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Mar 16, 2022 20:15:20 GMT
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I used to own a 2002 SLK 230 Kompressor - it was a little treat to myself that I got cheap through someone at work. It cost me £1200. I loved it. It was fun, fairly rapid, the roof came off, it was my first auto and it was a lovely colour. Like all R170 SLKs of that era, the front wings were a bit crispy. I wasn't sure how long it would last. The MOT was fine about it, but it was starting to look a little bit scruffy. It was a great car to drive but most definitely was not a keeper. Said 230 in its usual pose - roof off. I had a few savings but I didn't really want to touch that. Mrs Bounce had long badgered me to do the PPI thing and although I thought I wasn't eligible, being a typical bloke I chucked my application in at the last possible date then promptly forgot about it. Fast forward 10 months to June 2020, and I got 3 letters, all in similar envelopes which I didn't recognise. They were from Natwest Bank. The first one I opened was a cheque for just over £60. "Better than a kick up the butt!", I thought. The second was for £232. Nice. I then opened the 3rd letter and had to sit down. I now had more than enough to buy a new car, tax and insure it and still have extra cash in the bank. The reason the amount refunded to me was so big was not the size of the loan I'd had (which wasn't that big), but the fact it was over 15 years ago, so the interest payments were more than the refund itself. Lovely. I knew exactly what I wanted: An R171 SLK in Benetoite Blue (darkish blue with a green tint) with a lighter coloured interior. And "Airscarf". I had 3 choices on engine size: 1.8 Supercharged (bulletproof, but not the quickest), 3 litre V6 or 3.5 V6 (both potentially high tax, and depending on mileage, could have a very expensive issue lurking). The V6 cars were quickly crossed off the list due to most being out of my price range by about £1k and I didn't want a dog. So I settled on looking for a 200 Kompressor. I started with Auto Trader and put a search in for a 200 Kompressor with less than 80k miles in my price range. I got 142 hits. One thing I don't like are silver cars, and I didn't want black either as my old VW Bora was black. So I took black and silver out of the search field. I was left with 5 cars, none of which fitted the bill. Typical! However, I also used ebay, Gumtree and Faceache. I found 2 that fitted the bill on Facebook. One was a private sale in Basildon (about 60 miles away) whilst the other was at a dealer in Wellingborough, almost twice the distance away. So I emailed the dealer first. It was the spec I wanted, the colour I wanted, was low enough mileage (72k), 2 owners, FSH and looked clean. He also said he'd gladly take my old car in part-ex. So one Saturday after the first lockdown, my friend Shaun and I went on a road trip to Wellingborough. The car was immaculate for its age with only minor blemishes as you'd expect from a car that age. The tyres weren't brilliant but I always budget for a full set anyway "just in case". The dealer was extremely pleasant, easy to talk to and about as honest as a car dealer gets. I was probably his first customer in about 3 months! We were able to reach a mutually acceptable deal where I drove off with a gorgeous SLK and left a scruffy one there. I christened the car "Helga" - this is her just after getting home. I forgot to put a hat or sun cream on and burnt my bald head...
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Last Edit: Sept 25, 2022 19:40:50 GMT by mrbounce
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Mar 16, 2022 21:01:31 GMT
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Shortly after getting the car home, I decided I needed to do something about the tyres. The fronts were no-name brands whilst the rears were better, but older and with less tread. The local National Tyres (my go-to place) had Avons on offer, so I got a set of 4. They're a half decent mid-range tyre so will do for me as it's not a track toy. The wiper washers didn't work either - this was a faulty motor - a £12 fix! My thoughts were now simply to drive it. It's my daily vehicle - I don't have a "sensible" car. I do have access to Mrs B's Yaris should I need to carry something bulky. That said, the SLK's boot is surprisingly capacious when you consider the type of car it is. And of course there's always the option of 93 million miles of sky when you need it: Of course this didn't last too long. An SLK is low. And that usually means you have to be more careful. I am (well, most of the time anyway) . However I hit something in the road. It was dark, I was on the A14 and there was suddenly "something" I didn't see until the last minute - could have been a bit of lorry tyre, could have been wildlife, could have been a piece of exhaust. All I know is that I hit it at 70-odd and it made a bit of a noise. This was the result: Balls. Or Nuts. I enquired about getting a new one from Mercedes. £609 + VAT but they were out of stock anyway! I covered it with black Gaffer Tape and ignored it as much as possible. I drilled holes at the end of the cracks so they wouldn't travel further. I was furious! Still, driving around with the roof off whenever possible was wonderful. The added bonus was the "Airscarf", which is a neck-level vent in the seat which blows warm air round you as you drive along. It sounds a bit pretentious but I can assure you it's lovely, especially at night! She had a rest whilst it snowed a lot. I did push the snow off the roof in case of any issues because it was so heavy! I did nothing but use the car between then and midway through last year when I lost both my parents. Having had a dreadful day at work, I decided to take myself to the coast to have some "me time" and to sit and think whilst watching the boats. I parked up and was just getting out when this happened: Some kind soul drove past just as I was getting out but didn't stop, regardless of whose fault it was. I didn't get their number or the type of car. I ended up getting the car repaired on insurance as a) the excess was low and b) I had full protected no claims. It was the first fault claim I had made since throwing my Mini in a hedge in 2000. I swore. A lot. Plus they gave me a bleeping Corsa as a courtesy car. I drove it once. It was horrible. I got the car back and it was beautifully repaired. And then someone did this - used my car as their brake at traffic lights 1/2 mile from home. First time I have ever been shunted. That unmistakeable sound of crunching metal and plastic. Still, the guy who hit me admitted fault immediately and we went through the insurance. As I had saved up a bit more money and had some inheritance from Mum I opted to have the front bumper done as well whilst it was in the bodyshop. Helga was once again beautiful. This time I got a Vauxhall Insomnia as a courtesy car. Didn't drive that either. Awful thing, and it was the same shade of nondescript grey as that god-awful Corsa. Yuk. She now looks pretty again
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Mar 16, 2022 21:36:05 GMT
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What's that I hear you say? We're 2 posts in and there's no mention of "Built-In Issues"?? Well let me bring you bang up to date. I had put Helga in for MOT at the local trusted garage as I always do. It failed. "Why?" you say. Well, there is a major issue with the pre-facelift (2004-08) R171 SLKs. Mercedes did some cost cutting during production. One of the main problems was the rear subframe. This was not protected from the factory, and there is a design fault where I believe the drain holes for the roof come out just above where the subframe sits. Water drips down on to the subframe and then rots it from the inside out. By the time you can see rust on the outside of the subframe it is far too late. You can guess what happened with mine. I should point out that I knew about this issue when I bought the car and did a thorough look underneath at the time of purchase and it looked pretty much immaculate under there - the way this rotted through took less than 2 years. Absolutely shocking. Also shocking was the fact that the local Mercedes specialist (some 3-4 weeks before the MOT) picked up on a rusty exhaust hanger during a service but somehow missed the subframe issues. Won't be using them again... So what to do? The local garage suggested they could attempt to weld it up. I said no. Why? I had an ace up my sleeve, and that was the brilliant SLK Owners Club UK Faceache page. There's a guy on there who had a similar issue. He took it up with Mercedes. He sent me some letter templates and advised me to get in touch with Mercedes UK Customer Services, which I did. They told me to take my car to a dealer for an inspection. I did - these are some stills from the inspection video they sent me: As you can see, it's utterly banjoed. And this is where Mercedes played their trump card - they agreed to replace it free of charge as a goodwill gesture. Reading between the lines I am pretty sure it's because they don't want to be sued in case a subframe collapses and there's an awful accident, but bear in mind that this is a 16-year old car without a full Merc service history. I am guessing that they're doing it this way because there was never a recall, and to do one now would be a HUGE amount of money for them. They did have to replace my rear exhaust (at main dealer "open your wallet wide please sir" prices) but even that was free of labour charges. The service though from Mercedes of Ipswich was nothing short of exemplary. The chap who took me out to the car when I collected it advised that he'd just quoted a guy to replace his C-Class Estate subframe - over £4k!! Apparently it's 12 hours of labour at Dealer prices. Ouch. I took the Service Manager Eloise (who dealt with me, and kept me informed with phonecalls throughout the process) a box of chocolates and one for the technicians in the workshop too, because people are not often thanked enough for doing a really good job. Thank you guys. Helga is back, and still driving beautifully. Here she is in moody night shot mode!
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Last Edit: Mar 16, 2022 23:05:44 GMT by mrbounce
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Looked at these very recently as a new daily driver, ended up with an xc70 😁
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Bicycle x1 Alfa Giulietta (now wife's) Alfa 156 BMW 630i
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Mar 17, 2022 11:55:39 GMT
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Looked at these very recently as a new daily driver, ended up with an xc70 😁 That's quite a change of plan 😃
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pow
Part of things
Posts: 110
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Mar 17, 2022 11:59:20 GMT
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Ex wife had one with every option box ticked that I sold just after the first lockdown. One of the best drop tops I've ever driven. Took it to the Nurburgring twice. Got the uprated supercharger pulley from polish ebay which was a good laugh as well. We both loved the car but had no idea about the subframe issues! Mine always went straight through an MOT, even when I dusted it off post-divorce and post-lockdown to sell it!
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Mar 17, 2022 19:03:11 GMT
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Looked at these very recently as a new daily driver, ended up with an xc70 😁 That's quite a change of plan 😃 Once went out to buy a Citroen c1 and came home with an Alfa gtv
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Bicycle x1 Alfa Giulietta (now wife's) Alfa 156 BMW 630i
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brachunky
Scotland
Posts: 1,314
Club RR Member Number: 72
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Mar 17, 2022 21:28:06 GMT
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Looked at these very recently as a new daily driver, ended up with an xc70 😁 Funny that! I just sold a 2006 Sports Edition C class with a rusty subframe and bought a XC70!
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Apr 14, 2022 21:09:29 GMT
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Well dear Helga has been giving me lovely service once again, even if it's not the most practical or economical. Today I thought I would take a slightly longer lunch break and drive the 3 miles to the local Subway which is located in a petrol station. So I popped down there, parked in one of the allocated bays and got my foot long. On exiting the shop a stranger came over and told me that a guy in a BMW had tried to park next to me, hit my rear bumper, and then driven off. This is what he left behind: Luckily, the chap had taken down the BMW's number plate, so he's been reported both to my Insurance Company and the Police. So thank you to the guy who took the driver's number - also to the boss of the Petrol Station who suggested that the Insurance Company get in touch with them to get copies of the CCTV. Still, it is a hassle I really don't need or want. Utterly reprehensible behaviour from that utter bar steward. I hope his bank holiday goes from bad to worse. Typically I had left 2 spaces between me and the next car.... I am starting to think that this car is cursed and attracts people who can't drive, causing them to smack into it. That's 3 incidents in the past 8 months...
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Last Edit: Apr 14, 2022 21:11:00 GMT by mrbounce
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Not the like button, but the angry button.
I spend a fair amount of time in car parks.
And the amount of people who seem to drive purely on feeling, not ability or skill, really angers me.
Sorry to see this mate.
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I have come to the conclusion that this car is cursed. I went over to see a friend last night. Parked in his street. Drove home in the dark. Realised when I went to the Man Room this afternoon that someone has hit my car AGAIN and been so kind as to not own up. I wouldn't mind so much if it was me who'd done it as I would have someone to blame, but it seems that no matter where I park, this car has a target on it. It's a shame, because it's actually really pleasant to own and drive. 4 times in the last 11 months. FFS.
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Last Edit: Jun 7, 2022 19:38:28 GMT by mrbounce
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Burger!!
Sorry to see this.
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75swb
Beta Tester
Posts: 1,011
Club RR Member Number: 181
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Ffs, some people! I'm borrowing a mates mx5 when I'm back in the UK in a couple of weeks and I'm terrified the same might happen. Same colour too...
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Sept 25, 2022 19:40:18 GMT
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She's gone. Left unceremoniously (and slightly wonkily parked) in Shrewsbury Mercedes' customer car park. You might ask why? Well, it's because I have treated myself. When Mum & Dad passed away, I made a promise to myself that I would use some of the inheritance to treat myself to the sort of car I wouldn't normally be able to afford as a "sensible" daily. So I made a list: I wanted blue (I like my blue cars), convertible (hard roof if possible), 2 seats, fast and not diesel. Cheap tax a bonus. Narrowing it down, it effectively was a newer SLK I wanted; they went out of production in 2015 and were replaced with the renamed, much revised and better-looking SLC. So I started looking; it turns out that almost everyone who bought an SLC between 2016-2019 lived in a monochrome world. Regular Auto Trader searches revealed about 50 cars in the spec I wanted (SLC 300) nationwide. Of those 50, most were black, grey, silver or white, plus only about 2 tended to be blue, and either didn't have all the options I wanted, or were based in Scotland or as close to it as possible. It turned out what I wanted was quite difficult to find. And those that I did come across within range either didn't have the spec or were snapped up before I could get there. Then, last Wednesday, I looked at Auto Trader in my lunch break and there was a later model than I was looking (i.e. post-67 plate) at Shrewsbury. This was doable as it was approx 3 1/2 hours away. I got on the phone immediately, confirmed the spec, mileage and condition and slapped a deposit down so nobody else would go to buy it. We agreed a fair price for Helga, and I hot-footed it up there on Saturday morning, arriving just as the showroom opened. Of course, they'd pulled a blinder and placed it front and centre in the showroom, so it was the first thing I saw on entry. Lovely. I did my test drive and paperwork, then said my goodbyes to Helga in the car park before disappearing back to Suffolk at high speed (M6 excepted). I have named her "Kimberley". The spec is as follows: 2019 SLC 300; 2 litre Turbocharged 16v four, 245 BHP; 9-speed auto with flappy paddles (bit pointless with that number of gears really); glass roof which turns opaque at the touch of a button; heated seats with airscarf; built-in SatNav; 18" turbine style alloys; DAB radio with Bluetooth for phone streaming and calls, plus numerous other options I haven't discovered yet etc etc. Plus it has decent cup-holders - sounds simple but it is a revelation after the last 2 SLKs. The colour is called "Brilliant Blue" and looks even better in the flesh. Mercedes claim 0-60 in 5.8 seconds. Having had to launch quite hard from a parking bay by the side of the A14 due to traffic, I have no reason to doubt this claim. It's pretty quick, and I was only using Comfort Mode... I apologise for the lack of Retro content, but it's Helga's swansong, and it's almost always a good thing to talk about a new car. This one's a corker. I have but one further thing to say - thank you Mum and Dad. I sense you'd have approved. Thank-you for your service Helga. Helga meets Kimberley before I left. The beautiful sight I saw when arriving at the dealers. They KNEW I was going to buy this car. And halfway home at Corley Services on the M6.
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Last Edit: Oct 11, 2022 20:29:46 GMT by mrbounce
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Sept 25, 2022 21:08:02 GMT
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Very nice 👌.....I do like SLKs. My missus wanted me to get one about 5 years ago ( she doesn't drive....just hands out the instructions 😄 ). But I was put off by what happened with a friends SLK about 15 years ago...or more. He had one the same as your first one. He had an issue that he thought was broken front springs on both sides. But it turned out to be the spot welds had failed across the front lower bulkhead ( I can't remember exactly where....but it was somewhere around there ) and the car had actually started to split in half. It took a while and if I remember rightly a court case, but he eventually managed to get it re-shelled by Mercedes....and then he promptly sold it on. Anyway, your new one looks fantastic! Enjoy! Dan.
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Opel Commodore A Coupe Opel Rekord C Coupe Opel Rekord C Saloon Vauxhall Magnum Coupe V8 (Magnumania) Mk1 Scirocco GLS Mk1 Scirocco GLS (early chrome bumper) Corrado G60 Mk1 Cortina 2 door Pre Airflow Mk2 Escort 1300 2 Door VW LT35 Tipper Truck BMW 320D E91 Tourer
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Sept 28, 2022 11:44:23 GMT
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Thanks Dan. I keep making excuses to take it out! It's lovely.
Your mate's old R170 sounded like it had an extremely unusual problem. I have never heard of a similar issue, but if it is a major fault of the manufacturing, Mercedes are generally OK with sorting it, sometimes after negotiations. He probably had had enough of the SLK by the time he got it back though!!
I think Helga is slightly better looking than the new car, but there's no comparison when it comes to driving.
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,818
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Sept 28, 2022 12:07:55 GMT
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Enjoy ! Can't take it with you and if it makes your world a happier place its worth every penny. James
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