CLK550 vs Acura TSX vs Mazda3
 

Hello everyone,

A close friend of mine recently asked me this question and it has peaked my interest to see what the opinions of the general Revscene population here would make of it and if they have any suggestions or advice that I could pass along that would be great too.

He's got a stable full-time office job, it's nothing outstanding but the pay is okay. It's not great, but it's not bad either. I'm also fairly positive that he doesn't have many other financial obligations at the moment.

His budget is roughly around the mid 20's, give or take a few.
He has been casually shopping around for a car for a while now and has narrowed it down to a couple choices.

- Brand new 2012 fully-loaded Mazda3
- Used 2009-2011 Acura TSX

He mentioned that he also has interest in a Acura TL but it's obviously a bit more expensive than the TSX and he doesn't know if it's worth the extra cash.

Now last week he was surprised by a proposition from his dad. His dad's 2009 Mercedez Benz CLK550 lease is over and he asked him if he wanted to just buy-out the rest of the car or he was just going to return it. I think the buy-out was around 30k.

Now he's asking me if it's "worth it" to take the CLK since it's still fairly new, in great shape, barely logged any clicks on it. He knows his dad took good care of it as well, never abused the engine.
I did a quick Craigslist search and there weren't any references to go by so I'm not sure what to tell him in this regard.

I think a big factor for him would be that he wouldn't need to physically go from listing to listing and to shop around constantly trying to find the "right car for the right price" and the peace of mind that the previous owner hasn't shitkicked the car.
He could go for the brand new Mazda but as we all know, a brand new car is always a rip-off from the dealership.

One big concern he has is the maintenance that would be required for the Benz, he is worried that it would get very expensive in the long term. I've never owned a Benz before so I couldn't give him any help. I know that my Porsche is a moneypit though and I've told him my horror stories so that might have put him off a bit but I don't know if you can really compare that to owning a Benz ...

Thanks for reading
:nyan:

If he doesn't want to go from listing to listing, why is a used TSX in his list?

I would take a CLK550 if I had steady income and have no financial obligations.

WOW the range of cars is incredibly vast.

If the CLK is well maintained, it should be fairly hassle free for a while. Continue with regular maintenance, change a light bulb here and there.

With that said, I too would probably take the CLK550

pick the benz considering its a 09 so it should still be hassle free for a few more years.

I would choose TSX as I think the CLK styling is starting to look very dated.

I would say opt for the CLK.

I drive a w209 CLK aswell. I honestly enjoy driving my car everyday. Style and comfort will beat out any other car in its class. Not to many w209 kicking around either which is a bonus. I dont think it looks dated imho...sure its the last of the w209s but far from dated....more like timeless. lol.
My CLK now has 187,000 on it. No major issues besides a new waterpump and a new alternator.

Maintenance is no different from any other car. Just keep your car happy and it will return the favor...I dont understand why people get the mentality of a luxury euro being expensive to repair??

Beat the shit out of any car and the repairs will kill you.

Is this real life? TSX and Mazda3..okay but if the CLk550 is in the question..is it still a question? Worst comes to worst flip for the CLK and make some extra cash.

+1 CLK.


ask if the deal would offer an extended warranty for after the buy out.. that'll be nice too.

+2 CLK550
Luxury & Power
and he know how previous owner treated his car.
No Brainier Choice

+1 Clk, and is a must for a extended warranty

+1 CLK

out of the other 2, i would honestly choose the TSX. It's a bigger car and more luxurious than a mazda 3, although it IS quite sluggish 0-60. But my opinion is probably bias cuz my family owns a 2010 TSX.

I don't think he really went from listing to listing per se... he just searched CL for a TSX and found it to be in his price range.

That is exactly what I thought when he asked me that question, but then I realized that parts and labour ARE higher because it's a high-end euro car. MCL charges at least like $130 per hour. Isn't Honda like $90 per hour?... even a simple battery from Porsche costs 4x more than at Canadian tire. Every part for my car is signicifantly marked up, ranging from headlamps, gaskets, etc.
I also need to change my clutch/flywheel soon and that's gonna cost a pretty penny on my 911 :(
Well that's from my personal experience. That's why i posted on RS to see if anyone has knowledge dealing with a MB maintenance-wise.

You mean to talk to the dealership for that? I'm not sure how that works. I should ask him about it. So you mean ask the dad to buy-out the car and ask for extended warranty, then sell it to him?

Well basically all 3 cars around the same target range. A new Fully-loaded 2012 Mazda3 from the dealership runs about $27k with full warranty, a good condition 2010-11 TSX comes in around that price too. I was just curious as to paying an extra 3grand would be "worth" the upgrade to the CLK considering the longterm investments for maintenance on parts and labour.
Yeah I was going to tell him that, but I couldn't find the "going market rate" for the 2009 550CLK in question so I didn't know if it was even worth it to flip it. Buyout is already 30k, how much would he get for it on the open market?

during buy out, ask if you could purchase an extended warranty for the vehicle after the buy out.

im pretty sure there should be something you could work out with MB...

Am I the only one who hates these kinds of threads?

What's the mileage and service history on the CLK550? Insurance difference? These are all things that could make a 30K Mercedes cost an extra few grand without looking too far into it.

FYI, for a CLK, extended warranty will cost you around $3000 for 24 months.

+1 for CLK

And... I am also selling my CLK350 2007 because I am going out of country pretty soon... Love the car so much, no problem at all. And why are you even comparing it to TSX or Mazda3? 550 is so much much much better and more fun to drive. Even CLK350 is still a head turner. That's just my 2 cents.

You're welcomed to see my car in the buy&sell thread under this link
http://www.revscene.net/forums/66276...t-package.html

^your interior is really gorgeous..beautiful colour combo! I change my mind about the TSX :D

+1 clk , you already paid so much to lease it , just buy it out?

i originally had an 04 clk500 amg, sold her got an 06 g35 coupe, worked at mazda a couple years ago so have driven all the 2011 mazda's

and i still prefer the clk500 amg interior and motor over any. definitely fun to drive, power is there, and luxury. your getting a killer deal from your dad since you just have to buy out the lease. don't pass it up.

I have no idea what the mileage is but I'm pretty sure it's pretty low clicks.

Of course everyone on here will vouch for the CLK (it is Revscene afterall heh) but keep in mind it's already a few grand more right off the bat compared to the other 2 cars he had in mind, and then factoring in the higher insurance costs and putting in another $3000 for a 2 year warranty, it all adds up.

Just by a rough estimate he would already be out at least $7000 more than intended before he even gets in the car. Then there's the interest incurred for getting a loan for the car. I'm just trying to help him keep an open mind because he doesn't make buttloads of money and I don't want him to pounce on this "deal" and then end up regretting it because it's costing him an arm and a leg to finance.

well if you can afford the gas/insurance, maintenance for the CLK then go for it, if not, just get something practical

if its been properly maintained with low km's you wont need extended warranty, my brother's 05 sl55 has about 80k on it, and the only major thing that needed done was new brake rotors and service calipers. other then that the second most expensive was transmission service, coolant flush, and service b (650 for service b alone) but the transmission service and coolant was done the first time since purchased in 05

its an 09, it will still be under warranty anyway. once the warranty is over, go to a german auto shop like henneken on marine drive, 80 per hour.

dealership is 127 an hour i think

I hate them when they compare cars in completely different classes.

^ Have you been reading this thread AT ALL?... yes they are in completely different classes, but in this case it's within the same target budget and given the circumstances what would you do?

Since this is RS, I think the majority of the people are going to side with the MB.

It really comes down to being a 'car guy', even though most people would prefer the MB, not everyone will be as excited about the increased insurance, gas and maintenance costs.

At the end of the day, does he mind his wallet being a little lighter to drive the MB? Or will he be just as content with a few more bucks in his wallet driving the Mazda 3 to work everyday?

Maybe he would rather save money on gas, insurance and maintenance for his other hobbies, but few people here are going to take a Mazda 3 over the MB.