Advice on buying a SLK needed

[gring]

Hi, My wife and I our wanting to buy an SLK. We have allways had BMW's, at present an M3. I dont know much about the Mercedes brand, so was hoping for some help!

We want an SLK convertable for a 150 mile a day commute so it needs to be fairly economical, but at the same time not too slugish, is the 200 the model to go for?

Also how are they when it comes to depreciation? We may decide to buy new, but dont want to lose 10k when leaving the showroom.

We went to have a look at the car and try and get some questions answered yesterday in tonbridge, but found the salesman more interested in watching the grand prix than be of anyhelp to us!

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[hawk20]

First the 200 and the 280 are not in Band G the gas guzzler band. The congestion charge will be £25 per day for band G and 'only' £8 for band F. Does this matter to you?
How important is fuel economy given your mega commute.

A 280 would be more relaxing on long runs.

An auto would be my choice for such mega miles in the UK. And the Merc boxes are great.

Personally, for that kind of mileage, on both comfort and safety grounds I would choose an E class, probably a year old E320cdi, which offers loads of grunt and superb economy. But if you are an SLK person I guess you are an SLK person and they depreciate relatively slowly.

Lots of info on the MB website

When you say 150 per day, is that 5 day week and say 47/8 weeks per year. That is what 40k per year? If so what you lose as you leave the showroom matters not a jot. It is what you lose when you sell it with mega miles on it. And that is where I have always found Mercs to be excellent. They always sell well with big miles on them. (I did that kind of mileage for many years)

What is also nice about Mercedes is that the 3 year guarantee is unlimited mileage (Lexus and others are often limited to 60k.).

 

[hawk20]

Here's a link
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/con...cts/new_cars/slk_class_roadster_facelift.html

 

[hawk20]

The other forum has a thread on SLK's running at the moment
http://www.MBClub.co.uk/forums

 

[gring]

Thanks, your comments and advice have been very useful.

 

[hawk20]

Can you give a few more details of your needs so members can try to help.

BTW if your local dealer is no good, the MB website helps you find others. Tony Purslow at Guildford has a good name.

My local dealer has branches at portsmouth, Chichester, Winchester and Southampton. I use Southampton. Let me know if you want the name of a knowledgeable salesman at Southampton and if you feel like a day trip.

MBWorld at Woking is well worth a visit, whether you buy a Merc or not. Links on MB site. And they sell Mercs and have a very good range in stock. Have a go on the track in an AMG while you are there:-D

 

[BlackC55]

The other forum has a thread on SLK's running at the moment
http://www.MBClub.co.uk/forums

The other forum does not seem to work at the mo.

Any ideas????

 

[hawk20]

The other forum does not seem to work at the mo.

Any ideas????

I agree, Been dead since late evening yesterday. Under water?

 

[hawk20]

Glad to see you her BlackC55. Been holding the fort till some performance guys arrived.

What do you think about an SLK for commuting 150 miles per day. And which one to go for? I did it for years in an E class. It is tiring I tell you on UK roads.

 

[BlackC55]

It will be ok but it depends on what sort of ride you like.

I would go for a clk 270 cdi cab.

Economy and performance.

 

[hawk20]

It will be ok but it depends on what sort of ride you like.

I would go for a clk 270 cdi cab.

Economy and performance.

Yes that is a very interesting choice. Style, sporty and so good looking. Lots of grunt but real economy too. Worth a drive. Modern diesels surprise us all. Even I switched who swore I never would.

 

[Shambolic]

The slk has an ok ride but it and the road and engine noise could get irritating and monotonous after a while, I have found me looking for 6th again thinking I was in 5th(I have manual) sometimes when sitting on the motorway at 80-ish.
Its only the 4 cylinder 200k but ample as we have a total of 15,000 in over 2 1/2 years
The car does about 10 miles a day murder on fuel though on the short journeys but always a smile driving it (when my wife lets me)!!
The weather has been tremendous this week up here too so roof down motoring at all times!!!
Sorry for all you lot in the floods I would be looking to trade up to a Bayliner!

 

[gring]

Well, what am I after needs to be a convertable, fairly good on fuel, around 30mpg on average, loads of gadgets, I am now torn between the SLK and the CLK. The CLK seems to be more practical, because now I have decided that I may sell my M3, buy a merc for about 35k and buy a cheap mondeo or similar to do the 150 mile aday commute.(Seems stupid to put that mileage on a new car)

 

[hawk20]

Well, what am I after needs to be a convertable, fairly good on fuel, around 30mpg on average, loads of gadgets, I am now torn between the SLK and the CLK. The CLK seems to be more practical, because now I have decided that I may sell my M3, buy a merc for about 35k and buy a cheap mondeo or similar to do the 150 mile aday commute.(Seems stupid to put that mileage on a new car)

Unless you answer the questions in my earlier posting (number2 I think) it is hard to advise.

Are you happy with diesel. The coupe is available with the awesome 320cdi engine. 0-62 in 6.9 secs and amazing economy. Forty plus on a long run. Save you a fortune and lovely to drive as no need to rev its ass off like you do petrol. And a diesel will easily do 300,000 miles or more so they are still worth a lot even with big miles on them.

I think the effect of miles on a diesel CLK would be a lot less than the cost of running a Mondeo if you allow for depreciation and all, and all.

BUT the convertibles are not yet available in diesel. One day soon IMO but not yet.

A bit more detail on your needs would help.