chickenmon5

Hey Everyone,
I just registered for this website and I am deciding if I should purchase a Black 98 SLK 230 with 93,000 miles on it in PA.It is in very good condition with a clean carfax.The seller wants $12,500 for the car.

Now,my situation is that I have a new car on order that is not coming in for 7 months and need a car as my old car is sold.
I have always loved these cars and saw and add a car magazine.

Now,if I buy this, would I be able to get atleast $11,000 for it in 7 months with 100,000 miles on it?

I would hope to sell it in no more then a month after my car comes in.

Is this reasonable?

Thankyou Everyone and I look foward to being a participating member in this forum.

Tony

70chevelle396

What kind of car did you order? That seems like a long time to wait to get a car. It seems like a good deal at 12,500 . I paid 27 for my 2001 slk 320 with 30 thousand miles on it.

Ken

chickenmon5

I ordered a Z4M.I have been on the list for months now.

Just deciding what to do now since my Saab's engine is basically shot.I put a new headgasket on ut and it did nothing for the problems so I am not putting more money into that.So here I am.

Also,I would be getitng it checked out by the dealer but do I have much to worry about in the next 7000 miles?I assume not since I have seen many benz's go over 200,000 miles and still going.

70chevelle396

I don't think you will have any problems with it. But I haven't seen very many of these cars with high mileage. I think you will like the SLK better than the Z4. The SLK has a retractable hard top, and the Z4 doesn't .

Ken

page62

I just bought an '01 SLK320 with 68K miles. Very nice car. The price was at or below wholesale, depending on whose book you look at. I got to see both the service records from the dealer, as well as the Carfax.

That said, check the book values on this car. And ask for service records, or perhaps you can find a friendly MB dealer service writer that will help you out.

Somehow, this doesn't sound like too bad a deal. You can't even TOUCH any SLK down here for less than $15K -- I've never, ever seen one priced that low.

And yes, you will like the SLK a lot. I'd cancel the Z4 deal (it's ugly!) and get a new SLK350. Especially living up north where you do.

ClayJ

This is just me - but I wouldn't buy a '98 anything.... Can't you find a newer, other, car for the same amount of money? You'd probably lose less money - or might even make money if you look for a 'steal-deal' - with another car....

Just my opinion.

bazzle

Supose i should sell my 98 SLK230 then... Clay??

Bazzle

Abbring

Clay...You really don't know @#$@ about cars do you? My 98 Had 47K on it when I bought it for 16K (21,800 after tax, title, transfer fee, and a warentee), the book says its worth $21,750 with the 50K it has on it now, the closest car to it in Michigan for sale was a 01 with 88K and they wanted 6.5k more for it. Do the math, which one is a better deal? Think before you reply next time. Chickenmon5, You should be able to get the same price for it or more when you go to sell it. Do not use kelly blue book as no dealer uses them, try nadaguides.com, that is what everybody uses in most states. You'll find that the car is worth 15K low retail. So you will be able to sell it for a lot more even after you drive it for a while.

page62

I agree with Abbring in this case. The kbb.com values for the SLK seem much lower than what the cars actually sell for -- especially the older models. nadaguides.com may be a little high. I check all the guides...and make my own decisions from there.

Gabe

Just do your best looking over all the details of the car before buying it. Get records of maintenance and service.... check that all fluids were changed with some degree of regularity... transmisssion, brakes, differential, noises, odors, leaks, lights, hard-top operation, etc. etc.

I have a 98SLK 230 with 112k miles and it has been extremely reliable but you are always one "Check Engine Light" away from having to drop a grand to fix it. Make sure you build it into your Cost-Benefit model. From the point of view of depreciation, you are getting a great car for what seems like a good price.

page62

He hasn't been back, so I'm guessing he passed on the car...