I bought one of these a couple of years ago off ebay, with 170k miles for £500, expecting it to be awful. It turned out to be one owner from new, full Mercedes history and it was immaculate. It was the 2.3 Kompressor with a manual gearbox, and I was really surprised by how well it drove. It's now done another 20,000 miles without so much as a blown bulb, and shows no signs of giving up yet! Possibly the most reliable car I've owned so I definitely got lucky there!
Also, I’m thinking of getting a 1999 with 170k miles too. But it’s going for $3,500. Should I bite the bullet and get it as I’ve been wanting one for a while? Would you say in your experience it would be worth it?
@@noochy9091 I just got a 2002 with 119k miles manual transmission for that price. Drives like a luxury miata. Owner before me had the hydraulics replaced. Very happy so far 🤞
A little tip - if you get one of these where the lid doesn’t operate but the button flashes red , especially so if the interior light stays on when the doors are shut , open the boot lid, take the plastic access cover off the inside of the lock and give the lock assy a gentle spray with some WD40. There are some micro switches in there and sometimes one sticks and inhibits the roof action because it’s falsely telling the system that the boot lid is open
I had one of these for 9 years until I totaled it 2 weeks ago. It was a Pandora's box of electrical issues and rust was really starting to eat at it but God, I loved that thing. I openly wept when I finished cleaning it out and retrieved the plates from it.
I know exactly what you’re saying about the electrical issues. Same thing happened with mine. I ended up trading my Mercedes SLK in for a new BMW 3-Series. The 3-series is way more reliable but I still love and miss the SLK.
@@NathanielRobinson I mean you are saying a new car is reliable that isnt much of a comparison, i mean a new Dacia Sandero would be more relibale if you talk about that
I know what you mean - we get so attached to our older Mercedes. And NAMING them is a disaster! We are soon to sell our beloved R170 SLK200, and there WILL be tears and tantrums when she goes.
This model SLK was my gateway drug into Mercedes-Benz cars. I liked the R170, but I prefer the R171 model, and I am now on my sixth one of those (I've had 200, 280 and 350 engines, but sadly no AMG). My latest one is an obsidian black SLK 200 Kompressor, and I love it!
@@artworkkennedy I've never had one with that high a mileage, and the only serious problem I had on one was when the roof refused to work. The engines seem to be very reliable. My current one (a 2009 SLK 200 2Look Edition) is on 39,400 (63,400 km) miles and has some corrosion issues, particularly on the front wings, which is a known problem (that said, none of my other cars had this). The other known issue is structural corrosion of the rear subframe, which Mercedes Benz will replace as a "good will" gesture if one knows the way to approach them. My car is not suffering from that as I had it inspected recently. It might be worth having this checked on your prospective vehicle. An invaluable source of information is the various SLK owners clubs, which have excellent Facebook groups.
Just picked up my 2011 SLK yesterday with only 55,000 miles on it! I love it, it's so classy inside and drives perfectly. I only purchased it because of this channel and it's my first sports car. Thanks Matt!
It's running perfect!! not had one issue upto now and just had it serviced 2 weeks ago. Great car, it drives amazing handles so well and is pretty economical on the motorways.
20 years old, it rains just about all the time in this country so having a bit of rust is hardly a surprise! This car looks really decent, actually think the spoke wheels look good, some of the Mercedes’ wheels look to small and don’t fill the arches.
Is de badge uitgetrokken in de koffer. Als je deze niet uittrekt en vastmaakt, gaat het dak niet open. Kijk in de koffer !!! This is netherlands . Grts from belgium
Wonder why so many speeding fines were issued...oh you were breaking the law by SPEEDING ! They should have just taken your license and thrown you in jail before you killed someone, fool !!!!!!!
I never liked these, but I adore the Kompressor engines, especially in the C-Class. It’s a shame that Mercedes discontinued the superchargers. The power delivery is so beautifully linear and instant. The interior looks very nice for the age and it’s nicely designed and looks great quality.
Totally agree man, my M111 kompressor still put down great power without complaining even before i started modding it out, but the upgrades definitely woke it up
My R170 is a 2001 SLK200K and only has 65,000 miles from new. I am the second owner. Just put new wings on all 4 positions this month and completed a partial respray in the original Saphire blue. Everything works and no rust now. Just need to re-do the magnolia leather paint now. All original.
I have a 2001 SLK 230 68,000 mikes, 2nd owner. The paint in the interior is wearing off, and I'm told there's nothing I can do. It's beige paint over the black. Interior is beige and black. It's a retro design, with the silver like in the video. Does anyone know if this can be painted over? I can't find a professional, but if anyone knows how to find someone, please advise. USA, New Jersey.
I had 2002, SLK 230 for years and it was great. It went through an MOT every year with NO advisories, even though it was a garage queen for 6 months of the year. I sold it to a friend who loves it, definitely a great car.
this has to be one of the most british videos on the channel : Driving an old 4x4, revulsion to the american bling, a not so obvious figure of speech , rain and sunshine in one day, selling a convertible just because there might be some sunshine in the near future.
I have one of these and I will tell you, the original grille was a joke! The one he put on this one is the one I purchased and being that mine is a silver car, it goes quite nicely. You’re correct, the wheels are hideous….. mine has the AMG package so the wheels are sweet!
I think you landed on your feet there, Matt. Good time of year to move this one on, although I'd hesitate to part with 3K for it. Good luck with the sale.
I've had a 2001 R170 manual for 7 years now and i love it. You were lucky Matt, that yours didn't suffer from another well documented issue specific to these cars - oil from the gearbox finding it's way into the electrical loom. Mine was suffering from this when i bought it from the shyster dealer and its "brand new MOT" was obviously bent because this was causing the emissions to go off the scale. Anyway, I got it fixed and seven years later I'm still driving a car that cost me £2,700 and it just keeps going. Fun times.
I have a very similar Y reg in silver. Now 198k on the clock, cost me £600 4yrs ago. I done a lot of work in Frankfurt and Munich and used it to get there and back about 8 times, almost faultless, New tyres, 1 coil a few bulbs and I replaced the driveshaft mid support bearing myself for £30. Still my daily driver and I love it, though due to rust underneath don’t think it’ll get another mot… my other car is a 50yr old VW T2.
These are my most preferred vids from Matt. They're all good but these are so relatable. You're the only chap on YT I've ever come across to look and comment on the brand of tyre(s) on these cars; something I've always looked at when buying and think is a huge factor in the overall condition of the car, I just find it fascinating. Cheers for the content.
I have a 97 Black 230 SLK with red seats and red dash, and interior, always garaged from new and it’s faultless, 70k miles and a really fun car to drive when the sun shines. They are galvanised so a lot about not helping residual prices. I did 112 mph with the roof down in Germany 😃
I know quite a bit about these. Got an immaculate 320 on 60,000 miles. They are good cars but still quite a lot of 230s around so 3 grand might be a hardish sell. It will need two new front wings to do properly or the rust will come back quickly. You said bubbles on rear wing which could be the killer, it's likely to be worse inside than out and rear wings are now very hard to get. The mouldy glove box indicates the scuttle drains are blocked which might mean the heater will be on the way out. The BAS/ ESP light could be various things but suspect ABS sensors, an easier fix. All in all good cars in the right condition but may be some trouble lurking in that one unless an enthusiast breathes some love on it.
At least with the R170s you can get replacement wings cheap. The R171s are another matter, they’re terribly expensive and it’s hard finding them that haven’t got rust bubbling near the bumper/headlight.
@@molluscturtle yeah front wings readily available for R170 although the non-Merc pattern parts sometimes don't fit that well. Rear wings different matter, only a handful of nearside available anywhere, offside can get some but for how long is a problem. Clubs will need to address that at some point.
I have a red 1998 SLK 230 Kompressor that I bought from my brother. He bought it new in 1997. It now has 284,000 miles on it. It runs great and I love it. It's a real money pit, but I don't mind. What a beautiful, wonderful little car! It has additional sentimental value to me now because my brother has died since I bought it from him in 2018. He sold it to me and bought a 2017 Mercedes. Four years later, his car caught on fire and he died in it.
Holy bloody Nora. What a horrific story. I really feel for you. I hope that your brother is proud of you for looking after "his" car so well that you've got it to 284k miles. Keep enjoying your brilliant little SLK. :-)
I recently bought a 2001 6 speed manual SLK320 V6 with AMG bodykit. I was very familiar with the (1989-2001) R129 SL having owned more than one but I'm starting to think that these SLK's are a gem for the kind of money they are. It's a well made/well engineered MB. I suspect that a lot of them will be in quite good condition underneath even although arches might indicate otherwise.
Love my R170 SLKs. At 11:50 I noticed the aftermarket mirror is just strapped to the original mirror. You can just remove the crummy dash cam mirror. As far as the tray, cup holders or tray was a option. I also noticed no radio antenna, which is where mine rusted out so I wonder if it rusted and they spackled it over rather than repair it. I was also busy writing this comment to say your top issue looked like a switch problem when I got to the part where it was a switch issue. 😄
Matt, great to see how healthy your views and engagement are. You've worked hard for years and it's great it's paying off. Good things happen to good people. Keep going buddy.
My neighbour has a silver one she offered me and only has 35000 miles on the clock. It has never seen road salt, always been stored in a garage and only driven in summer. It is an R reg and so clean.
Get it up in the air and check for rust around suspension & sub frame! I’ve just cleaned off rust & treated my R170 which has probably saved it from the breakers!
Iv'e just replaced my knackered Rover 45 with a 1999 Mercedes Benz W202 .......it's bloody lovely , yes it has rust bubbles on the arches but it's only done 65k ..No advisories on the 12 month mot it's a 2.0 elegance auto in storm silver ( gold )......what a car
I had the CLK230 for 10 years and did a full Brabus conversion on it, absolutely stunning car even today it looks brilliant, the rust is a real shame and had it all done once only for it to come back and i kept very very good care of it. The 230k engine is bullet proof when looked after and the supercharger whine, especially with a Brabus pulley on it screams. The mouldy glovebox is likey due to the rubber drain plug past the scuttle gutter, water and gung goes down the passenger hole and theres weirdly a rubber stopper on the end of the drain with and it has a stupid flap on it, again in the same rubber as the rubber stopper, just pull the damn thing off it doesnt need to be there. drainage flows like it should and you wont get water in the passenger footwell and/or glove box like it does at the moment. You will need to remove the scuttle gutter plastic to gain access but easy enough.
Beautifull car. I had a slk 200 from 1999, never problems . 18 august i go to germany , i bought a mercedes 200 slk kompressor. Can't wait to drive it. Good cars!!!!!
Mercedes (along with other German brands) models from 1998-2002 suffered from corrosion problems due to the German car industry adopting water-based paints. Mine were always repaired under the Mercedes-Benz 30 year body warranty. But so many on sale have been badly maintained, and we're not able to take advantage of this provision.
Hello from Tbilisi, Georgia. Bought my SLK 32 AMG here for 7.5k USD and what a beast, especially with all the aftermarket tuning they put on it, 500hp+ now. Good luck with yours, take a good care of it
You won't find a single SLK R170 in the country for £2,999 unless it has true 'classic car' mileage (under 40k) or is an AMG model. I'm looking at a mint 230k at the moment on Autotrader for £1100.
Interesting! Just bought this weekend a mint 1 owner 1999 230 SLK with original MB sales invoice, all docs and keys, full MBSH and genuine 34k miles in the same colour as a long term keeper. Prefer the purity of the original pre-facelift design.
I like a lot the SLK Kompressor early gens. They are very enjoyable machines for their prices. The downside is their fuel consumption for the power they make. In terms of reliability, my advice it's to buy one in mint condition.
Hi Matt, just out of curiosity, if someone wanted to keep this SLK long-term as, say, the family runabout, or a couple's weekend get-away car, what is the best long-term way to fix the rust properly before it gets hopeless? The putty and paint method would, as you say, begin to rust again in a couple of years. But what is the better (but yes, more expensive) alternative for the long-term? Welding a lot of new bits in and re-paint? Replace the fenders and boot lit panels completely and re-paint? What would that cost? Sure, these cars will likely never be "super classics" like SLs that in 10 years will rise appreciably in value. But, it might be a fun car to just keep around. I rather liken it to an MGB kind of thing. It's not for everyone or for all occasions, but, if you like it (nice color), it might be worth just keeping forever. But that would mean fixing the body work properly, not just with putty and paint. So, what would be a proper form of permanent rust repair and what would that cost? Consider: Replacing the car it with a newer version every three years costs money too. Cars are like love -- one is either a "one-nighter, right now, a new model around every corner" kind of person, or, like me, one plays for keeps. In the end, the costs in money may be the same, but the costs in happiness another matter. Always looking for something new implies a certain undercurrent of always being unhappy. The proper rust repair might be expensive, but likely less than replacing a gearbox on a RR.
Love the SLK! I had one in 2005 for 3 years and it never missed a beat. It was a chance buy and the lads gave me plenty of stick for it being a "Girls Car" !
It’s side splitting funny isn’t it? I’ve had loads of SLKs and SLs - I had one wag telling me my 5 litre V8 SL was a hairdressers car. He drove a Corsa.
I use convertible in this country all year round - except rain. November to March just equals woolly hat, fleece, jacket etc and preferably heated seats as per SL and SLC Mercedes, Crossfire and, as I have just learnt 2007 Mini Cooper Convertible. No matter what I paid, in fact the more paid, use it all year. The only difficulty has been SLC stopped at junction on ice and 5 inch snow - very embarrassing. £3000 SLK offers fun, cheap convertible motoring, even in red!!
I bought a 1999 230 as a summer runabout, Until the front hydraulic roof strut gave up the ghost and peed fluid all over my headlining. Could not find replacements for love nor money, and end up parting with my local mechanic lost 3k over two years, but during that, boy was it fun.
This era of Mercedes such as this SLK and C-class were made in Brazil. It was noted that this era of Mercedes suffered build quality issues, unfortunately.
What a bargain! Good job. On a random note, you have to be careful with declaring sponsored content in the UK. You'll probably be fine but I remember a few years ago a bunch of British youtubers got hit with fines for not clearly defining that portions of their videos were sponsored. Just something to bear in mind.
Correct, easiest thing to do is to tick the option when uploading so the video gets a 'paid advertisement' box show up at the start, covers your bottom nicely!
@@HighPeakAutos didn’t show up my end on this video but youtube can be buggy sometimes. I wouldn’t panic too much but I’ve seen people get in trouble with this before so its good to be cautious!
Some may take the piss but you get plenty of bang for your buck...bought one 3 years ago..( wish I had of checked out your podcast first )...was a bit tatty and some nasty "mods" done. But what performance !!! Part exed it for a 350 slk and didn't lose any money ...do enjoy your podcasts having spent 30 years in the motor trade...you tell it like it is..a must watch for anyone buying a used car
You said the SLK MkI is not a great sports car.... I have my 1997 P reg with one simple mod that cost me £189 + shipping from Germany. The car is now running 243bhp and 256Ft/lbs. This makes it a completely different car. Gives me a massive smile everytime I get a boy racer in his hot hatch on the outside lane at the lights!! AND, the early cars will be on classic car status in 2 years. Price is going up again, not many originls left. Thank you for the Video.
Mine cost £620 last year, the roof stopped half way, specialist simply lubricated it and boom, fixed it. I cleaned it and got £1300 after 3 weeks. The front wings were almost see through at the front but the buyers all knew about these typical problems and actually sort of embraced the fact that they all do it. I'd have another in a heartbeat
sadly i wasn't that lucky. I had to replace all the lines and have them remanufactured. The labour was the most expensive part. It the mechanic took me for a bit of a ride, but hard to find people to work on these cars. So far so good. knock on wood, still enjoying - though not driving in the snow/winter! I still have one troublesome issue. A leak from the upper window on the drivers side. small drips. Wonder if I have to replace the rubber seal/gasket
My aunt had one of these. She owned a salon. I thought it was cool when I was 10 though. Also, that rear view mirror appears to be just stuck over the original from the looks of the back of it. What I do like about these is that its a hard top convertible. Makes a nice difference to refinement.
About 8 years ago I had a C Class estate that was around 12 years old. Local Merc garage had a deal on for a free MOT for older mercs and so I took a deep breath and popped it in, it was my first Merc and I wanted to go in the dealers. It has a similar amount of rust as this SLK. When I went to collect it they had said nothing about the rust but I pointed it out to them. Long story short, they replaced all four wings and the tailgate, plus a good respray all under warranty. So I would say it really is worth giving Merc a try with any car as they did sort my old one out. They can only say no. So drove home smiling in a car looking like new and as it also passed the MOT it cost me nothing!
had my 97 slk 6 years now...learned a lot on these cars.....if ur abs light is on the roof wont go down..that happened to me...i bought an icarsoft mb v1.0 with the 38 pin adaptor and it did com with the car...told me it was right front speed sensor(abs)..got new sensor and cleared the fault code...and the micro switches in the boot ive heard can fail...were you pull the cover back.....oh if your supercharger isnt kicking in at 2000revs get a new cam sensor...i got a £22 of ebay and it fixed that on mine ;)
The internal mirror looks like it has a dash cam mirror fitted over the original. Watching your video you can see the straps holding it on. So you should just be able to take it off revealing the original mirror.
Yep they rust anywhere. I have a 2001 200k E Class in Cyprus and it's rusting on all the wheel arches the rear boot lid and shockingly bad rust under the rear window. We had a drought for 2 years and it still rusted!
That era Mercs just rust like the bejesus. I see so many E classes in such a mess. We used to have a bright red C class coupe on a 52 plate, full evo pack, glass roof. Lovely car and drove great. Then rust started breaking out - not just in the usual places like arches, but scabrous great patches in the middle of door panels. It was such a shame. I’m really anal about bodywork and couldn’t handle that at all, so it had to go.
i bought an slk late last year and i bought it for £2.5k due to a "faulty roof" again "something serious" i though meh is what it is, stripped the boot and found a wire had been chafed and repaired and been awesome since and its on cap for around £4.8-5.2k so win win
Have a 1999, 230,( the same! but silver) 1 lady owner before me, 60,000 miles, no rust (obviously garaged/looked after/full service history) and I must admit with all the cars I have/had,(and I've had plenty!) one of the sweetest little (Hairdressers car!) cars I've owned!! had her 8 years and no problems at all! Bought for peanuts, and still worth peanuts! but a sweet little girl!! Nice upload by the way! x
I've had mine maybe seven years and the only things that have needed replacing apart from consumables(brakes, oil, etc) is the serpentine belt tensioner and the MAFS. It had a cheap Chinese MAFS and was great after I Bosched it up.
Everyday that Jeep goes up in value here. And you have the English one with the nice leather off roader here might buy that off you 10,000 because in the UK you have MOT. There is no rust underneath that Jeep for sure.
With all your expertise with cars, you could make some video about your top 10 worst models prone to rust you've traded, and the top 10 models less prone for rust. Very handy information to people as me, living near the shore.
@@HighPeakAutos with cars using thinner gauge metal sheets for weight savings, I'm starting to notice many newer cars starting to suffer with rust sooner.
Car looks really nice - yes - better to bring it back to stock. I'm thinking of buying a C200 Kompressor next year if I find the right one at the right price. Mainstream car prices have surged in Australia but it doesn't seem to have impacted on the classic luxury market.
I bought one of these a couple of years ago off ebay, with 170k miles for £500, expecting it to be awful. It turned out to be one owner from new, full Mercedes history and it was immaculate. It was the 2.3 Kompressor with a manual gearbox, and I was really surprised by how well it drove. It's now done another 20,000 miles without so much as a blown bulb, and shows no signs of giving up yet! Possibly the most reliable car I've owned so I definitely got lucky there!
Bargain!
it's a miata alternative?
@@jaimeleiva4865 yea
Also, I’m thinking of getting a 1999 with 170k miles too. But it’s going for $3,500. Should I bite the bullet and get it as I’ve been wanting one for a while? Would you say in your experience it would be worth it?
@@noochy9091 I just got a 2002 with 119k miles manual transmission for that price. Drives like a luxury miata. Owner before me had the hydraulics replaced. Very happy so far 🤞
The SLK is the coolest car Mercedes ever made,anybody that have one absolutely loves it,any year,any color,any model
A little tip - if you get one of these where the lid doesn’t operate but the button flashes red , especially so if the interior light stays on when the doors are shut , open the boot lid, take the plastic access cover off the inside of the lock and give the lock assy a gentle spray with some WD40. There are some micro switches in there and sometimes one sticks and inhibits the roof action because it’s falsely telling the system that the boot lid is open
How?
@@ilovetech how not?
@@ilovetech How what ?
@@ilovetech How where?
I had one of these for 9 years until I totaled it 2 weeks ago. It was a Pandora's box of electrical issues and rust was really starting to eat at it but God, I loved that thing. I openly wept when I finished cleaning it out and retrieved the plates from it.
I know exactly what you’re saying about the electrical issues. Same thing happened with mine. I ended up trading my Mercedes SLK in for a new BMW 3-Series. The 3-series is way more reliable but I still love and miss the SLK.
@@NathanielRobinson I mean you are saying a new car is reliable that isnt much of a comparison, i mean a new Dacia Sandero would be more relibale if you talk about that
@@averagedev7768 true but after 10 years my BMW is still more reliable a car in comparison. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Mercedes SLK.
I know what you mean - we get so attached to our older Mercedes. And NAMING them is a disaster! We are soon to sell our beloved R170 SLK200, and there WILL be tears and tantrums when she goes.
This model SLK was my gateway drug into Mercedes-Benz cars. I liked the R170, but I prefer the R171 model, and I am now on my sixth one of those (I've had 200, 280 and 350 engines, but sadly no AMG). My latest one is an obsidian black SLK 200 Kompressor, and I love it!
im about to buy one thats at 200,000km, any issues I should be looking for or expect?
@@artworkkennedy I've never had one with that high a mileage, and the only serious problem I had on one was when the roof refused to work. The engines seem to be very reliable. My current one (a 2009 SLK 200 2Look Edition) is on 39,400 (63,400 km) miles and has some corrosion issues, particularly on the front wings, which is a known problem (that said, none of my other cars had this). The other known issue is structural corrosion of the rear subframe, which Mercedes Benz will replace as a "good will" gesture if one knows the way to approach them. My car is not suffering from that as I had it inspected recently. It might be worth having this checked on your prospective vehicle. An invaluable source of information is the various SLK owners clubs, which have excellent Facebook groups.
Just picked up my 2011 SLK yesterday with only 55,000 miles on it! I love it, it's so classy inside and drives perfectly. I only purchased it because of this channel and it's my first sports car. Thanks Matt!
9 months on..how is it ?
yea how it been the last year
It's running perfect!! not had one issue upto now and just had it serviced 2 weeks ago. Great car, it drives amazing handles so well and is pretty economical on the motorways.
appreciate the reply makes me wanna get one even more now @@vikinginspace4881 😸
I just bought a 2001 230 with 48000 on the clock 😊
20 years old, it rains just about all the time in this country so having a bit of rust is hardly a surprise! This car looks really decent, actually think the spoke wheels look good, some of the Mercedes’ wheels look to small and don’t fill the arches.
My SLK 230 has pop out cup holders! It's engine is solid as anything. Great fun to drive. Not sporty, but a great cruiser.
Is de badge uitgetrokken in de koffer.
Als je deze niet uittrekt en vastmaakt, gaat het dak niet open.
Kijk in de koffer !!!
This is netherlands .
Grts from belgium
The SLK 32 AMG in this shape was an absolute rocket of a car, I had one for a while in South Africa, many many speeding fines were issued...
Wonder why so many speeding fines were issued...oh you were breaking the law by SPEEDING ! They should have just taken your license and thrown you in jail before you killed someone, fool !!!!!!!
@@ITILII calm yourself now Karen...
11:50 Bright lad 👏🏻😂
Nice little car though
I never liked these, but I adore the Kompressor engines, especially in the C-Class. It’s a shame that Mercedes discontinued the superchargers. The power delivery is so beautifully linear and instant. The interior looks very nice for the age and it’s nicely designed and looks great quality.
Totally agree man, my M111 kompressor still put down great power without complaining even before i started modding it out, but the upgrades definitely woke it up
My R170 is a 2001 SLK200K and only has 65,000 miles from new. I am the second owner. Just put new wings on all 4 positions this month and completed a partial respray in the original Saphire blue. Everything works and no rust now. Just need to re-do the magnolia leather paint now. All original.
Any mechanical issues?
I have a 2001 SLK 230 68,000 mikes, 2nd owner. The paint in the interior is wearing off, and I'm told there's nothing I can do. It's beige paint over the black. Interior is beige and black. It's a retro design, with the silver like in the video. Does anyone know if this can be painted over? I can't find a professional, but if anyone knows how to find someone, please advise. USA, New Jersey.
8:32 BAS light is removed by turning the steering fully to the left, then fully to the right. Usually required when a battery has been disconnected.
Tried it
I had 2002, SLK 230 for years and it was great. It went through an MOT every year with NO advisories, even though it was a garage queen for 6 months of the year.
I sold it to a friend who loves it, definitely a great car.
this has to be one of the most british videos on the channel : Driving an old 4x4, revulsion to the american bling, a not so obvious figure of speech , rain and sunshine in one day, selling a convertible just because there might be some sunshine in the near future.
I have one of these and I will tell you, the original grille was a joke! The one he put on this one is the one I purchased and being that mine is a silver car, it goes quite nicely. You’re correct, the wheels are hideous….. mine has the AMG package so the wheels are sweet!
Arches painted already. The Kompressor badges are missing on the wings being a sign
I think you landed on your feet there, Matt. Good time of year to move this one on, although I'd hesitate to part with 3K for it. Good luck with the sale.
I've had a 2001 R170 manual for 7 years now and i love it. You were lucky Matt, that yours didn't suffer from another well documented issue specific to these cars - oil from the gearbox finding it's way into the electrical loom. Mine was suffering from this when i bought it from the shyster dealer and its "brand new MOT" was obviously bent because this was causing the emissions to go off the scale. Anyway, I got it fixed and seven years later I'm still driving a car that cost me £2,700 and it just keeps going. Fun times.
Oh this is common. My 🟦 6spd has this issue. I'm getting rid of it maybe. But you saying this helps me. Had it forever.
What was the fix? Damage?
I have a very similar Y reg in silver. Now 198k on the clock, cost me £600 4yrs ago. I done a lot of work in Frankfurt and Munich and used it to get there and back about 8 times, almost faultless, New tyres, 1 coil a few bulbs and I replaced the driveshaft mid support bearing myself for £30. Still my daily driver and I love it, though due to rust underneath don’t think it’ll get another mot… my other car is a 50yr old VW T2.
These are my most preferred vids from Matt. They're all good but these are so relatable. You're the only chap on YT I've ever come across to look and comment on the brand of tyre(s) on these cars; something I've always looked at when buying and think is a huge factor in the overall condition of the car, I just find it fascinating. Cheers for the content.
Thanks for watching
I have a 97 Black 230 SLK with red seats and red dash, and interior, always garaged from new and it’s faultless, 70k miles and a really fun car to drive when the sun shines. They are galvanised so a lot about not helping residual prices. I did 112 mph with the roof down in Germany 😃
We had one like that for 7 years! We had a SL after and now back in a SLK R171 🌞
Lovely Jubbly, once the rust is sorted I'd have those wheels powder coated, it would be a tidy little convertible
He's morphing into Arthur Daley....guv....
I know quite a bit about these. Got an immaculate 320 on 60,000 miles. They are good cars but still quite a lot of 230s around so 3 grand might be a hardish sell. It will need two new front wings to do properly or the rust will come back quickly. You said bubbles on rear wing which could be the killer, it's likely to be worse inside than out and rear wings are now very hard to get. The mouldy glove box indicates the scuttle drains are blocked which might mean the heater will be on the way out. The BAS/ ESP light could be various things but suspect ABS sensors, an easier fix. All in all good cars in the right condition but may be some trouble lurking in that one unless an enthusiast breathes some love on it.
At least with the R170s you can get replacement wings cheap. The R171s are another matter, they’re terribly expensive and it’s hard finding them that haven’t got rust bubbling near the bumper/headlight.
@@molluscturtle yeah front wings readily available for R170 although the non-Merc pattern parts sometimes don't fit that well. Rear wings different matter, only a handful of nearside available anywhere, offside can get some but for how long is a problem. Clubs will need to address that at some point.
@@molluscturtle Still an expensive job though guessing £600
I have a red 1998 SLK 230 Kompressor that I bought from my brother. He bought it new in 1997. It now has 284,000 miles on it. It runs great and I love it. It's a real money pit, but I don't mind. What a beautiful, wonderful little car! It has additional sentimental value to me now because my brother has died since I bought it from him in 2018. He sold it to me and bought a 2017 Mercedes. Four years later, his car caught on fire and he died in it.
Holy bloody Nora. What a horrific story. I really feel for you. I hope that your brother is proud of you for looking after "his" car so well that you've got it to 284k miles. Keep enjoying your brilliant little SLK. :-)
Amazing car. ABOSLUTELY amazing car. Have had mine. 2003 SLK 230 for over 10 years now and its perfection.
I recently bought a 2001 6 speed manual SLK320 V6 with AMG bodykit. I was very familiar with the (1989-2001) R129 SL having owned more than one but I'm starting to think that these SLK's are a gem for the kind of money they are. It's a well made/well engineered MB. I suspect that a lot of them will be in quite good condition underneath even although arches might indicate otherwise.
I like the hard top convertible as well as the pricing of these..I'm 6'2" will I fit??
Always when your cleaning one of these , get a hose on the inner arches and jet wash any caked on dirt or mud out of these areas .
Love my R170 SLKs. At 11:50 I noticed the aftermarket mirror is just strapped to the original mirror. You can just remove the crummy dash cam mirror.
As far as the tray, cup holders or tray was a option.
I also noticed no radio antenna, which is where mine rusted out so I wonder if it rusted and they spackled it over rather than repair it.
I was also busy writing this comment to say your top issue looked like a switch problem when I got to the part where it was a switch issue. 😄
Very common to put aftermarket mirror because factory morose has auto dimming that fades and makes it impossible to see out the glass
Matt, great to see how healthy your views and engagement are. You've worked hard for years and it's great it's paying off. Good things happen to good people. Keep going buddy.
My neighbour has a silver one she offered me and only has 35000 miles on the clock. It has never seen road salt, always been stored in a garage and only driven in summer. It is an R reg and so clean.
Get it up in the air and check for rust around suspension & sub frame! I’ve just cleaned off rust & treated my R170 which has probably saved it from the breakers!
Iv'e just replaced my knackered Rover 45 with a 1999 Mercedes Benz W202 .......it's bloody lovely , yes it has rust bubbles on the arches but it's only done 65k ..No advisories on the 12 month mot it's a 2.0 elegance auto in storm silver ( gold )......what a car
I had the CLK230 for 10 years and did a full Brabus conversion on it, absolutely stunning car even today it looks brilliant, the rust is a real shame and had it all done once only for it to come back and i kept very very good care of it. The 230k engine is bullet proof when looked after and the supercharger whine, especially with a Brabus pulley on it screams. The mouldy glovebox is likey due to the rubber drain plug past the scuttle gutter, water and gung goes down the passenger hole and theres weirdly a rubber stopper on the end of the drain with and it has a stupid flap on it, again in the same rubber as the rubber stopper, just pull the damn thing off it doesnt need to be there. drainage flows like it should and you wont get water in the passenger footwell and/or glove box like it does at the moment. You will need to remove the scuttle gutter plastic to gain access but easy enough.
MAKE LOVE TO ME
Matt . I’d get the bling removed. Flog the wheels on EBay and buy some original ones and a grille from a breaker. Fix the roof and get it up for 2.5 k
Beautifull car.
I had a slk 200 from 1999, never problems .
18 august i go to germany , i bought a mercedes 200 slk kompressor.
Can't wait to drive it.
Good cars!!!!!
Mercedes (along with other German brands) models from 1998-2002 suffered from corrosion problems due to the German car industry adopting water-based paints.
Mine were always repaired under the Mercedes-Benz 30 year body warranty. But so many on sale have been badly maintained, and we're not able to take advantage of this provision.
I used to have one of them Hotwheels SLK's back in the late 90s in yellow, minus the bling ofcourse
We just sold our 2002 SLK320 in Florida Posted online and sold in three days. Over $6,000. We had it for 20 years and 99,400 miles.
Hello from Tbilisi, Georgia. Bought my SLK 32 AMG here for 7.5k USD and what a beast, especially with all the aftermarket tuning they put on it, 500hp+ now. Good luck with yours, take a good care of it
Bacofoil “wrap” on front splitter! It’s still a £2999 sticker car and perfect for summer fun! 😎
You won't find a single SLK R170 in the country for £2,999 unless it has true 'classic car' mileage (under 40k) or is an AMG model. I'm looking at a mint 230k at the moment on Autotrader for £1100.
Interesting! Just bought this weekend a mint 1 owner 1999 230 SLK with original MB sales invoice, all docs and keys, full MBSH and genuine 34k miles in the same colour as a long term keeper. Prefer the purity of the original pre-facelift design.
I like a lot the SLK Kompressor early gens. They are very enjoyable machines for their prices. The downside is their fuel consumption for the power they make. In terms of reliability, my advice it's to buy one in mint condition.
Defo not the worst upgrades on a slk. The wheels are not bad nor the replacement grill.. Good looking car to be fair..
Good looking car with the roof down - apart from the wheels! Rare car (now) passed at 18:21 too -R8 Rover 200. Not many of them left now either.
I think the Fiat 124 Spider is better looking, albeit ore expensive....
I think you should keep this , top down in the summer with bronski beat blasting out 😜
That grill is like some sort of VW Polo bluemotion tribute. Wheels are a little jazzy but solid car, well done
Hi Matt, just out of curiosity, if someone wanted to keep this SLK long-term as, say, the family runabout, or a couple's weekend get-away car, what is the best long-term way to fix the rust properly before it gets hopeless? The putty and paint method would, as you say, begin to rust again in a couple of years. But what is the better (but yes, more expensive) alternative for the long-term? Welding a lot of new bits in and re-paint? Replace the fenders and boot lit panels completely and re-paint? What would that cost? Sure, these cars will likely never be "super classics" like SLs that in 10 years will rise appreciably in value. But, it might be a fun car to just keep around. I rather liken it to an MGB kind of thing. It's not for everyone or for all occasions, but, if you like it (nice color), it might be worth just keeping forever. But that would mean fixing the body work properly, not just with putty and paint. So, what would be a proper form of permanent rust repair and what would that cost? Consider: Replacing the car it with a newer version every three years costs money too. Cars are like love -- one is either a "one-nighter, right now, a new model around every corner" kind of person, or, like me, one plays for keeps. In the end, the costs in money may be the same, but the costs in happiness another matter. Always looking for something new implies a certain undercurrent of always being unhappy. The proper rust repair might be expensive, but likely less than replacing a gearbox on a RR.
Clean out the rust/holes, and fibreglass with 3 layers.
Love the SLK! I had one in 2005 for 3 years and it never missed a beat. It was a chance buy and the lads gave me plenty of stick for it being a "Girls Car" !
It’s side splitting funny isn’t it? I’ve had loads of SLKs and SLs - I had one wag telling me my 5 litre V8 SL was a hairdressers car.
He drove a Corsa.
A nice little win there. Shame about the wheels, and tin worm but they all do that sir.
I use convertible in this country all year round - except rain. November to March just equals woolly hat, fleece, jacket etc and preferably heated seats as per SL and SLC Mercedes, Crossfire and, as I have just learnt 2007 Mini Cooper Convertible. No matter what I paid, in fact the more paid, use it all year. The only difficulty has been SLC stopped at junction on ice and 5 inch snow - very embarrassing. £3000 SLK offers fun, cheap convertible motoring, even in red!!
Very lucky about the MOT's in the UK! here in Ireland the waiting list for our MOT ( NCT ) is sometimes 3 months.
I bought a 1999 230 as a summer runabout, Until the front hydraulic roof strut gave up the ghost and peed fluid all over my headlining. Could not find replacements for love nor money, and end up parting with my local mechanic lost 3k over two years, but during that, boy was it fun.
*I had a 230 Kompressor for a couple of years. Nice little kick down, very well made and comfortable car. I’d recommend one if you fancy it.*
This era of Mercedes such as this SLK and C-class were made in Brazil. It was noted that this era of Mercedes suffered build quality issues, unfortunately.
Nice weekend car when there is sunshine 😀
What a bargain! Good job.
On a random note, you have to be careful with declaring sponsored content in the UK. You'll probably be fine but I remember a few years ago a bunch of British youtubers got hit with fines for not clearly defining that portions of their videos were sponsored. Just something to bear in mind.
Correct, easiest thing to do is to tick the option when uploading so the video gets a 'paid advertisement' box show up at the start, covers your bottom nicely!
@@ItsDanLatham I think I did on this one didn’t I?
@@HighPeakAutos didn’t show up my end on this video but youtube can be buggy sometimes. I wouldn’t panic too much but I’ve seen people get in trouble with this before so its good to be cautious!
Well done Matt you smashed it
Kevin
Hated the grill but loved the wheels so since I"m sure there are more people out there with my sense of good taste you could probably leave them on. .
Bling it up baby. Make a rap music video with it, wearing 20 gold chains and throwing cash. 🤣🤣
Love your work 👍
Hahaha yes
That chinese rearview mirror is actually a dash cam thats clipped onto the original oem mirror. You can take it off.
From a distance............... it looks good, including the wheels
Some may take the piss but you get plenty of bang for your buck...bought one 3 years ago..( wish I had of checked out your podcast first )...was a bit tatty and some nasty "mods" done. But what performance !!! Part exed it for a 350 slk and didn't lose any money ...do enjoy your podcasts having spent 30 years in the motor trade...you tell it like it is..a must watch for anyone buying a used car
You said the SLK MkI is not a great sports car.... I have my 1997 P reg with one simple mod that cost me £189 + shipping from Germany. The car is now running 243bhp and 256Ft/lbs. This makes it a completely different car. Gives me a massive smile everytime I get a boy racer in his hot hatch on the outside lane at the lights!! AND, the early cars will be on classic car status in 2 years. Price is going up again, not many originls left. Thank you for the Video.
What was the mod you did to get the extra HP?
I had an SLK200 which was okay, but when I got the 32AMG...hoo hoo!!
Funny sold a Z3 2.8 wide body and bought a 1998 320 silk and drove it back to Palma from Harrogate 18000 k pounds 21. years ago 💪💪💪
Mine cost £620 last year, the roof stopped half way, specialist simply lubricated it and boom, fixed it. I cleaned it and got £1300 after 3 weeks. The front wings were almost see through at the front but the buyers all knew about these typical problems and actually sort of embraced the fact that they all do it. I'd have another in a heartbeat
sadly i wasn't that lucky. I had to replace all the lines and have them remanufactured. The labour was the most expensive part. It the mechanic took me for a bit of a ride, but hard to find people to work on these cars. So far so good. knock on wood, still enjoying - though not driving in the snow/winter! I still have one troublesome issue. A leak from the upper window on the drivers side. small drips. Wonder if I have to replace the rubber seal/gasket
those alloys really pop with the red Matt, IMHO =) great find well done
Nice motor Matt, would suit my mid life crisis!
"That is the sound of Chinese quality" 😂
To be fair that style of dashcam saved me once, im glad i had it fitted
My aunt had one of these. She owned a salon. I thought it was cool when I was 10 though. Also, that rear view mirror appears to be just stuck over the original from the looks of the back of it. What I do like about these is that its a hard top convertible. Makes a nice difference to refinement.
"She picks up her skirt" ...😁...I'm sure you'll get grief for that.🤦🏻♂️
Nice vid👍🏻 I loved the wheels btw.
(maybe not on that car🤔)
I bought mine 20 years ago and it was full of small problems. So happy to get rid of it after 2 years. Will never buy another Benz again.
About 8 years ago I had a C Class estate that was around 12 years old. Local Merc garage had a deal on for a free MOT for older mercs and so I took a deep breath and popped it in, it was my first Merc and I wanted to go in the dealers. It has a similar amount of rust as this SLK.
When I went to collect it they had said nothing about the rust but I pointed it out to them. Long story short, they replaced all four wings and the tailgate, plus a good respray all under warranty. So I would say it really is worth giving Merc a try with any car as they did sort my old one out. They can only say no.
So drove home smiling in a car looking like new and as it also passed the MOT it cost me nothing!
Never mind the Merc, your Jeep is an absolute stunner mate.
Thanks! I would have loved to have kept it
@@HighPeakAutos they are getting rare specially in that condition, I have a 04 kj V6. It's been mega reliable just really thirsty.
I had a Jeep like that years ago, it was horrific on juice, it actually made my 530i Sport look economical
@@dickoos my kj 2004 will do 25 to a gallon on a long run at about 60-65. Round the valleys though it's getting 18.
had my 97 slk 6 years now...learned a lot on these cars.....if ur abs light is on the roof wont go down..that happened to me...i bought an icarsoft mb v1.0 with the 38 pin adaptor and it did com with the car...told me it was right front speed sensor(abs)..got new sensor and cleared the fault code...and the micro switches in the boot ive heard can fail...were you pull the cover back.....oh if your supercharger isnt kicking in at 2000revs get a new cam sensor...i got a £22 of ebay and it fixed that on mine ;)
The internal mirror looks like it has a dash cam mirror fitted over the original. Watching your video you can see the straps holding it on. So you should just be able to take it off revealing the original mirror.
matt is perfect for youtube /car reviews , easy to listen too and a subtle sense of northern humour to make the channel fresh every upload
Thanks!
@@HighPeakAutos if david attenborough sold cars , he would have the same dialogue delivery
I have a black 03 230 k, I love it, just can't afford to tax it 😂😂😂,, this red one looks horrendous 🤣
Love your videos so big up from Scotland 👍.
Yep they rust anywhere. I have a 2001 200k E Class in Cyprus and it's rusting on all the wheel arches the rear boot lid and shockingly bad rust under the rear window. We had a drought for 2 years and it still rusted!
😂 didn’t expect that
That era Mercs just rust like the bejesus. I see so many E classes in such a mess. We used to have a bright red C class coupe on a 52 plate, full evo pack, glass roof. Lovely car and drove great. Then rust started breaking out - not just in the usual places like arches, but scabrous great patches in the middle of door panels. It was such a shame. I’m really anal about bodywork and couldn’t handle that at all, so it had to go.
I really like the wheels against the red paint
‘My god what on earth has happened here’ 😂😂
I bought a 2003 SLK Kompressor 200 and love her
I kind of dig those wheels! Well done on getting lucky btw!
i bought an slk late last year and i bought it for £2.5k due to a "faulty roof" again "something serious" i though meh is what it is, stripped the boot and found a wire had been chafed and repaired and been awesome since and its on cap for around £4.8-5.2k so win win
At the beginning of your video, you stated it was a Mk1 model. It's actually a Mk2 facelift. The indicator lights in the wing mirrors proves this.
It’s a facelift model. It’s still the same model. The MK2 came out in 2004
Nice looking car. Enjoyed the video as always .Well done
Thanks 👍
Have a 1999, 230,( the same! but silver) 1 lady owner before me, 60,000 miles, no rust (obviously garaged/looked after/full service history) and I must admit with all the cars I have/had,(and I've had plenty!) one of the sweetest little (Hairdressers car!) cars I've owned!! had her 8 years and no problems at all! Bought for peanuts, and still worth peanuts! but a sweet little girl!! Nice upload by the way! x
I've had mine maybe seven years and the only things that have needed replacing apart from consumables(brakes, oil, etc) is the serpentine belt tensioner and the MAFS. It had a cheap Chinese MAFS and was great after I Bosched it up.
Give not what is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, love that saying, great video matt
Depimp my ride is a brilliant idea.
With that mileage , that's a lot of car for the money!! Great vid
Thanks 👍
If you can try and grab a CLC 230 or the 350, both extremely rare in the UK. Would be great for content as you hardly see any coverage on them. 🙏
brilliant video Matt 👍
Thanks 👍
Nice car and you got lucky with the roof 😊
I know I did.
Everyday that Jeep goes up in value here. And you have the English one with the nice leather off roader here might buy that off you 10,000 because in the UK you have MOT. There is no rust underneath that Jeep for sure.
Matt perhaps a vehicle check before purchasing! Posting for a friend.....
Please can you review the Mercedes CLS 219 Facelift '08-'10?
With all your expertise with cars, you could make some video about your top 10 worst models prone to rust you've traded, and the top 10 models less prone for rust. Very handy information to people as me, living near the shore.
Good idea
@@HighPeakAutos you could call it "Rust Bucket Awards".
@@HighPeakAutos with cars using thinner gauge metal sheets for weight savings, I'm starting to notice many newer cars starting to suffer with rust sooner.
Nice on the roof, was going to suggest a tin opener!
Hahaha
Car looks really nice - yes - better to bring it back to stock. I'm thinking of buying a C200 Kompressor next year if I find the right one at the right price. Mainstream car prices have surged in Australia but it doesn't seem to have impacted on the classic luxury market.