Shinigami

Name calling is not gonna do any good, so let's keep it cool guys

amiras

LOL ... Doc, we already heard your frustration with the car. Like many other people here I have a trouble free SLK and I don't like people saying that their car is a piece of junk just because 1 out of 4 problems is MB fault (only the rattles). If you bought the car after you read the JD Powers survey, then it's your fault. If you bought the car before, then it's your fault again for not doing your homework and research. The point is: thanks for letting us know about your problems, sell your car, get whatever makes you happy (reminder: check JD Powers again), and move on. Best of luck !!

GBlansten

doccyber

Thanks. I will follow your advice.

mick1

get the 2006 Z06. it's a he-man car with 7.0 liter and 500 hp and it's fiberglass so it won't get dents

CP1

That's not what Willa says!

Motzkoman

Cracks me up...LOL... :v

MBAMGPWR

Jeez, Road & Track better start factoring bad luck into the purchasing decision! Do you blame all your faults on others as well?

docrings

From one "Doc" to another: stay objective, scientific... don't know if your a medical doc, like me, but don't let emotions get in the way. Analyze the problems like you would a patient... don't blame their their lung cancer on poor genes, when they've been smoking three packs a day for forty years. You had a rock hit your windshield...it broke, it's not Mercedes fault...in fact if your weren't blinded by shards of glass, then the windshield WORKED AS DESIGNED...it's called "safety glass".

If you don't like it, move on...but please stay rationale, sane and look at the odds...98% are happy with their purchase, so "trying to educate" potential buyers is not your viewpoint...you're trying to "scare away" potentially happy buyers (based on odds ratios) with some anecdotal stories, not statistically significant complaints. MOST don't have your complaints.

Our SLK has been PERFECT in all regards... can't say that for my Lexus or Honda... I don't expect perfection, necessarily, but at least great service when needed.
So far, no service needed.

BTW, LOVE the interior!!!!!!!!!!!

Doc Rings, MD/Surgeon

GBlansten

LOL, there are alot of us docs on this board.

Maverick

Agreed. I have derived a great deal of very useful information from this board, and I have read a number of amusing posts as well. I also appreciate objective, rational negative posts about the car, as they keep me alert as to what to watch for, and may help me in informing the dealership if I need to take the car in to have something repaired. However, "flaming" the car in general, or "flaming" other members of the board does not do any good for any of our blood pressures. At least that is my prescription.

GBlansten

I, for one, can't wait to actually get my car. I'm coming from a 98 Honda Prelude so it is a big jump. It will be nice to have "problems" with a new car instead of an old one.

blkslk55

.................................................. ............................................

and.....that's all there is to say! well said doc.

J10B

You guys know what is funny about this? The SLK smokes his POS s4 in every dept.....

doccyber

You are right J10B, my Audi S4 is also a big POS. M Roadster and Z3 are the only cars worth getting. What was I thinking. Too bad they don't make those new. Maybe I can pick a good used one if the owners are willing to depart with them. Then I can mod them and really be in car nirvana....

J10B

Sorry Dude Im not on here telling people a car is horrible when my GREAT car gets its *** handed to it by the car I am mocking... just sounds stupid.

THanks for noticing My cars.... I dont remember saying they were the greatest but My 4cyl Z3 would have burned your AUDI too. All Im saying is at least compare it to a faster "better" car before you start bashing.

Shinigami

Hmmm, from what I remember, the Z3 was branded by BMW themselves as their most unrealiable car ever built.

Rusting and cracking frames. Airbags going off for no reason. Glove box rattles and comes off for no reason. The list goes on...

But in all honesty, you find lemons everywhere. Some people end up with a car which has problems, others end up with a car that is problem free, sometimes for the entire life of the car. Be it an SLK, Z3, or an Audi S4.

J10B

No acutally BMW said it and its coupe brother were the best cars ever built.
Rustign and cracking frames????? Airbags going off? when and where? I have owned every Z3 version. I recently sold one of the fastest 1.9 z3s in the world. I know ever issue with the car and although there are many The only one that you mentioned that is an issue with the 96-97 cars is the rattling glovebox. IT NEVER feel out. This is a common problem in all car but BMW fixed it. All this is pointless because its a MB board

Shinigami

Just things I've read on other forums (even Z3 related forums).

A quick search:
"bugs with cooling system, rear suspension (Squeaks) and power steering pump"
"drove over a speed bump at 10mph and the airbag went off"

And more at: http://www.automotiveforums.com/t67908.html

And some info on the sub and diff frames cracking over here:
http://www.z3bimmer.com/Garage/Fixes/DiffCrack/
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...39#post4577839
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/pri...ad.php?t=54875
http://www.dtmpower.net/forum/archiv.../t-137175.html
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums...4940735-1.html

But but BUT! This doesn't mean that I'm taking any of this as fact. Like I said, it's only stuff I've read, and some people blow things up out of proportion. I neither own, nor have driven a Z3 (I drove a Z4, and would like to try a Z3 one day). So once again, don't shoot the messenger please. I'm quite sure your Z3 has been trouble free and has given you lots and lots of pleasure. That after all IS the goal of a cabriolet. A good, fun to drive sporty (sports) car

benz-aficionado

The slk and miata are worlds apart, but the only difference between a boxster and a miata is the placement of their anemic engines. Get them both in red and now average joes have a hard time telling them apart. The cars are equal in almost every way. Porsche made a huge mistake by introducing the boxster 8 years ago, they permanently cheapened the 911 brand. The boxster has acheived ZERO technological milestones in very much the same way a miata has ZERO technological milestones. They are simple cars with simple technology that are very average performers.

You may very well have less problems with a boxster/miata, they have no hardtop, no 7 SPEED tranny, no hand built V8 engine, no air scarf, no anti-reflective dashboard, no 6 piston calipers, no nano paint, and a million other hidden things most people take for granted when buying an MB like tollerances in manufacturing etc. You might get a squeek out of the folding hardtop, sucks to be you. Do you want a ragtop instead?

Benz had the boxster beat with the slk32, but now? The boxster's direct competition is the Z4 which will easily outperform it with the new M. So that leaves the miata. The miata now has a turbo, weighs 500lbs less & pulls similar lap times. That leaves the american pos's, but at that point you're not even in the game so I'll stop now.

Porsche needs to seriously address their hp issues. Right accross the board their cars are underpowered. C'mon a 911 has 325 hp??? A honda minivan comes with 290. It's an embarrassment.

J10B

Porsche is great if you need to run through a canyon to get to work.

Oh and the ONLY thing you ahve remotely correct is the subframe issue. That happens when you try to get over 400RWHP.

Shinigami

I don't have anything correct or not, I mean, I haven't owned a Z3, I've only "read" about issues with it. So I cannot vouch for anything.

Anyway, I find it a bit humorous to say that the Boxster was a big mistake for Porsche. I thought it was thanks to this particular car that the Porsche name still exists today. It brought the company back up from the brink of disaster, and Porsche has been doing better ever since.

I drove the Boxster S, and it was a very good car. Good power and handling. Straight line performance might not be AMG like, but it did the job exactly as it should. The Miata too, might not be the craziest car out there, but power to weight ratio, as well as tossability ensure this car can keep up with the best of them and often does better then many more powerful cars are able to on the track.

And Miata owners all WANT less for the car, to keep it closer to an Elise then a Merc with a hundred gadjets and creture comforts. And a Miata was the first roadster I ever had the pleasure to drive in, and is still one of the best out there in my opinion. I suggest you go out and try some of these cars

SLK55AMG

Well said that man! The Boxster single handedly saved Porsche from being taken over by one of the majors like GM or Ford. The amazing thing was that the original Boxster was designed on a "budget" so they were very lucky to have ended up with the market leader in the roadster segment...... but thats history and its good news for anyone that fancies a 911 in the future..... Porsche 911 sounds good...... Ford 911 does not!

benz-aficionado

As most slk drivers, I have driven all of the above. Isn't that why we decided on the SLK

Anyways, who cares if the boxster saved porsche from going bankrupt? I'm not here to lend praise to an automaker for their financial descisions. After the dust has settled, it clear that it has cheapened their image. The boxster marked the end of an era for porsche. Porsche hit a climax with the 993 turbo, it was the fastest car in it's class, the most beautiful porsche to date and expensive. Nowadays when people think porsche they don't think $100,000 dollar car, they don't think fastest in it's class, and they don't think of high exclusivity. All of these notions are a direct result of the boxster. When you see a porsche in the high school parking lot, you know they have sold out to the masses.

Just look at the resale values of the post boxster and pre boxster porsches and you've got the whole story. A 1995 993 turbo has a higher resale than a used 996 turbo! A ten year old car is worth more than a 2 or 3 year old car? The image is definitely suffering.

It's just my opinion, but every car maker has good years and bad years. MB hit a bit of a slump during 1999-2004. Only die-hard BMW freaks think the current lineup of bimmers are still the "ultimate driving machines". And porsche, well porsche lost the magic when they introduced the boxster.

Benz is back with a vengeance, bimmer is slowly recovering from bangles bad dream, but porsche? Porsche needs to consider a V8, dropping the boxster or introducing a new car in the $200,000 range. I think the V8 will do it.

vraa

The V8 won't do it because Porsche is an enthusiasts company.
They love their flat sixes!