Paben

iTrader: (5)

My wife is keen on an SLK (about an £8k limit), more for the looks than anything else. Anyone any experience of these cars? I'm on my third CLK but know nothing about the SLK, any comments welcome!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

£8K will get you a nice average mileage 2004-2005 R171 SLK 230 to 350 rather than the original and dated looking R170. The smaller engined cars are still great fun, good performers and cheaper to run and service than the bigger enegined ones. On that subject stay well clear of the 55 (outside of your budget anyway) as these are thirsty and complex even if they are a mega-hoot to drive.

There aren't actually many issues with them, but the vario roof is a complex beast and needs checking to make sure it operates smoothly with no issues as repairs can be expensive.

Make sure the wheels are good as Mercedes alloys are prone to buckling and are not cheap to replace!

Ignore some of the more garish colours even though they are cheaper as the colour is why they are cheaper and they are hard to sell on.

I would join SLK World Forums as there are some vary knowledgeable people on there and you may even find an enthusiasts' cars for sale.

Paben

iTrader: (5)

Sound advice and thanks for that. I've always had AMG wheels on my Mercs and they've survived the local roads well enough but I have had no experience of standard Merc alloys.

As for colours my small group of cars would grace a funeral director's car park, so black is out, and as the car is for my wife I guess we will be looking at , silver, blue and even red, although I'll try to steer her away from the latter!

I'll have a look at SLK World Forums for some inspiration.

nik52wrx

I bought my first MB last year and have found the site linked below very interesting/useful.

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk

Paben

iTrader: (5)

I already subscribe to that forum thanks. It saved me £1,300 with advice about a fix for a failed exhaust clamp rather than replace the cat pipes and backbox. Cost £50, and still going strong two years later.

Dingdongler

I was worried the car was for you, but its a lovely car for the missus

Only girls should drive a convertible mercedes

Paben

iTrader: (5)

Haha, keep worrying then, the SLK is for my wife but I've got an MX5 for those rare top-down days. It's black so not totally gay, but it's still quite cheerful

subevo

Wife has the mk1 slk(170) 2.3 supercharged 193hp 0-60 7secs.owned for 10 years.she loves it and won't part with it.she likes the heated seats and effortless power.and roof down fun.
Wife is only 5 foot tall and couldn't reach pedals in mk2.
reliability has been superb.
Starting to rust around arches now.2003 model.