Should you buy a used Mercedes SLK R170?

If you’re looking for a cheap way to enjoy open-air driving in summer but want one car to do it all and don’t need four seats, the SLK is hard to beat. It’s roomy and comfortable even for taller drivers, dry and warm in winter, safe to leave parked on the street outdoors without worrying about the roof and on the whole, has aged quite well. Four-cylinder models are economical for what they offer, as well.

The folding hardtop means a massive boot – and boot opening – if you don’t want to open the roof that day. Combined with easy servicing, affordable genuine parts for routine maintenance, and by modern standards, a very easy to work on layout with plenty of room and high-quality components. The majority are even ULEZ compliant as early as 2001.

So why aren’t you unable to move for SLKs in every street and carpark? The answer is growing in the wings – rust. Cars showed signs of it as early as eight years old, and now they’re over 18 years old the majority of original SLKs have succumbed to scrappage, scrap yards or endless bodging. And the reputation for rust has reached every dealer from Lands End to John O’Groats (both locations we’d advise against buying an SLK from).

On top of that, Mercedes was still getting to grips with new paint technology – the SLK aged like something made in the 1970s at a time when Peugeot and Citroen were including 12 year body warranties. It was not what buyers expected from the three-pointed star.

This brings the value of good ones down as well. So yes, you should buy an SLK, they’re great – but don’t buy a bad one to save a few quid unless you really know what you’re doing. Get the best you can afford, and look after it.

What we like

Solid, traditional Mercedes engineering underneath, good fuel economy for a roadster, cabin refinement and year-round usability, relative simplicity.

What we don’t like

Rust, particularly when it gets hold of the body rather than bolt-on panels, the general lack of sports-car feel – slow steering, vague manual gearbox, rather coarse four-cylinder engines, and the number of neglected cars compared with the ease of proper maintenance.