[mdeck]

I drove a 2001 CLK430 Convertible my Senior year of HS, which had some custom 18's on it (long story short: mom bought it, electronic malfunction caused her to crash, no longer felt safe even after it was fixed, so she bought a new car. We had 2 years left on the lease and no one drove it, so instead of me buying one the parents let me use it until I left for college).

The 430 had a smaller V8 but was a very similar vehicle. Let me just say, it definitely made picking up girls as easy as possible - also, getting jealous looks from Middle aged guys that would pull up next to me at a light was a hilarious feeling. It got kind of annoying when every guy under 25 would try to race at a stop light though - it was funny the first few times, but eventually just led to me rolling my eyes over and over.

The ride is a little rough on long drives (sometimes driving home in traffic it would take 1 hour+ to get home), but overall is comfortable. The interior was nice, although I very much prefer the interior of the newer E and S-Classes.

The back seat isn't very big, but will fit kids or girls well enough - there may be more room in the coupe, I dunno. Ours came with the factory optional upgraded sound system, which included a subwoofer under the rear seat. The 6 disc changer was located in the trunk which was kind of a pain in the ass, but overall the quality was quite good. I found the wheel-mounted stereo controls to be convenient.

Performance wise, you can get something much better for your money. This car is quick (definitely fast enough for me when I was 17), but it's not going to be some speed demon. It's definitely comfortable at freeway speeds though. Couldn't tell the difference between 70 and 85mph. Doesn't sound like you care much about handling, but I'll chime in to say that the suspension is tight enough, but the car will feel sluggish around corners if you're partaking in any "spirited" driving. It's a heavy car, and you will feel the weight in the turns. As a daily driver it won't be an issue though.

Trunk space on mine wasn't large enough to hold a full bag of clubs, but that was probably due to the roof folding into the trunk. The hardtop should hold at least one well enough.

A bit of advice, though - If the car is pushing your budget, don't break the bank for it. I was super stoked for a few weeks after I started driving mine, but eventually the car stops becoming a "p.i.m.p." ride, and you stop seeing it as this uber sweet Mercedes - you just see your car, and it's nothing special. It's really not worth pushing it unless you've got the cash to spare.

PM me if you have any more specific questions, I'm not really good at checking up on threads.