kiesan

...other than I have one. Or at least had one for a couple days.

So these young customers from the local CC college come in looking at bikes. One wants a new R6, can I beat the price at the local 'yami dealer, can we have a deal on this Ducati 999S, etc., etc. The usual song and dance. Well, they pay in full for a new R6 and then they ask if I can take a car in trade for cash and some other bikes. Sure why not?

Next thing I know an '05 SLK 350...





...with 3k miles and AMG this, burled wood that and blah blah blah is parked in my shop in inventory. Stupid thing was $61k new!

Well I may as well drive the thing a few days to see what its all about. What a disappointment. I'll take my 90k mile, 16 year old 'S4 auto any day of the week over this thing. Tinny and cheap feeling this car is. Other than the whiz-bang top what is the draw here? What happens in a few years when all those top gizmo things go haywire?

fabric

Autoblog did a comparo of 10 cars, this one rated last. Sounds like mainly cause the auto transmission was horrible. It was the SLK55 though, which has a lot more power than the SLK350.

I really like these just based on looks, and you can get them with a manual on the 350, which might make a world of difference. But have never driven one. I did drive a new C350, which was really nice, although the materials do look cheap on the inside. Felt really solid though.

I don't think the top down gizmo's are going haywire anytime soon. I suspect they've run it through 10 or 20 years worth of cycles, and this is the 2nd version of this car and the 3rd car MB has done a retractable hardtop on. I wouldn't even worry about it.

shawnzo

In another comparo, my wife just traded her 1991 M5 (sadly missed) for a 05 Z4 3.0. BORING! Even with the 3.0 engine and tiptronic, the car is just not much fun to drive. To the point where I get her to drive whenever we go anywhere. Top down is cool, and it does handle like a go-cart, but I really do not enjoy driving it like I do my car. 15 years of newer techno stuff, and my car still beats the hell out of it. Maybe Z4 M Coupe would be fun. Any other comparos?

Okv

Couple of years ago I drove a SL 350 from Frankfurt to Cassis on the Riviera and then back, had it for almost a week.

First, I was disappointed because I wanted a BMW 6-series, and I got a chopped Taxi.
But the car eventually turns out to be nice; easy to drive comfortably, does not make any noise, the gearbox is fantastic for boulevard cruising, it looks like a really expensive car, which, in fact, it is.

BUT...

It has no soul, drives more like a limmo than sports-car, feels slow because you really would expect much more, and I think you would need a free line straight through Germany to reach the speedlimiter at 250.
A lightly tuned Shark is a completely different monster in direct comparison.
Even completely stock, is has a different soul, it just feels different, just enter a turn at speed and nail the throttle, feel the rear struggling to get out of line, the whole thing just.. it's alive, kind of.
(Of course it is - a shark is an animal, which is, as we all now, a living creature).

ShawnSmith

The nearest match to the 928 in the current MB lineup is probably the SL500, since the SLK is honestly quite a bit smaller. I happen to have an SL500 in the garage (wifey's car), and it is interesting to swap back and forth between it and my 88 S4.

They're roughly the same size, the MB is a good 400 lbs heavier and a bit longer. The S4 packs a few extra ponies and feels more urgent when going about its business. With the RMB, the S4 _sounds_ so much more glorious, while the MB is rather restrained acoustically. The MB is easy, friendly, and just a bit mushy (especially those electronic brakes) - but surprisingly capable. The S4 has those heavy controls, old-school feel and even 2-decade-old leather aroma.

Both are decent vehicles, each with their own emphasis. Amusingly the S4 is vastly more practical for carrying extra gear or small rear passengers.

dr bob

Make sure that you actually own the M-B. My 'scam' antennae go to full alert when I hear about deals like this.

fabric

Tiptronic - a great automatic, a crappy sequential manual gear selector.

Panzer9

My BS alarm went off, too- seems a little shady to me. Hope it's legit.

ShawnSmith

The SL500 is sitting in the garage right now, about 18 inches from the 928 S4.

It's an 03, but built towards the very end of the first year's run and not titled till Jan of 04. I got it CPO, so it's under warranty till 2009.

If I find some idle time, I'll go get you folks a picture and figure out how to host it somewhere that you can see it... ok?

If I didn't have one, why would I know that the 03 is the only year where the keyless-go option is run via small credit card transponders instead of having them built into the key?

ShawnSmith

Here - 30 seconds of effort (quality to match, but I think it should suffice):

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/3...and928aqa0.jpg

ShawnSmith

PS: that 88 S4 in the background has a grand total of 28k original miles on it (oh dear, probably have to get a pic of the dash now... sigh...)

Rob Edwards

Shawn-

I think Bob and Panzer were conerned that Kie's getting scammed on his SLK, not that you don't actually own an SL500. (Nice garage o' cars, BTW- I'll take the shark!)

ShawnSmith

Ah - apologies if I misunderstood the reference. No worries

kiesan

Title? What title? We don't need no stinking titles!

My scam alarm was going off as well but these boys were/are legit. Young men from Indonesia who drive perhaps nicer cars/bikes than we had in college. The 'SLK was purchased new by them at the MB dealer just a few blocks from me and that all checked out. Only reason they got rid of the 'SLK was dad bought them a new 7 series from the BMW dealer which is even closer to my shop, like right next door. I guess the 'SLK was just taking up space.