SLK55 R171 - what to look out for
Discussion
Thanks for that.
Car will be absolutely stock otherwise I won’t bother looking. Appreciate the housewives point - posing rather than driving can be a killer for cars like these.
Can’t believe that it comes in at approx £100 less a year to insure than my current Abarth. There’s not much in the classifieds atm but I’ll keep an eye out.
Car will be absolutely stock otherwise I won’t bother looking. Appreciate the housewives point - posing rather than driving can be a killer for cars like these.
Can’t believe that it comes in at approx £100 less a year to insure than my current Abarth. There’s not much in the classifieds atm but I’ll keep an eye out.
pidsy said:
Thanks for that.
Car will be absolutely stock otherwise I won’t bother looking. Appreciate the housewives point - posing rather than driving can be a killer for cars like these.
Can’t believe that it comes in at approx £100 less a year to insure than my current Abarth. There’s not much in the classifieds atm but I’ll keep an eye out.
My insurance is up for renewal - £250 for 6k miles fully comp (with max NCD). Peanuts! Even better, Direct Line have said I can apply for a refund on last year’s premium if I did less miles then I expected to! The Euro trip is usually c. 2500 miles so that is a result!Car will be absolutely stock otherwise I won’t bother looking. Appreciate the housewives point - posing rather than driving can be a killer for cars like these.
Can’t believe that it comes in at approx £100 less a year to insure than my current Abarth. There’s not much in the classifieds atm but I’ll keep an eye out.
Forgot to mention in my previous post to check for corrosion on the front wings where it abuts the front bumper - it tends to catch and hold crud behind it and rusts from the inside out...
Oh, and also check the drain points at the bottom of the screen and in the battery box - if they are clogged, expect the passenger side carpet to be wet. Easy to lift this up from under the glovebox. There is a lot of wiring and electrical stuff (amp etc.) under there which you don’t want wet... Stuff like that will give you a good idea if the previous owner(s) took care of it.
Check all the roof seals (there are a lot of them) - these are £££ and a PITA to change apparently. There are two drain tubes at the back which run through the boot - check they are connected and unblocked
Check the boot floor (take the carpet and spare wheel out) for water.
Check both keys unlock / lock the doors AND start the car - these are £££ to replace
Buy a cheap OBD-II reader and check for fault codes as well. Also, as with any car, check VIN and engines number match
Edited by 595Heaven on Friday 9th October 14:10
This one looks good and 'cheap' low mileage as well, it has some P30 goodies wheels and steering, maybe more?
also what a lot people forget, the 2008-2011 model is the most rare SLK 55 AMG, only about 1380 are made from the facelift model!
the facelift also have a bit faster shifting gearbox and faster steering and more, also a bit extra weight, but not that much.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1262478
also what a lot people forget, the 2008-2011 model is the most rare SLK 55 AMG, only about 1380 are made from the facelift model!
the facelift also have a bit faster shifting gearbox and faster steering and more, also a bit extra weight, but not that much.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1262478
GTRene said:
This one looks good and 'cheap' low mileage as well, it has some P30 goodies wheels and steering, maybe more?
also what a lot people forget, the 2008-2011 model is the most rare SLK 55 AMG, only about 1380 are made from the facelift model!
the facelift also have a bit faster shifting gearbox and faster steering and more, also a bit extra weight, but not that much.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1262478
The owner is on slkworld - been having a good read over there. also what a lot people forget, the 2008-2011 model is the most rare SLK 55 AMG, only about 1380 are made from the facelift model!
the facelift also have a bit faster shifting gearbox and faster steering and more, also a bit extra weight, but not that much.
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1262478
Need to make a final decision and get the Abarth gone before I start going to see stuff. That does look nice though.
irocfan said:
some mods are very desirable - Quaife LSD for example. Bilstein B8 shocks are a nice upgrade too.
I would not go for Quaife, it has some shortcomings.way better is the wavetrac, long story short, lifting 1 wheel with a Quaife = problem for the tire with grip, the wavetrac solves most of that problem.
very short explanation>
said:
Here’s how that loss of drive hurts you:
1) If you lift a wheel, all gear diffs except Wavetrac®, will NOT power the other wheel.
2) During the transition from accel to decel, all gear diffs except Wavetrac®, do nothing.
Why does this happen?
All gear LSDs (including Torsen®, Truetrac®, Quaife®, Peloquin, OBX, etc.) work in basically the same manner: they divide the drive torque between the two axles, applying drive to each side, up to the available grip of each tire. The amount of drive torque one wheel can get over the other is described as the bias ratio, a measure of the torque split across the axle.
1) If you lift a wheel, all gear diffs except Wavetrac®, will NOT power the other wheel.
2) During the transition from accel to decel, all gear diffs except Wavetrac®, do nothing.
Why does this happen?
All gear LSDs (including Torsen®, Truetrac®, Quaife®, Peloquin, OBX, etc.) work in basically the same manner: they divide the drive torque between the two axles, applying drive to each side, up to the available grip of each tire. The amount of drive torque one wheel can get over the other is described as the bias ratio, a measure of the torque split across the axle.
pidsy said:
The owner is on slkworld - been having a good read over there.
Need to make a final decision and get the Abarth gone before I start going to see stuff. That does look nice though.
It does look nice indeed, good colour and good price, if it was a LHD and in NL for such price (and of course as good as it looks), I would have bought it weeks ago Need to make a final decision and get the Abarth gone before I start going to see stuff. That does look nice though.
prices will go up for the R171 SLK 55 AMG they are at or around the bottom price, or at least some are, and if word gets out that the facelift is the most rare and best choice (ok except for the black series, but way to expensive and rare now) those are the ones to tread well.
I've mentioned it before, but Do all of this.
https://www.slkworld.com/threads/buying-a-171-what...
Mine has been nick-named Steve Austin because it's had so many parts since I've owned it. But with an X-Pipe and roof down it sounds immense.
It's not the quickest, best handling car out there and I'm sure a Boxster S is a more rounded car, but this has got character in spades. I normally get bored with cars, but not this one. It's a keeper
Since I've had it it's cost about 4K (as I had everything fixed - engine mounts, spark plugs, cps, Front control arms, rear brakes etc) and also caused me massive headaches (due to someone driving into the side of it and causing 8K's worth of damage, leading it to be nearly written off.... then resurrected - there's a link in my profile). Mine's an '06 with 40K.
I'd strongly advocate getting a code reader, just to check the transmission. They suffer from conductor plate issues which isn't a massive ballache to fix as there's a new (to me) company that offer either new plates @495 plus fitting or 225 for yours to be reconditioned. A New unit needs coding to your car, the rebuilt doesn't but takes longer....Crucially they offer a lifetime guarantee on the plate.
https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/merce...
but....
https://www.slkworld.com/threads/buying-a-171-what...
Mine has been nick-named Steve Austin because it's had so many parts since I've owned it. But with an X-Pipe and roof down it sounds immense.
It's not the quickest, best handling car out there and I'm sure a Boxster S is a more rounded car, but this has got character in spades. I normally get bored with cars, but not this one. It's a keeper
Since I've had it it's cost about 4K (as I had everything fixed - engine mounts, spark plugs, cps, Front control arms, rear brakes etc) and also caused me massive headaches (due to someone driving into the side of it and causing 8K's worth of damage, leading it to be nearly written off.... then resurrected - there's a link in my profile). Mine's an '06 with 40K.
I'd strongly advocate getting a code reader, just to check the transmission. They suffer from conductor plate issues which isn't a massive ballache to fix as there's a new (to me) company that offer either new plates @495 plus fitting or 225 for yours to be reconditioned. A New unit needs coding to your car, the rebuilt doesn't but takes longer....Crucially they offer a lifetime guarantee on the plate.
https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/merce...
but....
juice said:
I've mentioned it before, but Do all of this.
https://www.slkworld.com/threads/buying-a-171-what...
Mine has been nick-named Steve Austin because it's had so many parts since I've owned it. But with an X-Pipe and roof down it sounds immense.
It's not the quickest, best handling car out there and I'm sure a Boxster S is a more rounded car, but this has got character in spades. I normally get bored with cars, but not this one. It's a keeper
Since I've had it it's cost about 4K (as I had everything fixed - engine mounts, spark plugs, cps, Front control arms, rear brakes etc) and also caused me massive headaches (due to someone driving into the side of it and causing 8K's worth of damage, leading it to be nearly written off.... then resurrected - there's a link in my profile). Mine's an '06 with 40K.
I'd strongly advocate getting a code reader, just to check the transmission. They suffer from conductor plate issues which isn't a massive ballache to fix as there's a new (to me) company that offer either new plates @495 plus fitting or 225 for yours to be reconditioned. A New unit needs coding to your car, the rebuilt doesn't but takes longer....Crucially they offer a lifetime guarantee on the plate.
https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/merce...
but....
Your thread is one of the reasons I’ve decided on this path. https://www.slkworld.com/threads/buying-a-171-what...
Mine has been nick-named Steve Austin because it's had so many parts since I've owned it. But with an X-Pipe and roof down it sounds immense.
It's not the quickest, best handling car out there and I'm sure a Boxster S is a more rounded car, but this has got character in spades. I normally get bored with cars, but not this one. It's a keeper
Since I've had it it's cost about 4K (as I had everything fixed - engine mounts, spark plugs, cps, Front control arms, rear brakes etc) and also caused me massive headaches (due to someone driving into the side of it and causing 8K's worth of damage, leading it to be nearly written off.... then resurrected - there's a link in my profile). Mine's an '06 with 40K.
I'd strongly advocate getting a code reader, just to check the transmission. They suffer from conductor plate issues which isn't a massive ballache to fix as there's a new (to me) company that offer either new plates @495 plus fitting or 225 for yours to be reconditioned. A New unit needs coding to your car, the rebuilt doesn't but takes longer....Crucially they offer a lifetime guarantee on the plate.
https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/merce...
but....
buzzer said:
That’s a goldmine. Thank you. Out of all the reading I’ve done - the discs are what puts me off. I’ve owned an M car previously so I know what big bills feel like but I’m wary of walking into potentially 15 year old car territory again.
pidsy said:
That’s a goldmine. Thank you. Out of all the reading I’ve done - the discs are what puts me off.
I’ve owned an M car previously so I know what big bills feel like but I’m wary of walking into potentially 15 year old car territory again.
Don't worry about the brakes too much - the prices nowadays are much more reasonable than they used to be. Just had a quick search and the discs are available for £200 each here: https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/brembo-7898686.ht...I’ve owned an M car previously so I know what big bills feel like but I’m wary of walking into potentially 15 year old car territory again.
They are very good!
Nice R171 slk 55 amg with black-series package for sale (not the roof and seats, maybe also not the 400hp upgrade you could get as a option) and a bit far away in Spain.
https://www.autoscout24.nl/aanbod/mercedes-benz-sl...
https://www.autoscout24.nl/aanbod/mercedes-benz-sl...
I love my SLK 55, but I've just discovered it leaks water, which collects at the bottom of the 'A' pillar on the passenger side, so I get wet carpet under the floor mat.
This is exactly the same as the previous 171 I had...which I could never really work out why it leaked from what appears to be the rubber on the 'A' pillar/windscreen area. Water then runs down inside of door and onto carpet.
Anyone found a solution to this?
Great car though!
This is exactly the same as the previous 171 I had...which I could never really work out why it leaked from what appears to be the rubber on the 'A' pillar/windscreen area. Water then runs down inside of door and onto carpet.
Anyone found a solution to this?
Great car though!
Not heard of that before...I do know that the battery enclosure can cause the same issues though.
The drain flap often collects detritus and blocks, leading to the compartment filling up. There's a fairly open mesh at the back for the fan blower, water can reach a level and under acceleration slop over into the passenger footwell.
Other than that gummi pflege on the roof seals is pretty much a must
The drain flap often collects detritus and blocks, leading to the compartment filling up. There's a fairly open mesh at the back for the fan blower, water can reach a level and under acceleration slop over into the passenger footwell.
Other than that gummi pflege on the roof seals is pretty much a must
juice said:
Not heard of that before...I do know that the battery enclosure can cause the same issues though.
The drain flap often collects detritus and blocks, leading to the compartment filling up. There's a fairly open mesh at the back for the fan blower, water can reach a level and under acceleration slop over into the passenger footwell.
Other than that gummi pflege on the roof seals is pretty much a must
Yes, I'm a recent convert to (genuine) gummi pflege. The drain flap often collects detritus and blocks, leading to the compartment filling up. There's a fairly open mesh at the back for the fan blower, water can reach a level and under acceleration slop over into the passenger footwell.
Other than that gummi pflege on the roof seals is pretty much a must
I'll look into this more thanks.
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