Just to be clear, we couldn’t book a hotel as an alternative as I needed to get back to London for family commitments that weekend. Do you think this was a good idea?
Love the Merc, get rid of that hideous grille and put the original back on with the 3 pointed star on top of the bonnet leading the way, have it detailed, and enjoy a comfortable, reliable cruiser that seems to age gracefully....hey just think of it as a starter legendary CLK GTR LEMANS super car haha
The nearest train station would have been over an hour drive away, nobody could have given us a lift in time with all of our luggage, and yes, probably would have cost hundreds, whereas with the Merc I’ll likely make money
@@somalianpirate47 Well ours was completely problem AND somehow rust free up to 18 years of age and 280k km-s, where we sold it. If you maintain them well they really are reliable cars, just gotta be careful about rust.
What I struggle to understand is how a LR specialist who produced a “to fix” list as part of their arrangement with your channel, and has been all over the underside of that vehicle to do the suspension failed to spot brake pipes that were about to go pop. I’d be pretty upset and I am sure they must be seriously embarrassed at missing such a dangerous fault.
I think I would be pretty upset with the specialist you have just spent 3k with who have had it up on a ramp replacing suspension arms and I thought you mentioned front brake components. “Really not a great advertisement for them to miss something like corroded brake pipes”!
Joel, you are going to adore that car. I used to own a CLK 320 2003 model, it was a MK2 model tho but same engine as yours i suppose. This thing was really reliable and really ahead of its time. I actually went with it from London To Greece in summer 2020 and back, in total of around 6.000 kms (with 1.000km driven in Greece) car was really reliable. But i unfortunately had to sell it because of ULEZ. I hope you enjoy the car. 🙂
Those "been bags" are actually reusable moisture absorbers which are quite useful this time of the year,... in an old convertible... with a potential water leak or two ;-) Re; Range Rover Life, I do feel your pain Joel having owned a V8 RR myself. One thing that I remember the most from my 2.5 year ownership is they (Range Rovers) absolutely love the taste of your wallet on all accounts, not just the Go Go juice. You throw a bunch of parts at it and the following day the Range Rover decides it wants some more ... usually the expensive, main dealer only parts.
Would not have known that. So the technical term would be 'desiccant bags', like the little inserts shippers put in boxes to suck up moisture from the air. A home-made way to do that is to fill a pair of old socks with kitty litter and stick them underneath the seats and in other areas of a car's interior.
So your Range Rover "Specialists" missed your brake lines on your own RR, didn't they also lend you the RR to do your Scotland Trip? which broke down! Time to find a new specialist I think.
I once, back in about 2003, bought a Volvo 440 for £37 in Ipswich where I was staying for the weekend. It was cheaper than taxi fares. I then drove it back to the North East of England, used it until the tax and MOT ran out and sold it for £84 on ebay.
Awesome purchase! Dump the Range Rover! I want to see road trips with this beast! And some detailing, getting it in mint state, maybe tune up that 3.2l to the limit
Loved this one! A mate and I went halves on one of these when we were at uni, bought it with 166k on the clock for £750. It was quick and kept us poor due to insurance and fuel. Some great memories in that thing.
Only a true petrolhead would make the man maths work to making buying an old Merc seem like a logical option! Brilliant! Damn you Joel, now I’m on the Bay of E looking for one.
@@itsjoel oof Bentley is one of the most unreliable cars ever re sold. Even tho I am also a fan of Bentley if you think your range rover is bad, just do a whole lot of research first😂
That Merc is a hidden gem. Looks a beauty & will be infinitely more reliable than the Rangie. The Rangie will be great for content (and your mechanics bank balance) but awful for your bank account and stress levels! I think the Merc looks great alongside the BMW & Porsche in your driveway. Keep the old girl & get her done up, will be cracking content.
I have the same model and year here in Spain, albeit with around 40K miles on it and in pretty much as new condition. The engine is immensely reliable the only issue you may have on that generation of Mercedes in the U.K. is rust. Having watched a few of your videos now I would think you would be better off tidying up the Mercedes and getting rid of the Range Rover before the next inevitable breakdown. Would also drive better with smaller original wheels, I’d also change the silly after market grill.
It is a very reliable car. I have the 99 e320 sedan and it's a smooth, decently powerful car. The engine is a 3v twin spark engine and is the first v6 mercedes ever made, even basing the v8 varient off of the v6. Even with the miles climbing up itll still be reliable. I'd keep it as a back up car or the ol beater. And the coupes are pretty cool and stylish in my opinion.
I've had 3 CLK's all cabrios and never had a problem with any of them, the last one was a 3.5 it was a such a great car, I actually owned this car twice, I traded it in for a RR vogue and missed it so much I went back to the garage and bought it back from them 2 weeks later, the RR gave me so many problems I'm glad I had the CLK to fall back on, I eventually sold the RR. I do understand that when a RR is going good they are the best, but it's just not worth the hassle when they go wrong. Love the channel keep up the good work..
Those bean bags seem to be silica bags which suck moisture out of the air, as convertibles never seal properly. If that is what they are put them in the oven for 90 min on lowest heat to drive the water out.
Bean bags are moisture absorbers - microwave them to 'reset' them. Then stick them in the Rangie behind the trim either side in the boot to prevent moisture in your electricals!
The bean bags are humidity bags, they absorb damp, then you warm them/microwave them to dry them, then re use. Implies that the roof leaks/the drain channels are blocked?
Get it a good detailing fix up the paintwork and you have a very cheap reliable future classic car . Sell your Range Rover and find a good P38 (not easy but they are out there) instead and both cars will definitely increase in value while you enjoy them. Sean
Honestly, with how much trouble that Range Rover has been I think it’s a question of how much longer will it be affordable to even keep on the road. I’ve always liked that shape of CLK and if I were in your position, I’d sell that and the Range Rover, then buy a CLK55 AMG.
Great vid mate! I own a FFRR L405 and I bought a CLK320 convertible this summer as a “project” with a view to it being a future classic and I love it! Just make sure the roof works, get it detailed and drive it some more! Those 3.2 V6 engines are bombproof and when tidied up they’re a real head turner in the summer with the roof down! I paid £1000 for mine and it came with a private reg which has since been valued at £400 so realistically only paid £600 but I’ve already spent a further £1500 on preventative maintenance, gearbox and coolant flush, springs all round, new sound system, upgraded lights all round, wheels refurbished and new tyres and an engine seal kit and spark plugs to do myself over the winter. Enjoy it mate, you won’t regret it 👍🏻😎
My friend used to have a clk320 convertible in blue years ago. Only spent short amount of time in it but having top down a summers day with that v6 sound was a good feeling
Keep that beauty ! Or at least spend some more time with it. Would love to see it detailed and restored a bit, these models ars massively underrated, as is this era of Mercedes. An era of comfort that was centered around feel and quality, rather than gismo's. And it's also quite a lot more reliable than your range rover 😅. Love your content, would love to see more of this (nowadays quite rare) beast !
I’d absolutely see what can be done with that interior. Knowing Mercs it will come up really well, as will the roof with some Renovo roof cleaner and weather proofer (easily the best stuff and you can hang on to it and use it on your Porsche). From a content point of view perhaps drive it to Stuttgart? And you need to get rid of the Rangie. It’s gonna break you man.
Agreed on the renovo re colouring. But I found Johnson's non perfumed baby shampoo cleaned my Saab roof better than the renovo cleaner (which took forever to stop foaming, and I used tent water proofer,which is 1/3 the price of the renovo proofer.
Welcome to the world of Merc! The foot brake is a quirk common to all the Mercs I've driven. I had a 99 CLK 230K Cab for 9 years. Totally reliable, great cruiser, lovely in summer with the roof down. Servicing and MOTs were suprprisingly cheap. Merc have always claimed low TCO, and I must agree. On my second Merc now, and loving it. Had one Land Rover - a Disco3 - never again!
Would be good to see how they clean that roof up, my C70's roof is going the same way as I drive the 35i every day and I bet I'm not the only one. Good vid mate.
Love this car! Not a fan of the aftermarket grille and it’s missing bonnet ornament but it looks like a wonderful machine! I have an E-class of the same era and that single wiper is one of my favourite unique quirks. I would love to see more content with this budget Mercedes if possible and kinda wish you would keep it 😂, love the video and your channel!
When I travel very long distances overseas I always make sure I have some cash set aside to buy a cheap runner in the event of a catastrophic breakdown, and actually UK is one of the cheapest counties to buy a basically ok cheap runner. People who live in the UK complain about road tax and insurance costs, but honestly UK is not bad for tax and insurance, and used cars are amongst the cheapest in the world. On the Range Rover, loss of fluid on one side at the rear should only bring down one brake circuit, the other should at least allow you to limp along at low speed with the ability to brake and stop. The pedal will go down an alarming long way, but it should still work. Brakes can fail on any car and are not at all unique to Range Rover, this is why MOT testers often fail brake pipes on the first sign of corrosion.
You can buy a cheap merc or bmw from that time period and they last and don’t cost a fortune to maintain. I owned a bmw e36 coupe on 64,000 sold it on 160,000 and had relatively low maintenance costs. Later stuff even on low mileage costs a fortune.
Those bean bags are to put by your front and back windows and they are meant to help demist the windscreens when it’s cold overnight etc. I’ve never found them that effective though
Hey Joel, would really like you to do a clip on what went wrong with your Range Rover brakes. I have a 2003 L322 also and would like to avoid a similar failure...
A valet would definitley be good, you can probably keep it as a winter beater and then sell come spring when convertibles are back in season. More or less get your £1k back minus running costs.
Get it fixed up! It deserves a better life! Just make sure to get the underbody coated with some Dinitrol or something, so it doesn't rust. Mechanically though, these cars are gems! Some of, if not the last reliable Mercedes cars mechanically.
Awesome video and a great purchase!! You should definitely take it to be detailed… might be worth doing a light restoration on it. Get the bodywork smart repaired and get it back on a nice set of original wheels… enjoy it and bin off the Range Rover!
I have a 52 Mercedes CLK 320 Avant gaurd great car mine is similar condition to your red one Bordeux red I think colour maybe.. I have owned it 5 years.. It needs work New brakes all round..calipers and discs. Bodywork at some point needs attention. They are really good on fuel £55 it cost me wales to London and back it was at 99p a litre days.. I would love to see a valet video on it.. More so it would be really interesting see exactly what body work needs doing Mine is a lilac colour with blue coloured roof interior on mine is really nice just needs cleaning up. But on the bodywork side i am not sure to which way to go with it get small local repairs and then one day a full respray but my subframe needs addresing first so may go to underside of car and have those areas covered..
Yes I think you did the right thing buying it. Why not keep it. You could do something crazy with it like make it amphibious, or try to restore it to its former glory on a shoestring budget. Then sell it.
Everything that happened made for a great video in the end! My advice is to get rid of the Range Rover and keep the Merc. The RR will keep emptying your bank account, I know from experience.
Don't give up on the Rangie! It can be a love hate relationship, patience and a good garage is what is needed. I have had 2 L322's, first one was more of a hate relationship but the one I currently have is amazing, reliable and had for 4 years. I feel you though, tough when it keeps bringing up faults.
I paid £1000 for my Golf when I was 18. I’m 21 now. Dare I say it’s the best £1000 Ive ever spent. I think that sort of era was the best for cars (not too complicated, not too simple)
Keep the merc, and get some tinkering done, especially to that exhaust 🤣 On a serious note do it up with some servicing and ivalet etc and sell it for profit 📈
Not sure if it is answered but the bean bags are dehumidifiers which you can microwave. Saw the Instagram post about needing a car and I thought this might of happened. Shame as the Range Rover is objectively nice.
Excellent solution Joel. Loved the video and the choice of car (admittedly a Hobson's one). Owning a Range Rover definitely calls for a spare car to be available at all times but having said that my old (pre air suspension ones never left me stranded, it was only the year 2000 ones onwards that were unreliable). Does the roof work? Remember that you have to pull the flap in the boot with a hand hole in it, downwards very sharply to make sure it locks in place because if not the roof will not move at all. Given the lady who sold the car was not there at the time of sale she may ask you to send back some of her treasures that were still in the car so don't sell the Tom Tom yet ... ;-)
The thing is; you can buy a Range Rover, you can own a Range Rover but you can't actually drive one very far (maybe just to your repair shop of choice). Range Rovers do however make great paper weights, chicken coops, storage bins and probably money pits. Personally I would say that unless you have actual work for a Range Rover, sell it and keep the Mercedes
Great buy, do it up, get it detailed properly and get the paint and interior as good as it can get without painting it. That would be a good daily and easily double your money when you sell it, I actually think it looks cool.
You should get the cosmetics painted, valet it and run it for a few years, it will not cost you a fortune and it’s a great car, right engine great wheels, you will not be disappointed.
If you get it detailed, I'm almost tempted to ask if I can have first shout if you decide to sell it on, almost immediately (for a grand). A few years back one of my ex-colleagues had a bright red hard-top version in non-metallic bright red and he loved it
Just to be clear, we couldn’t book a hotel as an alternative as I needed to get back to London for family commitments that weekend. Do you think this was a good idea?
Joe Bezos
You'll sell it the other end in London for double and it'll pay for new brake lines!
Love the Merc, get rid of that hideous grille and put the original back on with the 3 pointed star on top of the bonnet leading the way, have it detailed, and enjoy a comfortable, reliable cruiser that seems to age gracefully....hey just think of it as a starter legendary CLK GTR LEMANS super car haha
The nearest train station would have been over an hour drive away, nobody could have given us a lift in time with all of our luggage, and yes, probably would have cost hundreds, whereas with the Merc I’ll likely make money
Great idea!
I'd love to see that thing detailed, they're immensely reliable cars and deserve a better life.
Engines are great, bodies rust and fall apart as soon as you even think of moisture
Trust me they are not reliable mine was a complete money pit
@@somalianpirate47 Well ours was completely problem AND somehow rust free up to 18 years of age and 280k km-s, where we sold it. If you maintain them well they really are reliable cars, just gotta be careful about rust.
@Teamgeist yea, u just bought a lemon. buy a good car.
@Teamgeist the obvious twit is you, speaking through your arse and probably never having owned one.
Definitely bring it to get detailed!
Love detailing videos!
Will be coming soon!
What I struggle to understand is how a LR specialist who produced a “to fix” list as part of their arrangement with your channel, and has been all over the underside of that vehicle to do the suspension failed to spot brake pipes that were about to go pop. I’d be pretty upset and I am sure they must be seriously embarrassed at missing such a dangerous fault.
I'd look into the CLK as well as the rear lines corrode easily along the underpan and rear axle.
I think I would be pretty upset with the specialist you have just spent 3k with who have had it up on a ramp replacing suspension arms and I thought you mentioned front brake components. “Really not a great advertisement for them to miss something like corroded brake pipes”!
I'm sure it'd been said, but it doesn't say much for your Landrover "specialists" in Richmond
Joel, you are going to adore that car. I used to own a CLK 320 2003 model, it was a MK2 model tho but same engine as yours i suppose. This thing was really reliable and really ahead of its time. I actually went with it from London To Greece in summer 2020 and back, in total of around 6.000 kms (with 1.000km driven in Greece) car was really reliable. But i unfortunately had to sell it because of ULEZ. I hope you enjoy the car. 🙂
Καλά του είπες ρε συ. Του έτριξες τα δόντια
@@mrkyy9868 σκασε, ρενο μονο
8:55 the mono-wiper is actually quite genious, it covers more than regular wipers with 2 blades, because it extends up at the same time it wipes
Those "been bags" are actually reusable moisture absorbers which are quite useful this time of the year,... in an old convertible... with a potential water leak or two ;-)
Re; Range Rover Life, I do feel your pain Joel having owned a V8 RR myself. One thing that I remember the most from my 2.5 year ownership is they (Range Rovers) absolutely love the taste of your wallet on all accounts, not just the Go Go juice. You throw a bunch of parts at it and the following day the Range Rover decides it wants some more ... usually the expensive, main dealer only parts.
Would not have known that. So the technical term would be 'desiccant bags', like the little inserts shippers put in boxes to suck up moisture from the air.
A home-made way to do that is to fill a pair of old socks with kitty litter and stick them underneath the seats and in other areas of a car's interior.
Range Robber more like!
@@paddrivers ... 🙈🤣👍🏼
Dump the Rangie, get all the mods off that and fix it up. Love it.
So your Range Rover "Specialists" missed your brake lines on your own RR, didn't they also lend you the RR to do your Scotland Trip? which broke down! Time to find a new specialist I think.
I once, back in about 2003, bought a Volvo 440 for £37 in Ipswich where I was staying for the weekend. It was cheaper than taxi fares. I then drove it back to the North East of England, used it until the tax and MOT ran out and sold it for £84 on ebay.
I brought a mondeo in Lincoln for scap price at the time 60 pounds drove it home to grimsby and sold it a week later for 700 pounds
Awesome purchase! Dump the Range Rover! I want to see road trips with this beast! And some detailing, getting it in mint state, maybe tune up that 3.2l to the limit
Loved this one! A mate and I went halves on one of these when we were at uni, bought it with 166k on the clock for £750. It was quick and kept us poor due to insurance and fuel. Some great memories in that thing.
Only a true petrolhead would make the man maths work to making buying an old Merc seem like a logical option! Brilliant! Damn you Joel, now I’m on the Bay of E looking for one.
Definitely get it valeted. Especially with the hood being so filthy it’ll be a good test!
Keep the Mercedes!
The bean bags you mentioned are supposed to remove moisture you can buy them on Amazon
If you ever decide to sell the 7 series, I would love to see a VW Phaeton as a replacement!
I’ve always loved the Phaeton, but what about a Bentley continental flying spur?
@@itsjoel oof Bentley is one of the most unreliable cars ever re sold. Even tho I am also a fan of Bentley if you think your range rover is bad, just do a whole lot of research first😂
@Richard Harrold I didn't know that my bad
It would be a downgrade really. Good content though.
I still think you're mad for doing this but what's even crazier is that it was the best option financially! 😂
That Merc is a hidden gem. Looks a beauty & will be infinitely more reliable than the Rangie. The Rangie will be great for content (and your mechanics bank balance) but awful for your bank account and stress levels! I think the Merc looks great alongside the BMW & Porsche in your driveway. Keep the old girl & get her done up, will be cracking content.
I have the same model and year here in Spain, albeit with around 40K miles on it and in pretty much as new condition. The engine is immensely reliable the only issue you may have on that generation of Mercedes in the U.K. is rust. Having watched a few of your videos now I would think you would be better off tidying up the Mercedes and getting rid of the Range Rover before the next inevitable breakdown. Would also drive better with smaller original wheels, I’d also change the silly after market grill.
yes the grille has to go lol
Hi Joel . I'm first. Good to see you . It was the time to got a Mercedes ! It's a very beautiful car and pretty reliable.
Have a good day Joel ! 👋
This is why buying the rangie was such a good call, all sorts of content presents itself!
I suppose that’s a positive way of looking at it!
It is a very reliable car. I have the 99 e320 sedan and it's a smooth, decently powerful car. The engine is a 3v twin spark engine and is the first v6 mercedes ever made, even basing the v8 varient off of the v6. Even with the miles climbing up itll still be reliable. I'd keep it as a back up car or the ol beater. And the coupes are pretty cool and stylish in my opinion.
I've had 3 CLK's all cabrios and never had a problem with any of them, the last one was a 3.5 it was a such a great car, I actually owned this car twice, I traded it in for a RR vogue and missed it so much I went back to the garage and bought it back from them 2 weeks later, the RR gave me so many problems I'm glad I had the CLK to fall back on, I eventually sold the RR. I do understand that when a RR is going good they are the best, but it's just not worth the hassle when they go wrong. Love the channel keep up the good work..
Those bean bags seem to be silica bags which suck moisture out of the air, as convertibles never seal properly. If that is what they are put them in the oven for 90 min on lowest heat to drive the water out.
Bean bags are moisture absorbers - microwave them to 'reset' them. Then stick them in the Rangie behind the trim either side in the boot to prevent moisture in your electricals!
Keep it for a while, it's a nice car with a bit of class, it would be interesting to see how it scrubs up.
The bean bags are humidity bags, they absorb damp, then you warm them/microwave them to dry them, then re use.
Implies that the roof leaks/the drain channels are blocked?
Get it a good detailing fix up the paintwork and you have a very cheap reliable future classic car . Sell your Range Rover and find a good P38 (not easy but they are out there) instead and both cars will definitely increase in value while you enjoy them.
Sean
Honestly, with how much trouble that Range Rover has been I think it’s a question of how much longer will it be affordable to even keep on the road.
I’ve always liked that shape of CLK and if I were in your position, I’d sell that and the Range Rover, then buy a CLK55 AMG.
Will have to see how much longer I can endure this Range Rover lifestyle. This is my first merc, so hopefully it gets me into the brand
Great vid mate! I own a FFRR L405 and I bought a CLK320 convertible this summer as a “project” with a view to it being a future classic and I love it! Just make sure the roof works, get it detailed and drive it some more! Those 3.2 V6 engines are bombproof and when tidied up they’re a real head turner in the summer with the roof down! I paid £1000 for mine and it came with a private reg which has since been valued at £400 so realistically only paid £600 but I’ve already spent a further £1500 on preventative maintenance, gearbox and coolant flush, springs all round, new sound system, upgraded lights all round, wheels refurbished and new tyres and an engine seal kit and spark plugs to do myself over the winter. Enjoy it mate, you won’t regret it 👍🏻😎
My friend used to have a clk320 convertible in blue years ago. Only spent short amount of time in it but having top down a summers day with that v6 sound was a good feeling
Keep that beauty ! Or at least spend some more time with it. Would love to see it detailed and restored a bit, these models ars massively underrated, as is this era of Mercedes. An era of comfort that was centered around feel and quality, rather than gismo's. And it's also quite a lot more reliable than your range rover 😅. Love your content, would love to see more of this (nowadays quite rare) beast !
I actually own one of these! It’s currently sat in my flats car park under a cover! But I own one as-well! Keep it around for a minute!
Perhaps I missed it with the windy start to the vid., but what is the mileage of the Merc.? They are usually unbreakable and very comfortable.
I’d absolutely see what can be done with that interior. Knowing Mercs it will come up really well, as will the roof with some Renovo roof cleaner and weather proofer (easily the best stuff and you can hang on to it and use it on your Porsche).
From a content point of view perhaps drive it to Stuttgart?
And you need to get rid of the Rangie. It’s gonna break you man.
Agreed on the renovo re colouring. But I found Johnson's non perfumed baby shampoo cleaned my Saab roof better than the renovo cleaner (which took forever to stop foaming, and I used tent water proofer,which is 1/3 the price of the renovo proofer.
@@brianiswrong wow cool. I’ve never heard of that trick, will definitely try it.
Congrats on the new car, we also have just bought a convertible mercedes for £1000, it was a 2000 slk 230 though so much smaller.
Welcome to the world of Merc! The foot brake is a quirk common to all the Mercs I've driven. I had a 99 CLK 230K Cab for 9 years. Totally reliable, great cruiser, lovely in summer with the roof down. Servicing and MOTs were suprprisingly cheap. Merc have always claimed low TCO, and I must agree. On my second Merc now, and loving it. Had one Land Rover - a Disco3 - never again!
Would be good to see how they clean that roof up, my C70's roof is going the same way as I drive the 35i every day and I bet I'm not the only one. Good vid mate.
Love this car! Not a fan of the aftermarket grille and it’s missing bonnet ornament but it looks like a wonderful machine! I have an E-class of the same era and that single wiper is one of my favourite unique quirks. I would love to see more content with this budget Mercedes if possible and kinda wish you would keep it 😂, love the video and your channel!
Detail it and put the original grill on please
When I travel very long distances overseas I always make sure I have some cash set aside to buy a cheap runner in the event of a catastrophic breakdown, and actually UK is one of the cheapest counties to buy a basically ok cheap runner. People who live in the UK complain about road tax and insurance costs, but honestly UK is not bad for tax and insurance, and used cars are amongst the cheapest in the world. On the Range Rover, loss of fluid on one side at the rear should only bring down one brake circuit, the other should at least allow you to limp along at low speed with the ability to brake and stop. The pedal will go down an alarming long way, but it should still work. Brakes can fail on any car and are not at all unique to Range Rover, this is why MOT testers often fail brake pipes on the first sign of corrosion.
Do you mean with „get rid“ you are selling the car or giving it to the scrapyard?
Whats happening in London?
Love my old 260E as well! Still the comfiest seats I have ever had in a car, and I'm currently driving a Jag XJ8
You can buy a cheap merc or bmw from that time period and they last and don’t cost a fortune to maintain. I owned a bmw e36 coupe on 64,000 sold it on 160,000 and had relatively low maintenance costs. Later stuff even on low mileage costs a fortune.
What’s the valet company you mention?
What's that watch you're wearing Joel?
Them engines with a massive intake makes that v6 roar into life
3:11 how its cheaper with Road tax, insurance and petrol?
Check with landrover! The front brake lines were on a recall I believe.
Does the roof work ?
5:38 Those are dehumidifier bags. So I presume the car might have a small leak.
Them bags are an indication theres a water leak somewhere,common on old drop tops! Moisture absorption things
Those bean bags are to put by your front and back windows and they are meant to help demist the windscreens when it’s cold overnight etc. I’ve never found them that effective though
Does the Merc's roof work?
Quality bonus content!
Was breakdown cover not an option?
Didn't you get a warranty with the range rover?
I’d love to see that given a freshen up Joel
WHAT KIND OF INSURANCE DO YOU USE
Hey Joel, would really like you to do a clip on what went wrong with your Range Rover brakes. I have a 2003 L322 also and would like to avoid a similar failure...
A valet would definitley be good, you can probably keep it as a winter beater and then sell come spring when convertibles are back in season. More or less get your £1k back minus running costs.
Get it fixed up! It deserves a better life! Just make sure to get the underbody coated with some Dinitrol or something, so it doesn't rust. Mechanically though, these cars are gems! Some of, if not the last reliable Mercedes cars mechanically.
Awesome video and a great purchase!! You should definitely take it to be detailed… might be worth doing a light restoration on it. Get the bodywork smart repaired and get it back on a nice set of original wheels… enjoy it and bin off the Range Rover!
01:16 "There's no airport" he says while stood in the middle of an airfield... :)
Did the roof open and shut ok
Definitely go for the valet... also love to see more videos on this mercedes. Maybe keep it for a couple of months :)
I have a 52 Mercedes CLK 320 Avant gaurd great car mine is similar condition to your red one Bordeux red I think colour maybe..
I have owned it 5 years.. It needs work New brakes all round..calipers and discs.
Bodywork at some point needs attention.
They are really good on fuel £55 it cost me wales to London and back it was at 99p a litre days..
I would love to see a valet video on it..
More so it would be really interesting see exactly what body work needs doing Mine is a lilac colour with blue coloured roof interior on mine is really nice just needs cleaning up. But on the bodywork side i am not sure to which way to go with it get small local repairs and then one day a full respray but my subframe needs addresing first so may go to underside of car and have those areas covered..
Yes I think you did the right thing buying it. Why not keep it. You could do something crazy with it like make it amphibious, or try to restore it to its former glory on a shoestring budget. Then sell it.
detail it, then get that scuff on the bumper buffed out, relist it for £1500. easy profit its a well looked after car
Hi Joel! Just wondering, what did you use to insure the car for the week? Would you recommend them? Thanks!
Everything that happened made for a great video in the end! My advice is to get rid of the Range Rover and keep the Merc. The RR will keep emptying your bank account, I know from experience.
Don't give up on the Rangie! It can be a love hate relationship, patience and a good garage is what is needed. I have had 2 L322's, first one was more of a hate relationship but the one I currently have is amazing, reliable and had for 4 years.
I feel you though, tough when it keeps bringing up faults.
Why play Russian roulette with reliability?
There are numerous SUV's with similar cache and capabilities that are far more reliable and durable
The bean bags are dehumidifiers...abit like dessicant
Pretty sure those being bags have silicone in it Is to prevent moisture
What a great purchase, I watched the detail video first and you really did well it came up beautifully
joel i can tell you now mate that these vids will make your channel big dude ...brilliant content bruva
I paid £1000 for my Golf when I was 18. I’m 21 now. Dare I say it’s the best £1000 Ive ever spent. I think that sort of era was the best for cars (not too complicated, not too simple)
We bought a clk320 for £600 and we loved it
Always wanted one of these, love the classic Mercedes shape. I’ve owned a 2008 CLK for a few years and has to be one of the best cars I’ve owned!!
I love how helicopter chartering is thought of as a reasonable option...
Hey Joel, you will enjoy a much brisker ride if you take the autbox out of winter mode W and switch to S
Wooden sticks and that little device were air fresheners to hang from the rear mirror! Like a cinnamon stick or what have you.
The way that single wiper works it actually clears more screen than two.
Keep the merc, and get some tinkering done, especially to that exhaust 🤣
On a serious note do it up with some servicing and ivalet etc and sell it for profit 📈
Not sure if it is answered but the bean bags are dehumidifiers which you can microwave. Saw the Instagram post about needing a car and I thought this might of happened. Shame as the Range Rover is objectively nice.
Excellent solution Joel. Loved the video and the choice of car (admittedly a Hobson's one). Owning a Range Rover definitely calls for a spare car to be available at all times but having said that my old (pre air suspension ones never left me stranded, it was only the year 2000 ones onwards that were unreliable). Does the roof work? Remember that you have to pull the flap in the boot with a hand hole in it, downwards very sharply to make sure it locks in place because if not the roof will not move at all. Given the lady who sold the car was not there at the time of sale she may ask you to send back some of her treasures that were still in the car so don't sell the Tom Tom yet ... ;-)
My friend has an L322, and forever getting it repaired, nice to drive, when it's not in the repair shop.
Old Mercs are great! Comfy cars, they do use a bit of fuel though.
I've got same color, same engine c208 waiting to have some spare money to be restored. Such underrated cars
What a nice CLK 😍 Please make a deatail video of it ✅
24:19 you look like a rich dude from 2006
The thing is; you can buy a Range Rover, you can own a Range Rover but you can't actually drive one very far (maybe just to your repair shop of choice). Range Rovers do however make great paper weights, chicken coops, storage bins and probably money pits.
Personally I would say that unless you have actual work for a Range Rover, sell it and keep the Mercedes
A good point about filling up with E5.
Great buy, do it up, get it detailed properly and get the paint and interior as good as it can get without painting it. That would be a good daily and easily double your money when you sell it, I actually think it looks cool.
You should get the cosmetics painted, valet it and run it for a few years, it will not cost you a fortune and it’s a great car, right engine great wheels, you will not be disappointed.
If you get it detailed, I'm almost tempted to ask if I can have first shout if you decide to sell it on, almost immediately (for a grand). A few years back one of my ex-colleagues had a bright red hard-top version in non-metallic bright red and he loved it
There is a saying down here in Oz. You take a Land Rover if you want to go out to the bush. You take a Toyota if you want to come back again.
Get it detailed and change the alloys to the R302 Mercedes wheels and it’ll look a treat👍