philharve
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
- Messages
- 1,773
- Reaction score
- 5
- Age
- 73
- Location
- Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Website
- go.to
- Your Mercedes
- W202 C230K Auto 2000
- Thread Starter
- Thread starter
- #21
It was an SLK55 AMG (2006) I saw at the local motor show recently and I only stopped to chat to the wife of the owner to find out what she thought of it and if it was reasonably inexpensive to run & maintain otherwise I would have passed on by. In my mind I have always associated AMG ownership with 'deep pockets' so I have set my sights on looking for a clean C300/C350 of up to 10yr old, which ought to be cheaper to run & maintain.If you want an AMG that wont break the bank then look at the 55 models (C55, SLK55, CLK55) as the cost of parts and servicing for these lovely V8's is way below the 55k and 63 versions. Forget about any 65's (V12's) if costs will be a concern.
I only cover around 5,000 miles per annum since retiring so fuel costs don't worry me. I am not particularly worried about insurance either. It's 'everything else' that worries me. That said, my C230K has been the best car I have ever owned and never breaks down and still goes like a bomb on kick down. I would like to keep it but we are both getting older and any future repairs are likely to cost more than the car is worth. Time to 'move on' and get something a little younger.
I was shopping in a nearby town yesterday when I encountered a silver SLK 200 with registration beginning 'RE'. I was reminded of my visit to the motor show. It looked clean until I looked closely at the wheel arches. Rust had taken hold. That's what happened to my C230K and it was less than 5yr old. I took it to my friendly neighbourhood independent MB garage and he directed me to a champion restorer where I received excellent service. The restorer dealt with MB and got £2500 out of them to repair the rust spots. That repair is rock solid almost 15yrs later. But looking at the SLK 200 brought back bad memories and I am beginning to wonder if ""ANY"" MB is safe corrosion-wise regardless of age. Maybe I should be looking for a BMW!