The biggest disapointment and surperise was that the "Keyless GO" system is not available in Canada!

The base price for the SLK55 is $82,900 Canadian Dollars. The C55 is a bargain at 72,600 and the CLK55A is a rip-off at an insane $112,050! Anyway, I got the brilliant silver metallic with blac/berry red interior. I got the "Rain Sensor Wipers" for $220, "Airscarf" for $670, "Comand" without navigation and perimium sound system & 6 disc CD changer for $2,950 (a big big rip off!) and "Bi-Xenon" headlamps for $1,465. And of course taxes of around $15,300 (The dealer doesn't make half that)! I didn't get "TeleAid", "navigation" and "Headlamp Washers". No other options! Very srange! Like park assist, laser cruise control,... I wouldn't get them anyway but I really want the "Keyless Go"; if it works! I will be able to negotiate the price once the car is here.

The wheels are 18" AMG Multi-Spoke design Fr: 7.5x18 225/40 Rr: 8.5x18 245/35 Tire Fit. I thought I had an option for 19" or 20". But no big deal.

The delivery date is end of October or early November 2004 and will be the first SLK55 in Vancouver. Just in time for rainy season! Here in Vancouver we only have fall and spring weather!

Anyway, I still have just put down $1000 with a subject. I can cancell this deal if I decide to buy a C6 Z06 Vette or wait for the 410 bhp 5.5L V8 SLK55.

 

Hey, Teufel (Devil, ey ?)

congrats on your order. Couple of things though:

Did you see the order / option list at your dealer ? I.e. did you tell him simply what you wanted or did he in fact (as a good dealer should) present you my a MY05 option spec, with optons, packages, colours etc.
Reason I'm asking is that the US Spec (and usually the CAN spec is identical except for emissions and km) cars don't come with these options - most are available through (and only!) packages.
This is different for European Spec cars, though the SLK doesn't come with Keyless GO even in Germany !

For example, the Rain Sensor wipers are part of a package, and can't be ordered seperately in the US. Command can't be bought with the premium sound; there are basically 2 command systems, one with the 'widescreen', map-based navication, the other with the narrow screen system (both colour, the latter is not DVD based).

You cannot NOT get headlight washers if you get the Xenon-lights; they always come together !

SLKs do not come with Laser assist cruise control. ANd the Park Assistant is only availalbe on EU spec cards.

Finally, the release date for US and CAN for the SLK55 AMG is November 4th, the dealer can't sell it prior (well, or they have to be really quite about it I suppose...).

As I said before, I wouldn't worry about the 32valve version. You'll NEVER buy a car (or electronics or anything) if you wait for the newer, better version out - there'll always be one and the 32v engine hasn't even been announced on the SLK yet (even in the EU). It's only talked about for the E, S and CL class officially (and rumoured for the SL). Mercedes will replace their entire line of 24v with 32v engines, but not until Calendar year 2006.

So, anyway, very excited for you especially if the dealer isn't just talking big in that your order is the first - but I would make really sure you trust him to have all the details and specs already. Let him show you the sheet or netstar printout !

And sure, why don't you testdrive the Vette. I mean, these are apples and oranges to me, but this is obviously subjective.

Take care,
Dan

 

congrats on ur new order

 

congrats

 

hi i am ordering the SLK350 and i too live in vancouver.

you said you were going to negiotate price when your car gets there?
my dealer seems like a ***** compared to yours.
may i ask what dealership you went too?

can you ask your dealer how much the slk350 just incase my dealer is trying to jerk me some more then he already did.

thanks

 

HI,

As you know there are no real independent MB dealers in Vancouver. Except one insignificant dealer, and that could only be a rumor! So, it can be good and/or bad! It depends on your relationship/history with them. My family has known this salesperson for almost fifteen years. My family members and our friends have bought many MB cars from this guy. And he is now the sales manager for the Vancouver dealership (the biggest).



As far as I know it is illegal in Canada to sell a vehicle above its MSRP! However MB dealers in Canada do not usually (not at all!) sell their cars below the MSRP. If there is a discount it is for a bunch, i.e. 2004 C230. But you can usually get discount on options, specially dealer installed options; or cancel some fees like the $1500 freight charge.



The SLK 350 MSRP is $64,500. It says here: "MB Canada INC. new car price list, dealer confidential prices- 2005 registration year, July 2004". He printed that out for me! I guess that shows how good I know him! Or not!

 

Teufel,
did you ever follow up with your dealer on the package deals versus the seperate options (in the US, most are available through packages only). And as I said, for example, the headlight washers come with the xenons automatically.

One thing I just caught now is the price on the 55 - is that before taxes ?!
That's pretty good pricing; the base price for the AMG55 is a little over 55k Euros before taxes, 64k Euros with - that by todays Exchange rate would be around 90k / 104k C$.

Do you have a build date (actual production date and PO) for your 55 yet ? The official release date in NA is November 4th, so I am curious if / how dealers might get around that. As far as I know, no POs for NA spec 55s have been generated yet.

Again, congrats. I still think you're missing out the DVD Nav system - it's very cool. And again, there are a lot of options actually available for the 55 - just make sure your dealer shows you the actual option list. It's a bummer if you miss something because of that.

all the best,
Dan.

 

SLK55 ROADSTER - MSRP = $82,900

FACTORY STANDARD EQUIPMENT

Dual Front Knee Air Bags
Head/Thorax Airbag
244 Front Sport Seats
280 Leather Covered Steering Wheel - Sport Design
291 Dual Front Air Bags
427 7 Sp. Auto.Trans w/ Cruise Control & Touch Shift
428 Steering Wheel Shift Buttons
486 Sport Suspension
583 Electric Windows - Two
591 Tinted Glass
673 Battery - Large Capacity
18" AMG Multi-Spoke design Fr: 7.5x18 225/40 Rr: 8.5x18 245/35 Tire Fit
772 AMG Sport Package
873 Heated Front Seats
MBC STANDARD EQUIPMENT
85X Nappa Leather (AMG)
213 Parameter Steering
232 Integrated Garage Door Opener
242 Elect. Adjustable Passenger Seat w/ memory
249 Automatic Day/Night Mirrors (Rearview & Driver's side)
264 License Plate Holder (front)
275 Elect. Adjustable Front Seats Package w/ memory
(inc. Driver's steering wheel)
301 Ashtray
309 Cup Holders, Front
387 Cellular Telephone Prewiring
460 Metric Instrumentation
494 Federal Standard Equipment
524 Paint Preservation
535 Radio AM/FM w/ Single CD (Audio 20)
551 Anti-Theft Alarm System
581 Automatic Climate Control w/ Digital Display
634 First Aid Kit (VPC installed)
636 Collective Code (delete European triangle)
668 Sea Packing
763 Remote Key w/ Panic Button
805 Model Year 2005 Designation
875 Heated Windshield Washer System
876 Interior Lighting Package
880 Radio Frequency Remote Locking
986 Vin Number on Vehicle
989 Vin Number on Windshield

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

345 Rain Sensor
359 TeleAid Emergency Calling System
403 AIRSCARF
528 COMAND w/o Navi & Premium Sound Package
530 COMAND (w/ DVD drive) & Premium Sound Package
600 Headlamp Washers
614 Bi-Xenon Headlamps Package w/ Headlamp Washers
Metallic Paint
Cellular Telelphone (Dealer option)
CD Changer (Dealer option)
designo Trim

 

Congrat on the new car.... Should be one killer ride... Anyways, not trying to burst your bubble, but there is at least one SLK55 AMG coming in mid-late Sept, so I was told......

 

Hey, dosers (cans, beer drinkers..., ey ???)



Actually, Teufel is my dogs name. It also used to be my license plate number before 911! Just kidding, the 911 thing!



He printed out seven pages of information regarding options, prices, colors... One page even said "Dealer Confidential"! Whatever that means?



I thought I saw the "Keyless Go" on MB German website! I will check again. Or may be I wanted it so bad I imagined it in my head! I am sick and tired of keys! Any key! All our keys could disappear in our valets on one single card! And the entire valet could disappear on that single card as well! I can not wait for that!



Rain Sensor is a stand alone option (345) here in Canada ($220). There are two "Comands". One with DVD drive (navigation), $3,950. One without the navigation system (DVD drive), $2,950. They both come with "Premium Sound Package (Harmon Kardon) with CD Changer". You can not order the HK separate or/and navigation separate! I only wanted the HK.



I totally agree with you on the "Headlamp Washer" thing. It always comes with the "BI-Xenon Headlamps". But it clearly shows them here (twice) as separate options! HW is $460 (600) and BI-X is $1,465 (614)??? I didn't get the HW because I didn't want a huge mess on the hood and front bumper and even the sides, whenever I touch the windshield washer!



Even if Parktronik and Laser Assist Cruise control are available I would not get them.



November 4th sounds all right. But what if it arrives mid October? Keep it in their lot until November 4th?



You are right you can never be on the cutting edge of technology, like computers. But the new engine is only about a year away and I don't need a car right away! Besides that is not very long. Also, there are other benefits. Any problems should be fixed by then. MB always has some problems on their new cars, i.e. "Brake by Wire", huge recall! And minor shortcomings should be fixed by then, like the antenna, the primitive wind blocker net, the CD changer in the glove box... Also, remember I own a C36! The C43 came out six month after I had bought my C36! Before the C43, everybody laughed at me when I suggested MB would put a V8 and a five speed in the C Class!



I do trust my dealer but I don't know if it is necessarily a good thing to have the first of anything!

Bis Spaeter!

 

The MSRP is C$82,900 plus about C$7,000 in options and plus about C$15,300 in taxes. Exchange rate; that is the magic word! It can make a huge difference in comparing prices in different countries. Also, what is included in the base price. The SLK55 comes pretty much loaded in Canada and US, compared to EU. C$104,000 is a lot for the base considering the exchange rate! But then again everything is more expensive in EU and they make a lot more than us too!



I don't have a build date. All I know is delivery of mid Oct. or early Nov. If no strike!



I have two pages of printout for "SLK Roadster (SLK55)" with "Factory Standard Equipment" and "MBC Standard Equipment" and "Optional Equipment" (no prices). I have one more printout for "MB Canada INC. Optional Equipment Listing 2005 Registration Year". This one has a section for SLK350 and one section for SLK55. It lists all the "Code Optional Equipment". I only have the options that I mentioned before. If am missing anything please let me know. Also, tell me more about the "cool" Navigation!



It really would be GROESSE SCHEISSE if I missed anything!



Cheers

 

Thanks. I have the same thing. I hope you didn't print all that!

 

Thanks.

What Bursting my bubble! I am thinking about waiting another year for the new 410bhp 5.5l V8! Which should be even more of a killer ride!

MId-Late September??? I thought the release date was November 4 for North America? Is the SLK55 available in Germany for September?

 

Tja, das waer' wirklich grosse Scheisse, wenn Du da was fehlt :-) - but no worries, looks like you got your options well covered AND your dealer really know what he's talking about (a lot of them are quite bad).

Agree with you on the EU pricing and Exchange; and yeah, the AMG comes standard with a lot more here than in the EU.
Looks like a big difference between the US and Canada is that the US doesn't offer a lot of options - they are all part of 5 or 6 major packages you can get or not get. If, in the US, you get 4 packages plus the Airscarf (that's by itself) you have everything that's available (minus the phone, which is another line item).

As for the Command system - frankly, when I order an SLK55AMG, I figure I might get as well everything; The Command (NAV) system is really cool.
Now, this is with a grain of salt as I don't how how much the US (and Canadian) spec differs from the EU spec (which is the one I know and have used in the SLK350).

But... in the EU, there are 2 Command systems with Nav. One has a small, narrow screen, the other a large, widescreen. Both are colour. The larger one is the DVD-based nav system (the smaller is CD based and has no maps, just directions) with great resolution, quite fast, looks good. In Europe, they DO play DVD movies (thoug they shutoff when you start going fast) as well as MP3 DVD/CD (the latter being a 300 Euro add-on to allow for decoding).

I think it just looks quite nice, having the map and such; The first time I had a nav system is when I bought my current car; I never thought I'd really use it, but I wouldn't want to be without it now. In Europe, the Command system also steers you around accidents and traffic dynamically, but alas, that's not supported in NA yet.

From what I know, in the US, no AMG55's have gotten a production date and PO assigned to them yet (netstar will show a 'month and decade' but that doesn't mean much by itself). So, it'd be very interested to see when you get a production date in Canada ! I am very much hoping for November delivery dates, but it usually takes 2 months minimum from assigning the PO to delivery to NA, so if we don't get dates within the next 2 weeks, October is out for sure. Also, while netstar really is the determining factor as to when they produce and deliver the car, MB USA's release date for the 55 is November 4th, so in theory they can't sell prior.

I guess in the end we'll know a lot more in a few weeks. I am certainly hoping you'll get yours ASAP; more fodder for me to push my dealer :-)

All the best,
Dan.

 

Well, I DO think this 'rumoured' engine WILL come eventually. Again, fact is that MB will replace their remaining 24v with 32v engines. I am just saying that there has been no official statement and not even any of the (german) car magazines mentioning the SLK AMG getting that quick of an 'upgrade'. I agree, I would obviously rather get the new engine, but I just don't think it's worth waiting another year & a few months :-)

The SLK55 AMG has a release date of November 4th in the US. Dealer demos obviously can ship prior if available. But unless you know your dealer very well and they don't care about MB Corporate, retail / wholesale before 11/4 isn't in the cards for the US, no matter what they tell you right now. Keep in mind, there haven't been any POs assigned to US spec SLK55s as of yet...

The release date for Germany by the way is October 4th, though MB has built and shipped quite a few already; I have seen one in Berlin with regular licence plates (though it was in the lot of a Mercedes dealer in Charlottenburg), so I am not sure how they get around it, if all these are dealer models etc. or what. It's quite common in Germany to have 'Jahreswagen' and such that are in the showroom and driven by dealers. A lot of dealer in Germany DO have the AMG in the showroom, and have had them for 2 months.

Trust me, I'd LOVE for the AMG to come earlier ;-)

Best,
Dan.

 

Teufel is a cool name for a dog (well, depends on the dog ;-) ).

Yeah, all of the MY05 info on the AMG is 'dealer confidential' as they haven't released the pricing yet (officially that is - obviously, as you know, they have it).
The keyless go isn't available on the (any) SLK in Germany :-( - unfortunately. You can get the Parking assistant though - which is also not available in the US.

By the way, the 11-4 date is for the US - while I assume it's the same for Canada it's POSSIBLE (though unlikely?) that it's different.

I never use the headlight washers either, but hey ;-) You get a bigger tank for the washer fluid (shared with the windshield) and you can't really see them when they are 'submerged'. :-)

... What IF it arrives in mid-october? No idea ?! :-) I'd love for them to sell it to you early. I am sure, so would they! And I'd love it cause I'd use you as an example for MY dealer :-) I guess we'll see. And again, maybe the date is different in Canada anyway.

You DO have very good points on the 1st year thing - and like you say, for all I know, they WILL put the new engine in there 'right away'. AND I think the windblocker net is cheesy and so on. Do I need a new car right now? No... It's a tough call - I considered waiting, but I figure in the end, this is not a car for life, and I don't think the 05 and the 06, in any case, will be night and day....

So long,
Dan :-)

 

I have an American Pit-bull Terrier. My first and last dog! As the name says!

My dealer just called me regarding the "Keyless Go" and "Brilliant Silver" color. He said both of them are not available for the 2005 model. Therefore I had to choose "Iridium Silver" color. He said they are almost the same.

I agree with you we should both have the same release date.

When you use your windshield washer fluid, do the headlight washers come on automatically? They should because as far as I know the headlight lenses have to be clean in order for the Xenon lights to work properly.

How can you not mind if next year or so somebody with the new 410bhp SLK55 pulls next to you! Believe me I am talking from experience! It still bugs me when I see a C43! I missed it by six month!

By the way I added the DVD navigation system to my options for $1,000 more. I just hope it is not going to drive me nuts!

 

I think you'll like the DVD nav system - to boot, it speaks 7 or so languages ;-)

Okay, okay - I hear ya ;-) - I'll be really annoyed too, if Mercedes does this. I am just not sure I like the alternative (waiting) that much better..... let's put it this way- if it was a sure thing, AND the 06 comes failry early in the year I'd probably consider waiting, too...

Yeah, 3 silvers are available for 05. Actually, I think brilliant is no longer available - iridium is a new colour (for the SLK) and used across the board now, at least in Germany, but as you say, they are EXTREMELY similar. Then there's Cubanit (not sure if that's the US name as well) which is sort of golden, and Tellurit, which I like, it's a very 'cold' (in terms of colour temperature) silver, with a blue teint.

Tschau,
Dan

 

Once you order, the deal is set, no? How are you able to negotiate after you've put in an order? That seems odd.

 

This is Vancouver, Canada! Nothing is set here! You should know that. I know it is different in US and Europe. I lived in Germany for five years and my family owned an office building in LA and still owns a property in Malibu. Things are different there. A singed contract is a signed contract; no nonsense like here!

 

Yes I do know that a signed contract is a binding agreement. That's why it's signed. I think it's just you who like to give others a hard time. You're probably the type that think the customer's always right regardless

 

nah - you can change your order in the US and Germany all the way to the point the PO's been assigned. They dealer often doesn't want to (it's a bit of a hassle) but until a PO has been assinged to the order on netstar, anything can be changed on it. On the 55 for example, netstar accepted orders in July and they just now START pulling them (for the US).

Best,
Dan

 

Short answer: NO! I am the last person to give anybody a hard time. Actually, I think customers are way more wrong than they are right.

Read my other Threads. My sales person (sales manager of Vancouver dealership) is a long time family friend; we have an understanding with him. Besides, you can go to any MB dealership in BC and order a SLK55 with a subject to a test drive as long as it is marketable (not in a pink color!). There are no demo SLk55's!