Joined
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93 Posts
Road to an SLK...
Like some others here, following a divorce many years ago I was finally getting back to a position whereby my hard earned money was my own....not my kids....not my ex-wife's...but my own !
I had wanted for some time to have a sports car to use as a second car, for fun.
So when the time arrived, my brother was selling his 1999 BMW Z3M Coupe. It was quite amazing and I loved that car. But....it was 10 years old (at the time) with high mileage (over 100k) and I worried it might go bang at any time. So....I moved on to a 3 year old Mazda MX-5 ZSport (special addition). Again, loved that car. Not particularly fast, but very driver focused and terrific fun to drive.
After 3 years I felt the time had come to move on and to upgrade. I looked at the Boxter and Z4, both of which I liked but after test driving an R171 280 I had to have it...so I did! Another 3 years with that and, again, it was time for a change so I got a new Mk 4 MX-5. I enjoyed driving it for 2 years. There's no doubting the MX-5's ability as a drivers car but I sort of missed the comfort, power and (if I'm honest) the 'premium brand' feel. So...I started looking around in the summer, just to see what my money could buy, again looking at Boxters and the likes. Then I happened across a dealer at the other end of the country to me selling a 2011 R172 350 AMG Sport finished in Indium grey which (IMO) looks amazing. Only 23k miles with full/complete MB SH. That was it!! A p/ex deal was quickly made (I actually didn't loose too much on the MX-5) and I only had to part with a relatively small wad of notes (well...a few thousand anyway) and it was delivered 'unseen'. Am I mad? Probably...but no regrets and my gut instinct was correct that it's a genuine well cared for car. Love the looks, colour, power, sound and top-down smiles. My wife doesn't like the colour. You can't win 'em all!! :x
My 'daily driver' is a Lexus IS 300h (hybrid) in which I cover 20k miles PA and is extremely good at doing it's job for me. So I am very pleased with my two cars. Only thing is that the service provided by my local MB dealer is hugely disappointing, whereas Lexus bend over backwards to accommodate. I feel that me and my Lexus are very well cared for. Sadly, I don't feel that way with the MB dealer. Again, you can't win 'em all! :nerd:
Barry
Like some others here, following a divorce many years ago I was finally getting back to a position whereby my hard earned money was my own....not my kids....not my ex-wife's...but my own !
I had wanted for some time to have a sports car to use as a second car, for fun.
So when the time arrived, my brother was selling his 1999 BMW Z3M Coupe. It was quite amazing and I loved that car. But....it was 10 years old (at the time) with high mileage (over 100k) and I worried it might go bang at any time. So....I moved on to a 3 year old Mazda MX-5 ZSport (special addition). Again, loved that car. Not particularly fast, but very driver focused and terrific fun to drive.
After 3 years I felt the time had come to move on and to upgrade. I looked at the Boxter and Z4, both of which I liked but after test driving an R171 280 I had to have it...so I did! Another 3 years with that and, again, it was time for a change so I got a new Mk 4 MX-5. I enjoyed driving it for 2 years. There's no doubting the MX-5's ability as a drivers car but I sort of missed the comfort, power and (if I'm honest) the 'premium brand' feel. So...I started looking around in the summer, just to see what my money could buy, again looking at Boxters and the likes. Then I happened across a dealer at the other end of the country to me selling a 2011 R172 350 AMG Sport finished in Indium grey which (IMO) looks amazing. Only 23k miles with full/complete MB SH. That was it!! A p/ex deal was quickly made (I actually didn't loose too much on the MX-5) and I only had to part with a relatively small wad of notes (well...a few thousand anyway) and it was delivered 'unseen'. Am I mad? Probably...but no regrets and my gut instinct was correct that it's a genuine well cared for car. Love the looks, colour, power, sound and top-down smiles. My wife doesn't like the colour. You can't win 'em all!! :x
My 'daily driver' is a Lexus IS 300h (hybrid) in which I cover 20k miles PA and is extremely good at doing it's job for me. So I am very pleased with my two cars. Only thing is that the service provided by my local MB dealer is hugely disappointing, whereas Lexus bend over backwards to accommodate. I feel that me and my Lexus are very well cared for. Sadly, I don't feel that way with the MB dealer. Again, you can't win 'em all! :nerd:
Barry