Mercedes slk 250d europe driving holiday car

[Jeff1976]

Evening all.

Currently have a mercedes c class estate 2008 with all the extras on it and its a lovely car and drives like brand new. Its sat on the drive mainly the last three years and done about 8000 miles all in and that included some fairly long trips. Anyway.........

Im looking to sell that to buy something a bit more fun for holiday drives as when we are allowed me wnd the mrs want to go away drive the northern coast of scotland (currently living in suffolk) then do some drives through france, geneva, possibly down to spain but some 5/10 day driving trips.

Never bought myself a “smarter car” as i drive a van for work everyday and not really car mad. I used to have a job looking after w wealthy families car collection so have driven more supercars than i care to remember so in that respect kind of been there done that, dont need to do it again.

Dont want a boxster as my luck it will blow up, bmw z4 ? Still not ruled out but i do like mercs and i have great memories of driving an sl63 amg from spain to the uk and back. Have looked at the slk 55 amg for about £23k but i dont need the grunt.

Anyone got much input of other options? Favourite option seems to be merc slk 250d amg as its £150 road tax and will sit on the drive far more than anything else, 50 mpg driving around europe is better than 20 and its comfy. Yes the noise is a bit harsh ive read but that dont bother me. Anyone heard many horror stories on them? Googled them and cant find much wrong. Found one at a dealers i want to look at this weekend. If i buy it will then put the merc up for sale rather than part x.

Im fortunate to have the money to buy anything i want as ive always been a saver but at 45 realised times moving on and want to start ticking some things off.

Any pointers or other suggestions? Thanks

[Phil Dicky]

Mrs Phil Dicky has an SLK 200, plenty quick enough pleasant enough sound and still 40mpg. We did the NC500 in it last year quite a decent cruiser too.

[Jeff1976]

Cheers seems a perfect car for what i want, comfy and still nice but not mega to run so dont mind piling the miles on it over a few years.

[PenelopaPitstop]

I had brand new SLK 250d from 2012 for 2 years. I clocked 31K miles in 18 months, my friend added another 5K miles in one month. I used it mostly in Europe, did a lot of 1000 miles weekend trips to France, Germany and other countries. Also spent 4 months with it in Germany, during the winter. It was very pleasurable time, but there was no dieselgate then and no eco stickers in different countries. This car is Euro 5, so you may have some issues with driving it in different eco zones, depending on the country. You may consider petrol model.

Had some issues with leaking roof after a year but it was fixed by the dealer. Had another two SLKs, but 55 and had no issue with leaks, probably because they had glass roof.

I averaged 44mpg from 31K miles. Mostly driving on motorways and country roads. Driving at full speed in Germany didn't help average.

France


Germany


German Alps


Stelvio Pass

[maz8062]

I guess it depends on your budget and what part of the country that you live in. When I was looking for an R172 SLK it was the diesel that attracted me to the model, but ULEZ is a thing down here in London, so unless you get a 2015 plate or younger, you won’t be able to travel far in a diesel down here from October 2021. I wouldn’t be surprised if these diesel punishing rules come to a town near you.

I’ve a 350 now so no ULEZ issues. In your position I’d look at the 200 or 250 petrol, or if it must be a diesel a late model SLK or SLC 250.

Good luck.

[leef44]

maz8062 said:

I guess it depends on your budget and what part of the country that you live in. When I was looking for an R172 SLK it was the diesel that attracted me to the model, but ULEZ is a thing down here in London, so unless you get a 2015 plate or younger, you won’t be able to travel far in a diesel down here from October 2021. I wouldn’t be surprised if these diesel punishing rules come to a town near you.

I’ve a 350 now so no ULEZ issues. In your position I’d look at the 200 or 250 petrol, or if it must be a diesel a late model SLK or SLC 250.

Good luck.

I would agree with this. If it's going to sit on the driveway a lot then a diesel may not be the answer. The petrol models would probably suffice and not have to worry about dpf.

[Don Roque]

leef44 said:

I would agree with this. If it's going to sit on the driveway a lot then a diesel may not be the answer. The petrol models would probably suffice and not have to worry about dpf.

Nothing happens to a DPF when it's sat on a driveway. It's how the car is used and crucially, if allowed to regenerate, that determine if you'll have DPF problems. In general you'll have nothing to worry about, particularly if the car is going to be used for long runs and it's kept properly serviced.

[ZX10R NIN]

If it's going to sit on the drive for periods of time I'd suggest going for an earlier 171 in SLK200 form:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102128...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009153...

But if you prefer the newer shape then the 250 petrol makes a lot of sense:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010074...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010145...

[Jeff1976]

Thanks all some valid points there. I live an hour and half from london in the suffolk countyside and never drive to london but yes i can only imagine the ulez thing will just get worse. Something to consider and maybe the petrol would be an option. I build petrol stations for a living and petrol is not going anywhere fast! Do like these cars there is something about them dont know what but

Thanks

[Phil Dicky]

Watch specs as well they vary massively.
You'll want airscarf and heated seats are a must for top down fun. We wanted parking sensors as well so made the search harder.

[Kingdom35]

Possibly looking at these.
Would they suit a daily commute of 40miles?
Looking at the SLK 200 as a good balance of economy and fun.
Budget around £6-7k.
What would people suggest? Petrol for sure.

[ZX10R NIN]

Kingdom35 said:

Possibly looking at these.
Would they suit a daily commute of 40miles?
Looking at the SLK 200 as a good balance of economy and fun.
Budget around £6-7k.
What would people suggest? Petrol for sure.

They'll be perfectly fine for commuting.

At your price point you'll only be getting a petrol but that's no bad thing, if you lookout for the 200 Grand Edition model they come with a lot of the desirable extras:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102118...

200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101278...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012056...

[Kingdom35]

ZX10R NIN said:

Kingdom35 said:

Possibly looking at these.
Would they suit a daily commute of 40miles?
Looking at the SLK 200 as a good balance of economy and fun.
Budget around £6-7k.
What would people suggest? Petrol for sure.

They'll be perfectly fine for commuting.

At your price point you'll only be getting a petrol but that's no bad thing, if you lookout for the 200 Grand Edition model they come with a lot of the desirable extras:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102118...

200

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101278...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012056...

Thank you for the heads up and examples.

Any problems to look out for with these cars?

[ZX10R NIN]

Kingdom35 said:

Thank you for the heads up and examples.

Any problems to look out for with these cars?

Boot seals can go, make sure the roof is working I'd suggest raising & lowering at least 4 times to ensure everything is as it should be.

[Jeff1976]

On the mark 2 there is a few models that suffer with cam position sensor and stuff which seems very common. Have a look at the slk forum tons of info on there esp on the mk2

[W201_190e]

You need to factor in the rear subframe may be rotten.