Should I buy a Mercedes SLK 3.2 AMG?

[newboy]

I've just been offered a cancelled order for a Mercedes SLK 3.2 AMG...there are obvious benefits - great engineering, powerful engine, superb practicality with roof etc...but compared to what else I could buy for £45kish would anyone recommend me to do so?? At the other end of the spectrum for the sameish price is the TVR Tuscan...is there any comparison, or is the Merc so uninvolving that I'd be crackers despite the much greater reliability, residuals, practicality etc... Any advice appreciated.

[McNab]

Now that really IS a difficult question; and on a mainly TVR forum too!

Depends on your personality, where you live, what you've driven before, do you value 'pose' or 'purpose', is it to be your only car, and a hundred-and-one other criteria.

Put it this way. The Tuscan will singe your senses like nothing else, and is the best choice if you're mechanically sympathetic enough to understand it (and forgive the hiccups which can affect hand-made cars). And it won't spoil you for slower cars later on if you get respectable (!) Remember that there are good points in almost every car.

I enthuse over the Merc, and would go for it if I was mentally more moderate car-wise. Ignore the 'hairdresser' allusions; they're a good jest and nothing more. There's so much engineering credibility behind the three-pointed star that you'd be witless not to appreciate it.

Sum-up: Tuscan for adventure - Merc for ascetic pleasure (remember they are very, very different).

[pbrettle]

Cant remember which magazine said it, but a comment such as "TVR, a mistress and not a servant" is as close as you will get!

A Merc SLK - excellent engineering and not a bad car. Certainly the AMG is fast and better than a standard 320.

Me personally, I would get the Tuscan everytime. But if I had to have either as my only car then it would be the Merc. Better on long term ownership and more likely to cost less over 3 years & 30k miles.

Heart says TVR, head says Merc. Your choice really.

Cheers,

Paul

[Don]

If the cars going to be a weekend, high-days and holidays then a TVR is the absolute business. Nothing is quite like the engine sound, acceleration and individual looks.

Surprisingly within reasonable limits a TVR can be excellent (errr perfectly good) as an everyday car. Our Chim certainly is.

But its not our only car.

The other one's a Porsche . For 45K you could also get a nice new high spec Boxster S. Believe me - the roof on the S is excellent and (unlike the AMG Merc) does not compromise boot space in any way.

BTW: I'm sure the AMG will be excellent...but here are some alternatives.

Hope the comments were useful.

[douglasr]

New Honda S2000 for weekdays.
Used Chim 400 for weekends.

[Tadhg]

Depends on the Purpose of the car
Weekend only car then TVR, general purpose car then M3.

[Graham]

I've only driven the standard v6 jobby, and wasnt that impressed with the perfomance, and there is no room in it compaired to a chim and the tuscan has more places to put things than a chim. I dont think i could live with the standard merc everyday as its simply to small, no room behind the seats and if you want to put the roof down there is about enough room for a breif case in the boot. If you can cope with the lack of space then the mercs propably a safer choice, but hey lifes too short



Graham

[WalterU]

I recently bought a standard SLK 320 - the AMG was not then available.

I test drove a Chimaera, Boxster and SLK.

I didn't have the guts to buy the Chim, firstly because of the noise levels, and because I drive 80% on the continent.

The Boxster runs rings around the SLK handling-wise. I haven't yet driven the AMG SLK.

I can give you a few general tips.

1) AMG are good at setting up engines. the 3.2 Litre AMG engine is a real humdinger

2) AMG are not particularly good at chassis setup. From personal experience the S class AMG is total crap. Top Gear were also not impressed by the cornering capabilities of the AMG SLK.

So drive one before you go for it. Don't order one until you've done so.

Why did I buy my SLK 320 in spite of the drawbacks? I do a lot of fast long motorway driving, then have 5-6 appointments in the same town.

1) the tin roof of the SLK means considerably lower noise levels at high speeds, compared to ALL soft-tops I have driven, including XK/XKR. In the Boxster I had to shout at the passenger at 125 mph. Its also better security-wise

2) i can close the roof, have my appointment, get in, open roof, drive 2 miles to the next one, close roof, etc. etc. This gets very tedious if you do not have an automatic roof.

Probably, if I drove in UK all the time, I would, on balance, buy a Chim.

Rgds, WalterU

[rthierry]

Gassing, gassing....

Let's face it the Chimeara is a fantastic car, but it is not representative of what TVR currently does. I mean they have come a long way in 8 years... try the Tamora is just a cut above. This month's CAR says it compare to the Tamora the BoxterS almost feels boring, too perfect.

PS: Nothing against the Chimaera though... I bought one this week-end :big grin:

[Captain Chaos]

quote:
1)In the Boxster I had to shout at the passenger at 125 mph.
2) i can close the roof, have my appointment, get in, open roof, drive 2 miles to the next one, close roof, etc. etc. This gets very tedious if you do not have an automatic roof.

Probably, if I drove in UK all the time, I would, on balance, buy a Chim.

In reply
1) With the roof up or down? If it's with roof up my vintage Corvette roadster is quieter at that speed
2)If you brought a Chim in the UK you'd never bother to take the roof down, it's too much of a pain in the arse.

[WalterU]

quote:

quote:
1)In the Boxster I had to shout at the passenger at 125 mph.
2) i can close the roof, have my appointment, get in, open roof, drive 2 miles to the next one, close roof, etc. etc. This gets very tedious if you do not have an automatic roof.

Probably, if I drove in UK all the time, I would, on balance, buy a Chim.

In reply
1) With the roof up or down? If it's with roof up my vintage Corvette roadster is quieter at that speed
2)If you brought a Chim in the UK you'd never bother to take the roof down, it's too much of a pain in the arse.

answer to 1) the SLK was quietest of all with the roof closed

2) agree totally. This is THE no. 1 DRAWBACK ALL TVR's. Its very hard to go back once you've experienced the joys of an automatic roof.

I'd still probably buy one.

Rgds, WalterU

[smeagol]

I don't know how hard it is to put the roof down in the Chim, but I always have the roof down in my Lotus (except in extreme bad rain). The joyt of roof down far outways the pain in putiing it up and down.

Before the Lotus I had a kit car and you needed a weeks notice to put the roof up and down (took about 2mins if rushed). I found that I just re-schedualed my appointments to give me "roof time".

[Don]

Chaps:

I have a Chim and a Boxster S. The roof on the S is glorious and means that its roof down motoring every second its not pissing down.

BUT The Chimaera/Tamora/Griffith roof just isn't that bad once you're used to it. And yes: in the UK the Chimaera roof comes off lots of the time.

As to noise: I can't vouch for 125mph (this IS the UK after all) but the Boxster is a LOT quieter than I expected a rag-top to be. The Chimaera just isn't as quiet (nor should it be, bloody hell, didn't you WANT to hear that wonderful noise?)..I haven't driven a Tamora to see how its improved - yet.

So...TVR roof - yes its not as good as an automatic one but it really isn't that much of a problem...

[WalterU]

I know it sounds odd, but its the truth - I do 80-90% of my motoring on the continent, most of it in Germany. Noise at high speeds over long distances then becomes an issue.

If I did 90% of my motoring in UK, as stated, I'd probably buy a Chim.

Rgds, WalterU