RE: Shed Of The Week: Mercedes-Benz SLK
Discussion
dme123 said:
I can't believe people still say and believe this, it has been quite literally 20 years since Mercedes started producing crap with no end it sight. What I expect from an MB is endless niggles, creaky poor quality trim, and apparently now crabbing and creaking when you go round corners!! I also thought they'd stopped them rusting now, but not judging from the 4 year old people carrier van thing I saw the other day.
People probably believe it from what they know.Edited by dme123 on Saturday 21st January 10:34
97 SLK, still in family, no real issues except it seems to be a nitemare to adjust the boot to close easily after an accident repair something to do with the roof mechanism I suspect. Wheels replaced under warranty due to corrosion & to date only 3 small rust scabs, 2 on the rear edge of the roof & one on front wing n/s, due to poor touch in after scraping on garage door & interior plastics looking shabby, but that's a known issue. Never failed an MOT either.
07 E320 CDi, sold just before Christmas 109k. Looked almost as good as it was when new apart from wheels showing bubbling, a broken catch on the centre console lid & misty headlights due to sunlight. That failed last MOT on wishbones or something & a previous one on worn wheel bearings. Had a replacement tailgate spring under warranty & a turbo during year 4 that MB did as a goodwill. No crabbing or creaking either.
There is also with us an 11 plate E220 CDi currently on 105k, again nothing untoward on that either to date & no crabbing or creaking.
Also have a friend who's 2013 E220 CDi has done well over 300k already, gets used 24/7'asm a 'Taxi' for airline pilots, does 100k pa between 3 drivers & they see no reason why it won't do 500k. And guess what? No crabbing or creaking!!
Yes MB had huge issues in the early noughties, but that's a long time ago & seems resolved.
Agree with you about vans though.
In case you wanted more of a challenge: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Jim AK said:
dme123 said:
Wheels replaced under warranty due to corrosion
Come 2012 Mercedes STILL could not get their alloy wheel quality right. Just out of warranty I had 3 wheels replaced on my 2012 R172 SLK because water had got under the lacquer. Mercedes made a modest contribution to the cost. Now the 4th alloy is also a mess & have little hope that Mercedes will want to know.
All entirely unacceptable for a company almost arrogant about it's supposedly 'superior' cars.
Previous alloy wheeled cars from Mazda, Honda & Audi NEVER deteriorated & most embarrassingly for Mercedes having been lumbered with a Vauxhall Vectra as a company car it did 150k miles & apart from general wear there was not a hint of rust or breaking down of the lacquer finish.
MaxA said:
It's sad that you can get for this shed money these days but I'd guess the reason for this is the failing electronics: the chances are you'd only have the use of the car for the balance of the MOT. I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole.
Are you sure it's not just supply and demand? It might be as simple as plenty of SLKs and not enough buyers.DM525i said:
What the f**k were Mercedes at with their body work. The crap they produced back them makes me believe they don't deserve any of my money spent on them. Their cars then were a total insult to their buyers. Make crap and sell it for loads.
Engineering took a backseat to the accountantsFunnily enough, i did start looking at these not long ago as an alternative to cheap hot/warm hatches. I'm not really sure why as roadsters/convertible aren't my cup of tea at all. Probably the price of them, mainly.
The first thing that drew my attention was the performance and that they're supercharged. Also, the automatic is a plus as that's what i'd be after, ideally. Also, i'm keen to get into something RWD.
The rust worries me, as does the electrics in this year of MB that are renowned for not being the best. The other common faults already listed are also a bit scary. But this SOTW has re-sparked my interest.
Will the superchargers need re-building at some point on these with higher miles? Not keen on the MX-5 performance-wise and the Z3's are hard to come by with the bigger engine. 325ti would be the next alternative.
The first thing that drew my attention was the performance and that they're supercharged. Also, the automatic is a plus as that's what i'd be after, ideally. Also, i'm keen to get into something RWD.
The rust worries me, as does the electrics in this year of MB that are renowned for not being the best. The other common faults already listed are also a bit scary. But this SOTW has re-sparked my interest.
Will the superchargers need re-building at some point on these with higher miles? Not keen on the MX-5 performance-wise and the Z3's are hard to come by with the bigger engine. 325ti would be the next alternative.
Please, just don't. Buy ANYTHING else. I'll never forget the joy of getting rid of ours.
If you're really lucky you'll get a boot lock that can't be opened by key, an alarm that won't stop going off and central locking which not only doesn't work, but when you can't open the boot you also can't open the fuel filler cap with the emergency pull handle.
If you're really lucky you'll get a boot lock that can't be opened by key, an alarm that won't stop going off and central locking which not only doesn't work, but when you can't open the boot you also can't open the fuel filler cap with the emergency pull handle.
Didn't like my Plan A, then?
Plan A - look for a good one.
Perhaps I could interest you in Plan B.
Plan B: look for one with problems that's being sold for buttons by a disillusioned owner, have it fixed and enjoy an SLK on the cheap.
Just having the original wheels refurbished on Mrs C's ready for summer tyres. It's still on the spare set of wheels on winter tyres at the moment. The refurbished wheels will make the wheel nuts look scruffy so maybe I'll buy a new set of those as well.
Marvellous.
Plan A - look for a good one.
Perhaps I could interest you in Plan B.
Plan B: look for one with problems that's being sold for buttons by a disillusioned owner, have it fixed and enjoy an SLK on the cheap.
Just having the original wheels refurbished on Mrs C's ready for summer tyres. It's still on the spare set of wheels on winter tyres at the moment. The refurbished wheels will make the wheel nuts look scruffy so maybe I'll buy a new set of those as well.
Marvellous.
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