SLK32 AMG info required pls

SLK32 AMG info required pls

Author
Discussion

The Stiglet

Original Poster:

2,062 posts

194 months

Monday 11th January 2010
quotequote all
Hi guys, judging from the boards, I see a couple of people are interested in these cars at the moment but I just recently stumbled upon this incredible car as I'm looking to part with my TVR S Series in the next few months. I'm amazed that these cars offer so much performance but at such a cheap price. In fact, I'm wondering if there might be something wrong with them? 350 bhp for less than £13k??

I've read about the supercharger pump going, the heated seat problems, some dashboard paint issues and the rust on the boot but nothing else.

Can it really be true that these are all the issues this car faces? Perhaps the very high running costs suppress the value?

How much is it to replace the suspension for example? Gearbox? Do the engines ever fail?

Are they that reliable you would purchase one?

Sorry for all the questions guys but I'm hoping you'll be kind enough to help out. After all the money I have spent on my TVR in the last year I very much hope to avoid it on another sports car!

Cheers


slk 32

1,487 posts

193 months

Tuesday 12th January 2010
quotequote all
I've had mine 18 months now and don't regret it at all... funnily enough I was looking at TVRs at the time too but as build quality seems to be 'variable' on TVRs could not afford to take the risk as I would have been strapped if the engine had gone

As previous SLK 32 threads say- beware of rust under the wheelarches and bootlid and heated seats.Some have supercharger issues but mine has been fine.
Servicing costs are high(er) but then it is only to be expected- you can use a good independent. I use the main dealer for two reasons
1.When I come to buy always think that if you are faced with two identical cars , one with full main dealer history and one specialist people will tend to go with Main dealer ( however i am aware that this does not mean the car has had any better treatment)I'm just a bit anal on this
2. I don't know any good independents although I am sure people on the frum can recommend some

A point to bear in mind is that Mercs bodywork is covered by an 8 year guarantee as long as it has a full MBSH- all the arches / rear lock were covered on mine which was a bonus so I only paid for the bonnet to be resprayed and the whole car now looks like new- this is worth factoring in if it is starting to rust

Servicing- just paid £450 for a B service at the main dealer. Spark plug service is I believe every 37k and an additional £500- again these are main dealer prices so an indy will be cheaper

I paid 15.5k for mine in April 2008- probably worth around 13k now so when you factor in depreciation and servicing costs overall are reasonable- especially when you look at the performance you get

MPG- around town about 17 - longer runs 23-25

I do tend to get bored easily with cars and keep looking but nothing else matches for the money and makes me smile as much- most slk 32 owners seem to be the same- good luck with your search!

SLacKer

2,622 posts

207 months

Tuesday 12th January 2010
quotequote all
The Stiglet said:
Hi guys, judging from the boards, I see a couple of people are interested in these cars at the moment but I just recently stumbled upon this incredible car as I'm looking to part with my TVR S Series in the next few months. I'm amazed that these cars offer so much performance but at such a cheap price. In fact, I'm wondering if there might be something wrong with them? 350 bhp for less than £13k??

I've read about the supercharger pump going, the heated seat problems, some dashboard paint issues and the rust on the boot but nothing else.

Can it really be true that these are all the issues this car faces? Perhaps the very high running costs suppress the value?

How much is it to replace the suspension for example? Gearbox? Do the engines ever fail?

Are they that reliable you would purchase one?

Sorry for all the questions guys but I'm hoping you'll be kind enough to help out. After all the money I have spent on my TVR in the last year I very much hope to avoid it on another sports car!

Cheers
They are that reliable YES.

Had mine for almost 5 years now and apart from seat heaters had no problems that cannot easily be dealt with. It has never left me stranded. Had a new battery and also front ball joints and a steering damper done over that time which came to around £200 total.

Have a dealer history and also a specialist of late which gives the car all the attention it needs and for half what a dealer charges with genuine mb parts. I have had no rust issues with mine although I believe the arches and number plate area of the bootlid can suffer.

I have 83k on mine now and it still drives like new and absolutely goes like a rocket when you want it to. There were only limited numbers in the UK so will always be a good seller as so few about unlike a lot of cars.

SLK 32 AMG
Production ran between Aug 2000 and March 2004.
Only 4,333 were built in total, of which 979 were retained for Germany,
2,056 exported to the USA and 263 to the UK.

From here

CHRISTOPHER 764

7 posts

215 months

Sunday 17th January 2010
quotequote all
Hi ,I ran my slk 32 for 3 years doing 37k and had a few of the mentioned problems supercharger pump,heated seat drivers,and paintwork around the roof ,bootlid rear arches all covered by merc warranty,provided you have full merc history and no previous non merc bodywork repairs.The only thing I found lacking was the brakes which I uprated to stainless steel braided hoses all round and drilled and grooved discs on the front.The mobilo rescue mercedes also offer depends on full merc history but doesnt cover punctures as there is no spare wheel and usually the tin of goo doesnt work very well .The biggest problem for me was always driving it too fast .Fantastic car it replaced a tvr chimera.
Good luck
christopher764

ALT CRZ

22 posts

174 months

Sunday 24th January 2010
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Hi I've had my car 4 months now and still love it.

Had an issue with rust on the bootlid and arches but Mercedes decided to foot the bill!

Ordered and fitted the gear knob (thanks again SLacKer) from www.ForMyMercedes.com and it really
makes a difference.

A full MB history helps because if you need any goodwill work done on the car, it needs to have one.
My car had actually gone over the 8 years, but Mercedes still did the work.

The Stiglet

Original Poster:

2,062 posts

194 months

Monday 25th January 2010
quotequote all
Hi all, thank you for your replies - I wasn't be rude and ignoring you, just been on holiday.

Glad you all like your cars and it's certainly one to consider in the next few months.

I'll let you know if I get one!

ALT CRZ

22 posts

174 months

Thursday 25th February 2010
quotequote all
My car is a 01 plate and in December I managed to get the warranty work done on the car.
I believe the car has to be under 8 years old, full Mercedes service history and will need to
be registered to the owner for 6 months. Saved me a lot of money... thanks Mercedes!

paul-dkqtg

4 posts

99 months

Saturday 30th January 2016
quotequote all
Hi

Bought my slk32 amg 6 years ago. It's been very reliable considering its now 15 years old. The only things that have gone wrong are supercharger cooling pump £400 and an oil leak on the gearbox..was £700 to fix at stealership . These cars are very cheap for the performance and mechanically there's not much to go wrong. Servicing is just oil and filer changes plus plugs.They don't actually look like a 5 second zero to sixty car so this may be one reason for the low prices.The other reason could be rust ..mine looks a right mess...arches bonnet and boot lid are affected. ..at some point merc must have started using watercolour paint...


I was considering trading mine for a porsche cayman s but drove one today and although they handle better mine feels quicker ( like a rocket when you use kickdownand of course there is the folding roof). So I'm now having second thoughts and I may get all the rust fixed and keep it.

Good look with your purchase!
Paul




paulwirral

3,132 posts

135 months

Saturday 30th January 2016
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13k , I was looking at these 2 years ago and they were half that ! Damn , again !

purenrg

125 posts

188 months

Sunday 31st January 2016
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Hello all
I got my slk32amg in 2006 and over my 10 years of ownership have had a new intercooler pump fitted and periodic bodywork tidying due to rust. I bit the bullet last year and had new wings fitted and the rusty bits were all sorted properly by my local bodyshop here on the Wirral. They also stripped and refurbed the alloys. My car is now in very good condition.
I have always used Pirelli p zero corsa tyres, 2 new sets, and found them to do the job but they wore out very quickly. My latest tyres are uniroyal and I find they have more grip especially in the wet. I replaced all discs and pads recently and rear shocks also front suspension linkages.

I always get a buzz driving my car and find there are very few cars which come near it performance wise which is amazing considering its a 2002 model.





paulwirral

3,132 posts

135 months

Sunday 31st January 2016
quotequote all
I've noticed a few 32s running around the Wirral , great old cars , I can't believe I didn't buy a one owner sub 50k miles for 5k a couple of years ago ! It needed the wings painting properly but otherwise it was a nice car , another " I wish I bought it story "

Rapido1

51 posts

139 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
quotequote all
LOL you do realise this thread was started in 2010?
I dont think these are collectors cars!!

paulwirral

3,132 posts

135 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
quotequote all
Rapido1 said:
LOL you do realise this thread was started in 2010?
I dont think these are collectors cars!!
Ha ha , I didn't , note to self , read properly next time . That said they have definitely gone up in price over the last couple of years , mind you , last time I looked on e bay someone was selling an escort van and classing it as a collectors car !

Mr M

1,272 posts

202 months

Tuesday 2nd February 2016
quotequote all
Beautifully kept !





purenrg

125 posts

188 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Thank you Mr M

Ive never really thought about this car being collectable as I bought it for other reasons. I have maintained the car which is now 14 years old and looked after it. Don't know what the value would be these days but can guarantee nothing could replace or compare to it for similar money. I have not seen an slk32amg for sale for quite a while.

Mike.

S3_Graham

12,830 posts

199 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
I have the same engine in my C32 estate. Its a great car, sadly i'm selling due to a house move but have noticed that there are barely any for sale. Mine is double rare being black and a touring.

Can imagine that the '32 engine in a more sporty car with the roof down must be great!

Derek Smith

45,654 posts

248 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
quotequote all
purenrg said:
Thank you Mr M

Ive never really thought about this car being collectable as I bought it for other reasons. I have maintained the car which is now 14 years old and looked after it. Don't know what the value would be these days but can guarantee nothing could replace or compare to it for similar money. I have not seen an slk32amg for sale for quite a while.

Mike.
These were at the Performance Car Company, somewhere in Hants.



I've been on the lookout for one but not found one I liked at a price I liked.

nickwilcock

1,522 posts

247 months

Sunday 21st February 2016
quotequote all
I've had my 2003 SLK32 AMG for almost 11 years and 65000 miles now....

Superb little car - it's been to South Germany 3 times without missing a beat, but has had the usual (not that expensive to fix) faults:
Worn ball joints
Failed intercooler pump
Failed crankshaft position sensor
Driver's seat base heater has never worked failed

I had to have a new steering lock fitted and a rear 3/4 window regulator replaced, plus quite a lot of rust dealt with. It needs the alloys to be refurbished now, so I'll get those done at some point, I guess.

But it still goes like the wind! Brilliant silver with a designo bordeaux interior.