Buying a new SLK (Import or New)

[romtootes]

Ok sorry for the first post being a question but my folks are buying an SLK new for cash. They want to take delivery in approx early may.

Never bought a Merc before - any advice on the cheapest options.
Do the dealers budge on price? The edingburg dealer is playing pretty hardball with my folks so I am going to go down to Lancaster Bow, and the Canary Wharf dealer to see what they say.

I am guessing they will at least throw metallic paint in for free or maybe more.

is importing still a a cheap option. They have a house in France and are paying the chrbourg dealer a visit on friday.


Cheers
Tom

they are buying a 200 BTW

 

[obe1]

why not persuade them to go for a Z4 (see posting: http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=2462 and the US part of www.bmw.com)

In my opinion the SLK is ageing (same design since '97 me thinks) and it's standard kit/residuals are looking quite dodgy now a completely new model is out next year.

Just a thought!

 

[Tony]

You certainly should be able to get a deal. The "special edition" model which was on sale a few months ago included nappa leather and metallic paint free of charge. I'd certainly regard free leather and metallic as a minimum. The new model's out next year, so they're not shifting that many SLKs at the moment. I doubt if it's worth getting an import any more with the Euro at 68p. It's also a lot of hassle and you just lose the money you save when sell. It also takes a long time, though Virgin do a "fast track" where they have cars available immediately - depends on if they match your spec.

I bought my SLK320 in Jan 2001 and got £2000 off list on a UK car through D.C. Cook - about a week before they went bankrupt. I'd be inclined to buy from a UK dealer at the best price you can negotiate. If they won't negotiate walk away.

Re the Z4, it doesn't have a folding hardtop. So it's already out of date. End of story.

BTW, I believe Mercedes are putting up the prices of all their cars by an average of 1.6% in the near future.

 

[romtootes]

Thanks for the response. I'll be talking to the London Dealers later in the week

My dad has always wanted a Merc and fancied an slk. However good the Z4 is he prolly wouldn't be persuaded otherwise, besides the Z4 makes the slk look good (visually).

I hadn't realized there was a new version out next year, defo a bargining tool.

Have to laugh at the comment about the z4 being reduntant due to the lack of folding hard top. This is meant to be a sports car market right, hate to think how much wieght the folding mecanism + roof adds to he car.

at 27 odd k for a 200 I can't help feeling there are better places to direct money to though.

 

[Tony]

Roof weight

The roof is not that much heavier than a powered soft top. There are a few more motors needed (to lift the boot out of the way), but the weight of an SLK320 is not that much greater than the Boxster 3.2 (1.4 metric tons as opposed to 1.35). Obviously this is nearly double the weight of a Lotus Elise, but it's got nearly double the torque and there's a slight difference in the build quality of the car. The real killer when it comes to weight is 4WD.

 

[romtootes]

1.35 tons...jeez, no wonder the boxster is a bit of a bus.

Got some dealers ringing me back with some prices today so will see how they go.

Don't talk to me about elise reliability Mine hasn't been the best. Still, on Paddock Hill bend yesterday afternoon I could not think of a car I would rather own.

Sports car of the moment for me is The Vauxall Vx220 turbo. 25K on the road and it'll be as quick as a S190 s2 elise and 8 k cheaper. Not for a badge snob though.

yep 4wd is the killer.

 

[obe1]

Only thing is that the Boxster, TT and even the 996 Cab use rag top roofs. After all, hard tops do add significant weight and takes up a lot of boot space. Perhaps you can persuade me with the 2004 version, but for now in terms of it's involving driving style, styling, technological innovation and build quality there's no other way for me (just check www.whatcar.com or any other car magazine!)
Does the SLK offer a 6.5", anti glare TV/navigation system and real brushed aluminium (to name but a few features)? So in these respects (and many more) the non-AMG SLK's are way behind in many other respects!

Good look with the slk though. It's still a good car, just have to battle with these misconceptions!

 

[Tony]

The SLK is certainly not the last word in driver involvement and its manual gearbox leaves a bit to be desired - I'm sure it's not as good as a Z4 in this respect. The trouble is that once you've had car with a folding hardtop you can't really go back to a rag top - believe me. You do lose half the boot with it down but I've yet to find that a problem. To have saloon comfort and a convertible at the touch of a button is magic.

When it comes to weight I think the most significant problem is the underbody strengthening that you need with a convertible. But neither the SLK nor the Z4 are ever going to be the ultimate track car. For this I think you need the mid-engine configuration. With the weight of the driver and engine concentrated at the middle you get the low polar moment of inertia that means the car needs very little applied force to change direction - so it steers so much better. The SLK will never feel like the Lotus Esprit I owned for a few years, because the engine's over the front wheels and the passengers are over the back, so it'll always need a big effort to make it change direction. You can mask this with big tyres and power steering but you can still feel it. I imagine the Z4 will be the same. You can't defy the laws of physics. The Esprit wasn't all good though. I well remember the time that the gear lever came away in my hand, leaving me in reverse gear.

 

[toady]

Yes, I will have to agree. The SL (when i drove it briefly for my test drive was virtually a GT once closed up). However, I do think in terms of sttyling and build quality the Z4 is the winner (besides, which it is very common and much more ordinary in terms of looks compared to the Z4.) Both cars are in the same category. Very tempted by the pics myself! Just got to keep on thinking of the SL!