1998 slk 230

[Via]

Since there are some knowledgeable auto guys on here I figured I'd ask. Maybe someone knows.

I have a chance to get a 1998 SLK 230 pretty cheap. The guy said he's tired of it and want's to get rid of it. He threw $2500 out there as a price.

I haven't seen it yet, but it's high miles (around 140,000). He's not the first owner; he said he's owned it for around 20,000 miles. He said there's no body damage or anything, but the paint job could be re-done at some point (it's yellow). He called the interior average.

According to him it runs very well, and he said he would let me take it to a mechanic. He says he put a few grand into it and doesn't know of any problems that require immediate attention.

Is this thing a potential $2500 paperweight? I posted a thread about used luxury cars a while ago, but ultimately decided against it because I didn't want to spend $20,000 on a car I'd rarely drive. This is different: I can cut a check for the $2500 and not miss it.

I did google it and it seems the pre-2000 models do have some problematic issues. But this would in no way be a daily driver, and I thought maybe I could teach myself to do some basic maintenance, like changing the oil and stuff.

It would just be a toy to play with. Bad idea?

 

[Meghan54]

Long as you don't mind paying through the nose for parts, sure, go ahead. Sure will be an expensive way to learn how to change your oil, tho.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Run the top up and down - if it works, does not bind up - the car starts & runs - fuck it. For $2500, if you get 1yr and 5K miles out of it it will be a great fun car purchase for top down fun in the sun.

 

[Via]

Run the top up and down - if it works, does not bind up - the car starts & runs - fuck it. For $2500, if you get 1yr and 5K miles out of it it will be a great fun car purchase for top down fun in the sun.

That's what I'm thinking. I think I'm going to call the guy tomorrow.

 

[rifken2]

Couple of notes...

The tops are bad to go out. The main culprit is the single hydraulic actuator in the middle, front of the roof. There is a seal that goes bad in there... There are replacement kits that I have used to repair this issue, but it is an O-ring and not a sleeve seal. However, after some research, people swear by it. I will admit, I had to use a drill press to drill a small hole to get the snap ring to come out. However, doing that made it a simple process to replace the seal. The replacement kits are available on e-bay, some gentleman from Utah or Colorado. About $45 shipped I think. You will also need a liter of hydraulic fluid from MB. About $20 I think. You will also more than likely need to replace the headliner. If so, find a local fabric shop and go ask them for some. I replaced the headliner for about $30. So for about $100 and an afternoon I fixed the top. Well worth it as the manual process to raise and lower the top is a pain in the ass!

The interior plastic on these things are brittle, at least that generation, in my experience. The paint is bad to peel up and it is gummy when it does, feels tacky and nasty to the touch. If you plan to take the interior out to refurbish (strip and paint), don't... you will break more pieces than you refurb. If I had to do it over again, I would either leave it alone (which I can't do... OCD like that), replacement parts and refurbish them prior to installing, or I would refurb it in place (but this would be a gamble as well as some of the pieces may not stand up to the rubbing and buffing required to strip the gunk and repaint. That said, I did refurbish the interior of a blue one of these and painted the interior a flat black and it did look slick! I should have used a semi flat black install of flat, but it did look really well when done.

The supercharger in these are also prone to chatter if I am not mistaken. The one I had did, but if I recall, it doesn't affect the car, just sounds loud is all. Double check me on this however. This is a potential $800ish part to replace, but pretty simple to replace if I recall.

I swear there was one other small issue with these cars that I repaired, but I cannot for the life of me recall.

All in all a very fun little car and if I could find a yellow one for $2500 I would not hesitate to pick it up to keep for a personal summer toy. The blue one above was repaired, for less than $300 and a few days of work, for my Father-In-Law to sell at auction, he is a used car dealer.

Edit:
If the top won't cycle and you cannot hear the pump trying to pump, check the trunk and make sure the vanity cover (for some reason the correct term is evading me right now) is in place. It needs to be pulled towards you and snapped in to place. There is a trigger switch that must be depressed in the retaining mechanism. The flap will do that when extended in to the correct position.

 

[Via]

Thanks for that detailed info.

I'll make sure I check the top when it comes to that.

 

[SearchMaster]

I paid $2000 for a '98 Accord with 180K miles and that was a bargain. If it runs decent and everything works, it's hard to go wrong at that price.

 

[sdifox]

I paid $2000 for a '98 Accord with 180K miles and that was a bargain. If it runs decent and everything works, it's hard to go wrong at that price.

The Accord is probably a little more reliable than a SLK230 :biggrin:

 

[Jimzz]

If you are handy and don't mind working on it a lot, esp if its not a daily driver, then sure.

But any out of warranty Mercedes/bmw/audi/vw/etc... god have mercy on your soul. 🙂

 

[rifken2]

You guys realize this is basically the same as a Crossfire? These aren't that bad to work on... If I am not mistaken, a lot of the parts of a Crossfire fit directly on this car... I could be wrong here...

 

[Arkaign]

You guys realize this is basically the same as a Crossfire? These aren't that bad to work on... If I am not mistaken, a lot of the parts of a Crossfire fit directly on this car... I could be wrong here...

You are not wrong, but the Crossfire came exclusively with the 3.2L M112 V6. Imho, the M112 is more trouble than it's worth in comparison to the 2.3L SC motor, which is a variant of the M111. The 3.2 doesn't add much in terms of power, and fuel economy is a wash in real life. The 111 is easier to work on in terms of access. You will definitely want to check the motor mounts on it though. The OEM motor mounts are pretty soft, and they wear out pretty easily. It's common to see partially neglected M111s have a LOT of play in them when throttle is applied and released. If the mounts are replaced but you still feel they are too soft, you can look up poly injection/etc.

For a Daimler product, the i4 is above average in reliability. Similarly, the 5-speed manual in these is really good. I have no experience with the later 6 speeds.

It's the electronics, A/C system, and 5-speed auto that I would feel less confident about. I know someone with a SLK320 that pops fuses and taillamps like popcorn, it's so bad that he carries a spare set of bulbs at all times.

But for a ~200hp car that doesn't look horribly dated, is only about 3,000lbs, convertible, should be worth a hard look if it really passes inspection. You could slowly fix it up and have a nifty little vehicle for cheap. It's not going to lose much value either, so if you really take care of it, you could probably get most of your money back in a few years if you get bored of it or find another project/weekender you want to replace it with.

 

[halik]

Since there are some knowledgeable auto guys on here I figured I'd ask. Maybe someone knows.

I have a chance to get a 1998 SLK 230 pretty cheap. The guy said he's tired of it and want's to get rid of it. He threw $2500 out there as a price.

I haven't seen it yet, but it's high miles (around 140,000). He's not the first owner; he said he's owned it for around 20,000 miles. He said there's no body damage or anything, but the paint job could be re-done at some point (it's yellow). He called the interior average.

According to him it runs very well, and he said he would let me take it to a mechanic. He says he put a few grand into it and doesn't know of any problems that require immediate attention.

Is this thing a potential $2500 paperweight? I posted a thread about used luxury cars a while ago, but ultimately decided against it because I didn't want to spend $20,000 on a car I'd rarely drive. This is different: I can cut a check for the $2500 and not miss it.

I did google it and it seems the pre-2000 models do have some problematic issues. But this would in no way be a daily driver, and I thought maybe I could teach myself to do some basic maintenance, like changing the oil and stuff.

It would just be a toy to play with. Bad idea?

Cheap enough to where I would buy it (if I had the space). The 320 6 banger is bulletproof, but I'm guessing the hard top / convertible assembly might give you some problems.

edit: straight 4, not 6.

 

[Via]

The guy's not returning my calls.

Oh, well. If it wasn't meant to be it wasn't meant to be.

 

[Via]

Well, I guess it's official now. The guy finally did call me back, and it seems he wants to keep the car as a graduation gift for his nephew. Kind of sounds like BS; I'm assuming he was just talking big and never really was going to sell it (at least not at that price).

Too bad - I was really looking forward to playing around with it. I checked on autotrader, and similar cards start at around $6500 which is definitely more than I feel like spending on a toy.