Hi everyone, about a month ago I bought an ostentatious yellow 2003 SLK320 R170 with 117k miles (now 119k+). It's a left-hand drive, US model, 6-speed manual transmission. I really was on the lookout for the manual transmission with the bigger, v6 engine. My other vehicle is an older Tacoma 4x4 with sort-of a lift package with aggressive tires, and does very well getting through Minneapolis winters. Living in Minneapolis, I plan to store the SLK winters. I have an indoor, underground garage spot for it. This car has no rust, and looks great!
Many years back, I had my heart set on getting a roadster and never did it. At the time, I was looking at MGBs, Fiat 124s, Triumphs, stuff like that. Now I have co-worker who works on older Mercedes, has several cars including an early 90s SL; he inspired me to look at the SLs and SLKs. I've been searching a while on cargurus.com, doing nation-wide searches and ended up purchasing this SLK from a Toyota dealership in Tempe/Phoenix. We purchased it on Saturday Sept 1st, the beginning of a three day Labor Day weekend. Then my wife and I had an adventure driving it back to Minneapolis through New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, about 1800 miles in all. We went through some of the most incredible scenery in western Colorado, top-down of course. What a great trip!
I’m not really setup for DIY but interested in it as much as I can take on. Plus I know several people who work on imports like this. And my co-worker is always great at advice and helping out.
A 15 year old car is going to have quirks and this one is no exception. The electric seats stopped working about half-way through the big trip, but luckily stuck in the right position for me. Probably a relay, my friend suggests. More recently the passenger side window fails intermittently, which of course gums up the whole roof-top operation. Let the car sit, then restart it, and it can start working again. (Like a reboot.) I’m wondering about the battery. Lastly, when it gets close to 40 degrees F (5 C) or colder, the clutch pedal is very stiff to push in and sometimes hesitates while letting it out (it sticks). I’m guessing maybe the viscosity of something is geared toward the hot temperatures of Phoenix and has never before seen the likes of cold northern weather. In temperatures above 50F it works just fine.
I’m more concerned about the electrical issues and plan to work on those first. I have the whole winter to research it! I’m a software developer. I chose username ‘visualist’ because it’s the same one I use on github and some other cloud stuff.
Many years back, I had my heart set on getting a roadster and never did it. At the time, I was looking at MGBs, Fiat 124s, Triumphs, stuff like that. Now I have co-worker who works on older Mercedes, has several cars including an early 90s SL; he inspired me to look at the SLs and SLKs. I've been searching a while on cargurus.com, doing nation-wide searches and ended up purchasing this SLK from a Toyota dealership in Tempe/Phoenix. We purchased it on Saturday Sept 1st, the beginning of a three day Labor Day weekend. Then my wife and I had an adventure driving it back to Minneapolis through New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, about 1800 miles in all. We went through some of the most incredible scenery in western Colorado, top-down of course. What a great trip!
I’m not really setup for DIY but interested in it as much as I can take on. Plus I know several people who work on imports like this. And my co-worker is always great at advice and helping out.
A 15 year old car is going to have quirks and this one is no exception. The electric seats stopped working about half-way through the big trip, but luckily stuck in the right position for me. Probably a relay, my friend suggests. More recently the passenger side window fails intermittently, which of course gums up the whole roof-top operation. Let the car sit, then restart it, and it can start working again. (Like a reboot.) I’m wondering about the battery. Lastly, when it gets close to 40 degrees F (5 C) or colder, the clutch pedal is very stiff to push in and sometimes hesitates while letting it out (it sticks). I’m guessing maybe the viscosity of something is geared toward the hot temperatures of Phoenix and has never before seen the likes of cold northern weather. In temperatures above 50F it works just fine.
I’m more concerned about the electrical issues and plan to work on those first. I have the whole winter to research it! I’m a software developer. I chose username ‘visualist’ because it’s the same one I use on github and some other cloud stuff.