E55V8K

I love my AMG but like to have a second one for the summer top-down cruise around for fun. What about the 99 SLK230 $11k 62k miles one owner good condition all service records,do you think that's a good buy?

CWW

Ya that's a good deal...

As you can see from my siggy pic, I personally love the R129 SLs, they are a bit more expensive but a lot more car and still give you your drop-top fix.

MidniteBluBenz

Nothing wrong with the car but those kompressor engines sound worse than a lawn mower. A Kia I-4 has more refinement than the Benz I-4

Bigdot

i would go with a 129 over the old SLK. plus the 129s are cheaper than coffee right now.

Mark

zoink

How about E36 M3 cab? Manual, top down, good handling, faster than SLK and SL...

CWW

Not if u get a 600. They can be pretty quick. With some really minor mods, you can have it making 440-450 at the crank.

zoink

Correct... but 600 would be a PITA to maintain, wouldn't it?

Exterior-wise, though, no contest

CWW

The only real weak spots on the R129 600s are the convertible top hydraulics, which crap out eventually (this is not just the 600s either, it's all SLs even the new ones), and the suspension which on some cars can be problematic, so that's something to watch out for. It is an adaptive damping, variable ride-height, etc. setup that is similar to the E55's, and it's complicated. You see how many E55 guys have suspension issues, so add a few more years of age and some more mileage to the R129s and you gotta figure failure is more likely. That said, I have had no problems with mine.

Also, watch out for the '93 - '95 wiring harnesses on any R129 or W140, not just the 600 either. They are known to fall apart, Mercedes built them out of bio-degradeable material as part of a "green" initiative, and I guess they started biodegrading a little faster than they planned. What idiots...you have a 6-litre V12 that is 400hp stock, and you're worrying about getting "green" with the wiring? Bahahahaha...the car already has a sasquatch-sized carbon footprint, that should have been the least of their worries...

In any event, I don't think they're really that bad to maintain, you just have to avoid the ones where the owner has been deferring maintenance for awhile. You can still some '02s on CPO, if that's your thing...

The engine and the rest of the car are rock solid. I love mine.

Carl Lassiter

Get the early build 3.0l E36 M3 as it's easier to mod from it's 240bhp than the later 3.2.

American's got stuffed on this as the 3.2 in Europe (called the Evo) gave 321bhp yet our E36's stayed at 240bhp. Most odd.