Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster (1996 - 2004) 200K 2d Tip Auto (02) Owner Review

I bought my 16 year old SLK 200K R170 facelift as a toy. It's not a daily driver; I have a new Astra 1.4T 150 SRi Nav for the daily commute. I got an opportunity to buy the SLK, which is in stunning condition, cosmetically and mechanically, for £1600 so snapped it up. It's a SLK200 Auto (with the tiptronic box) 163bhp. As standard the car feels very sprightly and gets up to speed quickly. I had mine remapped and it now has 199bhp and 50nm more torque. It's now very fast and can see off the larger engined SLK230. :) So how are these cars? Well despite being one of the cheapest cars I've bought, after only a month of utterly enjoyable and trouble free use I can say it's my favourite car I've ever owned! I love this little thing! It is SO well screwed together. Build quality is fantastic and for a 16 year old it is so refined. I love the automatic gearbox, it makes this car such a great GT sports cruise. The roof works fantastically, as does everything else on the car. When I got it, the remote central locking did not work for the drivers door (worked ok for the passenger door and boot). After some google research, I removed the interior door panel and found a split vacuum hose to the lock actuator. A dab of superglue and some electrical tape later, and I had perfect working remote central locking on all doors. Total cost about 1p! The car literally has no other faults. The car has bags full of torque for a petrol engine (thanks to the supercharger) and just picks up and flies with a touch of the throttle. The interior is beautiful and the leather seats so comfortable. I would literally rather drive from Lands End to John O'Groats in this car, than drive from Newcastle to Manchester in my one month old Astra (which has awful seats). The SLK just eats the miles and is surprisingly comfortable on the motorway. All in all just one of the best cars out there. Age doesn't come into it. It was just a classic design and, apart from rust issues (which mine doesn't have) the SLKs have proven themselves and punched well above their weight. I cannot in a million years imagine getting a better car for £1600. Just get one!! If getting a Mark 1 (known as R170), get a facelifted model like mine (early 2001 onwards) as they fixed a few weakspots that were present in the original 1996-2000 cars. 10/10 - will keep this car forever.