Calling all SLK owners

[Bob 2316]

Were gonna be buying a secondhand SLk soon, looking at getting a 1999 T or V. i was wondering what you all thought of your SLk`s good and bad points and if you could give any imput positive or negative on what driving and owning one was like for you. any ideas on what we should look for in particular when buying second hand SLK`s.

thanx

Bob

[Bob 2316]

wow thats weird its appeared twice!!
oh by the way its a 230 that were gonna get sadly we cannot strech to a 320 (sob sob)

[slkgus]

I have had 3 SLKs now
Some cars have spacesaver spare wheel wheras some come with just a pump and Tyre-Repair which is ok unless tyre is damaged on side or the damage is too big for the solution to fix.....then u could be stuffed -or not as case may be!!!
But I love the SLK and 230 is a good engine made wonderfully RAW by the KOMPRESSOR
I would suggest Heated seats help make the car even more usable on cooler days when you want hood down the heater is fierce (Air Con is standard on all cars),and its a great car for most occaisons and there are always Taxis but you will find the car a lot more usable than many.

You learn how to pack with a SLK!!

[bazza]

Very important to check the operation of the hood, MB had problems with microswitches in warm weather, the hood shouln't take longer than 30 seconds to operate. Brake discs are known to wear down quickly, so check these and generally make sure everything works
My father-in-law has a 1997 230SLK(his from new and his till he dies) and nothing has gone wrong with it and he loves it


Bazza

[Bob 2316]

Thanx guys for your feedback. yes we know how to pack as we have had an MGF and now have a Z3!! espically when we went touring in Ireland and yorkshire both times with a dog snuggled in the footwell of the MGF! but most of the time she liked to be sitting on the passengers lap with her head leaning out into the wind! very scary!!. interesting comments re: the roof i will take note of this, and the spare wheel issue is something that i know all about as the Z3 has a space saver but the bods at BMW did nt take into account where to put the 17 x 245 wheel after you have replaced it with the space saver. it doesnt fit under the car in the space saver compartment and it does nt fit in the boot. so it was left to slipping it in the BMW white plastic bag they provide then sliding the passenger seat right back and shoe horning me and the wheel into the seat! ok for a short journey but not very comfortable if you were on a long journey.

Can the Merc wheel fit in the boot?

best rgds

bob

[Tony]

Yes, the wheel fits comfortably in the boot. I know because I've had a couple of punctures.

I'd strongly advise you to get a post face-lift model if you can afford it. The exterior changes are minimal (painted cill mouldings and slightly different bumpers), but the interior is significantly improved. The seats on the earlier models are absolutely atrocious. Also has ESP instead of ASR.

[Bob 2316]

Hi Tony thanks for you feedback. do u know when the face lift models came in ? we are thinking of gettinmg a 1999 model also what is ESP ?

best regards

Bob

[wagamama]

isn't it Electronic Stability Program?

[Tony]

Sorry for the delay in replying. I've been incarcerated incommunicado in jury service. The face-lift models are from about March 2000. They're easily recognisable by the body coloured cills and door handles - also by the fact that the seats are not just hard benches and hold you in place. There don't look to be a lot of changes but there are a lot under the skin. The pre-facelift model will be very hard to shift, so if you do get one negotiate hard, because you're probably going to need seat modifications at the very least. ESP is as the previous guy said - traction control in common parlance. It detects loss of adhesion in a tyre and adjusts throttle control accordingly. It can also individually brake wheels. It's a slightly more sophisticated version of ASR (Anti-Skid Resistance?). It's said to be better by reviewers.

[Bob 2316]

H i Tony
thanx for your feedback. are the seats really that bad? is that the general opinion among SLK owners of pre face lift models.

best rgds

Bob

[Tony]

They're like boards and they don't hold you in place. Try one in a showroom - the problem's very obvious. I believe there are mods available to improve them, so I guess a lot of people must find them unacceptable.

By the way, on the subject of price, be aware that the bottom has fallen out of the secondhand car market. If you've got cash you can get a very good deal. Even depreciation busters like the the SLK, TT and Boxster have been hit - the SLK in particular because there's a new model coming out mid next year. I recently got a few quotes from dealers for my SLK (which is a silver/anthracite 2001X 320V6 manual with all the extras in perfect condition and 12k miles) and the maximum offer was £17k. This is on a car with a list price of about £35k 2 years and 1 month ago.