100 000 mile slk

[edythedraft]

hello,just joined the forum,and a merc virgin,im thinking about getting an slk,only thing putting me off is the 100 000 iles on it.it is 2000 v,and has every recipt for anything thats ever been done,and has had oil changes between services too,looks great but as ive only had normal cars,a bit scared of high miles.its auto,is it an ok buy,and what would be the main thing to worry about and look for?many thanks

 

[jberks]

I don't think the engine would be a problem - probably little more than 1/3 through its life. The gearbox would benefit from an oil change as they are sealed for life but its not unheard of for the gbox to go pop at 100k so an oil change is a reasonable precaution.

The only thing that would really frighten me about an SLK is the roof. Its extremely complex and it if goes wrong (does happen) there are few people outside the dealer network that will touch them. A dealer strip and rebuild I believe is booked at 30 hours. At £90+ per hour that could be very painful.

 

[MIW615]

The only thing that would really frighten me about an SLK is the roof. Its extremely complex and it if goes wrong (does happen) there are few people outside the dealer network that will touch them. A dealer strip and rebuild I believe is booked at 30 hours. At £90+ per hour that could be very painful.

GULP - ours has done only 25,000 miles so hope the roof lasts out for another 80k !!!

 

[Tony]

I'd agree that the two main potential disasters are the auto tranny and the roof. The roofs are very reliable but when they do have problems, like JB says, it's back to the dealer and you know what that means. The auto box is one of the 5-speed ones that they never change the oil on. This is a very bad idea. If it's never been changed in 100k it's an accident waiting to happen.

The basic problem is that Mercs are no longer over-engineered. They're built down to a price and, because they're made by expensive German labour, the materials are not always as high quality as they should be. Forget Japanese reliability. The other problem is that when anything goes wrong (which it will) the dealers will charge a fortune to put it right. There's almost nothing that's cheap on this car. My SLK needed a new cat and the dealer quote was £1287. If you buy a modern Merc I'd avoid high milers, particularly with an SLK. There are loads of low mileage cars around that have been used as second cars.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

hello,just joined the forum,and a merc virgin,im thinking about getting an slk,only thing putting me off is the 100 000 iles on it.it is 2000 v,and has every recipt for anything thats ever been done,and has had oil changes between services too,looks great but as ive only had normal cars,a bit scared of high miles.its auto,is it an ok buy,and what would be the main thing to worry about and look for?many thanks

as you will be able to see loads of these cars for sale with a lot less miles than that, i would avoid this car and pick up a mint condition low miler. unless your budget only stretches to the 100k plus car. in which case i would suggest you either save more up for a merc or perhaps look else where. Dreaming doesn't cost anything but buying a merc that bursts will cost.

go low miles if you can afford it.

 

[edythedraft]

re.100 000 mile slk.

many thanks for the replys,i spoke to the guy today,and it has recipts for oil change every 6000 miles,spark plugs every 10 000 miles,the gear box oil has been changed 4 times,garaged every night,but does 40 miles each way to work,i have a mazda 3 sport,that he wil ldo a straight swap,so apart from the miles it seems ok to me,i almost bought a low milage one for 15,but had iffy history,at least this has good one,and been quoted 250 for a b service,and 450 to fit a cat,which is same price as normal car,i only do 6-7 000 miles a year,so is it so bad i should still stear clear?thanks again

 

[Bolide]

100k Slk

Why don't you get the car inspected, buy it if it's OK, and buy a warranty for it? That way you've covered all the bases and should have little to worry about


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk