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Test driving a 230K tomorrow!

6K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  Captainrave 
#1 ·
Hi all, first post here and looking to purchase my first car on my own.

I live and work at a university, so upto this point haven't had a huge need for a car. However, my dad has recently been unwell, so I have borrowed his Mercedes to make it easier to get back to see him. His is a C180, but is an absolute dream to drive. Have always wanted an SLK myself and I remember seeing the new cars in the garage when my dad bought his car.

So, have started to look for an SLK. Will be test driving this tomorrow:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...a27jy/radius/10/image-id/1127874546?logcode=p

Can't wait! Also looking at a 320, but the insurance is crazy high for that (well, higher than the 230!).

P.S. The checklist sticky is very useful!
 
#4 ·
Welcome and wish your father well. Good luck on the SLK hunt.
 
#8 ·
Welcome from Scotland.

In my opinion the car looks good but it is the pre facelift. Miles are low-ish but the price is still on the high side- it's a dealer so that's to be expected. I don't know your age but the 320 is ok for insurance for myself at £300 p.a. If you get a 2000 model then the tax is lower too as it's on the the pre Co2 scam/lie/rip off rating. I'd look at a few more cars before jumping in.

Best of luck
 
#12 ·
Just got back from the test drive. What a car! Incredibly light and powerful - you can really feel the road, although a little too much. I was naughty and put down a deposit :)

Edit: So have sat on the decision for a few hours and am happy with it. Overall the car was great - only had two minor chips on the paintwork and a tiny bit of rust coming through the rear wheel arches - similar to my dads car actually! I will fix this over the summer. Other than that, still cant believe how great it was to drive and how different to my dads car it was. In addition, the sales guys actually left me to it - I was expecting high pressure sales people, who usually put me off a pruchase, but they just left me alone.

Out of curiosity, what kind of petrol usage can I expect (and given its age)? Are there any things I should know about the SLK, e.g. things that go wrong frequently?
 
#15 ·
Just got back from the test drive. What a car! Incredibly light and powerful - you can really feel the road, although a little too much. I was naughty and put down a deposit :)

Edit: So have sat on the decision for a few hours and am happy with it. Overall the car was great - only had two minor chips on the paintwork and a tiny bit of rust coming through the rear wheel arches - similar to my dads car actually! I will fix this over the summer. Other than that, still cant believe how great it was to drive and how different to my dads car it was. In addition, the sales guys actually left me to it - I was expecting high pressure sales people, who usually put me off a pruchase, but they just left me alone.

Out of curiosity, what kind of petrol usage can I expect (and given its age)? Are there any things I should know about the SLK, e.g. things that go wrong frequently?

Have you bought it yet?
I'd seriously look at some more...but if you can't be persuaded then some advice:

I know alot about buying and selling cars, values, and how traders operate- no matter how 'nice' they seem. I'd still try to get £500 off that car. Have cash on you- I bet they take it, or at least a few hundred. Cash is king. I'd offer them £750 less then settle at around £500 off. Don't be afraid or embarassed to haggle- they're used to it and expect it. And don't bite if they offer £100-200 off.
I paid much less for mine than what they wanted- I always do. There is a 'haggle' margin built in, no matter what the dealer might say.

I'd simply say to them I've got £6250 here in cash for the car, point out the rust in the rear arches which you'll will have to get treated and painted. Word to the wise on this- I bet the rust is actually WORSE than it looks. If you're seeing it coming through, then whats underneath will be worse than you think. Speaking from experience with mine- will cost at least £200-300 to sort out professionally, but don't tell them that. Whats the Tax and MOT on the car? Warranty?? These are all bargaining chips.

Even if your getting finance you never pay sticker price- especially on a used car.

Then don't say anything- let them . The salesman might go off and speak to his boss, come back and try some cock and bull story that 'this is the best I can do, the boss is'nt budging.' Then sweet talk you.Thats bollocks. If the guy selling it to you is the boss then thats even better. He's got nowhere to run. I know you just want to buy the car and get it over with but why pay more than you need to? Treat it as a game. Salesmen do- they do it everyday. They respect people who haggle.

I reckon they've gotten that car for about 5k or less. Trade for that would be somewhere around £4500.

You offer £6250, they might come back with £6800, you offer £6300.. only go up in £50 increments. Stop at £6450. Say: 'Thats it mate-it's all I have to spend. DONT be afraid to walk away. Leave them with your number and leave.Tell them you're looking at a couple tomorrow. You can always come back the next day, it would be extremely remote that the car will go in that time. Come back the next day and settle for what the best deal you had agreed on. But personally I'd still try to get some moreoff even then... but that's just me.


Good luck and be brave! :tazz:
 
#21 ·
£7K is top price for a 1999 230 IMO. They should sort out the rear wheel arch corrosion in that price. 59K miles is OK.

For £7450, I bought a November 2000 (road tax £205) metalic black SLK 320 auto with 70,000 miles, 2 owners and FMBSH from an Ebay trader (classified add). It was local and I was able to give it a proper test drive before buting. It has the inevitable surface rust on both rear wheel arches, but no holes. There are also a few minor car park dings down both sides, but at 10 years old, that is not unusual. I haggled with the price because of the rust and dings. The trader wanted £8K. The rusty arches and dings are being professionally treated next month for £750, and that includes repainting all 4 wings and both doors in 2-pack paint. I think the arches rust because water based paint was used in those days. The clear coat is waterproof, the paint isn't.

The inside of the arches front and rear are being treated with Dinax UB adter painting, which, with the 2-pack new paintwork will hopefully prevent a reoccurrence of the rust. http://www.bilthamber.com/index.html

Incidently, I'm getting 28mpg average with the V6. On a run, I should obtain 30+

Oh, and my insurance is £220.00, fully comp. with business use. One of the advantages of being in my 50's :)



 
#22 ·
Picked up the car today - it continues to impress me! Took it on a long drive and it was very comfortable! The only thing I noticed is that the cruise control will not engage - will contact the dealer about this tomorrow. Otherwise, one hell of a car, especially now I have my plates on there.
 
#25 ·
Captainrave, have you resolved the cruise contol fault? I had a similar problem with my first SLK with the cruise control not working. It turned out to be the wrong size tyres fitted, so that the front wheels were rotating faster than the rear wheels. So check that the correct tyre sizes are fitted.

Robnobrakes, beautiful looking car, I average 31+mpg from my 230 manual year 2000 facelift model.
 
#26 ·
Haven't resolved it yet. Booking it into the garage tomorrow where I bought it from. What size tires SHOULD be on there? Thats the thing, I had vaguely read about the tires - I completely forgot and should have checked! The tires were brand new, so this does seem like a possibility. Interestingly though, it does say cruise control is active on the dashboard, but the car just doesnt hold its speed.

Edit: Mine are -

Front - 225/45
Rear - 245/40

Also, I have AMG alloys - not sure if this makes a difference.

Could I also be doing it wrong? The cruise control stalk is pushed in and the light on the stick is on. I then push it up at the desired speed and on the dashboard the LIM light is lit and a speed appears on the dashboard at the bottom.
 
#27 ·
Pusing the stalk IN sets the LIMIT (i.e. will not exceed speed) - to set the cruise control, press the lever up - (the following is for an R171, but the operation is similar) -

Cruise control lever

You can operate cruise control and variable Speedtronic with the cruise control lever.
The LIM indicator lamp on the cruise control lever indicates which system you have selected:

  • LIM indicator lamp off:
    cruise control is selected
  • LIM indicator lamp lit:
    variable Speedtronic is selected

To store the current speed or a higher speed
LIM indicator lamp
To call up the last speed stored
To store the current speed or a lower speed
To switch between cruise control and variable Speedtronic
To deactivate cruise control
 
#29 ·
What is variable Speedtronic? I assume a maximum speed that the car will not let you go over, aka LIMIT?
That's it - so say for example you're going through roadworks with average speed cameras - you'ld set the limit to 54 mph, you can then acelerate/decelerate with surrounding traffic,but you'ld never go over 54mph so you wouldn't get a ticket.

If you do a search on the forum, you'll find a link to download a user manual for your R170.
 
#32 ·
The download manual is the USA version and USA cars do not have the speedtronic control. There are other differences and it is best to get a UK versionof the manual. They come up frequently on ebay for £5 to £10. Get the proper hard backed colour version not a black and white reprint. I got a version of this black and white reprint with my first car and there were some numbering errors in the diagrams, which did not tie up with the text, so best to play safe and get the original colour version. Your tyre sizes are correct for the 17inch AMG wheels.
 
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