Red 2000 SLK how desirable?

[Steve01]

Hi my first post here and I need some advice already!

I’m thinking of buying a red W reg pre-faclift SLK for my wife for the summer. The car is owned by a female relative who was going to trade it in for a new car. The dealership offered them £5000, which they have said I can buy it for if I wish.

I am pretty sure it’s a good price for the car. The vehicle has only done 45k, it has FSH with the last service being only a couple of months ago. They have receipts for things they have had done over the years. Everything about the car is good apart from a few stone chips on the bonnet and a little rust on both front wheel arches.

Now here is the thing, the car is red with a red and black two tone interior! Whilst the outside looks great I was a bit taken aback by the interior! I’m sure we could get used to this but how desirable are the two tone interiors?

It may well be that if my wife loves the car we will hang onto it for sometime (my relative has owned it since it was about two years old) but there is also the chance if my wife is not keen that I will put it up for sale after a few months and I don’t want to be struggling to get rid of something that is not very sort after! There doesn’t appear to be very many red ones about and of those that I have seen most just have black interiors.

Please let me have your thoughts.

Many thanks Steve

 

[television]

Hello and welcome,,red can be a nice change from black, yes it can look bright, but MB do do a lot of research before a car is marketed. A car that you know is worth a lot, and prices are on the floor, even if you sold it in a few months you could not lose I feel

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hi my first post here and I need some advice already!

I’m thinking of buying a red W reg pre-faclift SLK for my wife for the summer. The car is owned by a female relative who was going to trade it in for a new car. The dealership offered them £5000, which they have said I can buy it for if I wish.

I am pretty sure it’s a good price for the car. The vehicle has only done 45k, it has FSH with the last service being only a couple of months ago. They have receipts for things they have had done over the years. Everything about the car is good apart from a few stone chips on the bonnet and a little rust on both front wheel arches.

Now here is the thing, the car is red with a red and black two tone interior! Whilst the outside looks great I was a bit taken aback by the interior! I’m sure we could get used to this but how desirable are the two tone interiors?

It may well be that if my wife loves the car we will hang onto it for sometime (my relative has owned it since it was about two years old) but there is also the chance if my wife is not keen that I will put it up for sale after a few months and I don’t want to be struggling to get rid of something that is not very sort after! There doesn’t appear to be very many red ones about and of those that I have seen most just have black interiors.

Please let me have your thoughts.

Many thanks Steve

A feature of buying "pre-owned cars" is that, unless you are very patient, the colour combination you would most like seldom comes up.

The other end of the choice scale is exemplified here - racy colour scheme, which may have damaged the resale value, so if you can get a car in this colour scheme, which would have cost more otherwise, I would tend to go for it.

If you get it cheaper, you may need to accept that eventually, you will let it go cheaper, but you will still be a winner (less outlay throughout).

Bear in mind, there are those who would prefer a car that looks like it has been dipped in custard - so there is no right answer on colours and trims.

If you like the car, and think you can buy it for a competitive ptice (and it does not get better than the price it could achieve at trade in), then go for it.

It is however worth confirming in your own mind that the dealer has not offered a high price to help him shift stock.

 

[st4]

I'd go with the fact the car is in good condition 1st and foremost, its coming up to its 9th birthday and you are better with a car that you know has been looked after with an iffy interior than one with a safe colour combo that may not have been maitainted to standard.

if you can buy it for a dealers px you are paying bottom money so its a good price I'd say, given the low milliage and condition.

Summer is coming and a convertible will be nice, go for it

 

[Steve01]

Thanks, I should have mentioned that it is a 230 although I guess this was assumed.

It does look very nice. I don’t think that the red/black interior would be my first choice although chances are I won’t get a SLK for this money, with so few miles from anywhere else and knowing the history is very appealing. I am aware that buying a car of this age from an unknown source could a liability.

Would welcome other opinions on the two tone interior to gauge popularity.

Thanks

 

[st4]

230k is good, it will have more of a "kick" than the 200 one. The 320 is ideal but has a twin spark engine so 12 spark plugs to replace.

Who knows the score re ATF on these. I don't buy into sealed for life, but at 45k its probably about time. Its a £180 job tops, or a diy one if you can get under the car.

 

[Steve01]

Who knows the score re ATF on these. I don't buy into sealed for life, but at 45k its probably about time. Its a £180 job tops, or a diy one if you can get under the car.

Sorry I'm not with you here?

 

[television]

This car uses twin sparking plugs, but they are good for 60k miles so no problem, most cars only use one per cylinder

 

[st4]

Automatic tranmission oil. I assume its an automatic car. The oil in the gearbox needs changed every so often, MB said for a while this was not the case, but it is and usually that every so often is 37500 miles intervals although 50k is fine.

 

[brianbrian]

ATF=automatic transmission fluid.

 

[Steve01]

Ok I’ve got you; it had quite a bit spent on it about 18 months ago at about 40k so maybe this was done then.

 

[st4]

Ok I’ve got you; it had quite a bit spent on it about 18 months ago at about 40k so maybe this was done then.

Cool, it was probably done then along with the usual sort of things that a major service involves. The car sounds good to go, so you should collect it, and go out and enjoy it, post some pics and come along to a meet and become a part of the woodwork of this place

 

[MERC210]

Great car got one a 98 101000 miles still drives great you wont go wrong with it have fun

 

[Steve01]

Ok, there was a detailed list of things that were done including discs and pads for some reason. My feeling is that hopefully apart from a little bit of sprucing up on the bodywork there is very little that needs doing until the next service which I would guess would be in a about a year, depending on how many miles we do. The roof worries me a little, with so many motors etc and I’m still not sure about that red/black interior.

One thing I did notice was a little rattle behind my head when I went for a test drive with the roof up. Any idea what this could have been?

 

[television]

I can check the roof rattle later, to see if its known

 

[antijam]

Presumably the red/black interior is leather and roughly like this?

Personally I think the combination is preferable to the rather gloomy all black alternative - and there are some considerably more garish combinations about!

Bear in mind that a lot of the "leather" is actually painted plastic and the paint can wear. Check particularly the door pulls and also the side of the drivers seat squab (which actually is leather) for damage. It's not necessarily serious and both can be satisfactorally refurbished.

 

[Steve01]

I can check the roof rattle later, to see if its known

Thanks, hopefully it will turn out to be something in the boot! It wasnt very loud and having never har a two seater you are obviously sitting right near the back!

 

[Steve01]

Presumably the red/black interior is leather and roughly like this?

Personally I think the combination is preferable to the rather gloomy all black alternative - and there are some considerably more garish combinations about!

Bear in mind that a lot of the "leather" is actually painted plastic and the paint can wear. Check particularly the door pulls and also the side of the drivers seat squab (which actually is leather) for damage. It's not necessarily serious and both can be satisfactorally refurbished.

Hi, yes it looks very much like that. I didnt notice any pain wearing off. The seats are certainly leather. I'm not sure about the dash, it looked a bit plasticy but may have been leather or of course could have been painted I guess.

 

[television]

Presumably the red/black interior is leather and roughly like this?

Personally I think the combination is preferable to the rather gloomy all black alternative - and there are some considerably more garish combinations about!

Bear in mind that a lot of the "leather" is actually painted plastic and the paint can wear. Check particularly the door pulls and also the side of the drivers seat squab (which actually is leather) for damage. It's not necessarily serious and both can be satisfactorally refurbished.

Thats quite nice

 

[Steve01]

Its very much like this one which was on ebay today (Item number: 200314480761)