Discussion
hi all, over the next month or so i am looking to change my car and am wanting an early slk. it seems they had a few issues with rust, how bad did it get as i read in lots of posts that the arches and boot lid seemed to suffer most, but looking on various car sale websites all the pics of the cars seem to be rust free, is it a case that the rust will have been sorted, or is it that you have to get under the arches and boot lid to see any problems.
cheers......tom
cheers......tom
Most rust spots are small, concealed and non-structural. The give away places are the bootlock and the bonnet slam panel. Generally the R170 is extremely well-designed and -built and very reliable with no model-specific problems. The 2.3litre kompressor engine is unburstable; the m112 V6 isn't bad, either.
Edited by r129sl on Tuesday 2nd March 07:59
r129sl said:
Generally the R170 is extremely well-designed and -built and very reliable with no model-specific problems. The 2.3litre kompressor engine is unburstable; the m112 V6 isn't bad, either.
I've got to say that my old SLK was probably the best car I've ever owned, and certainly the most "solid" and "quality" feeling - it felt a lot better screwed together than my current SL (and what does a fully specced SL500 cost nowadays? £90K+?)Up inside the arches and around the bootlock, though I've not found any (touch wood) on my wife's 98,000 mile 1999 V reg 230K. As others have said, its a good reliable car, we've had ours for nearly 30,000 miles in about 18 months and have been very pleased with it. I think for what they are and the prices you can get them at now, that they are very underrated little roadsters.
I'm going to look at a SLK32 AMG tomorrow. Unfortunately it is silver: I would prefer black or yellow. All the same, you seem to get a lot of car for the money with these. They are supposed to be total hot rods. I know about a Boxster S being better in the twisties but who cares when you can suck the doors off most anything in the traffic lights grands prix!! If you can get it off the line cleanly, it'll do 0-60 in 4.5s and 0-100 in 11.2.
Apparently DMS Automotive can take the output to 425bhp for a mere £2,400. That must make it totally mental: it runs out of gears at 180mph.
Apparently DMS Automotive can take the output to 425bhp for a mere £2,400. That must make it totally mental: it runs out of gears at 180mph.
hi, good luck on the SLK32, there is a black one for sale at a garage in portland (dorset) dont know where you are so it might be miles away, (25 mls from me). 425 bhp hmmmmm sounds fun, is that on standard internals/gearbox?. i had a porsche boxter's' 54 plate they are not as good as made out. mine had the fault of the door windows that opend after you locked and left the car, 4th gear that wouldnt select, or it would jump out, they suffer from rear crankshaft oil seal leaks, if you need to get to the engine the roof needs to be half open so that you can get to the pannel under where the roof folds into......so best hope its not raining, the bonnet and boot lids have eletric catches so if the battery goes flat you need another battery that you have to connect to a connector in the fuse box inside the car to get the bonnet open, thennnnnnn the key needs to be sinchronised to the central locking again, sold it after 14 weeks.
....tom
....tom
I'm at the other end of the country: Northumberland. Boxster sounds a bore.
The DMS conversion consists of new supercharger pulleys, ECU remap, bigger headers, better water pump. The internals are unchanged. The transmission is tough: they use this box in the SL55 and SL65 AMG, presumably with beefier clutches, but fundamentally it is good. The m112 motor is strong as well: it is essentially the same as the m113 V8 which as you know is the basis of the motor in the SLR.
The DMS conversion consists of new supercharger pulleys, ECU remap, bigger headers, better water pump. The internals are unchanged. The transmission is tough: they use this box in the SL55 and SL65 AMG, presumably with beefier clutches, but fundamentally it is good. The m112 motor is strong as well: it is essentially the same as the m113 V8 which as you know is the basis of the motor in the SLR.
My first 230 Kompressor had no rust issues at all in 3 years of ownership and my current 32 has no rust issues and it is over 8 years old. I also have a C32 with no rust issues either. Remember that MB warranty the body for 8 years so if you get one with a full MB history and rust develops it will be repaired under warranty.
As for the performance well I still have mine after 5 years and love it still. It never fails to amaze just how quick it actually is and yet no one pays much attention to it. The perfect wolf in sheeps clothing.
The vast majority are Silver or Black, mine is Linerite Blue and there are a few Designo colours out there. So if you want a colour other than Silver or Black be prepared for the wait.
As for the performance well I still have mine after 5 years and love it still. It never fails to amaze just how quick it actually is and yet no one pays much attention to it. The perfect wolf in sheeps clothing.
The vast majority are Silver or Black, mine is Linerite Blue and there are a few Designo colours out there. So if you want a colour other than Silver or Black be prepared for the wait.
hi SLacKer, well after i thought about getting another SLK i have been taking more notice of them and have to say i havent seen any that look like they are about to fall to bits if you shut the doors too hard. as for the colour oddly its black i thought about, but realy if a nice one came up i dont think i would mind what colour it was. i did tell myself not to buy the first one that came along, but the more i read about them the more i want one.
cheers.....tom
cheers.....tom
Had a look at the car today but didn't drive it. It is OK: no rust. It has not been cherished in the way I understand that term. For instance, the tyres are Avon, not Michelin or Conti, the wheels had been refurbed but with painted not diamond cut rims, it had been serviced but there were stamps in the book not invoices and records. Looks to me like like it has had paint and/or an accident at the offside front: the offside headlamp was newer than the nearside, the grille looked new, the join on the inner wing was a mess on the offside but super tidy on the nearside. That said, the bumper was chipped up a bit and the central lower grille was mis-shapen. One of the headlamp washer jets was sat wrong. No rust anywhere. The interior was immaculate. It is for sale on consignment on behalf of a local estate agent so I suspect some discount could be obtained: another grand off, easily.
Our 2001 R170 is a great car, much more of a solid feel compared to the build quality of my later c class and my father-in-laws R171.
Rust......yes. All four arches are bubbling (just under the lip) but paint is yet to break. Front of the bonnet (just under the lip, just inside engine compartment) has bubbled and paint breaking away. ALl this despite only 40k miles and being garaged since new.
Merc often blame stone chips for the rust, but we have none.
FYI don't try and claim under the anti corrosion warranty as Merc wriggle there way out of it with such finesse! They did offer us a goodwill payment towards the cost of the work, but of course the cost of the work in a Merc bodyshop was so inflated that it made no sense. We'll be using an independent guy once the rust progresses a bit further.
Later Mercs (post 2003?) apparently have zinc coated panels which nigh on cut the risk of panel rot.
Cool car though....go buy one!
Rust......yes. All four arches are bubbling (just under the lip) but paint is yet to break. Front of the bonnet (just under the lip, just inside engine compartment) has bubbled and paint breaking away. ALl this despite only 40k miles and being garaged since new.
Merc often blame stone chips for the rust, but we have none.
FYI don't try and claim under the anti corrosion warranty as Merc wriggle there way out of it with such finesse! They did offer us a goodwill payment towards the cost of the work, but of course the cost of the work in a Merc bodyshop was so inflated that it made no sense. We'll be using an independent guy once the rust progresses a bit further.
Later Mercs (post 2003?) apparently have zinc coated panels which nigh on cut the risk of panel rot.
Cool car though....go buy one!
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