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This car was purchased new by my retired mother-in-law at Crist Mercedes in Savannah , Ga . in January , 2000 and was serviced only by them until last July when we bought it as they live in a gated community that makes selling a car difficult at best . ( They got an S430 ) . Its the first non-white exterior car my wife has had in 20 years and she has finally persuaded me to get her another so we now have a white CLK 320 in the garage thus this one will be sold . Mercedes call this color Desert Sand I think . It is a metallic style finish . The car has been garaged since new . Driven in rain maybe a dozen times thanks to years of drought and owned by retirees that can delay when they go out . This is a luxury car . It rides quietly , accelerates very smootly and quite quickly if you want to . It handles more on the soft side than a sports car yet it delivers precise steering and very good braking . The factory , metal oxide tinted windows do a nice job keeping the interior cool and minimizing glare . The electrochromic rear view mirror is effective at eliminating headlight glare in night driving . It has a very good sounding stereo unless you want the boom-boom rap thing . It won't do that . An I-Pod or other MP3 player plays well through the stereo but does not have a CD player . The factory cables and predrilled mounts in the lower right trunk well are there already as is the CD button on the stereo unit . Alpine and Nakamichi make the units but must be installed by an MB reccomended installer as its fiber optic , rather than copper wire signal transmission . Tele-Star ( like On-Star) is also there but the subscription is not activated . The seats are typical Mercedes firm and highly adjustable , including the headrests . It smells faintly like leather inside and not overwhelming . It is hard to judge the mechanical condition of a car on-line so as I inspected the car before sale , I took the wheels off , the front valence pan under the motor and the appearance cowling off the top of the engine so you can see in and under the car .
When we got the car last July I did a major service as I have the tools and experience to do so . All it was due for was the Flex A Service ( glorified synthetic oil change ) but I wanted to get a good baseline understanding of the car's mechanical condition . The checklist is 1.5 pages long and can fax to you . Highlights are all fluids and all 4 filters changed ( except rear differential fluid ) using the MB specified/supplied fluids and parts . ( Mobil One synthetic oil for example ) New front OEM front brake rotors and pads ( Balo/ Mintex) , new serpentine belt , all new radiator and heater hoses and new Bosch spark plugs . The A/C suction and discharge operating pressures were and are well in specification and of course the HVAC system works as new with no detectable leaks . Never had any refrigerant added and no repairs ever . The car does not pull from side to side under any condition such as braking , acceleration or driving . Tire wear is indicative that the alignment and suspension is correct . The car does not require any topping up of oil between oil changes . I have all receipts and records since the car was new . It has always been maintained at or above the Mercedes factory reccomended standard .
The exterior has only been hand washed in the shade and only waxed with Griots Garage Spray on Wax so there is no micro scratching or swirl marks . Never any paint or bodywork of any kind save one touch up about the size of a pencil eraser on the top of the rear bumper at the trunk interface . There is not one single door ding , scuff mark or scratch in the paint . It is smooth and glossy all over . There are a few tiny stone chips around the front of the car and a dent about the size of a BB ( but no paint chipping ) on the front edge of the hood near the chrome radiator grill . All the exterior glazing looks new and of course there are no leaks . The glass headlight covers have no pits as they are covered with 3M film , as is the front bumper and rear lower rocker panels just before the rear wheels .
The interior is almost perfect . Every single button and switch works perfectly . The windows go up and down at the right spped and don't make any odd noises . Same for sunroof and power seats . There are a few minor shoe scuff marks on the drivers lowest door sill ( thanks to black high heels) and the drivers seat shows a tiny amount of wear on the right front edge of the bottom cushion . The back seats and the other front seat look new . I have used Mequires leather care every few months on all the leather except the steering wheel rim . There are no rattles , buzzes or other annoying sounds inside or out while driving .
The Mercedes floor mats are pretty good but the backing is coming off the drivers side . Its not visibly noticeable and not sure what it does but its there . The drivers door arm rest has a small imperfection about where your elbow rests . Its not scratchy or irritating but there will come a day when it will crack open enough for a repair . I forgot to take a picture of inside the trunk , except for one of the wall behind the rear seats which is included . Its all very good/like new . Battery was replaced with the MB specified Bosch battery 2 years ago . Car has a full size Michelin spare and of course a tool kit and a safety kit .
The only significant repair work done to the car was this past January when the oil seal around the oil pressure switch that mounts in the lower block had to be replaced . It was causing a small amount of oil to drip on the exhaust pipe which sometimes made an odor . It was repaired by our MB dealer under the extended warranty . There was a faulty shifter linkage bushing replaced about two years ago and before that the front sway arm was removed and lubricated to stop an annoying squeak that came sometimes going around corners at slow speeds . A week before we bought the car a rock hit the windshield making a small crack . The windshield was replaced with the $400 PPG metal oxide tinted unit ( not the $260 Chinese aftermarket unit ) .
The Michelin MXV4 Plus tires on the car have 40,000 miles on them and might go another 20,000 miles . They were balanced and rotated about 4,000 miles ago . Feel free to call and ask questions or schedule an appointment to come inspect the car if you prefer . If you want to take it to a certified mechanic for inspection that is O.K. as long as its in the local area here and its done by appointment . The reserve is set in the lower end of the dealer retail range for a car in this condition . I am willing to end the auction early as allowed by e-bay rules . Winning bidder , if any , will make a $200 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit within 48 hours of auction end , including early ending by e-bay rules .I accept PAYPAL , other electronic transfers , cashiers checks , money orders and of course US dollars . I can deliver the car , odometer statement , notarized bill of sale and clear title within 3-7 business days of full payment to any major city and some secondary cities in the US for the following fees - SE USA $250 , NE USA $360 , Midwestern USA $580 , SW USA $725 Western US $ 825 and NW USA $925 . I have two off site races to participate the next two Sundays so response will be late on those days . Telephone 864-553-4823 ( Mark ) .
PS Someone called wanting to know what the square metal frame in the trunk picture is . That is door that can be opened to allow long objects to be placed through the trunk into the interior ( eg. snow skis , etc. ) . It is a factory MB option . It has never been used .
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