Picking up an SLk55 this weekend!

[rockford22]

Been looking for a more exciting car for a while and debated the usual suspects but the SLK55 came out on top so I am collecting this weekend and can't wait!

Its a 2005 in silver (low tax), every option except bi-xenons, 66k, looks well cared for and full stamps. Ive looked at known issues and found: sparks expensive to change (done)? Brakes expensive (done), can leak small amounts of oil around rocker cover.

Ive wanted one of these for a few years and prices don't seem to have shifted much so i am hopeful on this not being a depreciation nightmare.

Are there any other issues to look out for during inspection? Also, are there any insurers that are AMG friendly, mine had a heart attack when i phoned for a quote and ended up needing underwriters to grill my car history in order to allow me to change (bit silly really!)

Any other owner info welcome. Hope the sun stays out!

Edited by rockford22 on Thursday 9th April 08:17

[CaptainRAVE]

They are holding their value well now. Actually, you have probably bought it at the most expensive time. Front brakes are the big cost, but personally I am not bothered about them. Oil from the breathers is cheaply fixed, less than £100. An xpipe and secondary decat is worth considering, infinity exhausts did a great job of mine. Check that the transmission changes smoothly when warmed up. Also check that there are no whining noises while driving.

Insurance wise, I am with admiral and get a pretty cheap deal with them. The usual cheap insurers should still insure it cheaply

Otherwise, these are bullet proof cars that are extremely fun to drive...especially if it has been well cared for

Edited by CaptainRAVE on Thursday 9th April 15:26

[Jester86]

Make sure you check that both heated seats work correctly.

Another common fault on the SLK range.

[Mr M]

Worth checking your paddle and stick shift are working ok. After 5 long months mine is finally sorted. Someone in the past had spilt a sugary drink over the gear stick and it had stuffed the signals in the stick module which had in turn stuffed the signals in the steering column module. Some thing the dealership (I use the term loosely) failed to own up about and even lied about when I was taken out on a test drive as they said it was all working. Anyway.. just a tip.

PS I think you'll enjoy it. Which one did you go for ?

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 9th April 19:57

[rockford22]

Mr M said:

Worth checking your paddle and stick shift are working ok. After 5 long months mine is finally sorted. Someone in the past had spilt a sugary drink over the gear stick and it had stuffed the signals in the stick module which had in turn stuffed the signals in the steering column module. Some thing the dealership (I use the term loosely) failed to own up about and even lied about when I was taken out on a test drive as they said it was all working. Anyway.. just a tip.

PS I think you'll enjoy it. Which one did you go for ?

Edited by Mr M on Thursday 9th April 19:57

Will make sure I pay attention to the gear changes and that the paddles work properly!

By all accounts it seems like a lovely example and the current owner sounds the sort of enthusiast you'd want! Will post up a pic or two after my drive home! Can't wait.

[kazste]

What kind of servicing costs are we looking at for these. Looking at changing the europa for one of these but concerned about annual costs a bit.

[MattyB_]

I picked up mine a few weeks ago - similar car, 2005/Black. Only option mine is missing is the parking sensors.

You've mentioned the two big costs - brakes + spark plugs. Slight oil leak around the rocker is common and fairly cheap. Faulty heated seat bases are an issue; I looked at loads of cars and barely any of them had them working, and they're an expensive (£800) fix. Most people don't bother sorting as the seat backs still work.

Conductor plates are a (fairly) common one on the gearbox - you'll find it'll get stuck in gear, and you'll have to turn of the ignition then start it again. It'll get more common and the only fix is replaement. about £1k at a specialist, £1.5k at a dealer.

Also make sure box fluid is changed at 40k and 80k - this is NOT as cheap as I thought! About £250 at a specialist, £350 at a dealer.

Keep your roof and seals lubed - something like Gummi Pfledge for seals, and something lithium based for the hinges.

Check out www.slkworld.com - they'll even give you a datacard with your build/option information.

[MattyB_]

kazste said:

What kind of servicing costs are we looking at for these. Looking at changing the europa for one of these but concerned about annual costs a bit.

Dealer or specialist?

Dealer is about £300 (minor oil service) £600 for intermediate, and £1200 for major/plug change. Obviously other things like brake fluid changes (2 years - £100) and gearbox oil (40k/5 years -£350) increases each as and when needed.

Specialist will be about 30-40% cheaper.

[rockford22]

Well I never got my SLK today!! A 545 mile round trip to view the car and turned out the brakes were so heavily worn that they sent heavy vibrations through the entire car when applied and the gearbox seemed very reluctant to shift down or respond to any inputs. The car in question also felt substantially down on power - foot to the floor it felt gutless. Needless to say I walked away turned around and started the 4 hour trip home.

What a waste of time. Search continues!

[Wacky Racer]

rockford22 said:

Well I never got my SLK today!! A 545 mile round trip to view the car and turned out the brakes were so heavily worn that they sent heavy vibrations through the entire car when applied and the gearbox seemed very reluctant to shift down or respond to any inputs. The car in question also felt substantially down on power - foot to the floor it felt gutless. Needless to say I walked away turned around and started the 4 hour trip home.

What a waste of time. Search continues!

Bit of a sickener, but don't worry about it too much, take your time and pick an example that you will be 100% happy with.

You may have to view a few dogs before you get the right car.

Look at it more you had a lucky escape, as a bad one can be a money pit.

[MattyB_]

Wacky Racer said:

Bit of a sickener, but don't worry about it too much, take your time and pick an example that you will be 100% happy with.

You may have to view a few dogs before you get the right car.

Look at it more you had a lucky escape, as a bad one can be a money pit.

Yep, looked at 8-9 before I settled on mine - highish mileage @ 85k, but I've seen a few with half that which were in far worse condition.

Out of interest, which one did you look at? Was it the Silver/Red in Lincolnshire?

Have you seen the silver one on Autotrader for £15,800? Looks decent.

[rockford22]

MattyB_ said:

Yep, looked at 8-9 before I settled on mine - highish mileage @ 85k, but I've seen a few with half that which were in far worse condition.

Out of interest, which one did you look at? Was it the Silver/Red in Lincolnshire?

Have you seen the silver one on Autotrader for £15,800? Looks decent.

It was yes.

Just seen the one you're talking about on Autotrader - does look particularly well kept and all the major bills taken care of. I'd missed that one somehow (new?), cheers for pointing it out!

[CaptainRAVE]

rockford22 said:

Well I never got my SLK today!! A 545 mile round trip to view the car and turned out the brakes were so heavily worn that they sent heavy vibrations through the entire car when applied and the gearbox seemed very reluctant to shift down or respond to any inputs. The car in question also felt substantially down on power - foot to the floor it felt gutless. Needless to say I walked away turned around and started the 4 hour trip home.

What a waste of time. Search continues!

It sounds like there are a lot of terrible examples out there and that most people are selling them due to new brakes being needed (at the very least).

[MattyB_]

CaptainRAVE said:

It sounds like there are a lot of terrible examples out there and that most people are selling them due to new brakes being needed (at the very least).

Yep, a good portion of the ones I looked at needed new disks, which is why they were selling (but obviously not saying). If it's a major plug service and new disks are needed, they're facing down almost a £3000 bill, so it's no suprise people try to offload at that point.

[Jester86]

I guess that's what is to be expected when you are looking at the cheaper end of SLK55 ownership.

Having a good relationship with a specialist can absolute butcher the costs that many people fear. Even when it comes to sourcing brake parts. The mark up from Merc is incredible. I got prices for discs and pads all round from merc circa £2k, asked my specialist to check prices at trade and the same dealership quoted him £1200. Amazing mark up really.

AMG tax!

[CaptainRAVE]

Jester86 said:

I guess that's what is to be expected when you are looking at the cheaper end of SLK55 ownership.

Having a good relationship with a specialist can absolute butcher the costs that many people fear. Even when it comes to sourcing brake parts. The mark up from Merc is incredible. I got prices for discs and pads all round from merc circa £2k, asked my specialist to check prices at trade and the same dealership quoted him £1200. Amazing mark up really.

AMG tax!

It really is worth finding a good specialist. Mine has saved me a fortune already.

[stuartdenton]

Hi picked my SLK55 up on the 1st month, I must be very lucky its a 05 with all extras, 28K miles and almost indistingable from new. Had the opportunity to check most thing with everything working ok, however checking all the Command facility would take ages. The only thing was that it needed a new battery and the cam cover has a vey slight oil leak, all fixed by the suppling dealer. Only had it for a short time but its a epic car and extreamly good value for money when you consider the performance.

[MattyB_]

Jester86 said:

I guess that's what is to be expected when you are looking at the cheaper end of SLK55 ownership.

Not always true though! Seeing other people's feedback when going to view cars, there are some real dogs even at the more expensive end - even the £20k cars are 2008/30k milers; you can be vary careless in 7 years and 30k miles!

[CaptainRAVE]

stuartdenton said:

Hi picked my SLK55 up on the 1st month, I must be very lucky its a 05 with all extras, 28K miles and almost indistingable from new. Had the opportunity to check most thing with everything working ok, however checking all the Command facility would take ages. The only thing was that it needed a new battery and the cam cover has a vey slight oil leak, all fixed by the suppling dealer. Only had it for a short time but its a epic car and extreamly good value for money when you consider the performance.

All you really need to check with Comand is that the screen is ok. A few seem to have had drinks spilt on them (not surprising given its location). Everything else should be fine. These cars are absolute classics. Well worth getting an xpipe and secondary decat too. I love mine - will have a short commute to work in it from the end of the year, but at the moment it is just my Sunday drive . 28k miles is fantastic. It is worth trying to work out how those miles were attained too - short journeys? Track driving? Mine had a female owner, so even though it is nearly 70k on the clock they were pretty easy, motorway miles. Regardless, these engines seem to be bulletproof.

[Jester86]

MattyB_ said:

Not always true though! Seeing other people's feedback when going to view cars, there are some real dogs even at the more expensive end - even the £20k cars are 2008/30k milers; you can be vary careless in 7 years and 30k miles!

There are some odd exceptions to the rule. But even dealers will try and shirk the bill on many things while still pricing cars high. That is where many of the more expensive cars are!

It is true you can be careless in that time period. Where buying on condition is what we all want to do