SLK up grade to SL

[Philedge]

Headlamp washers leaking
Heater air box blocked/passenger carpets wet
Tandem pump weeping
Struts dropping overnight
ABC pressure low
Stored fault codes
Etc
Etc

Needs an indies once over and a few minutes on STAR

 

[SL63 Mark]

Etc

Needs an indies once over and a few minutes on STAR

Agree with that 100%. Do not just think you can pitch up and be an expert with one of these cars. You can't. You need professional help, and that costs. However, it will save £££s in the long run, by not buying a bad one, or in negotiations.

 

[00slk]

That is excellent advice Guys, thanks you.
I went in with my eyes wide shut when I bought my first Bentley, that did cost me a bit, so when it came time to be a bit more venturous, I was able to check out a few Bentley Turbo R's with more knowledge. Mind you the last 'R' was a nice car, but still needed many pennies thrown at it just to keep it in fine fettle, though very much worth it, rode very nicely. But when I drove the first Shadow which was 2 years old, and then driving one 32 years later, amazed me how these cars deteriorate!!!
I certainlly will go in with eyes wide open on Saturday afternoon, gosh I will add a little more to the check list.
Many thanks
Peter

 

[television]

And we have cars that never go wrong, I got a face lift 06 car for a guy down the road from me and he has been 70k miles all untouched and never gone wrong.

 

[00slk]

A quick up date, so far so good, I have had the pse and struts inspected, all seems good and dry in this department. We will get to check the rest ourselves later on today.
Cheers Peter

 

[television]

Good luck

 

[00slk]

Lady luck was fairly good to me, the car turned out to be, not too bad at all, all the arches were rust free, except the 2 rear 1/4 panels where they meet the top of the rear bumper are starting to bubble the paint. The rest is pretty perfect. The interior very nice and clean with no signs of dump or water stains, still smells of leather. However the case of a broken engine might maybe evident as when it was idling there is a distinct vibration I have experineced before with engine mount failures. All the electrics work fine bar the power fold mirrors as the switch feels as though it has lost it tension. The car had 1 previous owner and 105k. It is over due a service by 15k according to the service book but due in 300mls by the dash display. I got £1500 off the price, drove it 255mls home, took no time at all to get to.......Well lets say over 3 numbers with ease and used just on 1/2 tank. I think it is a reasonable car and hopefully wont break the bank!!! I will send it to my local indy for a check and report this week. I am sure there will be a few things for me to put right, the main thing is that the suspension and related bits all seem to do what they were designed to do.
Many thanks for all your help on this model. The only dissapointment was the Sat Nav
not having a post code search function. Is there an updated Navigation disc that allows you to put in post codes other than London area only?
Peter

 

[television]

Re the comand, it is very good and has a post code imput

If entering say Birmingham, put in the BI you can then go to the bottom and use the post code numbers. It will take 4 figures for the first part, then 1 more figure. Next a list of road names will come up, scroll down to the road you want, enter the number and away you go. Using it is excellent, on the left of screen scroll down to MIX, this will give you the map and when time to turn it will give you a "turn now" bar, and then it will tell you when to turn.

Some folk moan about them, but I love mine, it gets me everywhere and all over Europe.

 

[Essel]

Only thing I wish COMAND had was full postal code input. It would be much faster. Other than that, I do like mine. I could do with a newer disk—the roads changed a bit since 2003...!

 

[television]

Only thing I wish COMAND had was full postal code input. It would be much faster. Other than that, I do like mine. I could do with a newer disk—the roads changed a bit since 2003...!

If you can pick up a 2010 disc it has TMC, my newer SL does have a 7 digit post code, but if it takes me 1 minute longer to program then not the end of the world, that's only equal to 1 set of red traffic lights against you.

Alfie said that the last new disc for this system will be out this year, or early next.

A new disc is no guarantee at all that all roads are updated, it can take 5 years in some cases.

 

[michiganstar]

except the 2 rear 1/4 panels where they meet the top of the rear bumper are starting to bubble the paint.

Good work on the car. Just as a heads up when these were manufactured Mercedes put a rubberised pad of sorts inbetween the bumper and wing that prevents the paint being rubbed and rust forming. I would very much expect, upon removal of the rear bumper, that this piece has worn away. When getting a body shop to quote for repair you really need to make them understand that the rear bumper has to come off completely and that rubberised piece needs to be put back somehow - some underbody sealant would do the job. If you don't get this done properly expect the rust to return fairly quickly.

Any pics please?

 

[00slk]

Many thanks for that Michiganstar, through the forum I am starting to learn more and more with each post. A very good point with removing the rear bumper, sounds as though this is exactly what has caused the paint bubbling. I have the car booked in for Friday to check out a few things like the bunny hop when changing up gears on the odd ocassion when the car is warm, and the what sounds like floating plastic balls inside the fuel tank. I am sure we will get a full health check!!
Sorry no pictures yet, my wife sneaks the car in the garage when she comes in from work and has gone when I wake up.
Although just gone out to the garage and tried to take an inside shot.



The SL is certainly a nicer place to sit in



The SLK has been reduced to a cover outside under a tree, I bet it isn't happy considering we have a 3 car heated garaged!!!

 

[alexanderfoti]

The noisy fuel tank will be the baffles inside broken loose. There a few options. The only certain way is to replace the tank.

 

[television]

There is no seal between the bumper and wing, this goes for front and rear. both front and rear, they are clamped together. the rear edge of the rear wing goes because there is U shaped cut out in the wheel arch liner to allow for the clamp. Wet salty water can sit there all winter if never cleaned out..

The fuel tank is a very expensive repair, unless you can pull the baffle out.

 

[Essel]

If you can pick up a 2010 disc it has TMC, my newer SL does have a 7 digit post code, but if it takes me 1 minute longer to program then not the end of the world, that's only equal to 1 set of red traffic lights against you.

Alfie said that the last new disc for this system will be out this year, or early next.

A new disc is no guarantee at all that all roads are updated, it can take 5 years in some cases.

2010 disc would be fine, but if it costs similar to a 2014 (the last) disc, then I may as well get that...

 

[television]

Look on Ebay, but only buy if they guarantee that it is a genuine disk, and not a copy. The comand 2 and 2.5 does not like copies as the head gain is set very low.

 

[00slk]

The SL is being used everyday and so far no problems, apart from the ones we already knew about, tomorrow will be 'D' for its health check!!!!
I tried doing what you suggested Malcolm with the sat nav but still wouldn't let us enter the numbers, I guess the disc is a bit too old. Though not high on the priority list at the moment. The sat nav works well anyway, just have to remember to ask for a street number and road before we go anywhere. (we also bought a new AA Road Map which will live on the boot) We know that the phone and hands free kit work, that's a plus.
I will keep you up dated after Friday.
Cheers Peter

 

[television]

When you select a town, do you have a row of numbers at the bottom under the letters, these numbers are in White, these numbers become active once you have entered the first letters. For instance if you were going to Watford, and want to use the post code WD now the numbers are active and you can enter say 1, or what ever the code is, the display should show WD1, now enter the next number, say 2 and the display shows WD12 and the list of roads will be displayed, you can now chose the road and the number.

The age of the disc should not make any difference.

 

[ajlsl600]

sl

A 100k car needs a proper inspection before you buy. Have a search on the forum for SL buying advice and you'll find loads of things that need checking over. Print off a list and arrange with the seller to take the car to you local independant merc garage for them to check it over- that will be the best £60-80 you'll ever spend.

Without the check over you can easily rack up bills that would have allowed you to buy a newer model with fewer miles

philedge,
too right ... even if the car nearly makes you wet yrself with excitement , pay for a good indie check over , i think this is a great car , the model has its share of possibly, VERY expensive issues and the check may well save a lot of tears very soon after buying , if its high miles look to see if ALL the fliuds have been changed recently and see if you can get a copy of its benz dealer history ,i did and it was quite reasuring. tho even dealer history is not always a good indication of well being ,it is a good start .as malc suggests . look to see if its standing level eng running at idle, cycle all electrics a few times ,chances are ,if the interior is tidy ,its been looked after . good luck

 

[00slk]

Cheers Guys, this is all great advice.
I had my Indy check out a few issues with the car and pleased to say nothing drastic, main items were the engine mounts and gearbox mount well and truly past their use by date. So much so that it makes a bad vibration when idling in or out of gear. The other issue we had was with the auto shift, that turned out to be the air flow sensor. 2 front tyres showing wheel alignment problems, and of course the fuel tank baffles free floating around in the tank. 1/4 tank or less no noise, same with a full tank. So far clocked up nearly 900mls and service 'B' is now over due. This will be booked in for next week.
I have since found out that the air flow meter wasn't sitting in its place in the intake but floating around in the breeze. I guess this is down to someone not knowing what they were doing? Now slotted back in where it belongs and it has transformed the car. Engine mounts next.
However while I had the air cleaner off I noticed this and wasn't sure if there should be a vent on top of what looks like a vent tube for the transmission?





Sorry it's dirty, can you believe we were going to get it washed on our way home this afternoon and completely forgot!!!

Peter