Why have a SLK when you can have a SL?

[littlebrooklyn]

Yes.. thought everyone knew that... spent a very nice hour or so at his house looking at and admiring the view before passing him money in a brown envelope.... ..... best driving experience of my life so far...I hate getting out of it...

I have sat in that car, was the highlight of my evening at Silvermere :lol::lol::lol:

 

[Kylinski]

Similar situation here . The wife wants to update the R170 to R171 and wants in tellurite silver the same as my CLK convertable.Considerng a 350 should be quite lively!

Me and the other half love our R170 but thinking ahead to next purchase was going to be a V6 R171 . . . . . but the SL350 teases me!

I just have to convince my other half it's a 2.0 litre engine

 

[SL63 Mark]

I regret buying my SL55...It's been an absolute moneypit for me....I love it dearly but can't stomach the costs anymore.

Sorry to hear that, Azam, mine is just an occasional use/weekend toy, so I don't have to face the horrendous running costs (not yet, anyway). Anyway, who cares ? You only live once, and life's too short to own boring cars ....:-D

 

[AdamRT]

My SL55 hasn't cost me a penny in 2 years other than insurance and tax you can't compare any other SL to the AMG 55, you drive the car knowing that only a few super cars are faster than yours and you won't find a hard top convertible with this proformance for this money anywhere.
I'm having to sell my Dec 2003 SL55 for £15k as I have a new job with a company car, this is a £100k super car with no marks on the body being sold for £15k! It's faster than most Porsche's and better looking than all of them!
Drive it well and you will still get 21 MPG.

 

[Sue new MB owner!!]

SLK 200

My first Mercedes Benz...... SLK 200 2009....1.8 engine (enough for me) ....I am LOVING it!!!
I would recommed it to anyone ... reasonable fuel usage and insurance ... great fun to drive .. looks stunning and feels special

Cannot wait for summer... to get out with the roof down!! :lol:

 

[richyba]

Great to hear from another SLK fan Sue, Chris loves hers and I must admit I do to! I was beginning to think we were the only 200K fans on here!

 

[AdamRT]

My SL55 has cost me nothing in 2 years other than tyres mot and tax, I have never smiled so much driving a car as I have done driving this one.
My friends own Porsche's Aston Martin's TVR's and even a Lamborghini and they all love the sound of my SL55, I'm selling this wonderful car for £15k as my new job provides me with a company car, this is a £100k super car being sold now for £15k you won't find a better car for less money

 

[dizzy lizzy]

My SL has cost me nothing in the last 4 years except for a new battery and 3 oil and filter changes.(mind you it is deisel)ha ha ha.

 

[Gkinghorn]

I have sat in that car, was the highlight of my evening at Silvermere :lol::lol::lol:

I must come by and give you another opportunity..lol

 

[orb the Impaler]

My SL has cost me nothing in the last 4 years except for a new battery and 3 oil and filter changes.(mind you it is deisel)ha ha ha.

Mine cost me about £15K (at least, I daren't look) over 3.5 years or so. Not including fuel, tax or insurance. £1K bills were ten a penny. Biggest was just under £4K. Next biggest was £3K. I'd have had another for 2K is MB hadn't covered the SBC replacement. Every time I started the thing up I shat myself that it was going to break - in fact that's the reason I have a Citroen C1 - not many people get a Citroen to cover for when their ****y Mercedes breaks.

That's FMBSH, bought with 50K on the clock.

Seriously - an early £10K SL500 is an economic time bomb.

(And I love my new SLK)

 

[Kylinski]

EEK! I'm scared now! Mixed experiences with the SL then. Plus it was voted the least reliable cars of 2002, according to the thread I have just read on this forum ( Least reliable cars 1997 - 2012).

Mmmm, maybe I'll play it safe with a R171

 

[littlebrooklyn]

I must come by and give you another opportunity..lol

Yess then you can set up my super hub and router while you are here :lol:

 

[Blobcat]

The 350 has "normal" suspension so non of the ABC worries

 

[azam6380]

Sorry to hear that, Azam, mine is just an occasional use/weekend toy, so I don't have to face the horrendous running costs (not yet, anyway). Anyway, who cares ? You only live once, and life's too short to own boring cars ....:-D

Fair play - It's a daily driver for me hence the problem. Looking back, it was an idiotic decision to use it as a daily driver - but I was young and thought to myself...."Lifes too short, why die wondering?"

It has given me incredible satistaction though....and the girls love it!

 

[SL63 Mark]

The thought of running mine as a daily driver makes my hair curl. I tried that with the 993 - never again !

My DD is a 3 litre Diesel A5 quattro, I'm afraid, the SL stays locked up in the garage, toasty warm, waiting for a sunny day ...

 

[orb the Impaler]

Yes - I ran mine as a daily driver, hence my monstrous bills. Having said that though, I hardly think putting 50K on a car in 3.5 years is exactly onerous. It's an £80K car for heavens sake, a flagship model from one of the worlds best marques. I'd have done triple that mileage in anything else - a Pug or a Volvo and not expected anything to break.

Most of the stuff that goes wrong with older R230s is, quite frankly, inexcusable. Poor design (water seals, tank baffles, stupid electronics), un-proven engineering willy-waving (ABC, SBC) which out-of-warranty owners pay for or just plain crappy quality (rust).

I've said this before - and the OP does mention the 350 - I'd have another SL but it would need to be a conventionally sprung model.

 

[SL63 Mark]

I hear what your saying Orb, and I went into this with my eyes wide open. I knew about all the issues you mention, from here and elsewhere. I also have long experience of running expensive high performance cars (Porsche 911s, mainly). So I decided long ago the only way to run such a car is to leave it in the garage and bring it out on sunny days. That way, the frequency of the insane bills is somewhat reduced, and you still have the privilege of driving what is, in the case of the SL55, one of the best and most beautiful cars ever built.

 

[geoffd]

SL or SLK - no contest

I've had both and used both as my daily driver - both performed for several years faultlessly. They're not all money pits - but SLs in particular are expensive cars - and expensive to own and run. I sold the 350 SL when I retired and found justifying its high fixed costs difficult in the absence of a comfortable salary - but I'd have another in a heartbeat if money was no object. They really are that good. Not something I could honestly say about an SLK.

After I sold the SL, I considered another SLK, but decided on balance that it just doesn't cut the mustard. So now I have an MX5 - a fun convertible that beats an SLK hands down.

And if anyone needs any more convincing that an SL is the car to own, read the first review on the R230 by Honest John. Final sentence reads...

'Best two seat convertible in the world - bar none.'

Geoff

 

[Kylinski]

That's interesting. An MX5 better than a SLK??? You jest of course?

 

[Blobcat]

I would argue an R451 is one of the best 2 seater convertibles, but then again I'm biased