SLK350 - not the hairdressers car as I was expecting
Discussion
Having sold both my E92 330 manual and Megane RS265 within a couple of days of advertising the hunt was on for a single replacement to join the other halfs Velar and my A110S.
Decided I wanted something at no more than 8k, practicality not important and ideally with at least 6 cylinders.
Did not want Boxster at this price point (been there, done that and never gelled with the car), did not want silly road tax (£430 was max) but a drop top would be nice, we have a history of owning them and not having one for the last 12 months realised we missed it.
Brera Spider - silly road tax and never been a fan of the looks
350Z - was a contender but could not see any that made me want to investigate further
S5 convertible - saw a couple of nice ones that were over budget but still totally affordable but was disciplined enough to stick to my self-imposed budget
R171 SLKs have always seemed a fairly decent buy, maybe not great dynamically but that was not essential - the A110 covers that off.
Did my usual investigations and pre-Mar 2006 350s looked appealing and were sensible tax, then they shot up to £700+ - problem is that these engines have well known issues with the balancer shafts. Reading some more I found out that the later Red Top engine (Red insert on engine cover) had more power 272 up to 305bhp, lower emissions, the engine issues sorted and fell back down to the £430 tax level.
Found the one I bought at a small trader via Ebay - decent bloke who was fairly easy to deal with, even if the MOT showed up low tread on tyres as an advisory so in his helpfulness put four new ones for me within the price, sadly they are cheap ditchfinders so will be coming straight back off.
Only two previous owners, pretty much full history, 74k on the clock, got the Sport Pack fitted which is nice
Collected yesterday and theres a few jobs to do - but I like projects and its essentially a good car that just needs a little TLC:
Front parking bulb blew on the way home - already replaced
Rear centre brake light not working - he did advise on this so ordered a replacement and fitted this morning
Air con not icy cold - fixed with a simple home top up
Left to do:
Wheels need a refurb and decent tyres fitted - decided to go for new wheels and tyre package (similar style) and keep these as spares just in case - only works out a couple of hundred more expensive and gives me a spare set - think that is man maths at play
Deep clean of interior is just grubby but will come up nicely
Paintwork - no dents or scratches but dull and swirled to hell - machine polish will sort it out
Headlights - tired so need a wet sanding and polish
Thorough cleaning of all rubber seals / hard top mechanism
Repaint of trim panels on either side of rear screen as these are badly aged but easy to sort out with decent prep and a rattle can
Oil and filters change - as per every new to me car I ever buy
Drive home (100 miles) was a pleasant surprise, very smooth and composed with gearbox in Comfort, definitely more responsive in Sport and in Manual mode it really comes alive, nicely weighted steering, bordering on heavy (not checked pressures yet though) and realised that this is an engine that likes to rev and has a lovely growl to it - I expected it to be a wafter but whilst it clearly can be in Manual there are almost traces of my old Tuscan in it, feels like a proper little sports car and came as a bit of a shock
Here she is - photos make paintwork look better than it really is:
Decided I wanted something at no more than 8k, practicality not important and ideally with at least 6 cylinders.
Did not want Boxster at this price point (been there, done that and never gelled with the car), did not want silly road tax (£430 was max) but a drop top would be nice, we have a history of owning them and not having one for the last 12 months realised we missed it.
Brera Spider - silly road tax and never been a fan of the looks
350Z - was a contender but could not see any that made me want to investigate further
S5 convertible - saw a couple of nice ones that were over budget but still totally affordable but was disciplined enough to stick to my self-imposed budget
R171 SLKs have always seemed a fairly decent buy, maybe not great dynamically but that was not essential - the A110 covers that off.
Did my usual investigations and pre-Mar 2006 350s looked appealing and were sensible tax, then they shot up to £700+ - problem is that these engines have well known issues with the balancer shafts. Reading some more I found out that the later Red Top engine (Red insert on engine cover) had more power 272 up to 305bhp, lower emissions, the engine issues sorted and fell back down to the £430 tax level.
Found the one I bought at a small trader via Ebay - decent bloke who was fairly easy to deal with, even if the MOT showed up low tread on tyres as an advisory so in his helpfulness put four new ones for me within the price, sadly they are cheap ditchfinders so will be coming straight back off.
Only two previous owners, pretty much full history, 74k on the clock, got the Sport Pack fitted which is nice
Collected yesterday and theres a few jobs to do - but I like projects and its essentially a good car that just needs a little TLC:
Front parking bulb blew on the way home - already replaced
Rear centre brake light not working - he did advise on this so ordered a replacement and fitted this morning
Air con not icy cold - fixed with a simple home top up
Left to do:
Wheels need a refurb and decent tyres fitted - decided to go for new wheels and tyre package (similar style) and keep these as spares just in case - only works out a couple of hundred more expensive and gives me a spare set - think that is man maths at play
Deep clean of interior is just grubby but will come up nicely
Paintwork - no dents or scratches but dull and swirled to hell - machine polish will sort it out
Headlights - tired so need a wet sanding and polish
Thorough cleaning of all rubber seals / hard top mechanism
Repaint of trim panels on either side of rear screen as these are badly aged but easy to sort out with decent prep and a rattle can
Oil and filters change - as per every new to me car I ever buy
Drive home (100 miles) was a pleasant surprise, very smooth and composed with gearbox in Comfort, definitely more responsive in Sport and in Manual mode it really comes alive, nicely weighted steering, bordering on heavy (not checked pressures yet though) and realised that this is an engine that likes to rev and has a lovely growl to it - I expected it to be a wafter but whilst it clearly can be in Manual there are almost traces of my old Tuscan in it, feels like a proper little sports car and came as a bit of a shock
Here she is - photos make paintwork look better than it really is:
Andy665 said:
Wheels need a refurb and decent tyres fitted - decided to go for new wheels and tyre package (similar style) and keep these as spares just in case - only works out a couple of hundred more expensive and gives me a spare set - think that is man maths at play
Nice thing, always fancied one but rear seat for dog is a must so wound up with a CLK.Where are you getting the wheels from?
I've budgeted £400 for a refurb but a new set from Alloywheels direct is coming in at circa £1200 (+ cost of tyres/fitting etc)
Huzzah said:
Andy665 said:
Wheels need a refurb and decent tyres fitted - decided to go for new wheels and tyre package (similar style) and keep these as spares just in case - only works out a couple of hundred more expensive and gives me a spare set - think that is man maths at play
Nice thing, always fancied one but rear seat for dog is a must so wound up with a CLK.Where are you getting the wheels from?
I've budgeted £400 for a refurb but a new set from Alloywheels direct is coming in at circa £1200 (+ cost of tyres/fitting etc)
Edited by Andy665 on Tuesday 6th May 15:46
Andy665 said:
Huzzah said:
Andy665 said:
Wheels need a refurb and decent tyres fitted - decided to go for new wheels and tyre package (similar style) and keep these as spares just in case - only works out a couple of hundred more expensive and gives me a spare set - think that is man maths at play
Nice thing, always fancied one but rear seat for dog is a must so wound up with a CLK.Where are you getting the wheels from?
I've budgeted £400 for a refurb but a new set from Alloywheels direct is coming in at circa £1200 (+ cost of tyres/fitting etc)
Driving home there was an occasional grinding sound from the rear end, nothing too ominous, I suspected it was one of the rear disc backing plates catching.
Having got the car home and rear end up in the air combined with a bit of online research the rear disc backing plates do crumble away but they tend to foul up the rear handbrake shoes, this is clearly what was causing the noise.
As the backing plates need the driveshafts easing out (unless you cut the new plates to fit around (not a fan) then new rear wheel bearings are recommended and sensible to do.
Having recently moved house I have lost my "go to" places but the mobile mechanic who changed the alternator on the 330 was a safe pair of hands as he owns an SLK, or so I thought. After over a week of text exchange all he has come up with is a list of parts prices - business must be good when you have only just started up but can clearly afford to mess customers around - he has now been binned and a replacement sought.
Whilst everything has to be stripped off it makes sense to replace the handbrake shoes, discs, pads, wear sensors etc.
Real trouble in sourcing parts from just one place and no guarantee from the online suppliers when the stuff will actually turn up so thought I would try Mercedes themselves - everything was pretty reasonable from them (about 20% more than online) apart from the rear wheel bearings which I have ordered from GSF (handily next door to the dealership) - at least I know they will be available for collection tomorrow and will be the right parts and always good to have the Mercedes invoice for everything.
Was thinking about going back to the trader I bought from asking for a contribution to at least the brake shields but just putting it down to "its an older car and stuff will need doing" - most of the cost is not essential, just worthwhile stuff that would need doing in due course anyway
Having got the car home and rear end up in the air combined with a bit of online research the rear disc backing plates do crumble away but they tend to foul up the rear handbrake shoes, this is clearly what was causing the noise.
As the backing plates need the driveshafts easing out (unless you cut the new plates to fit around (not a fan) then new rear wheel bearings are recommended and sensible to do.
Having recently moved house I have lost my "go to" places but the mobile mechanic who changed the alternator on the 330 was a safe pair of hands as he owns an SLK, or so I thought. After over a week of text exchange all he has come up with is a list of parts prices - business must be good when you have only just started up but can clearly afford to mess customers around - he has now been binned and a replacement sought.
Whilst everything has to be stripped off it makes sense to replace the handbrake shoes, discs, pads, wear sensors etc.
Real trouble in sourcing parts from just one place and no guarantee from the online suppliers when the stuff will actually turn up so thought I would try Mercedes themselves - everything was pretty reasonable from them (about 20% more than online) apart from the rear wheel bearings which I have ordered from GSF (handily next door to the dealership) - at least I know they will be available for collection tomorrow and will be the right parts and always good to have the Mercedes invoice for everything.
Was thinking about going back to the trader I bought from asking for a contribution to at least the brake shields but just putting it down to "its an older car and stuff will need doing" - most of the cost is not essential, just worthwhile stuff that would need doing in due course anyway
I've had a couple of those late 300bhp ones, that engine is absolutely fabulous and one was a manual which was really brilliant in the way it just tore to the rev limiter. I'm actually half looking out for another one now, they're a lovely mini sports GT.
The aux belt idler pulley at the top can seize and cause belt mayhem, I'd change the belt, tensioner, and idlers if not already done. It's easy enough and decent quality parts aren't expensive.
The aux belt idler pulley at the top can seize and cause belt mayhem, I'd change the belt, tensioner, and idlers if not already done. It's easy enough and decent quality parts aren't expensive.
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Thursday 15th May 12:10
Driving home there was an occasional grinding sound from the rear end, nothing too ominous, I suspected it was one of the rear disc backing plates catching.
Having got the car home and rear end up in the air combined with a bit of online research the rear disc backing plates do crumble away but they tend to foul up the rear handbrake shoes, this is clearly what was causing the noise.
As the backing plates need the driveshafts easing out (unless you cut the new plates to fit around (not a fan) then new rear wheel bearings are recommended and sensible to do.
Having recently moved house I have lost my "go to" places but the mobile mechanic who changed the alternator on the 330 was a safe pair of hands as he owns an SLK, or so I thought. After over a week of text exchange all he has come up with is a list of parts prices - business must be good when you have only just started up but can clearly afford to mess customers around - he has now been binned and a replacement sought.
Whilst everything has to be stripped off it makes sense to replace the handbrake shoes, discs, pads, wear sensors etc.
Real trouble in sourcing parts from just one place and no guarantee from the online suppliers when the stuff will actually turn up so thought I would try Mercedes themselves - everything was pretty reasonable from them (about 20% more than online) apart from the rear wheel bearings which I have ordered from GSF (handily next door to the dealership) - at least I know they will be available for collection tomorrow and will be the right parts and always good to have the Mercedes invoice for everything.
Was thinking about going back to the trader I bought from asking for a contribution to at least the brake shields but just putting it down to "its an older car and stuff will need doing" - most of the cost is not essential, just worthwhile stuff that would need doing in due course anyway
Having got the car home and rear end up in the air combined with a bit of online research the rear disc backing plates do crumble away but they tend to foul up the rear handbrake shoes, this is clearly what was causing the noise.
As the backing plates need the driveshafts easing out (unless you cut the new plates to fit around (not a fan) then new rear wheel bearings are recommended and sensible to do.
Having recently moved house I have lost my "go to" places but the mobile mechanic who changed the alternator on the 330 was a safe pair of hands as he owns an SLK, or so I thought. After over a week of text exchange all he has come up with is a list of parts prices - business must be good when you have only just started up but can clearly afford to mess customers around - he has now been binned and a replacement sought.
Whilst everything has to be stripped off it makes sense to replace the handbrake shoes, discs, pads, wear sensors etc.
Real trouble in sourcing parts from just one place and no guarantee from the online suppliers when the stuff will actually turn up so thought I would try Mercedes themselves - everything was pretty reasonable from them (about 20% more than online) apart from the rear wheel bearings which I have ordered from GSF (handily next door to the dealership) - at least I know they will be available for collection tomorrow and will be the right parts and always good to have the Mercedes invoice for everything.
Was thinking about going back to the trader I bought from asking for a contribution to at least the brake shields but just putting it down to "its an older car and stuff will need doing" - most of the cost is not essential, just worthwhile stuff that would need doing in due course anyway
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