This is my first post and i haven't even ordered an SLK yet but like to get some opinions.
It's getting time to change my car and i did have a shortlist of an A3 or the new Golf GTI until i saw a new slk the other day ( never really seen one before ). Went and had a look at one at the local dealer and decided that's the thing for me. Unfortunately it's an extra £10k over my prevoius choices. But now is the time for a 2 seater before the pitter patter of tiny feet.
So i was thnking of going for a slk200 in Andradite green, 17inch wheel upgrade and few other options keeping the price below my max of £30k.
So i wouldn't be going for the leather, airscarf and auto box saving £3000. As that's a nice wee holiday in the Maldives or somewhere. Would i be mad to miss of these options? Not just for my enjoyment but for re sale value.
Thanks for reading
bioboy - 9/8/2005 11:34 AM
So i was thnking of going for a slk200 in Andradite green ... So i wouldn't be going for the leather, airscarf and auto box saving £3000. As that's a nice wee holiday in the Maldives or somewhere. Would i be mad to miss of these options? Not just for my enjoyment but for re sale value.
The auto box is one of the few options which you get your money back again when you sell the car. In other words it will affect the resale value, but then it costs more to buy an auto in the first place. It depends if you want an auto, or not.
I have not yet seen an SLK without leather, so I have a feeling that might make it tricky to sell.
Airscarf is a bit of a gimmick really (although it seems quite effective) but it's one that has got a lot of publicity, so it might be important later.
COMAND is expensive but could turn out to be important for resale. It looks like we may be in the same position as we were a few years ago with climate control, where it was an expensive option which very quickly became standard across nearly all cars. If the same thing does happen with sat nav, then it could affect resale. However, many portable systems at a fraction of the price can do as good a job.
In pure resale value terms, you have probably picked the worst colour for the UK (sorry Woolly!). I bought a used E class in a similar colour, which I personally like - but it was thousands cheaper because it's not a popular colour like silver, black, metallic blue etc. Metallic black is now number 1 for resale according to the trade guides, with pure silver second.
As always though, it's a balance between resale value and buying the spec that you want, not the next owner. Only you can decide!
I checked the mercedes direct website and they only had 1 car with fabric trim among 3 pages worth, so i wouldn't be the first but it's certainly not peoples first choice. Also with colour, i really like the transanite/capri? blue so i am not 100% decided there.
Something i can check at the dealers, but can you fit a set of golf clubs in the boot?
Choosing the spec should be the easy bit, waiting for 6 months will be a little trickier.
Have you thought about looking for a second hand car? You might easily shave off thousand of pounds from the price if you take a low mileage one.
I don't think going with manual will make all that big a difference since there ARE people who specifically look for manual SLK's when shopping second hand. However, the Aircarf is highly publicised and I bet most people would skip your car if it didn't have it... But what do we know, the car is still relatively young, so nothing has yet been determined.
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New car: 2004 SLK 55 AMG, Iridium silver.
Additional: Chrome door lock pins, K&N Performance Filters, Piecha roof control module
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Additional: Chrome side indicator frames, Chrome SRS badges, CLK grill, Lorinser Wing, Rieger headlight covers
The SLK is way cool, and I'm glad I have one. If budget is an issue, however, there are some great little cars out there that, in terms of fun per buck, rate pretty high on my list.
To me, the car with the highest fun to cost ratio has always been the Miata (Mazda MX-5 now). They're quick, well built, a riot to drive, and even (to me) rather good looking.
(I recall one day being at a park with a lady friend, and an old duffer (I say that though I remember the glaciers) said "Nice Jag". I thanked him, didn't correct him, and enjoyed my day. The front of the Miata does have that XK-E look, after all.)
I wouldn't turn you off to the SLK ... but you could have two Miatae for the same price. One for the little nippers?
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Ron Jeffries
www.XProgramming.com
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I would take a look at used cars as well. You can save a lot on cars with just a few thousand miles. More so if you are able to buy privately rather then from a dealership.
Regarding resale, if i was a prospective buyer even on a budget I would never consider a car without leather. After the transmission/colour it would be the very next important thing for me.
Looking at the Mercedes website 2nd hand cars with a few thousand miles lose very little value, and there aren't many private ones that i have seen.
i'll go to the dealer and see what value he will give me for trade in on my current car, he might suprise me.
Or i might just say stuff the budget and get the car i really want and as not to regret it later.
How much more is the 280? I have heard it is the perfect compromise for those who need more power than is offered by the 200. On the other hand with the 280 out now I would think you should be able to get an even better deal on a 200. I agree with you on upgrading the wheels though - the standard wheels on the 200 are cheap cheap cheap looking, sort of like they stamped them out. Oh - regardless of which SLK you get, do include airscarf. It and the SLK styled nose are the two features that make the SLK unique and even SL owners can't have either at even twice the price. As far as the color you mentioned, I saw a green SLK200 in a parking lot in Europe and my first thought was, I'm sure glad I didn't order that color. We have to pay extra for the metallics here in the US so if that is the same in the UK you might save a few bucks by going with white, Mars Red, or basic black.
Northbenz - 9/9/2005 11:40 PM
We have to pay extra for the metallics here in the US so if that is the same in the UK you might save a few bucks by going with white, Mars Red, or basic black.
It is the same, but almost all Mercedes will have metallic paint. White is an absolute no-no in Europe and bright red is not a popular colour these days either. Black is very popular though, and some people prefer flat black to metallic black.
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