After 3 frustrating weeks while my car sat in the port waiting on mfgr release, I now have It. After a Monday release, late Thursday arrival in San Jose, and the dealer flogging its staff to get it preped I was on the road by 3pm yesterday.

So far there is not a thing I would change. It is Caspian Blue with Black/Ask. The options are P3 pkg, 6-disc changer, Xenon light pkg, and Airscarf. I considered the Digital Climate Control and 030 pkg, but am glad this car does not have them (I was going to order, but a dealer had this car coming on spec with what I wanted otherwise, so I took it).

The "manual" climate system works just fine, and anything more for $750 seems poor value. The 030 pkg was a closer call. The suspension is already "firm," so something 20% stiffer may be beyond what I want to drive on a day to day basis.

Even over my '01 CLK55, this car is a dream to drive. The weight difference and slight HP increase (355 versus 342) are very noticable. The handling difference comes across strongest. The lateral g's seem much higher and the steering is a lot better. Every magazine review seems to ding AMG's for unresponsive and poor-feedback steering, but I cannot imagine anything much better on a road car than this SLK has.

Now I just have to get the wear-in period behind me. I will drive around town until Tuesday, to make sure nothing "falls off," and then I am going to drive to LA to visit clients. That ought to just about get me past the 1,000 miles point ...

 

Congrats, and great colour choice too!

 

Man... you suck.

I wanted a unique color combo and you're ruining it!

But seriously, great decision. It's a great color and you're going to love it. And the engine, wow! Just think, you have NO IDEA of how great that exhuast sounds at WOT. Amazing! Congrats on the car. I look forward to meeting you someday.

Dan

 

nice color combo.

 

Pics???

 

I also would like to see pics, especially of the interior. I've got a Capri Blue with Black/Ash interior on order. The new brochure describes the black and ash being reversed on the description(ie black strip in the center with the outside of the seats being ash). Not sure if it is an error in the brochure or not. ED set for October and I don't want to be surprised.

 

Its an error. Black and Ash interior is black outside and ash (gray) middle.

 

Where are the pics?

M

 

Thanks, lilnora. The netstar still said Black/Ash, but I was concerned with the way the brochure worded the combination. Plus, the colors are flipped in the brochure versus the Black/Red combo.

 

yep np.. mine just arrived last week here are some interior pics..

https://mbworld.org/forums/slk55-r171/159810-my-2007-slk55-pics.html

 

Love the wheel and paddles for shifting.. Might make that upgrade for my 06 model.

 

Mine is a 07 (produced in 6.2 and delivered to me on July 27) with paddles shifters too but the left one fell off today! And the right side isn't holding on too well either. Someone here wanted to see the paddles better... here it is ...not quite what you expected!

Squealing brakes I also have. But people tell me it's normal when new...even for SLR. ! I've booked an appt for next Wed. So we'll see whether this is Benz or Chrysler quality!

Love the exhaust note though.

 

WOW, you'd think in a new AMG SLK the paddles wouldn't just "fall-off" of the wheel, make sure the dealer fixes that issue, I'd tell them how rediculous that is!

 

yogibear458,

Sorry to hear your problems. Don't fret. I'm sure it's an easy fix. The squealing brakes will go away too.

Now... maybe you could turn this into a positive?

Many 05,06 owners wish to upgrade to the paddles. Could you help us out since it's dislocated?

-Is there a model number on the back of either unit? What is it?
-What are the dimensions of the piece that attaches to the steering wheel?
-If you see the fix, can you note how difficult/easy it was for them to repair?

I'm not trying to benefit from your suffering, but it would help us all out

BTW, It looks like it snapped off! I take it the broken part is plastic. Is the paddle itself metallic? I'm really surprised it snapped off!

 

The paddle is solid metal and maybe it's too heavy for the base. I took a picture of the little label inside.

 

Thanks Yogibear458!

I'll try to get those numbers to someone...
See if it's something that can be ordered.

Dan

 

dsb
I came back from the dealership today...and kinda have mixed feelings:
1) I told them not to wash the car and they did
2) The squealing brakes are fixed - front pads replaced
3) the shift paddles - well they have to order a whole new steering wheel from fatherland. so i suppose it's not an easy thing to replace the shift buttons with the paddles. The worse part was they left broken shift paddle dangling from the steering column. I asked the SA how am I going to drive the car home! ? by that time the SA had already got an earful from me for not looking out to make sure the car wouldnt get washed. The saving grace was the sales guy who sold me the car tape it up for me ! ..with black electrical tape. how's that for service?

pls see my up coming post on performance...

 

Yogibear,

Sorry to hear about the poor service. Sadly, it's not unheard of at many MB service centers.

Regarding the wash...
That's happened to me at two different dealerships. In addition, my slk350 front spoiler was scraped twice by one of those dealerships.

You must remember that your 'do not wash' request is listed on the work order but the person driving the car doesn't always review the order before taking it back.

So, I have a simple plan. I still inform the SA about my 'do not wash' request. In addition, I attach a note on the steering wheel that reads:

"Please do not wash the car. Also, be careful with the front spoiler. It is very low and can easily be damaged. Thank you."

That note goes up every time!

 

That's a very good plan. I have a sign similar to that for my bimmer because the dealership put it through their machine car wash and put swirl marks all over my car. I was so mad and called everyone in that dealership with a manager title and crap'd on them. The owner offered to polish the car but I refused and I spent 4 hours in my garage polishing and waxing it. Come to think of it, I should have accepted the offer...maybe not, they would probably burn through the clear coat ! why can't people working at car dealerships be passionate about the products and services that they sell?

Well, to be fair, the sales guy at Benz is a real nice car guy. My slk buying experience began I was looking at the c-class 4matic after a heavy snow storm...and I saw an SLK 350and commented how good the car looks. he spent more than 1/2hr going over the features of the SLK with me! I could tell he was really passionate about the brand and the car. Then, he saw an SLK55 behind the 350 and offered to let me fire it up - no test drive because the SLK55 was sold already. 3-4 weeks later, he called and said, he had the SLK55 Press Car for the day, and asked if I was interested in driving it!!! I was there faster than superman could.

And thanks for the headsup on the front spoiler...

So there are good people out there...but not enough.

 

They couldn't just remove the broken shift paddle instead?

M