Buying an R171 in Greece

[Jimmy90]

Hello fellow pistonheads! Long time lurker here from Greece. I am convicing myself that i want a mint and as low mileage as possible R171 slk 200 (road taxes and owning taxes are very high above 2liters and newer than 5 year old cars here..)

So, i found 2 private sellers, one has a black '09 with 32k miles but basic spec, 16' rims, only rear parking sensors, a/c and black leather seats(no air scarf or heating) asking about 13.5k p (don't laugh, i know about the price, but thats a reality here in Greece, because of supply and demand nowadays and also lower taxes because 1.8 engine).
The other one is also a black '08 with 43k miles, but with a lot of options and nice extras fitted from the owner (front and rear sensors, designo red-black interior, heated seats and air scarf, auto a/c, original 18' amg wheels, lip spoiler and bonnet vents from the facelift 55) and he's asking about 15k.

Given that i will check both cars to ensure that are nice examples, what are your suggestions? I am a mileage freak unfortunately, and i intend to keep this car for a long long time! I also have a small diesel to keep the miles low. But, i am thinking that i will miss all the extras the other has, and if in the future i want to retrofit some of these, it will cost me a lot more in the end. I can't decide for the life of me, i will wait anxiously for your opinions in the matter. Thank you so much!

[trevalvole]

If Greek roads have lots of potholes like the UK, then I'd get the one with the 16" wheels to both avoid the alloys getting cracked and for better ride comfort.

On these cars, I think the main things to watch out for are:

1. Rusty rear subframes - perhaps not a problem in Greece other than in mountainous areas;

2. Timing chain stretch and sprocket wear - see the 6th post on here: https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/the-complete-m...

ETA: There was a facelift in '08, so it is worth checking whether the '08 car is pre or post facelift. Also, at around the same time the engine went from being around 160bhp to around 180bhp.

Edited by trevalvole on Sunday 13th February 16:12

[Jimmy90]

trevalvole said:

If Greek roads have lots of potholes like the UK, then I'd get the one with the 16" wheels to both avoid the alloys getting cracked and for better ride comfort.

On these cars, I think the main things to watch out for are:

1. Rusty rear subframes - perhaps not a problem in Greece other than in mountainous areas;

2. Timing chain stretch and sprocket wear - see the 6th post on here: https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/the-complete-m...

ETA: There was a facelift in '08, so it is worth checking whether the '08 car is pre or post facelift. Also, at around the same time the engine went from being around 160bhp to around 180bhp.

Edited by trevalvole on Sunday 13th February 16:12

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, we also have lots of potholes in our roads..! Fortunately, we don't have problems with rust here. I forgot to mention that both are the facelift versions and i specifically looked for facelift examples with manual trans.

[stef1808]

Get the car that checks out mechanically better and proper service history and forgot about everything else you mentioned including mileage. Malaka

[Jimmy90]

stef1808 said:

Get the car that checks out mechanically better and proper service history and forgot about everything else you mentioned including mileage. Malaka

That's what i call a reality check! Thanks for the advice, malaka :-P

[stef1808]

Jimmy90 said:

That's what i call a reality check! Thanks for the advice, malaka :-P

[Jimmy90]

Well, i checked both cars and both are very nice examples, clean history and serviced properly throughout their life. So, my confusion still stands: which one to go for? Pick the 32k mileage but basic spec for less, or the 43k and full options one for more??

[trevalvole]

Jimmy90 said:

Well, i checked both cars and both are very nice examples, clean history and serviced properly throughout their life. So, my confusion still stands: which one to go for? Pick the 32k mileage but basic spec for less, or the 43k and full options one for more??

It depends on your priorities - I imagine the full options one looks better than the basic one, but may well drive/ride worse. I know which one I would chose, but I'm not you.

[Jimmy90]

trevalvole said:

It depends on your priorities - I imagine the full options one looks better than the basic one, but may well drive/ride worse. I know which one I would chose, but I'm not you.

Yeah, i am sold on the looks of the full options one, but i know deep inside that the other is the most sensible (stretching the meaning, but oh well) choice. But i have to convince myself to not go crazy in the future, buying larger wheels in the end

[Shifter1]

I think the R171 is the best looking SLK and one of the rare V6 manuals SLK350 are somewhat appealing. I think it's about the only way to get a semi modern Mercedes petrol V6 with a manual box. Never drove one but they are pretty quick on paper for what they are. Although I'm not sure how they handle or how fun.

[Jimmy90]

Shifter1 said:

I think the R171 is the best looking SLK and one of the rare V6 manuals SLK350 are somewhat appealing. I think it's about the only way to get a semi modern Mercedes petrol V6 with a manual box. Never drove one but they are pretty quick on paper for what they are. Although I'm not sure how they handle or how fun.

I completely agree about the looks! Never drove one either, but it's not a viable option here sadly, outrageous yearly roadtax of 1150 euros and ruinous owning taxes unfortunately..hence the decision to go for the 200. I drove one before for a couple of days and i think that it's a decent drive, unexpectedly good manual trans and good performance for my needs. Of course i'm already thinking a pulley and a remap in the near future!