Mercedes Unicorns Part II – A Pair of Cute CLK550’s from $15,000! (W209)

The CLK-Class coupe predated the E-Class coupe and with a 382hp V8 the mid-sized 3,700 pounds can clip five second 0-60 times.  It was once a $55,000 car and can be had for $15-20,000 plus the MaxCare warranty for years of enthusiastic driving.  Described as a luxury car, although the 2007 models had no Bluetooth or similar modern amenities – a quick trip to Best Buy can fix that for a hundred dollars.  I think these cars are bargains.  Let’s look at a couple.  Contemporary Review – 2007 CLK550

This Oregon car is still on the lot as of late August 2017.  I can’t find anything visually wrong although with 55,000 miles it’s at the high end for a unicorn.  I have the luxury of a free long term temporary car while I search for my next unicorn.  If I didn’t have that I’d buy this as a stopgap daily driver until I found something more special.  Also a great car for a college kid – with MaxCare no repairs.

I am also intrigued by this slightly more expensive and slightly newer 2009 CLK550 at $19,998.  Lower miles and with the 100,000 mile warranty you’d still have 62,000 miles of repair free driving.  This car also illustrates the value of tracking an saving cars to your CarMax profile.

The car opened at $20,599 and within a week dropped to $19,998.  Only a $600 drop but I get the impression the San Antonio dealer wants this one to go.  Not sure why.  Maybe they learned their lesson from the car below?

Stumbled on this charming CLK550 way, way back in October 2016 when I first started saving cars to my profile as I began my search for my S55 replacement.  It was selling for $21,998 I think – I had not yet started saving copies of the ads and the original price vanishes.  But I watched the car move from dealer to dealer in Texas and only drop modestly in price.  I felt sorry for it.  I couldn’t figure out why after 10 months CarMax didn’t ship it out to a wholesaler – the automotive equivalent of dropping it at a shelter.  I wanted to rescue it.  And last week I noticed it was gone.  Sold? Ran way in the night?  I don’t know.  If it pops back up at another dealership I’ll let you know.