Do SLK's really RUST this bad

[Musky]

Hi everybody, I'm totally new to Mercedes, but I/we have decided that my mid life crisis needs some exitement in it! to satisfy this we are going to buy a second hand 200SLK, we have seen the one that represents the best value for money regards age/milage and equipment and have settled on a 2001 two owner model. I have given it a test drive and found it to be faultless for the money (£6000) I am due to pick it up on Saturday complete with new MOT, my problem arises from asking my local garage what if anything I should look out for, and to my horror he told me that SLK's of that age rusted really badly behind and under the plastic covers and also in the boot where the roof folds into. when i went to see the car the last thing that I was looking for on a 2001 Mercedes was rust and as such never even looked underneath. Am I being wound up about this or is there really a serious problem with this age of car.
Any and all advice very much appreciated especially before Saturday when I am due to collect it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[AndrewIles]

Not being wound up, rust can be a really big problem with all Mercs of that vintage!

Check around the wheel arches in particular for any sign of bubbling.

MB do have a 30 year anti-rust warranty but there are several criteria that you need to meet to qualify e.g. good MB service history, owned the car for at least 6 months, rust coming from inside to out etc.

Do a search on the site for RUST and you will find out more.

 

[jibcl500]

I have a 2000 230K obsidian black with 17 AMG alloys, looks fantastic when clean and polished which is exactly what I did on sunday.
The car doesnt do many miles as myself and the wife have 4 mercs to choose from but after a good wash and dry I noticed more rust on the wheel arches than before and blisters appearing on the wings and doors. So as the wife wants to keep the SLK long term I think in the next year or so a full repaint is on the cards.
Soto answer your question yes they do rust and rust alot, there was a write up in **** mag about the rust problems on the SLK if your a member it might be worth get a back issue to read up on.

Great car otherwise, oh the interiors dont tend to wear well either.
jib

 

[roscoc180]

Hi,

I had a 98 230 slk and spotted rust bubbles on the front wing and under both door handles. Brought the car 10 months before this and it was very clean, sold it soon after. Nice car though.

Ross

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

A lot of Mercs of that era are held together by rust, check the boot release handle as thats a known merc fault from that time and will probably have rust which can be treated but the design fault means it will always come back.
as has been said check the interior and that the seats work, even manual ones as these can break also.
Its a shame bacause its a lovely car and the roof is a work of art.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

A lot of Mercs of that era are held together by rust, Its a shame because its a lovely car and the roof is a work of art.

You were verging on the sentimental there Don!

Let's not let that happen again ..........

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

You were verging on the sentimental there Don!

Let's not let that happen again ..........

Just being sentimental as i remember the many a heated argument started at traffic lights when sitting in the passenger seat half pished as usual ive started to fold down the roof only for the lights to change and for her to turn into a screaming lunatic!!!
Never helped the fact i was always in hysterics.
Fuel economy and rust made her get rid of the SLK and now she has a deisel 3 series coupe.

 

[coventryslk]

Hi everybody, I'm totally new to Mercedes, but I/we have decided that my mid life crisis needs some exitement in it! to satisfy this we are going to buy a second hand 200SLK, we have seen the one that represents the best value for money regards age/milage and equipment and have settled on a 2001 two owner model. I have given it a test drive and found it to be faultless for the money (£6000) I am due to pick it up on Saturday complete with new MOT, my problem arises from asking my local garage what if anything I should look out for, and to my horror he told me that SLK's of that age rusted really badly behind and under the plastic covers and also in the boot where the roof folds into. when i went to see the car the last thing that I was looking for on a 2001 Mercedes was rust and as such never even looked underneath. Am I being wound up about this or is there really a serious problem with this age of car.
Any and all advice very much appreciated especially before Saturday when I am due to collect it.
Cheers
Steve

I paid £4200 for a mint (with a tiny amount of rust) 200k SLK '2000 W' in Jan - Lazulite blue with upgrade alloys and leather - a silver one 2001 - went for £4500 on ebay last month

 

[Parrot of Doom]

I was checking my front wing yesterday to see how bad the rust was. Its looked ugly for a year or more now, so I sanded it back with the wire brush drill attachment, only to find the drill disappearing through the wing.

There's a big hole there now. That wing is off to the great scrapyard in the sky I think.

 

[Musky]

Well thanks everybody for taking the time to reply, I'm really amazed at the comments, not for one minute would I have even considered rust to be an issue with a car of this pedigree. I have since spoke to the dealer, the car has just had a new MOT put on it and I asked that they should pay particular attention to sills wheel arches etc. the dealer is apparently prepared to confirm on the invoice that there is no "serious" corrosion problems with this particular car, I have therefor decided to go ahead with the deal. I pick it up Saturday (it better not rain) will then take it to my local dealer for an unofficial MOT check, and if all is as described will set about it with the WaxOyl before it's to late. will update here on Monday.
Many thanks everyone
Steve

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

Just a pity you coudnt get them in sh*ty austin allegro brown then the rust would be less noticable

 

[coventryslk]

Well thanks everybody for taking the time to reply, I'm really amazed at the comments, not for one minute would I have even considered rust to be an issue with a car of this pedigree. I have since spoke to the dealer, the car has just had a new MOT put on it and I asked that they should pay particular attention to sills wheel arches etc. the dealer is apparently prepared to confirm on the invoice that there is no "serious" corrosion problems with this particular car, I have therefor decided to go ahead with the deal. I pick it up Saturday (it better not rain) will then take it to my local dealer for an unofficial MOT check, and if all is as described will set about it with the WaxOyl before it's to late. will update here on Monday.
Many thanks everyone
Steve

If you want a rust free car buy a Honda Toyota or Renault

 

[AndrewIles]

Or a Porsche Boxster or Audi TT!

 

[antijam]

Well thanks everybody for taking the time to reply, I'm really amazed at the comments, not for one minute would I have even considered rust to be an issue with a car of this pedigree. I have since spoke to the dealer, the car has just had a new MOT put on it and I asked that they should pay particular attention to sills wheel arches etc. the dealer is apparently prepared to confirm on the invoice that there is no "serious" corrosion problems with this particular car, I have therefor decided to go ahead with the deal. I pick it up Saturday (it better not rain) will then take it to my local dealer for an unofficial MOT check, and if all is as described will set about it with the WaxOyl before it's to late. will update here on Monday.
Many thanks everyone
Steve

Well Steve, I hope the rather dismal - although perfectly honest - feedback hasn't dampened your enthusiasm for what is basically an excellent car.
The sad truth is unfortunately that almost any M-B of this era can suffer from rust - although that doesn't mean that it's guaranteed. The cars history will obviously be a major factor in how it presents after eight years, so don't be too dismayed by the horror stories.

I bought my SLK, a 2003 registered 320 (although, the car was manufactured in 2002) in July last year with 19.5k miles on the clock. It had two previous owners, the second one for less than a year, and a full M_B service history. The relatively low mileage was reflected in an immaculate interior and no more than the exterior paint chipping to be expected on a six year old car. The car was supplied with an RAC inspection report - which was basically very non-committal but identified no areas of concern - and a one year RAC Platinum Maintenance and breakdown warranty. This does not cover bodywork - nor, particularly relevant to this car - the roof mechanism, so I did as thorough a personal check as possible on both these items. The only exterior corrosion I could find was the almost inevitable very localised area under the boot release; this is a known rust prone area on this car. It's easy to patch up but very difficult to prevent recurring.

Nine months on, the car has lived up fully to expectations and the recent good weather has meant I have taken full advantage of that brilliant roof. (I've fitted a modification that allows roof operation both on the move and remotely from the keyfob, and this really lets you make the most of the 'convertabilty')

I sincerely hope you get as much pleasure from your new acquisition as I have from mine and do remember there are some very knowledgeable guys on this forum who are only to happy to offer advice or help with any problems you might encounter.

...... and do post some piccies when you've got the little beauty home!

 

[Lisa Jayne]

I've fitted a modification that allows roof operation both on the move and remotely from the keyfob, and this really lets you make the most of the 'convertabilty'

I bet that looks flash when you operate it from the keyfob! was it a complicated mod to do?

 

[Musky]

Well now there's a car that new how to rust, it just so happens that my daily driver is a 1883 morris Ital pickup, very rare and very rusty, but buying one of those you expect rust, but buying what is after all considered to be an upmarket car this thread just shouldn't have even started!!!!
Cheers
Steve
Bye the way like your Avatar, I work in one of the 3 breweries in this country that brew Stella, one of them of course being Wellpark in Scotland...;-)

 

[Musky]

Thanks for reply antijam, as I mentioned earlier I never even considered looking for corrosion when I tried the car last week, so the boot release never got any special attention from me then, I'll be picking the car up on Saturday and it sounds like it's going to rain! but as soon possible I will post some pics on here for all to see what will hopefully be my pride and joy. Out of interest if I had picked an earlier example, say a 95/96 version do they suffer the same or is it just the later models?
Cheers
Steve

 

[grayb]

Or a Porsche Boxster or Audi TT!

When did you last see a rusty Mondeo????

 

[antijam]

I bet that looks flash when you operate it from the keyfob! was it a complicated mod to do?

Yes indeed Lisa Jayne - here's a brief vid to show it does really work.



It's not really a complicated mod, here's the link to my original posting http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=47514

The suppliers suggest that if you've ever fitted a car radio then you can fit this gear. That's probably true, but accessibility to the wiring you need to mod is pretty cramped and you need to make quite sure you have selected the right cables to cut.

I have to admit it does bring out the childish worst in me. the other day when the sun was out I passed another SLK who'd pulled in to the side of the road to lower the top. I couldn't resist raising my lid as I went past just to watch the drivers face. Ah well, I expect the novelty will wear off soon......

 

[Lisa Jayne]

Yes indeed Lisa Jayne - here's a brief vid to show it does really work.



It's not really a complicated mod, here's the link to my original posting http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=47514

The suppliers suggest that if you've ever fitted a car radio then you can fit this gear. That's probably true, but accessibility to the wiring you need to mod is pretty cramped and you need to make quite sure you have selected the right cables to cut.

I have to admit it does bring out the childish worst in me. the other day when the sun was out I passed another SLK who'd pulled in to the side of the road to lower the top. I couldn't resist raising my lid as I went past just to watch the drivers face. Ah well, I expect the novelty will wear off soon......

I want one of those (oh and your wheels)! :mrgreen: