New member...

Wondermike · 08-11-2007

...hi guys - picked up my SLK350 a few weeks ago, have lurked here for a while but never signed up until I got my car. I used to have a Z4 3.0 so I will be posting a bit of a comparison of the two.

I know you've all seen an Iridium SLK before but here's some pics anyway -

**jbanks15** · 08-11-2007

welcome wondermike! post your location when you get a chance.

Wondermike · 08-11-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbanks15

welcome wondermike! post your location when you get a chance.

That's weird, I thought I had! I'm Scottish but live in Leeds, England now. Profile updated

Paul · 08-11-2007

Welcome Mike,

It's nice to come across someone who lives local to me. I'm looking forward to your Z4 comparison post, I was originally looking to get a Z4 but eventually decided on the SLK. It'll be interesting to see if you think I've made the right decision.

So how come you decided to swap, just fancied a change or were you disappointed with the BMW?

Wondermike · 08-11-2007

Hi Paul, well I'll save the most part for my comparison, but in short I was (so slightly!) mildly disappointed with the Z4, but it is a fantastic car, just a bit less so than the Benz. I was within touching distance of a Z4M roadster too, but in the end I plumped for the SLK. Unfortunately I couldn't stretch to the '55, but believe me, when it arrives you will in no way be anything other than over the moon with it.

**Ynot** · 08-11-2007

Welcome to the forum, can't wait to hear your comparison to the Z4.

**etyu** · 08-11-2007

Welcome wondermike. Looking forward to your post on the comparison.

suntan · 08-11-2007

Hi, Wondermike! Warm welcome from a relatively new member too!

I think I've seen your sig on either bimmerfest or z4um. I really was torn between an SLK and Z4, but I am sure I've made the right decision! I LOVE this car!!! I'm sure you will too!

cheers,
suntan

**-1-** · 08-11-2007

WonderMike - Nice NEW SLK. Welcome to the BEST SLK information forum. I like your group of bowing smiley people. That's neat-o. Sorry, I'm just not a fan of the BMW Z4. Can't get past the appearance. We can all fill in the blank, I use to have a ________. We've all come to our senses. I like SLKs BEST!

Zut · 08-12-2007

Congratulations and welcome to this great forum! Thanks for posting the piccies. We never get tired of looking at an SLK! Like some of us here, I almost bought a Z4 3.0 two years ago and I am eager to hear your comparative impressions.

BTW, great looking dog!

garyhun · 08-12-2007

Welcome Mike!

I've only had mine a week so rather new like you. Great car isn't it?

Erkybaby · 08-12-2007

Welcome Wondermike, nice colour

Enjoy it.

Wondermike · 08-12-2007

Thanks for all the kind comments. As mentioned previously, here are my SLK v Z4 thoughts –

I owned my Z4 for 18 months between Feb 06 and July 07, I bought it at 9 months old, I live in the UK, I had a 2005 231hp 3.0 Z4, and my SLK is a March 2007 350 auto, and I got it in July 2007. For the same price as my SLK, I nearly bought a Dec 2006 Z4M roadster.

Looks – well, the Z4 is a bit love it or hate it, whereas the SLK seems to appeal to more people. The SLK manages to look great with 17” wheels, whereas the Z4 really needs the 18” wheels. I think the SLK looks better with the roof up, whereas with the Z4 I thought roof down looked best.

Engine – the engine in the SLK is really smooth, but is quieter than the Z4 was at low speeds, especially at idle, when the Z4's exhaust makes a lovely burble. The SLK sounds really civilised, but when you floor it and hold it through to 6000rpm it makes a great howl, along with some beautiful exhaust music - I’ve gone through a few tunnels recently and it sounds awesome. The Z4 has a “sound generator” that ports intake noise into the cabin and it works to a degree, but it does sound a bit artificial sometimes. My Z4 did 22mpg, my first couple of tanks with the SLK were 17mpg, but this seems to have settled between 18 and 20mpg. With my urban crawling, the Z4M would be doing 14-16mpg.

Transmission – the SLK is my first automatic car, and the ‘box is really slick with its changes. Stick it in S mode and it holds the gears well, it seems to know when you want to hold a gear or change down, and when you want it to change up. If you use the throttle you can generally induce it to do what you want. Driving downhill etc. the ‘box also seems to know when to change down. The manual ‘box in the Z4 was good too, if a bit stiff sometimes and not quite as good as the ‘box in my previous MX-5 (Miata). The ‘box in my Z4 was replaced under warranty at 14 months old, after becoming really stiff when cold, especially 2nd and 3rd gear.

Performance – because the SLK has 7 speeds, the ratios are a bit closer together, and the final drive is a fair bit lower than the Z4 too. One complaint I had with the Z4 was that the gearing felt a bit too tall sometimes, and performance in the higher gears could be a bit lacklustre. As a result, the SLK definitely pulls harder at the top end (4500+rpm) than my Z4 did - from say 30-90mph it's far, far more urgent than the Z4 was. It’s slower than a Z4M in the same speed range, but not massively so.

Ride & handling – the ride on the SLK is great, on 17" wheels and normal tyres it's a lot more compliant than the Z4 was, with it’s 40 & 35 profile runflat tyres and M Sport suspension, although the downside is a bit more roll through the corners, although it doesn't seem to pitch or dive too much when you brake and accelerate. The steering in the SLK is quite firm, it is pretty much like the Z4 with the sport button pressed. The Z4M ditches the runflats and has marginally higher profile tyres on 18s.

Interior, build quality, etc – well, the SLK in 350 form is pretty well matched for the 3.0 Z4 in terms of equipment, and has enough toys to cater for most tastes. Build quality – my Z4 suffered from a few niggles, but the main problem was a horrendous amount of rattling from the interior, in part due to the rock-hard suspension and runflat tyres, not helped by our roads in the UK, of which 90% are full of potholes or poorly reinstated roadworks. No offence to our cousins from the US, but the Z4 (built at Spartanburg, South Carolina) definitely feels less well screwed together than BMWs built in Germany. The SLK, by contrast, seems extremely well put together, and is very quiet so far. The only negative with the SLK is the indicator stalk, which seems very flimsy.

Image/ownership – for me, the image of the Z4 has been spoilt a bit by BMW UK dumping loads of used cars onto the market, particularly 2.0 and 2.5 cars but also a lot of Z4Ms too. As a result, the residual values are pretty horrendous – the Z4Ms I looked at had depreciated from £47k to £33k in 4 months which is pretty shocking, and the quotes for PCP and balloon payments I had from BMW Select suggested this kind of depreciation was going to continue. By contrast, SLK values in the UK seem to be holding up fairly well, with a fair balance of supply and demand.

Overall – well, I don't think there is too much between the two, with both ranges having their plus points. The SLK350 is pretty comfortably ahead of the Z4 3.0, but possibly behind the Z4M, depending on your needs. Like for like, the Z4 3.0 is £6-8k cheaper than the 350, so if you’re budget is more limited then it’s the only choice (the SLK200 is comparable on price, but I think it’s too far away on performance to be a comparable alternative). For a higher budget, if you are able to have two cars, or like to go on the track regularly, then the Z4M is the better bet because it's more focused as a sports car, but if you have only one car and therefore need more of an all-rounder as a daily driver, then without question the SLK must be your choice.

So I never really yearn for my old Z4 3.0, but every now and then a small part of me wishes I had plumped for the Z4M, but as an overall ownership experience, for 95% of the time I am glad I bought the SLK350.

Zut · 08-12-2007

Thanks for this thorough comparative report. I am glad I chose the SLK!

**FishtailnZ** · 08-12-2007

Congrats on the new car Mike, and great write up as well!

**-1-** · 08-12-2007

Thanks for the info. Got to give BMW credit. FOUR YEAR, FREE MAINTENACE AND SCHEDULED SERVICE, wow!

Banned · 08-13-2007

Welcome from Germany Mike

Portzy · 08-13-2007

Hello and welcome Mike. I'm just down the road from you, Shipley in fact. Which dealer did you get her from?

Portzy.

PS The tunnel at LBA Nr Yeadon is a favourite of mine for flooring it

Wondermike · 08-13-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portzy

Hello and welcome Mike. I'm just down the road from you, Shipley in fact. Which dealer did you get her from?

Portzy.

PS The tunnel at LBA Nr Yeadon is a favourite of mine for flooring it

It was a demo car - it came from Ess3x, I just got it delivered up here once I had sold the Z4. Funny you should mention that, I work in Yeadon a couple of days a week - the tunnel under the runway is awesome, too short though.

Thanks for the other kind welcome guys

08-11-2007	#1 (permalink)
Wondermike SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Leeds, UK Vehicle: 2007 SLK350 Auto Posts: 48 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	New member... [updated with Z4 vs SLK] ...hi guys - picked up my SLK350 a few weeks ago, have lurked here for a while but never signed up until I got my car. I used to have a Z4 3.0 so I will be posting a bit of a comparison of the two. I know you've all seen an Iridium SLK before but here's some pics anyway - Last edited by Wondermike; 08-12-2007 at 05:23 PM. Reason: Change thread title

08-11-2007	#2 (permalink)
jbanks15 Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Valrico, Florida Vehicle: 2009 SLK 55 AMG Posts: 684 Country: Thanks: 8 Thanked 40 Times in 29 Posts	welcome wondermike! post your location when you get a chance. __________________ Jeff 2009 SLK 55 AMG Black/Black Premium 1, Multimedia, Lighting packages Clearshield Protective Film OEM MB Plexiglass Windscreen Eurolight Clear Side Markers Smarttop version 3.22 Kleyman 3rd Brake Light Flashing/Strobing Module V1.5 (Noregrets Custom Works)

08-11-2007	#6 (permalink)
Ynot Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Colorado Vehicle: 06' MBZ SLK Posts: 2,795 Country: Thanks: 135 Thanked 35 Times in 30 Posts	Welcome to the forum, can't wait to hear your comparison to the Z4. __________________ 06' SLK 350, Iridium/Ash all pkgs. 6-spd, 19" DCR. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

08-11-2007	#7 (permalink)
etyu Founding Member #2 / Ambassador Of Good Will Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Orange County, CA Vehicle: 2008 SLK 55 Posts: 5,280 Country: Thanks: 377 Thanked 277 Times in 168 Posts	Welcome wondermike. Looking forward to your post on the comparison. __________________ *Eddy* To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Pewter/Beige, PIII package, Airscarf, Hands-Free Communication System, Lighting package Designo Black Leather Cover on e-brake handle, ( To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Bill T), SmartTop v1.0, Kleyman 3BFM (NoRegret Custom), Green Air Filters, *Mod. R170 ant.*, EuroClear sidemarkers w/PIAA PlasmaIon lamps, chromed front & rear turn indicator lamps, PIAA SuperPlasmaGTX front parking lamps, bilateral rear fog lamps enabled.

08-11-2007	#9 (permalink)
-1- Don Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Virginia USA Vehicle: SLK 55 ///AMG The MON55TER on the block Posts: 2,226 Country: Thanks: 54 Thanked 57 Times in 41 Posts	WonderMike - Nice NEW SLK. Welcome to the BEST SLK information forum. I like your group of bowing smiley people. That's neat-o. Sorry, I'm just not a fan of the BMW Z4. Can't get past the appearance. We can all fill in the blank, I use to have a ________. We've all come to our senses. I like SLKs BEST! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. *----------------1-----------------* --------SLK 55 ///AMG--------- THE MON55TER ON THE BLOCK

08-11-2007	#4 (permalink)
Paul Senior SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sheffield Vehicle: SLK55 Posts: 140 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Welcome Mike, It's nice to come across someone who lives local to me. I'm looking forward to your Z4 comparison post, I was originally looking to get a Z4 but eventually decided on the SLK. It'll be interesting to see if you think I've made the right decision. So how come you decided to swap, just fancied a change or were you disappointed with the BMW?

08-11-2007	#5 (permalink)
Wondermike SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Leeds, UK Vehicle: 2007 SLK350 Auto Posts: 48 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Hi Paul, well I'll save the most part for my comparison, but in short I was (so slightly!) mildly disappointed with the Z4, but it is a fantastic car, just a bit less so than the Benz. I was within touching distance of a Z4M roadster too, but in the end I plumped for the SLK. Unfortunately I couldn't stretch to the '55, but believe me, when it arrives you will in no way be anything other than over the moon with it.

08-11-2007	#8 (permalink)
suntan SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Boston Vehicle: '06 BMW 330i, '06 MB SLK350 Posts: 41 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi, Wondermike! Warm welcome from a relatively new member too! I think I've seen your sig on either bimmerfest or z4um. I really was torn between an SLK and Z4, but I am sure I've made the right decision! I LOVE this car!!! I'm sure you will too! cheers, suntan

08-12-2007	#10 (permalink)
Zut Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Montréal QC Vehicle: 2006 SLK350 Posts: 805 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Congratulations and welcome to this great forum! Thanks for posting the piccies. We never get tired of looking at an SLK! Like some of us here, I almost bought a Z4 3.0 two years ago and I am eager to hear your comparative impressions. BTW, great looking dog!

08-12-2007	#11 (permalink)
garyhun Senior SLK World Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Dorset, UK Posts: 121 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Welcome Mike! I've only had mine a week so rather new like you. Great car isn't it?

08-12-2007	#12 (permalink)
Erkybaby Senior SLK World Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: London, UK Vehicle: Edition 10 SLK 200 Posts: 175 Country: Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Welcome Wondermike, nice colour Enjoy it.

08-12-2007	#13 (permalink)
Wondermike SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Leeds, UK Vehicle: 2007 SLK350 Auto Posts: 48 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Thanks for all the kind comments. As mentioned previously, here are my SLK v Z4 thoughts – I owned my Z4 for 18 months between Feb 06 and July 07, I bought it at 9 months old, I live in the UK, I had a 2005 231hp 3.0 Z4, and my SLK is a March 2007 350 auto, and I got it in July 2007. For the same price as my SLK, I nearly bought a Dec 2006 Z4M roadster. Looks – well, the Z4 is a bit love it or hate it, whereas the SLK seems to appeal to more people. The SLK manages to look great with 17” wheels, whereas the Z4 really needs the 18” wheels. I think the SLK looks better with the roof up, whereas with the Z4 I thought roof down looked best. Engine – the engine in the SLK is really smooth, but is quieter than the Z4 was at low speeds, especially at idle, when the Z4's exhaust makes a lovely burble. The SLK sounds really civilised, but when you floor it and hold it through to 6000rpm it makes a great howl, along with some beautiful exhaust music - I’ve gone through a few tunnels recently and it sounds awesome. The Z4 has a “sound generator” that ports intake noise into the cabin and it works to a degree, but it does sound a bit artificial sometimes. My Z4 did 22mpg, my first couple of tanks with the SLK were 17mpg, but this seems to have settled between 18 and 20mpg. With my urban crawling, the Z4M would be doing 14-16mpg. Transmission – the SLK is my first automatic car, and the ‘box is really slick with its changes. Stick it in S mode and it holds the gears well, it seems to know when you want to hold a gear or change down, and when you want it to change up. If you use the throttle you can generally induce it to do what you want. Driving downhill etc. the ‘box also seems to know when to change down. The manual ‘box in the Z4 was good too, if a bit stiff sometimes and not quite as good as the ‘box in my previous MX-5 (Miata). The ‘box in my Z4 was replaced under warranty at 14 months old, after becoming really stiff when cold, especially 2nd and 3rd gear. Performance – because the SLK has 7 speeds, the ratios are a bit closer together, and the final drive is a fair bit lower than the Z4 too. One complaint I had with the Z4 was that the gearing felt a bit too tall sometimes, and performance in the higher gears could be a bit lacklustre. As a result, the SLK definitely pulls harder at the top end (4500+rpm) than my Z4 did - from say 30-90mph it's far, far more urgent than the Z4 was. It’s slower than a Z4M in the same speed range, but not massively so. Ride & handling – the ride on the SLK is great, on 17" wheels and normal tyres it's a lot more compliant than the Z4 was, with it’s 40 & 35 profile runflat tyres and M Sport suspension, although the downside is a bit more roll through the corners, although it doesn't seem to pitch or dive too much when you brake and accelerate. The steering in the SLK is quite firm, it is pretty much like the Z4 with the sport button pressed. The Z4M ditches the runflats and has marginally higher profile tyres on 18s. Interior, build quality, etc – well, the SLK in 350 form is pretty well matched for the 3.0 Z4 in terms of equipment, and has enough toys to cater for most tastes. Build quality – my Z4 suffered from a few niggles, but the main problem was a horrendous amount of rattling from the interior, in part due to the rock-hard suspension and runflat tyres, not helped by our roads in the UK, of which 90% are full of potholes or poorly reinstated roadworks. No offence to our cousins from the US, but the Z4 (built at Spartanburg, South Carolina) definitely feels less well screwed together than BMWs built in Germany. The SLK, by contrast, seems extremely well put together, and is very quiet so far. The only negative with the SLK is the indicator stalk, which seems very flimsy. Image/ownership – for me, the image of the Z4 has been spoilt a bit by BMW UK dumping loads of used cars onto the market, particularly 2.0 and 2.5 cars but also a lot of Z4Ms too. As a result, the residual values are pretty horrendous – the Z4Ms I looked at had depreciated from £47k to £33k in 4 months which is pretty shocking, and the quotes for PCP and balloon payments I had from BMW Select suggested this kind of depreciation was going to continue. By contrast, SLK values in the UK seem to be holding up fairly well, with a fair balance of supply and demand. Overall – well, I don't think there is too much between the two, with both ranges having their plus points. The SLK350 is pretty comfortably ahead of the Z4 3.0, but possibly behind the Z4M, depending on your needs. Like for like, the Z4 3.0 is £6-8k cheaper than the 350, so if you’re budget is more limited then it’s the only choice (the SLK200 is comparable on price, but I think it’s too far away on performance to be a comparable alternative). For a higher budget, if you are able to have two cars, or like to go on the track regularly, then the Z4M is the better bet because it's more focused as a sports car, but if you have only one car and therefore need more of an all-rounder as a daily driver, then without question the SLK must be your choice. So I never really yearn for my old Z4 3.0, but every now and then a small part of me wishes I had plumped for the Z4M, but as an overall ownership experience, for 95% of the time I am glad I bought the SLK350.

08-12-2007	#14 (permalink)
Zut Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Montréal QC Vehicle: 2006 SLK350 Posts: 805 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for this thorough comparative report. I am glad I chose the SLK!

08-12-2007	#15 (permalink)
FishtailnZ Don't feed the trolls... Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Nfld., Canada Other Toys: Wife, kids, dogs... Posts: 1,490 Country: Thanks: 285 Thanked 211 Times in 94 Posts	Congrats on the new car Mike, and great write up as well! __________________ - Bill Waiting on a 2009 C63 Opal Fire Red/Alpaca Grey R.I.P. 2006 SLK55 Caspian Blue/Beige Stock 1/4 mile results: ET 12.72, trap 110.80, 60' 1.80 Some guys they just give up living and start dying little by little, piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash up and go racin' in the street... - B. Springsteen

08-12-2007	#16 (permalink)
-1- Don Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Virginia USA Vehicle: SLK 55 ///AMG The MON55TER on the block Posts: 2,226 Country: Thanks: 54 Thanked 57 Times in 41 Posts	Thanks for the info. Got to give BMW credit. FOUR YEAR, FREE MAINTENACE AND SCHEDULED SERVICE, wow! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. *----------------1-----------------* --------SLK 55 ///AMG--------- THE MON55TER ON THE BLOCK

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

08-13-2007	#17 (permalink)
Banned Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,167 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Welcome from Germany Mike

08-13-2007	#18 (permalink)
Portzy Senior SLK World Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Shipley. West Yorkshire. Vehicle: SLK 280 + lots of toys. Posts: 110 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hello and welcome Mike. I'm just down the road from you, Shipley in fact. Which dealer did you get her from? Portzy. PS The tunnel at LBA Nr Yeadon is a favourite of mine for flooring it