Opinions on first gen SLK

[ingenieur]

What do people think generally about the first generation Mercedes SLK?

I think they look quite nice and are possibly underrated... but I've never owned or driven one.

I remember a (older, much older, he could afford it) colleague at a company I worked for in Mayfair had a bright yellow version in the underground carpark just after they were launched and I thought it was pretty nice.

Should they all just rot and get scrapped or are they worth looking after?

[JulianHJ]

I'd consider one if I had the room and a few grand spare; it would be a toss up between that, an early Boxter, a mk2 MX-5 and a Z4 (I'd need to do some research...). I've not driven the others, but have driven quite a few 230 and the odd 200 when they were fairly new, and really liked them.

[samoht]

I agree they can look quite good. In terms of a car to drive, I think I'd be looking for the second-gen SLK, the R171, which gained rack and pinion steering and so is probably better to drive.

[Mr Squarekins]

I was in the market for one new from Merc back in the day. Test drive was disappointing, though I really wanted to like it. Awful steering, not sportscar like at all in my experience.

I'd really liked the package, but the drive was not for me i'm afraid.

[B'stard Child]

Loved mine 2001 facelift R170 230K with 6 speed manual - gave good service for about 6 years

Replaced it with R171 200K again with 6 speed manual (but the 40 bhp less was very obvious so it didn’t stay long)

Replaced that with R171 55 AMG (go big or go home - although it’s been a bit needy)

R170 advice

- the V6’s don’t give much more than the 4 pots with chargers

- inspect carefully for rust Arches all round, front wings by the headlights and boot lids

- roof is clever and never had an issue with it

- electrics (ABS and stability control modules as well as central locking and alarm was what killed mine - if it had been a viable repair I’d have kept it but the rust was getting bad and it had cost me less than £800 a year to have owned it when I sold it as spares or repairs)

[psi310398]

samoht said:

I agree they can look quite good. In terms of a car to drive, I think I'd be looking for the second-gen SLK, the R171, which gained rack and pinion steering and so is probably better to drive.

I’ve had, or more accurately, my wife has had, both. The 230 R170 is less sharp to drive but the supercharger makes acceleration lively. The early ones date from the worst period of MB Penny pinching but they are fairly simple to maintain. The 350 R171 has better steering and oodles of power but the seats are effing uncomfortable on long journeys. It is no grand tourer. And check that the rear suspension underpinning thingy has been replaced under warranty. They rust and can make the car a death trap if it breaks loose.

Maybe look at the R130 SL?

[Luke.]

I'm a big fan. Almost bought one earlier in the year, but ended up upping the budget and getting a facelift R171 SLK350. With 305BHP, it suits me down to the ground and actually makes a really good little GT car. Anyway, to answer your question, if I was looking to spend £2k or so on a little runaround two seater, the R170 would be pretty much top of the list.

No idea what your budget is, but never seen the SLK32 this cheap:

https://www.carandclassic.com/make-an-offer/2001-m...

Edited by Luke. on Thursday 20th July 19:40

[Hoofy]

I'd be tempted to take a punt on an older £1k Kompressor, knowing that you could have to deal with timing chain issues which is a fairly costly fix (relative to the price of the car) even if it wasn't a great drive (that'd be part of the fun ).

Sadly, I'm on the London Ulez border so that forces me to spend about £2k-3k on an entry level one and I'm not risking the timing chain issue on a £2k car. That said, if you're not doing many miles, it may not be an issue. I'm doing about 4k a year and I bought my Merc C Class with light timing chain problems (you get the start-up rattle and when accelerating it has a slight diesel sounding noise), been running it for a year and the engine hasn't got notably worse over that time.

The problem would be that you go from having a £2.5k car to having a shed/banger level car in the space of a year and struggle to move it on because the timing chain issue is more pronounced so you end up having to scrap it because nobody wants to buy it.

Edited by Hoofy on Thursday 20th July 19:43

[Mr Hoops]

We had a low mileage 230K, black on creme. Lovely car but the driving did not match the looks, speed was adequate but the steering was vague. A car for a summer cruise to the pub/beach, not a cross-country blast.

[Filibuster]

I have always liked to look of them.
Coincidently, just today there where two of them parked in my street. A silver one and a dark red/burgundy one.

Can‘t comment on driving or owning one, but I they certainly liven up a street.

[ingenieur]

Luke. said:

I'm a big fan. Almost bought one earlier in the year, but ended up upping the budget and getting a facelift R171 SLK350. With 305BHP, it suits me down to the ground and actually makes a really good little GT car. Anyway, to answer your question, if I was looking to spend £2k or so on a little runaround two seater, the R170 would be pretty much top of the list.

No idea what your budget is, but never seen the SLK32 this cheap:

https://www.carandclassic.com/make-an-offer/2001-m...

Edited by Luke. on Thursday 20th July 19:40

That's a tasty little pocket rocket isn't it. Clearly has some bodywork issues but nobody would see that from 15 feet away.

[Luke.]

ingenieur said:

Luke. said:

I'm a big fan. Almost bought one earlier in the year, but ended up upping the budget and getting a facelift R171 SLK350. With 305BHP, it suits me down to the ground and actually makes a really good little GT car. Anyway, to answer your question, if I was looking to spend £2k or so on a little runaround two seater, the R170 would be pretty much top of the list.

No idea what your budget is, but never seen the SLK32 this cheap:

https://www.carandclassic.com/make-an-offer/2001-m...

Edited by Luke. on Thursday 20th July 19:40

That's a tasty little pocket rocket isn't it. Clearly has some bodywork issues but nobody would see that from 15 feet away.

Had £3k spent on it less than a year ago.

[ingenieur]

I'm not buying one... I was just thinking in general that they look underappreciated.

I've had a look at the MK2 and they don't seem to have the same appeal.

This is all just my opinion obviously.

[C69]

I've always been a fan of the first-gen SLK. The exterior design still looks great, and it has arguably aged much better than the contemporary BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster.

[mattman]

I bought one recently - 2001 320 with 91k and full service history for very little. Great value for money and the V6 has enough poke for general driving.
As others have said, front wings can rust, bit generally it feels solid and well put together.

Over the last couple of years I've had a mini convertible, mk1 TT roadster, alfa spider, Z4, mk1 mx5, mk3 mx5 and 1 series cab - the SLK is one of my favourites from that lot.

It's not perfect, but looks OK for its age

[ingenieur]

Does well to be the pick of that bunch then. Looks alright in that favourable photo... maybe a headlamp polish?

[mattman]

It's on the list of jobs to do

There is something quite refreshing driving a car that cost less than a set of tyres on my previous gen2 boxster

Edited by mattman on Saturday 22 July 10:35

[Hoofy]

mattman said:

I bought one recently - 2001 320 with 91k and full service history for very little. Great value for money and the V6 has enough poke for general driving.
As others have said, front wings can rust, bit generally it feels solid and well put together.

Over the last couple of years I've had a mini convertible, mk1 TT roadster, alfa spider, Z4, mk1 mx5, mk3 mx5 and 1 series cab - the SLK is one of my favourites from that lot.

It's not perfect, but looks OK for its age

I'm a bit envious that you got a decent SLK for shed money (saw your post on the shed thread).

[Kawasicki]

I think they look great. The steering isn’t great but the handling, whilst not being precise and tied down, has great balance and is good fun.

[slk 32]

Owned two:

230k in red. Looked great but let down by parpy agricultural 4 pot. Sold it about 11 years ago and still see it driving about.

Slk32. Owned 4 years then the wife another 5. Great car but MB repaired all 4 arches and bootlid under warranty at 7 years. The guy at the bodyshop told me to get rid once it was done - I didn't listen and every 2 years we had to get them done, eventually there was more rust than metal so traded it in against another slk55.

Engine was pretty bulletproof, the onky things that needed replacing other than normal consumables were the crankshaft position sensor and the supercharger intercooler pump (went with johnson cm30 marine pump with higher flow rate and metal impellor)

Oh, and the plastic interior trim can suffer from peeling