Merc SLK from 2012 onward?
Discussion
Still can't make my mind up what I want :-D
Current car is a Freelander 2, great in this weather, terribly practical and quite quick in big heavy lump terms but I still regret ever getting rid of my Boxster.
Found myself looking at early 997 911's today and then saw that SLK's have got quite cheap in terms of cost to change so wondered what thinking is on them?
I used to have a 190E and it was a damned solid car but I know Mercedes had a bit of a bad patch.
Current car is a Freelander 2, great in this weather, terribly practical and quite quick in big heavy lump terms but I still regret ever getting rid of my Boxster.
Found myself looking at early 997 911's today and then saw that SLK's have got quite cheap in terms of cost to change so wondered what thinking is on them?
I used to have a 190E and it was a damned solid car but I know Mercedes had a bit of a bad patch.
2012 onwards SLK is a fine car. Quality problem era is generally regarded as having ended in 2004/2005.
Personally I rather like the SLK with the larger petrol engines. Makes a good, comfy cruiser with decent handling and all weather practicality. Looks best in SE spec without the bulbous AMG/ sport kit imo.
Personally I rather like the SLK with the larger petrol engines. Makes a good, comfy cruiser with decent handling and all weather practicality. Looks best in SE spec without the bulbous AMG/ sport kit imo.
Codswallop said:
2012 onwards SLK is a fine car. Quality problem era is generally regarded as having ended in 2004/2005.
Personally I rather like the SLK with the larger petrol engines. Makes a good, comfy cruiser with decent handling and all weather practicality. Looks best in SE spec without the bulbous AMG/ sport kit imo.
Useful to hear thanks Personally I rather like the SLK with the larger petrol engines. Makes a good, comfy cruiser with decent handling and all weather practicality. Looks best in SE spec without the bulbous AMG/ sport kit imo.
Point taken on the engines but I'd be using this as a daily driver so there has to be some practicality with fuel economy.
Seems the 250 is about as fast as my Boxster was and that never felt like a slow car - also seems the SLK has a reputation for handling in snow that's as bad as the Boxster was.
I'll go take a look at some tomorrow I think.
jonah35 said:
Those cheapo lease special slks are old hat in design terms but leasing one for £270pm inc vat is cheap.
Must admit though when I see people in one I think 'lease tastic'
Point taken but tbh I can't think of much these days where I don't think "lease tastic" tbh - see any Golf, Audi, Merc of any kind, pretty much any Range Rover and it's what I assume, so I'm not sure that's much of a reason to rule something in or out.Must admit though when I see people in one I think 'lease tastic'
I know I'm struggling to find anything that ticks every single box because I can see models I like in just about every segment imaginable, hybrid, roadster, crossover, you name it.
What lease deal anyway please?
garyhun said:
I had an SLK 350 with a manual box - great engine and worked really well with the gearbox.
R172 350 is auto only unfortunately...The 7G tronic makes for a cruiser, rather than an out and out sportscar, it's also quite a large motor for a 2 seater. The options list can deliver you a lovely specced vehicle - at a price - and residuals are poor...
the engine is a peach however power & noise, with a lovely burble on the overrun fairly decent economy as well 35+ if you're gentle, much less if you're pressing on.
very much a 6 or 7 10ths car,
Simes.
We have a 13 reg SLK, diesel, auto with paddles.
Perfect for the wife's trip to work, 12 miles down country lanes, she gets 54 mpg, perfect for me if I fancy a blast out, it's got enough go for today's roads, massive amounts of torque.
We didn't lease, preferring to buy outright, but there are some great deals out there, either lease or through the auctions if you fancy a used.
Would I recommend the SLK, oh yes,100% , great car! very very happy with ours at the moment.
Perfect for the wife's trip to work, 12 miles down country lanes, she gets 54 mpg, perfect for me if I fancy a blast out, it's got enough go for today's roads, massive amounts of torque.
We didn't lease, preferring to buy outright, but there are some great deals out there, either lease or through the auctions if you fancy a used.
Would I recommend the SLK, oh yes,100% , great car! very very happy with ours at the moment.
b
hstewie said:
hstewie said:jonah35 said:
Those cheapo lease special slks are old hat in design terms but leasing one for £270pm inc vat is cheap.
Must admit though when I see people in one I think 'lease tastic'
Point taken but tbh I can't think of much these days where I don't think "lease tastic" tbh - see any Golf, Audi, Merc of any kind, pretty much any Range Rover and it's what I assume, so I'm not sure that's much of a reason to rule something in or out.Must admit though when I see people in one I think 'lease tastic'
I know I'm struggling to find anything that ticks every single box because I can see models I like in just about every segment imaginable, hybrid, roadster, crossover, you name it.
What lease deal anyway please?
Eg freedom contracts
My wife has an SLK 350, bought new early in the model life three years ago. We like it a lot. The chassis is not nearly as capable as a Boxster's, but with the folding hard top it is much cosier, comfortable and convenient, and very pleasant to drive other than all out. With this engine, it is torquey and sounds good in the mid-range. Personally, I think it is a nicer everyday car than the Boxster, although the Boxster is better for a cross country thrash. The boot is good when the roof if up, but small with the roof down.Personally, I find one of the nicest aspects of the car is the V6 engine, and I would not expect a 4 cylinder one to have nearly such a nice engine as a Boxster.
garyhun said:
As a top down car, it was always the airscarf on the SLK that was the clincher if you did not need the driving dynamics of the Boxster.
Granted the Freelander is a very nice place to be when it's st and cold and damp outside, but I really do regret getting rid of the Boxster.Thing is with all due respect to similar cars there isn't much close the Boxster in driving/dynamics terms (assuming the driver is good enough and I'm not
) so I think it's a given that anything else will be different.I just miss being able to drop the roof on a whim or go for a Sunday spin the lanes - the FL2 really isn't that sort of a car.
I had an SLK 250 AMG Cdi Auto (R172) 2012 through one of the crazy cheap lease deals at £199 plus VAT per month.
I have never at least a car before, it's been 20 years since I financed a car as I always owned them outright, but this monthly deal sounded like a great way to run a 2 seater convertible for a couple of years.
I didn't really expect to enjoy the car too much, I was getting it to be used as a daily driver, but I work from home so don't do huge amount of hours in terms of regular commuting, I do however drive cross-country pretty much every day to visit clients.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the car, I had it for 2 years, in that time it had just the one dealer visit for the regular service and absolutely nothing went wrong with it whatsoever. The AMG option package is a pretty good specification to start with, I really like the plugged in satellite navigation module which I picked up on eBay for only £200 at the time.
The idea of the diesel convertible filled me with dread when they all first started coming round a few years back, but I've got to say it was plenty quick enough for country roads most of the time. I hardly used it on a motorway at all, but when I did it was quiet and comfortable, but in my opinion it isn't a sports car. It is however one of the best all-round cars that I have known for a while.
Mine went back to Mercedes in September and the closer I got to returning it the more I realised how much I was enjoying it, so much so that I spent the last 3 months waiting for a cheap lease offer to materialise, I finally found one for exactly the same price as I was paying previously. It is being delivered in 6 days time..........
I'm not however sure I would part with a large amount of money to own one new, I guess second-hand there now starting to look like better value. I don't honestly think it was worth £38,000 which was the price of the one that I had in terms of its asset value for Mercedes.
I have never at least a car before, it's been 20 years since I financed a car as I always owned them outright, but this monthly deal sounded like a great way to run a 2 seater convertible for a couple of years.
I didn't really expect to enjoy the car too much, I was getting it to be used as a daily driver, but I work from home so don't do huge amount of hours in terms of regular commuting, I do however drive cross-country pretty much every day to visit clients.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the car, I had it for 2 years, in that time it had just the one dealer visit for the regular service and absolutely nothing went wrong with it whatsoever. The AMG option package is a pretty good specification to start with, I really like the plugged in satellite navigation module which I picked up on eBay for only £200 at the time.
The idea of the diesel convertible filled me with dread when they all first started coming round a few years back, but I've got to say it was plenty quick enough for country roads most of the time. I hardly used it on a motorway at all, but when I did it was quiet and comfortable, but in my opinion it isn't a sports car. It is however one of the best all-round cars that I have known for a while.
Mine went back to Mercedes in September and the closer I got to returning it the more I realised how much I was enjoying it, so much so that I spent the last 3 months waiting for a cheap lease offer to materialise, I finally found one for exactly the same price as I was paying previously. It is being delivered in 6 days time..........
I'm not however sure I would part with a large amount of money to own one new, I guess second-hand there now starting to look like better value. I don't honestly think it was worth £38,000 which was the price of the one that I had in terms of its asset value for Mercedes.
JetskiJezz said:
I'm not however sure I would part with a large amount of money to own one new, I guess second-hand there now starting to look like better value. I don't honestly think it was worth £38,000 which was the price of the one that I had in terms of its asset value for Mercedes.
Having just been to look at one I think that sums up my thoughts.At around £20K they look like good value - sitting in a new one @ £38K I just didn't get the feeling I did when I sat in a Boxster back in 2006.
Slk 250 amg is not a £38k car, at most they are a £28k car, you only have to look at the lease deals available to realise they are massively discounted by the manufacturer to get them sold.
They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
nct001 said:
Slk 250 amg is not a £38k car, at most they are a £28k car, you only have to look at the lease deals available to realise they are massively discounted by the manufacturer to get them sold.
They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
The list price for that car is just shy of £38,000, you are are right that they are massively discounted via leasing companies, I can therefore only assume that a discount off list is a negotiation point.They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
I don't think it's realistic to say that you could get one for £5000 all in for 2 years. You might be able to find one with stupid low mileage restrictions such as 5000 miles a year, but it still wouldn't come in at £5000 all in.
My last one was one of the cheapest deals that I ever saw at £199 per month plus VAT - that was for the basic specification 250 AMG auto sport. This was a 6+23 deal, The total cost therefore including VAT Was just shy of £7000 for the 2 years based on 10,000 miles a year. I did hear of someone getting one a couple of years back on the same price basis but a 3+23 deal.
The new one I've got arriving in just a few days time is basically is a repeat of the above, I spent the last 6 months keeping an ion prices everyday from varying lease companies and I certainly couldn't find one any cheaper. The last one I had came from Mercedes corporate and was funded by Mercedes. Mercedes couldn't do the same deal again, this new one is being supplied via Mercedes corporate but is being funded by a third party lease company, I even tried to get Mercedes to match the deal based on stock cars, but they couldn't.
JetskiJezz said:
nct001 said:
Slk 250 amg is not a £38k car, at most they are a £28k car, you only have to look at the lease deals available to realise they are massively discounted by the manufacturer to get them sold.
They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
The list price for that car is just shy of £38,000, you are are right that they are massively discounted via leasing companies, I can therefore only assume that a discount off list is a negotiation point.They can be leased from as little as £5k for two years including vat, road tax and inclusive of everything apart from one a service for low mileage users this is basically a cheap ford fiesta automatic with benefits.
I don't think it's realistic to say that you could get one for £5000 all in for 2 years. You might be able to find one with stupid low mileage restrictions such as 5000 miles a year, but it still wouldn't come in at £5000 all in.
My last one was one of the cheapest deals that I ever saw at £199 per month plus VAT - that was for the basic specification 250 AMG auto sport. This was a 6+23 deal, The total cost therefore including VAT Was just shy of £7000 for the 2 years based on 10,000 miles a year. I did hear of someone getting one a couple of years back on the same price basis but a 3+23 deal.
The new one I've got arriving in just a few days time is basically is a repeat of the above, I spent the last 6 months keeping an ion prices everyday from varying lease companies and I certainly couldn't find one any cheaper. The last one I had came from Mercedes corporate and was funded by Mercedes. Mercedes couldn't do the same deal again, this new one is being supplied via Mercedes corporate but is being funded by a third party lease company, I even tried to get Mercedes to match the deal based on stock cars, but they couldn't.
The deal you have found is excellent and is so cheap as why would you want to risk your own money by buying one? But it's a retail deal so includes margin of say £1200 for reseller and additional costs.
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