1998 SLK worth a look

moblies

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Seen a 98 slk230. 70k on the clock,sub £1000 but roof don't open.

Looks reasonable I guess my question is is it worth a punt. Need it to be temporary car for 8 months and good for about 10k miles.

It's 20 years old so am I asking too much, after that it will be a fair weather bit of fun only.

The roof I planned to look at and hopefully fix before the summer
 

John Laidlaw

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For £1k you can’t get much so it sounds ok from your short description - the roof could be the relay in the boot area which is fairly common- if it were me I’d probably offer something quite cheeky on that basis.
Check for rust though particularly on the wheel arches and sills, if it’s excessive you are buying scrap
 

LostKiwi

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Pretty much bang on there John. Relay, limit switches or pump are the usual favourites, depending how far into the opening sequence it gets.
 
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moblies

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Thanks guys. It has passed its MOT in September so almost a years MOT left. No mention of any serious corrosion even as an advisory for this MOT or previous ones.
 

umblecumbuz

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These early ones either rusted very badly or not at all. Strange but true. If you have a rust-free example, it's worth spending a few bob on. They're beginning to get scarce.
 
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moblies

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Thanks. I’ll take a look at it. The MOT should of picked up any serious corrosion but nothing not even advisories. So it may well be worth a closer look then.
 

grahamcol

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Definately worth a punt at that price. These are actually nice, lively, fun cars and I love mine.
Good luck.
 
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moblies

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Going to see it tomorrow apparently the roof folded down on it’s own but struggled to fully close so they had to shut it manually, not sure if that helps the diagnosis.
If I get it I’ll know more tomorrow
 

LostKiwi

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It does. Sounds like a bad pump.
The relay obviously working and limit switches. If you're really lucky a good lubrication session might help but most likely the pumps shot.
 
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moblies

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The owner apparently hasn't used the roof in 3 years, looking at the mot's it's done very little mileage in the last few years.
 

grahamcol

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It does the roof no good at all to leave it "unexercised" for an extended period. Mind you if it doesn't work at all then it's going to be hard to exercise. Assuming you do get it to work I'd suggest lowering it and raising it again at monthly intervals, even in winter.
 

John Laidlaw

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Yip sounds like PSE pump not the end of the world they can be picked up reasonably now.
 

AnthonyUK

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It sounds good for £1k and even if you have to spend another £1k or more you should end up with something much better than you'd find for the same price.
I'd jump at it at that price if I needed a car.
 

LostKiwi

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Yip sounds like PSE pump not the end of the world they can be picked up reasonably now.
PSE pump is different John - thats the one for central locking and is air/vacuum. The roof one is hydraulic.
 

alexanderfoti

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These early ones either rusted very badly or not at all. Strange but true. If you have a rust-free example, it's worth spending a few bob on. They're beginning to get scarce.

True - 97-98 don't rust that badly

98-02 - Really bad rust, same story with the 208/210
 

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There’s a Wheeler Dealers episode where Ed changes the pump on an R170 to fix a slow roof
 
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moblies

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Well I got it £850. 52k on the clock and invoices for £420 only last month having a gearbox service and some electrical plate replaced.

Bit shabby has some scratches and a couple of small spots of paint damage cracked bumpers etc but drives sweet. All cheap on eBay

Couple of issues 1st before the roof


1 doors don’t lock. The lights flash but not locking the doors. The alarm went off aswell when I opened the door and the remote switched that off so remote is working just not locking

2 boot don’t seem to open might be roof related

3 it was peeing it down on way home and drive through some puddles but have a puddle in the passenger footwell water running from above under the glovebox. A lot of water

On the whole though better than I thought for 20 year old car
 


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