Faults:

I have owned this for 4 years nearly and has had its 4th service (b). To my surprise and shock the service report stated that the upper ball joints need replacing and the wishbones (not so urgent), I can't understand this as the car has only low mileage! Not impressed!

The ignition key is now failing to turn and have been told that the lock will need replacing (£££££!) My service and ball joints total was £1250, they did reduce it down to £960 as they thought it was execessive. I will leave the wishbones till later on which will cost £750 plus vat at the main dealer, think I will look for an alternative garage to do this!

Rust is now appearing around the boot lock handle, Mercedes are sorting this out FOC under the anti corrosion warranty.

General Comments:

The V6 is a lovely engine and is smooth, it pulls off the mark very quickly in the (S) mode, no complaints on this one!

The car drives lovely. It is a limited edition with the final cosmetic improvements before ending production. An eye catcher still!

Faults:

Heated rear window at 5000 mile.

Rusted wheel nuts x2 every 20k miles or so.

Paint very easily chipped - bonnet resprayed under warranty - better since, but most disappointing aspect.

Cruise control problems - ESP unit replaced 10000miles.

C pillar rub from roof 8000 miles.

Steering damper leak replaced at 38000miles.

Camshaft sensor causing odd engine noise replaced twice around 20k miles.

Tyres last about 20-25k miles - can wear unevenly at front.

General Comments:

Dream car and probably only one I shall ever buy new. The roof and style are classic.

Not enamoured at first when things seemed to go wrong rather too often, but all dealt with under warranty and without fuss apart from the paint - dealer coming up trumps when MB didn't want to know.

Car is quick enough for my driving skills (electronics cut in occasionally!!) and very comfortable - done over 700miles in a day a few times returning from Europe. Driving position excellent, but I'm quite small and can see how very tall people may have an issue.

Luggage space (with roof up) is excellent, bought two purpose made bags for the boot and no problems with enough room for the weekend roof down either.

Been cheap to run - service costs same as my old Astra and fuel used at around 30mpg - can get up to 36 on long motorway runs as long as speed kept below 80!

Roof down fine as long as sun out, though tiring at over 130mph for any length of time (in Germany of course!)

Get a post 2001 (230 or 320) and have fun.

Faults:

Leather prone to scratches on right side of driver's chair.

Electrical problems. Roadside assistance called out on two occasions in first eight months of ownership.

General Comments:

On the plus side, this car looks fantastic and handles well on the motorway.

On the negative side, it is an ecological disaster and hopeless as a town car. Do not buy if you are concerned about mpg. A further complaint is that the doors do not fit well, are heavy and inclined to sag.

Faults:

After purchasing the certified used 2002 SLK 320 (31, 988 miles) in June 2005, I drove the vehicle for about 5,000 miles until engine malfunctioned and the rods bent. Took it Mercedes dealer for repair since still under warranty. Had a Mercedes specialist inspect the damage. Was informed Mercedes would not cover it. The reason was water in the engine. Neither I or previous owner drove in flood water.

Has anyone else had engine problems with the SLK320? Feel free to respond to chuck.hill@jeffersonwells.com.

General Comments:

Not happy with Mercedes. Have had other mechanical failures with this vehicle.