2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class CLK500 Cabriolet

Pros

Convertible system and wind screen

Cons

Shoddy electronics and parts; miserable service.

I studied the CLK500 Cabriolet long and hard before buying it. Delayed purchase until 2005 to get DVD GPS and 7 speed transmission. The car's electronics have been a mess, which has been Mercedes well-known weakpoint for years. I believed the hype that they were fixing this in 2005. Where to start -- No-hands phone system never worked; part replaced and now it works disappointingly. Steering wheel misaligned and took two services to fix. DVD nav system is buggy. Seat belt presenter/retraction system broke within 1 month due to a cheaply installed 50 cent button on the belt. Driver seat electronics didn't work and electronics module had to be ordered and replaced. No problems were noted before delivery; so no one really checked it out, did they? If your experience is like mine, you'll have to take the car back for each defective item and wait days for each part to come in. Soft aluminum wheel rim split and they didn't note it in initial 2000 mile inspection (what a joke) so tire went flat and was ruined. Replacement tire then went flat because of split wheel. According to dealer, any modestly rough road will cause misalignment, potentially damage expensive wheel, and consequently destroy the tire. According to dealer, less than 10 miles of driving on a partially deflated tire will then crack it under rim weight. It is actually hard to tell when a tire is partially deflated with these low profile tires. Tire punctures (even new ones) often cannot be repaired. Not covered by Benz (by the way). Each part took 3 or more days to order and receive. Even tire had to be ordered. Car has been in the Benz shop for a total of two weeks since I got it 2 months ago with several trips to dealer required. Dealer salesman is/was quite informed about vehicle, but service has been amatuerish and annoyingly poor. I am used to Lexus service on my SC400 but don't like the bulbous look of their new coup so I opted for the CLK500. If I could sell the Mercedes for close to what I paid, I would. Mercedes service is really bad by any measure, but especially if you are used to quality (preemptive) service. Those who serviced my CLK at the dealer are not up to snuff. Have wasted heaps of time with their incompetent service and Benz shoddy parts, which are not in stock anywhere less than 2-3 days away (which seems impossible, doesn't it?). Unsafe items: the windows go up on auto and don't stop until it's too late if there is an obstruction (like your hand), and a passenger who enters the back seat can have their legs "crushed" when the seat is returned to vertical and then automatically shifts to the rear. Annoyances in design: sole cupholder and its location are weird; hitting seat controls on the door with your left knee thereby moving your seat when driving; passenger seat does not recline; cruise control and steering wheel position arms are easily confused when feeling around for them when driving; Benz-compliant phones are quite old models and not available with GSM; various rattles that the Benz service tells me are what you get when you have a convertible. If you have lots of time on your hands to deal with the above, then you might want to get the CLK500 Cabriolet. It has serious problems as a luxury car. Don't believe the hype. Perhaps people are motivated to make exaggerated positive comments to keep the resale value up, or convince themselves they got a dream car. I am not one of those people.