2005 SLK 55 AMG - Cheap WCPGW

[B'stard Child]

Following on from this thread on my current SLK200 Buy a cheap SLK200 WCPGW - some things did

With one SLK on the drive it seemed a perfect time to look for another.........

The scope creep went like this

Originally I started looking for a 280 or 350 V6's but it's not easy to find ones with manual gearboxes and I really wanted a manual - then the old balancer issues were nagging at me

If I'm going to end up buying an auto then why not a much more reliable V8

Bulletproof normally aspirated 5.4 litre M113 V8 - 3 valves per cyl - duplex cam chains - indirect injection - good for 250,000 miles plus

I convinced myself that mechanically it wouldn't be a big issue so I went to see the cheapest one I'd seen in ages on the grounds that it would give me an idea how far off my "desired condition" it was at my "budget imposed price point".

This one was only on the other side of the country to me and the current owner worked shifts so I needed to view at a time that suited him



Not a huge fan of just washed photos - they tend to hide fluid leaks

The dash had a few additional "extras"



I took a mate with me to act as my shoulder conscience (he's enough of a mate to tell me to walk away - rather than do it)

Anyway the viewing went well it was a straight car - some history 3,000,000 previous owners - OK actually 8 but they were all careful ones surely

Anyway seems these SLK55's have a couple of well known engine issues

1. The crank sensor - will start from cold fine if it’s failed but will not start from hot - Merc specialist advice is carry a brand new one in the glove box and ask the AA man (who will not have one on the van to fit it - after all that’s what they are for right )

2. Leaky rocker cover gaskets

Other major bork potentials are

1. transmission fluid has a 40.000 mile change interval or the valve body sts itself and you get no drive

2. Brake discs for the front are a tad on the pricey side

3. Roof and boots seals to stop water ingress which play havoc with the cars electrickery systems…..

4. Vario roof issues in general

Obviously the last two were serious concern having chased around a few leaks on previous SLKs

The car was relatively straight with just a few age related marks

However there was some chavy tat additions here and there - well everywhere actually



1. Extra LED DRL's under the bumper
2. Illuminated Mercedes Star
3. Branded puddle lights
4. 5.5 AMG badges on the wings
5. AMG badge on the grill
6. NextBase DAB radio
7. Nextbase Dash Cam

I took a look through the history and took a big gulp the last bill was from Mercedes for a little bit of work

1.a new instrument cluster pack and coding

2. roof pack leak rectification

3. all new roof and boot seals

4. Drivers and passenger window adjustment to suit new seals

5. New parking brake shoes

6. vario roof switch replacement

7. two new rocker cover gaskets.

All done March this year - a piffling £4213.44

So a car that can throw some serious bills at you, that had some challenges to get it up to scratch, was at the bottom end of the market whilst not Cat A B S or N (I did check it before viewing)

It was however 2005 so the only other thing that would be cheap was the "VED" perfect

What Could Possibly Go Wrong

So I left a deposit and agreed to collect and pay the balance when the current owner had removed his "Vanity Plate"

[CoolHands]

Nice. I keep looking at these periodically. What ball-park £figure was it in? One thing that sort of puts me off is I keep thinking the roof must be really heavy. Not sure why it bothers me. So then I look at boxsters. That merc bill is horrendous

[B'stard Child]

CoolHands said:

Nice. I keep looking at these periodically. What ball-park £figure was it in?

High four figures rather than five

CoolHands said:

One thing that sort of puts me off is I keep thinking the roof must be really heavy. Not sure why it bothers me. So then I look at boxsters.

The roof is the bit I like - I don't mind a little weight for the benefit of it being a tin top in winter

CoolHands said:

That merc bill is horrendous

It was rather shocking - I did a bit of internet sleuthing and the PO had been unsuccessfully asking on faceache for advice on fixing water leaks on an SLK - he'd clearly bit the bullet and thrown it at Mercedes at some cost!!!!

[BenjiA]

Well. I have to admit, I have been looking at these recently...but I would not have been as brave as you, good luck, subscribed, let us know how you get on!

[CoolHands]

Result all round!

[B'stard Child]

BenjiA said:

Well. I have to admit, I have been looking at these recently...but I would not have been as brave stupid as you,

Fixed that for you

BenjiA said:

good luck, subscribed, let us know how you get on!

Oh there will be fun and games - there already has been - don't click if electrical spaghetti scares the crap out of you

Huge battery drain when checking out some stuff - Found this load of crap in the passenger footwell - Ah lovely a bloody tracker unit sucking the juice

[B'stard Child]

CoolHands said:

Result all round!

Not sure about that yet - the jury is still out

[Tommie38]

Good move.

You got one with the nicer Brembos as well. The 6 piston front and 4 piston rears look miles better than the 4 piston front and sliding rear calipers.

[pidsy]

Good luck!

Watching with interest - been looking for one of these for a while. Price increases of late have put me off a bit.

[Mr lestat]

Great cars. I’ve got the later body shape on a 12 plate. Had it 2 years now.

[Jonstar]

Lovely car, I bought a high mileage one in Jan and it's been great, it had a recent subframe and rebuilt gearbox (watch out for those) which cost £7k in to do... may look to get rid soon for similar money to yours.

[Tommie38]

Jonstar said:

Lovely car, I bought a high mileage one in Jan and it's been great, it had a recent subframe and rebuilt gearbox (watch out for those) which cost £7k in to do... may look to get rid soon for similar money to yours.

Can you say more about the gearbox? Was yours an M113 engine and 722.6 combination? My understanding was that the boxes are generally reliable. Older cars could contaminate oil with coolant, but not heard of that being an issue on the SLK.

[Cascade360]

Looks good, chav tat aside. I considered one of these a while back, generally the suggestion was that these aren't much of a brave pill at all, so wouldn't be too scared.

[Jonstar]

Tommie38 said:

Can you say more about the gearbox? Was yours an M113 engine and 722.6 combination? My understanding was that the boxes are generally reliable. Older cars could contaminate oil with coolant, but not heard of that being an issue on the SLK.

The work was done before I bought the car but the 7 speed boxes are reliable but definitely not bulletproof. The gearchanges generally start becoming jerky before they go usually.

[Tommie38]

Ahh - you had the 7 speed. That is a different transmission.

I thought the SLK55 came with the 5 speed 722.6. I’ve had the 722.9 in another car and it wasn’t great.

[juice]

Jonstar said:

The work was done before I bought the car but the 7 speed boxes are reliable but definitely not bulletproof. The gearchanges generally start becoming jerky before they go usually.

Mine shat itself last year. £1500 for the conductor plate and Valve Body. They're a theft related part so you have to provide all sorts of information in order to get the garage to be able to order a new one !
Mine's serviced at Avantgarde Automotive in Clevedon.

Before that mine chucked up a £3.4K bill for everything to be sorted. CPS/Engine Mounts, 2 x sump leaks, Rocker Cover leaks, 12 spark plugs, service and rear disks and pads....

Stupid car

[Jonstar]

Yep, they can be brutal, it's still an amg after all.

But how many Small, 2 seater V8's are there out there for sensible money? Not many I suspect, which makes it a bargain in my view.

[Cascade360]

Jonstar said:

Yep, they can be brutal, it's still an amg after all.

But how many Small, 2 seater V8's are there out there for sensible money? Not many I suspect, which makes it a bargain in my view.

Basically none under 15k - TVR Chimaera, Corvette C5, SLK55 AMG - that's about it ...

[CornedBeef]

Great car! I've just bought an SL500 myself with the naturally aspirated M113 engine, paired with the 5 speed.

[8IKERDAVE]

Great little cars them! My dad has a 2005 which he has now for what must be 12 years! Only used in perfect conditions and garaged. AFAIK he has had very few issues with it other than the odd flat battery from underuse.