhaust 🤣 On a serious note do it up with some servicing and ivalet etc and sell it for profit 📈
Hey Joel, would really like you to do a clip on what went wrong with your Range Rover brakes. I have a 2003 L322 also and would like to avoid a similar failure...
You can buy a cheap merc or bmw from that time period and they last and don’t cost a fortune to maintain. I owned a bmw e36 coupe on 64,000 sold it on 160,000 and had relatively low maintenance costs. Later stuff even on low mileage costs a fortune.
Awesome video and a great purchase!! You should definitely take it to be detailed… might be worth doing a light restoration on it. Get the bodywork smart repaired and get it back on a nice set of original wheels… enjoy it and bin off the Range Rover!
Perfect car for a road trip to the Riviera once it's sorted. If ever you do sell, you should make your money back easily. Just put some period correct wheels and the correct grille back on it...
Not sure if it is answered but the bean bags are dehumidifiers which you can microwave. Saw the Instagram post about needing a car and I thought this might of happened. Shame as the Range Rover is objectively nice.
I have a 52 Mercedes CLK 320 Avant gaurd great car mine is similar condition to your red one Bordeux red I think colour maybe.. I have owned it 5 years.. It needs work New brakes all round..calipers and discs. Bodywork at some point needs attention. They are really good on fuel £55 it cost me wales to London and back it was at 99p a litre days.. I would love to see a valet video on it.. More so it would be really interesting see exactly what body work needs doing Mine is a lilac colour with blue coloured roof interior on mine is really nice just needs cleaning up. But on the bodywork side i am not sure to which way to go with it get small local repairs and then one day a full respray but my subframe needs addresing first so may go to underside of car and have those areas covered..
When I travel very long distances overseas I always make sure I have some cash set aside to buy a cheap runner in the event of a catastrophic breakdown, and actually UK is one of the cheapest counties to buy a basically ok cheap runner. People who live in the UK complain about road tax and insurance costs, but honestly UK is not bad for tax and insurance, and used cars are amongst the cheapest in the world. On the Range Rover, loss of fluid on one side at the rear should only bring down one brake circuit, the other should at least allow you to limp along at low speed with the ability to brake and stop. The pedal will go down an alarming long way, but it should still work. Brakes can fail on any car and are not at all unique to Range Rover, this is why MOT testers often fail brake pipes on the first sign of corrosion.
A valet would definitley be good, you can probably keep it as a winter beater and then sell come spring when convertibles are back in season. More or less get your £1k back minus running costs.
Yes I think you did the right thing buying it. Why not keep it. You could do something crazy with it like make it amphibious, or try to restore it to its former glory on a shoestring budget. Then sell it.
Get it fixed up! It deserves a better life! Just make sure to get the underbody coated with some Dinitrol or something, so it doesn't rust. Mechanically though, these cars are gems! Some of, if not the last reliable Mercedes cars mechanically.
Don't give up on the Rangie! It can be a love hate relationship, patience and a good garage is what is needed. I have had 2 L322's, first one was more of a hate relationship but the one I currently have is amazing, reliable and had for 4 years. I feel you though, tough when it keeps bringing up faults.
You should get the cosmetics painted, valet it and run it for a few years, it will not cost you a fortune and it’s a great car, right engine great wheels, you will not be disappointed.
Everything that happened made for a great video in the end! My advice is to get rid of the Range Rover and keep the Merc. The RR will keep emptying your bank account, I know from experience.
Not sure on the colour but that was a great deal for a future classic. The owner reviews are excellent as are many RU-vid vids. These are so cheap right now, get the right colour and have it detailed it looks every inch the 30k car it was. Not many real 4 seater verts out there so pretty useful for a couples day out sightseeing. Sold my e36 last year, getting this merc next.
If you get it detailed, I'm almost tempted to ask if I can have first shout if you decide to sell it on, almost immediately (for a grand). A few years back one of my ex-colleagues had a bright red hard-top version in non-metallic bright red and he loved it
Chin up Joel as you and I both know better the devil you no , let’s take a moment to think about the people in the newer cars loosing 1000sin depreciation 1000s on finance payments and still having maintenance to do once it’s sorted your going to enjoy it , I have been through all this with my s type , rover 75 , and my e class looking forward to updates as and when you can 🤗