CLK-DTM...would you?

[kismetcapitan]

just got an interesting offer...to buy a CLK-DTM coupe. This car I know well, I've driven it, and it's an extremely usable car in the city. No wind-up, it smacks you as soon as you've got the audacity to peg the throttle...all the way until it runs out of steam at 6000rpm. Lots of carbon fiber. It's been wrecked (which is how I know the car - it took ten months and $80K to rebuild the smashed front end).

I'd have to sell the Skyline of course. And it'd be quite a different motoring life. No more cruising parts websites - just prescribed service intervals and parts from HWA....although the costs are surely similar to a full-on rebuild

It would actually be LESS rare to own that car in this city than my Skyline. I've got one of two gunmetal R32s in the country, but there are something like seven CLK-DTMs in Seoul. I'm pretty sure the owner is moving on to a CLK63 Black Series. I did rave about the car when I drove it, which is why I think I got the offer. Not cheap, but since everyone knows how it got smashed up, cheaper than what it'd normally sell for.

I do wonder though if it would end up cheaper, not having to rebuild the engine all the time...would I? Blowing the engine on that non-warrantied DTM would surely be a six-figure misadventure. Even if the engine proves to be 100,000 mile reliable...no more tuning. Just....driving?

[Stachi]

Nope.. definately not Me not likes Mercedes.. Keep the Skyline!

Marc

[mifn21]

Don't do it - the only Merc you should consider swapping a GT-R for, is a GTR

[G40tee]

omg the did a roadster one?!?!
never knew that!
nice!

the clk dtms are really nice cars, think what you want from it.
it all really comes down to how you feel when driving it.

[R33_GTS-t]

Originally Posted by mifn21

Don't do it - the only Merc you should consider swapping a GT-R for, is a GTR

Horrible clutch according to all reports. You have to make it touch the floor before you can change.

[SB-Performance]

Originally Posted by G40tee

omg the did a roadster one?!?!

It was a limited number of about 7.

[gtrlux]

Toby I drove one around a block of houses in Tokyo 4 years a go, it looks cool, interior is aweful for my taste as it still has that baroque german Merc design combined with racing carbon (bad tast for me). The car is bloody fast and one push on the accel. and it flyes . I haven't pushed it in corners or really couldn't drive it hard (which I wouldn't have risked to do)
The owner just said that it is much fun in streight lines , but scares the shit out of you in corners, the back end has no control over that power and that's the big week point of the car.

[Wanabee Kiwi]

man keep the GT-R. The CLK is a cool dream but leave it at that. When i was a kid really wanted a Ferrari 348, i got to drive one a few months ago and it was nothing like i expected. Badly built, un comfortable and there are so many better cars i could have bought for that price.

[Bajie]

How badly smashed up was it?

If I decided to go on an ownership experience trip I would buy, keep for a while then sell but I think if I wanted a keeper I would go for the CLK Black as that car is just awesome.
Stood side by side with the Mcclaren SLR it makes the McClaren look like Xibit and the boys from West Coast Customs just did a number on it.

Buy the Merc [if you can resell]. You've done the GTR thing ...

[bkvj]

though one. clk-dtm is a VERY rare car with only 100 made. it looks mean and one day it'll be worth a lot of cash, so a wise investment it will be. however, this one was crashed....

no chance of selling the bikes, maybe take out a little loan so you can have both..

[kismetcapitan]

no sale. I'm really committed to my Skyline, so I wasn't feeling "it" as much with the car. I was more or less just checking to see if I was insane to give up an opportunity like this.

When my A/C was getting serviced yesterday, guess what rolls into the shop?


that's right, a SECOND front end collision. Apparently, the owner who'd offered it to me has amazing powers of inducing understeer and plowing into immovable objects, with cars designed to have amazing grip. I have no idea what's going to be done with the car - the owner has absolutely no interest in it and repair will be a long, $80~$100K procedure, requiring guidance and a lot of hyper-expensive parts from HWA...because that's what it took last time! Korean insurance does not cover this type of accident with sports cars where the owner is at fault. When he spotted me he glanced over and said "you wanna buy? BIG discount!! hahaha!!" He's already got his CLK63 Black Series, and arrived and left in his Porsche 959. I am NOT making this up. I was just left with a sense of...this is just crazy, you know? I can understand being so rich that a car like this would be a "throwaway" or "daily beater" (he'd used the CLK, this one and his new one, as his daily commuter), but it just seems excessive. Nouveau riche behavior or something along those lines. I have to wonder, are the oil-rich, newly rich Arabs also like this with cars? Would you also see people like this in Dubai?

[cokey]

In Dubai, you just bury it at the side of the road in the Sand ! chuckle:
There are no garages ! Or drains
Just outlets.
Oops sorry BBD
c

[gtrlux]

Originally Posted by kismetcapitan

no sale. I'm really committed to my Skyline, so I wasn't feeling "it" as much with the car. I was more or less just checking to see if I was insane to give up an opportunity like this.

When my A/C was getting serviced yesterday, guess what rolls into the shop?


that's right, a SECOND front end collision. Apparently, the owner who'd offered it to me has amazing powers of inducing understeer and plowing into immovable objects, with cars designed to have amazing grip. I have no idea what's going to be done with the car - the owner has absolutely no interest in it and repair will be a long, $80~$100K procedure, requiring guidance and a lot of hyper-expensive parts from HWA...because that's what it took last time! Korean insurance does not cover this type of accident with sports cars where the owner is at fault. When he spotted me he glanced over and said "you wanna buy? BIG discount!! hahaha!!" He's already got his CLK63 Black Series, and arrived and left in his Porsche 959. I am NOT making this up. I was just left with a sense of...this is just crazy, you know? I can understand being so rich that a car like this would be a "throwaway" or "daily beater" (he'd used the CLK, this one and his new one, as his daily commuter), but it just seems excessive. Nouveau riche behavior or something along those lines. I have to wonder, are the oil-rich, newly rich Arabs also like this with cars? Would you also see people like this in Dubai?

Toby, let the junk go!

I spoke with an old friend of mine from Lux. a few days back, and remembered your story here. My mate works for MB in Lux. as salesman, he sold a couple of these cars in the past and has this to say: (note that I didn't see this picture before and it looks more bad then I thought).
He says that the AMG devision , which usually has a very big spare parts depo. for the AMG cars, has absolutely no spare parts for these cars. So the problem is that the MB ,which can afford to sell CLK DTMs, need to order a package of spare parts from the beginning. Because if not the owner of that expensive toy, will need to wait a year to get his broken engine part replaced . . . .
Then the price for the parts is rediculess, first 50% of the parts are from the normal AMGs (mass production), but also theses parts get special limited serial numbers, as they get provided through the AMG devsion that supplies the SLR, CLK DTMs special cars . . . . so same parts, but 3 times more expensive. Then you can think about how much the special custome parts for the DTM will cost you.

Basicly 10 SLRs sold, means spare parts for 20 broken cars, so there is not infinit stock here.

My opinion, buy it for max 9000$, as that is what you can get back if you sell the car in pieces (if you can't repair it afterall . .)

Regards
Chris