SLK 1999 230 Auto - What to Look For?

[EdF]

I've seen an earlier thread asking the same question but there wasn't much info on what to look for when looking a car over and I wondered if anyone can help. The one I'm interested in has a low mileage for a 7 year old car, about 39,000. I understand cats are extremely expensive, wondered if this model/year has one and what's the average cat life expectancy? Do they have 9 lives?? Can they be bought from a non-Merc source? The seller says it is definitely Tiptronic but ToxicDave in the other thread intimated that Tip wan't available until the facelift in 2000.. I'm leaving home (and my pc) tomorrow for a week and seeing the car whilst I'm away, so if anyone can manage a quick reply, I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!!

 

[Blobcat]

39K is low miles, I would expect to see lots of services completed to keep it right. The Cat's can last for a long while if looked after, aftermarket ones are available, however the pattern ones do not get a very good right up on this forum. If the gearbox has tiptronic the lever will have a side to side action whilst in 'D', the dashboard indicator should change up and down as you knock the lever left and right in 'S'.

 

[television]

I've seen an earlier thread asking the same question but there wasn't much info on what to look for when looking a car over and I wondered if anyone can help. The one I'm interested in has a low mileage for a 7 year old car, about 39,000. I understand cats are extremely expensive, wondered if this model/year has one and what's the average cat life expectancy? Do they have 9 lives?? Can they be bought from a non-Merc source? The seller says it is definitely Tiptronic but ToxicDave in the other thread intimated that Tip wan't available until the facelift in 2000.. I'm leaving home (and my pc) tomorrow for a week and seeing the car whilst I'm away, so if anyone can manage a quick reply, I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!!

Re what its got, feed the VIN number into
http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/
This will give you the complete spec as it left the factory
Re the CAT, some go some do not, its the luck of the draw.

Malcolm

 

[Big Brin]

I bought a 1998 230 SLK with only 37k miles on the clock recently and the only worries I have had are;

The mats needed replacing!
The limiters for the windows stop on the right hand driver's window needed replacing (as the window went too far up). (£150)
Two of the 18 (?) sensors for the roof needed changing. (???)
There is a 'clunk' on the right hand side front wheel when turning slowly. (I think a steering bush has gone).

Other than that, this low mileage car is in superb condition (looks like no one has ever even sat in it and the engine bay is now spotless). There are one or two inevitable shopping trip dints in the doors.

Mine is not tiptronic, nor does it have A/C.

Rgds, Brin

 

[Wil]

Based on my experience, here are something to look for:

1. PSE pump (in the boot) goes bad due to water ingress, causing problems with central locking, interior light and alarm system.
2. Peeling dashboard/console panels due to chips, scratches etc. (all SLK interior panels are painted from factory).
3. Heated seats work (if you have them)
4. Rough idle when warmed up, was the ignition leads in my case but coil pack are also a common failure.

Hope this helps.

 

[EdF]

Many thanks to all who replied, all useful stuff.. I now have to get my brain around paying ten grand for a 7 year old car!! Not exactly a Vauxhall Corsa, though..

 

[EdF]

Can't do it Television, it's 600 miles away and I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the link.. The present owner hasn't had it serviced as he's only done 3k miles in it in the 2 years of his ownership. Think an oil change wouldn't come amiss..

 

[television]

Can't do it Television, it's 600 miles away and I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the link.. The present owner hasn't had it serviced as he's only done 3k miles in it in the 2 years of his ownership. Think an oil change wouldn't come amiss..

Ask him to give you the number over the phone, this worked for the cars that I looked at, its not, but you could say its a form of what HPI does, with the info you get back, you know the date it came into the UK,also if it was an import, and the exact spec.

Re your earlier thread about coming to terms to pay for it, that feeling does go away, and quicker when you are driving it.

Malcolm

As the car is 600 miles away, all the more reason to find out what you can about the car before you go and see it

 

[Blobcat]

Can't do it Television, it's 600 miles away and I haven't seen it yet, but thanks for the link.. The present owner hasn't had it serviced as he's only done 3k miles in it in the 2 years of his ownership. Think an oil change wouldn't come amiss..

If it hasn't been serviced in 2 years than you need to factor a big service into the price ~£500. To my mind it doesn't look as though the present owner has looked after this car very well.

 

[Scissorwoman]

I now have to get my brain around paying ten grand for a 7 year old car!! Not exactly a Vauxhall Corsa, though..

I did it....I bought a 97 plate in Feb for 9.5K (I think I paid a bit over the odds though)...had a few probs with alarm, had to spend £500 on steering and now have problems with the brake lights...all niggly things but they pale into insignificance when you're slipping it smoothly along the outside lane of the motorway!!!

I could and would never go back to a "normal" car....!!!!

 

[jberks]

They are lovely cars, but I would sound one note of caution on the SLK. There have been a few folk on here who've had roof problems. As far as I am aware, the roof on an SLK is as reliable as any other, but...
If it does go wrong - it's big bucks to repair. I believe the dealers book a roof repair at 30 hours. That's over £3,000! I'm sure there are other folk who do them, but even at half the price, it's nasty.

This has always bothered me when people people buy used very expensive motors. On the face of it, you get a superb motor, great quality and all for less than the price of a Focus. Just remember that this was a 30k car and repair costs won't have changed. You can save a bit here and there with indies but parts and complex repairs will still be nasty.

So, just make sure the roof is in tip-top condition and that's not the reason it's being sold.
Go in with your eyes open and you should have years of motoring pleasure ahead.

 

[gary350]

They are lovely cars, but I would sound one note of caution on the SLK. There have been a few folk on here who've had roof problems. As far as I am aware, the roof on an SLK is as reliable as any other, but...
If it does go wrong - it's big bucks to repair. I believe the dealers book a roof repair at 30 hours. That's over £3,000! I'm sure there are other folk who do them, but even at half the price, it's nasty.

This has always bothered me when people people buy used very expensive motors. On the face of it, you get a superb motor, great quality and all for less than the price of a Focus. Just remember that this was a 30k car and repair costs won't have changed. You can save a bit here and there with indies but parts and complex repairs will still be nasty.

So, just make sure the roof is in tip-top condition and that's not the reason it's being sold.
Go in with your eyes open and you should have years of motoring pleasure ahead.

Never heard of any roof problems other than the limit switches which is a £70 bill. well thats what I paid for mine appears the rubber seals tend to foul the switches, need cutting back.

gary

 

[crt]

Mine (1999, 230K, v low mileage and usage) had constant roof problems.

Neither George Fraser in London nor Andy Gayle in Birmingham could fix it despite fiddling optimistically with various micro-switches. In the end I got a fix from a US MB forum, faxed the instructions to MB in Canary Wharf (who until then didn't know how to fix these things other than taking the whole roof mechanism apart at fantastic cost) and they got the right switches from Germany and eventually got it working. Cost the best part of £1,000 with all the to-ing and fro-ing including the fruitless attempts, and of this about £400 eventually on MB, though they graciously gave me a 10% discount for telling them what the problem was and how to fix it.

I expect more will have the same problem as the cars age.