This Crazy LOW MILE Mercedes SLK Is FALLING APART

22 years ago Mercedes-Benz built this SLK230 Kompressor and it's hardly been driven since then. At barely 1,500 miles a year this cars interior is in shambles. The driver door panel glue has failed, the power door lock is broken, the paint is coming off the console, the glovebox latch is broken, and some sensors have failed. Today we're going to fix all of these unexpected issues including coming up with our own repair for the vacuum based central locking system. If there's one thing I know, no modern car should have this many interior issues, especially when it's only had two adult owners that have taken care of it.
1/4" Vacuum Elbow: www.oreillyaut...
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#mercedes #qualitycontrol #carrepair

[@paulbessell6154]

It doesn't matter what the claimed mileage is on that car, the fact one of the owners tried to repair the door lock without having a clue what he/she was doing tells you everything you need to know. This car has NOT been well cared for and the seat would tell you it's done a lot more than 34k. I just sold an R170 with 49k miles on it that 'had' been looked after, and it was completely pristine. Lovely cars that can be bought for peanuts because of videos like this.

[@BC-wj8fx]

So how do you "care" the interior from peeling? Or "care" the dashboard clips from becoming brittle and failing? Or "care" the roof liner adhesive into not failing and creating a sagging mess? Or "care" the engine paint from peeling? Or "care" the plastic radiator tanks from becoming brittle and splitting? Or "care" the tail lamp holders from shorting from vibration due to poor design and eroding the contacts? Or "care" the glovebox from sagging? Or "care" the cam position sensor from not leaking down the wiring loom and destroying the ECU. Or "caring" the (extremely inaccessible) secondary PCV from not plugging up and overwhelming the primary PCV, blowing oil down the intake and foulind the MAF sensor. Bottom line - the build quality in many places on this model was absolutely shocking. I've had a mid-80's Japanese car for decades and the dashboard plastic is strong and solid with no issues. Many of these issues are real and well known... because they changed the design & manufacturing methods in the R171. Switching to a different plastic for the interior. Using different adhesives. etc.

[@ZedTee190]

I had the R171 SLK350. Great car, and fast enough. The build quality was pretty good too! But, it had the balance shaft issue that plagued that engine. From a distant memory of 8 years ago, it was from 35-40 hours to repair the issue. I decided to cut my losses and traded it in against a new MG. From what I remember from the SLK forums I frequented, the R170 centre console suffered from flaking - the one in this video looks pretty good. Finally, I could never quite grasp the thinking from MB why they put the cup holders where they did. Over the HVAC & stereo controls. Thats not asking for trouble really! :) .

[@AgtWashingtub]

I was just a teenager when this was new and had a friend whose aunt owned some sort of dealership and had one of these in red. Thought it was the coolest car I had ever seen.

[@Nevets66]

I have a 2000 Slk with 290,000 kms ,,,Love it,,,Gr8 Car ,,Wouldn't Sell it !!

[@wrenchingwithrob6001]

Gotta love Mercedes Benz. My 1995 SL600 has been inside its whole life and has trim issues too. But the best part is the biodegradable wiring insulation. WTF Mercedes-Benz? My door and trunk locks all function though. Great video!

[@wvcruffler123]

Dad had a 94 E320. Love the W124’s but the wiring harness was disintegrating. Car had 15K miles when we traded it off in 2018. Hated to see it go but too much to fix.

[@wrenchingwithrob6001]

@@wvcruffler123 yep, know exactly what you mean. My car is pretty much perfect now, 77,000 miles. Repaired all of the top issues, trim problems and hydraulic suspension woes.🤣

[@HobbzGarage]

The adhesives used were made for Germany temp/humidity which is different than USA. In recent years they have fixed this problem finally.

[@waynelittle5583]

To be fair it wasn't exactly falling apart my dad's 1999 slk 230 with 200k miles has suffered any of that the glue failing is more about the humid conditions in America and the lock breaking is just one of them things 🤷

[@jacquesmartin9741]

Its 24 years old, glue dried out, this is just a case of the owner not giving it the respect and care it deserves...

[@ericclark8258]

Ive had mine since 1999..never had any major mechanical issues. Just the interior console peeling 67000 km

[@KimoVegas]

I had an SLK once........ ONCE. The convertible top had issues.

[@i_Nihil_i]

I just bought one for 6k from an older guy with back problems who couldn't drive it anymore. He even took it to a mercedes shop and put like 5k into it before figuring out he couldn't use it. Is the supercharged version an amg model or something? There's only a turbo 4 cylinder and a regular v6 as far as I know

[@pedazodetorpedo]

Cars are only reliable as long as they are maintained properly. I only hear Americans complaining that Mercedes don't last so maybe there just aren't the expertise there to service them. There are still thousands of these old SLKs on the road in the UK, so clearly they can last 20+ years.

[@jayflyxx]

You kinda have me scared about my 2015 C300 that just went out of warranty now.. Lol

[@RussellBonjornoJr]

You have NO idea! JRs complaints about this car are nothing compared to what’s down the road for your car!

[@Raje617]

Very bad year for the C300. My cousin got one and the thing caught on fire in their garage and burned the home down. Several recalls on this model if I remember as well. Sell it.

[@richvalenzi6232]

Cup holders over the radio and climate control panel. Who thought that was a good idea?

[@georghansson8178]

I have a slk320 -00....and is in a great shape. I think the quality of an slk i good....but....you must take care of a car....👍....after all....it is a old car.

[@albertogamiz]

I usually love ur videos, so this is difficult for me: that car was not that bad, you fixed the drivers side, on a 20 year old car, with a running engine , a working convertible rooftop, and a perfectly shaped body; you blow your own horn way too loud, sir.

[@jimmccormick6091]

for 100% Jake- Dried Dr Pepper????? I have a feeling there is a story there.......but am hesitant to ask.....

[@r.weaver3769]

90s were the last of the quality @ Daimler/Benz.

[@waynet5293]

Is this Amber-ginis car?

[@andrewsmith4105]

Based on the seat bolsters alone I would say 134k rather than 34k. Clocked?

[@kelseywalker8487]

Love how he never shows us the actual milage 😂

[@hartlmarty2951]

I own a 2000 SLK 230 with 210.000km on it - except for the great color inside peeling off too, i have no issues at all... very good quality car with an awesome motor

[@r-jthecookie3126]

Just a tipp, for few bucks you can get aphrazite color from revell that basically looks the same as a quick fix, if you want to go more deep into it, there is tutorials as of what you need and how to take it apart to remove the old paint and apply new paint that wont peel of but still look like the original. Just be careful here becuase the plastic is old so it breaks easier. Material Cost is around 150€ while time effort might be around 4 hours total so definitely worth it if the paint peeling of is to bad.

[@hartlmarty2951]

@@r-jthecookie3126 Thanks cookie - i have the revell colour at home... just need to do the work now :-)

[@artworkkennedy]

im looking at buying one with 200,000km on it, would you recommend of do they start having issues at that high km?

[@r-jthecookie3126]

@@artworkkennedy it pretty much depends on the car itself. I rarely seen slk with 300k ok the clock tho. But I gotta say, if the price is fair look out for rust, test everything in the interior, especially the roof because if that is broken it won’t be cheap to fix and without a working roof why even get an slk. And then you should definitely do a test drive. If the seller doesn’t let you, dont buy it. If you do drive it, listen carefully. Any weird noises are a no go if you don’t want to fix the car that soon. Keep in mind tho, the slk kompressor has, as the name implies, an kompressor which is a turbo charger and makes some sort of a whistle noise. Idk how to describe the sound better,

[@BC-wj8fx]

Very lucky, but it really isn't "very good quality", because the R171 specifically addressed many of the poor quality issues. Yet still has poor quality issues of its own, such as having un-hardened sprockets on the balance shaft which leads to engine destruction or very expensive tear-down to replace. And cheap plastic swirl flaps which become brittle, break off, and are sucked into the engine causing damage.

[@JupixG]

From the condition of the driver seat's side bolster I'd say this car has at least 100k miles on it, from everything else it's pretty obvious it hasn't been well maintained and whoever's been doing the little maintenance it's received, didn't know what they were doing.

[@ivor7407]

Yea the seat was a dead giveaway in relationship to the mileage.

[@gasolara2002]

Nah. That is pretty accurate of the car unfortunately. Have an uncle who had one of these and it was utterly shit around 25k. The wearing is actually still an issue with today's Mercedes-Benz model. Get an w222 S-class with the creme/white colored interior and creme/white colored buttons they will wear terribly by 70k miles. It quality hasn't really been the same since the early 90s. They kind of raise the quality bar in the late 2000s just to lower it back down. Just sad.

[@MagicBrownMan]

I would say that this car has been left in the sun for long times w/ the roof down. That seat can be fixed with a few rounds of conditioning and a little bit of die to cover the wear. And good condition can bring all the leather in this car back to near perfect.

[@jeffreyvalecruz]

@@gasolara2002 My SLK 320 from 2003 has 155K miles. Nothing is falling apart. Interior looks great. The driver seat looks like the SLK in this video though - that's about it.

[@gasolara2002]

@@jeffreyvalecruz yeah that's because it was updated. The older ones are super trash unfortunately.

[@ilyatrofimov4678]

Yes, it looks great, new car and so on, despite the fact that the left side was in an accident and repainted. Something tells me that all the problems on the left side are precisely because of the accident.

[@moonrakermusic]

That and top down regularly on hot days, perhaps caught in storm and not wiped dry etc; Unless you keep the interior protected, it will deteriorate, and that includes the roof being dry before stowing as the damp will oxidise connectors and cause PSE failure.

[@Cartier_specialist]

Looks to me like the driver's side rear quarter panel has been repainted -- that could also explain the spot on the folding hardtop.

[@DriverGuy23]

I noticed that too.

[@IGASWT]

Yep! As an auto damage adjuster for 10+ years I noticed the flop in paint from quarter to door. Fender to door looks fine.

[@ilyatrofimov4678]

Yes, it looks like I'm not the only one who noticed this. Looks like a bad repair with duct tape and glue, so everything falls apart.

[@TheBibliofilus]

@@IGASWT Also there's been something with the drivers front corner, look at 0:55 where the hood and bumper meet next to the light.

[@cor.5663]

Also, ive never seen a headliner in black, where it should be beige. Mercedes didnt offered this color combination. They've done something to the headliner too, which could explain this spot. I drive a facelift, and the only problem was the interior paint, which i completly stripped off, to just have that dark black plastic. (Doesnt feel that good, but i dont have to fear any repaint again.) And the camshaft adjuster was leaking oil.

[@sr1600]

No way that is 34k miles. I have a 1998 SLK230 with a genuine 32k miles, been in our family since new, the only problem it has is the interior paint peel. Seats look nothing like this 100k++ mile example. No broken plastics, everything works.

[@Gprimbs]

It depends how much moisture gets in. Time and milage and location can cause low milage SLK to fall aparr.

[@Mitata72]

Mercedes suggest cleaners for the plastic....I had 1 that I just cleaned with what ever ...it pealed ,my 2nd one I used the MB cleaner...no pealing😂😂😂

[@jhollisphoto]

You can manually work the lock with the door closed. The locks don't operate with the doors open so you cannot lock the keys in the car.

[@richards8872]

He should have known that because that’s how most Japanese cars have been since the 80’s also lol

[@davidgreenfield2981]

The mileage is irrelevant it’s a 22 year old car. The wear inside is not consummate with 34k and it’s more likely how it’s been looked after and stored. The broken fitting is again environment not wear and tear, and someone has been in there fiddling

[@xkavarsmith9322]

But to be fair, that is one of the stupidest ideas for locking and unlocking a car I've ever seen. Firefighters will need and require jaws of life if you ever get in a crash. I can't believe that design. JR was absolutely right to beef up that mechanism and should have done it for both doors.

[@BC-wj8fx]

You've obviously not owned an R170. I have a nearly 40 year old Japanese car and the plastic is still strong and solid. The R170's interior plastic is thin and weak, and becomes brittle and peels just by looking at it. Mercedes tried to cut costs in this era and they sold us trash. The R171 addressed some of the issues by changing the plastic completely.

[@moonrakermusic]

Roof down in hot sunny weather, perhaps a hot garage or caught in a storm then not drying the interior properly causes plastic, paint and glue fatigue, all readily serviceable

[@Tempsho]

I would love to know the thought process behind reverse thread self taping screws

[@kevinbarry71]

Do you want to know the thinking of German engineers? Go to the local psycho ward for some help

[@james_chatman]

Limiting and frustrating serviceability so you have to go to their dealer who bought their expensive tools and their expensive scanners and their expensive manuals.

[@morstyrannis1951]

@@TheMcspreader how would reverse threads on a door panel make it harder to steal the car?

[@andyklement8594]

They used British Screws

[@barryphillips7327]

CRAP GERMAN BUILD QUALITY!!!! With only 34 000 miles it should barely be run in!! IF this was built by Toyota or Honda it will would in near perfect condition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@michaelhawkins5530]

Air actuated door locks??? German engineers are just the worst. Lock rods or cables work just fine. Why do they always over complicate things? Does this car also have that biodegradable wire harness sheathing?

[@xkavarsmith9322]

I want to know who got bribed, and how much, to let this get sold in the United States.

[@TassieLorenzo]

I suspect it's a holdover from the 70's and 80's when everything on a Mercedes was operated by vacuum, including the transmission.

[@randynelson2265]

My wife drove her little 2000 SLK for 19 years with no problems. It was her daily driver for work. We traded it in for a 2019 GLA250W just because she wanted new car. Whoever got her used SLK got a good solid little car.

[@Braxton-xk5bi]

It was me 😂

[@Constabruity]

The melted adhesive makes it seem like the car sat in a hot hot hot garage when parked. Or Mercedes just used the worst adhesive ever.

[@BillLaBrie]

I’m sure it meets Green Party standards.

[@mrmcgraw3706]

It’s just really bad adhesive.

[@james_chatman]

@@BillLaBrie Nope. Nice urban legend though.

[@lasskinn474]

You'd think it would happen with every unit if it was just the adhesive. Maybe humid enclosed sitting in the sun

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Hey, they saved $2 a barrel using off-brand adhesive.

[@davidferreira7484]

I have a 2000 230kompressor here in Switzerland. After having it for 6 years it has no issues really. 252000 km. All works. I removed that weird stuff on the interior and looks good just with black plastic.

[@dast3971]

How did you remove it?

[@artworkkennedy]

im looking at buying one thats at 200,000km on it. did you have any issues with it as it got higher in km?

[@Braxton-xk5bi]

I have a 1872 slk with 500 million miles on it and it still looks brand new 👀

[@davidferreira7484]

@@artworkkennedy Not really no. Normal maintenance really. Just make sure no oil leaks in the motor (the wiring is Biodegradable and if oil gets to it, it will absorve it all the way to the car computer). Also check hydraulic top level in the trunk pump. Rear tail lights are know to stop working with age (metal part where bulbs connect gets used and doesnt make good contact. can be fixed with a bit of solder) Also most people dont change compressor oil. Also known and expensive to fix is the lights knob to turn them on and off (left of the steering wheel). solder will break inside with age and since the knob is also the fuse box those are expensive. (if previous owner had issue with blinkers stopping working it will be that part). ;)

[@morganwin350]

As someone that has old Mercedes of this era not using them makes them far more problematic.

[@Roobegonia]

I own a 1998 SLK230 compressor with 284,000 miles on it. I love this car. It has some problems, but it's a fun car. My brother bought the car new in 1997. It has definitely been a money pit for me, but I expected it to be. It's beautiful and it runs great.

[@2006gtobob]

Back in 2001 my friend bought one brand new. And wow, I was unimpressed with its build quality, crappy performance, and she didn't get the CD player because, as I recall, it was a $1,200 option back when Honda Civics could get them for next to nothing while being a far better screwed together car.

[@BC-wj8fx]

You were short-changed on this SLK! Where's the sagging roof liner from failed adhesive? Where's the dashboard being held up by sticks and tape because all the clips become brittle, break, and put more weight on the remaining clips? Where's the PCV blockage blowing oil into the MAF sensor and fouling the intake? Where's the multitude of failing tail lights because the vibration and shorting erodes the contacts? Where's the plastic radiator tanks becoming brittle and splitting? Where's the tiny windscreen drain hole becoming clogged with a leaf and sending rain water cascading into the blower fan and passenger footwell? Where's the cam position sensor leaking oil into the wiring loom and ruining the ECU? I really love this car as a concept but the execution, not so much.

[@CarswithNash]

I daily drive an ‘89 Mercedes Coupe, none of the lock stuff works, but you can actually still lock them with the key when all that fails or at least on mine you can.

[@YTBK]

That's crazy... I've owned 2 SLKs and none had any of these issues and my current one is even about to hit 300,000 km Maybe there's a difference in build quality in the US compared to mine from Germany

[@pedazodetorpedo]

Difference in how they're maintained. They don't have specialists who know how to service them and fix them. Same thing with British cars like Jaguars in the US, they are built very differently to American cars.

[@mauriceharting5877]

What do you expect of a 22 year old car???? The only valid complaint is the interior PVC paint that peels off very quickly. And this Mercedes is NOT a 320, but a 230 .... big difference!!! A 320 is a 6 cylinder 3.2 liter engine and much faster!!! And for a 22 year old car they have great performance, but proper maintenance is important, and this owner did not know how to fix the door lock properly as well as used the wrong glue for the door step. The reason why the handle broke is probably because the previous owner tried to forcefully pull it off without removing all the screws. What did you pay for this car? Probably only $ 7,000 .... case closed!!! I own a 1998 Mercedes SLK230 as well as a 2002 Mercedes SLK320 and both are great fast cars for a relatively low price. The 2002 Mercedes SLK320 is almost as fast as a Porsche Boxter of the same year with only 1 hp difference. Road handling on these older SLK's is also fantastic with great cornering you don't get with most American cars.

[@brianeharmonjr]

Not falling apart any worse than my '00 Accord was. Low mileage doesn't really mean anything if its 23 years old.

[@gbjeppm]

Secondary air injection issues can be a sign of a failing K40 relay, The solder fails eventually in the K40 module, and can cause all sorts of issues.

[@bestbroseph1258]

thank god for you i had a very rare but intermittent check engine light for that and youve given me a lead lol.

[@gbjeppm]

@@bestbroseph1258 The K40 relay is renowned for all sorts of engine management, no start and other issues on the R170. There are load of how to fix it resoldering guides on the internet, and they can work for a while, but approx 200 bucks gets you a new one and piece of mind.

[@organiccold]

Yeah not hard to repair after opening ir

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

@@bestbroseph1258 - God is always available to help with Mercedes check engine light issues. It's basically what god lives for.

[@3800scgp]

@@WhiteG60 Huh. I have an '05 TB with about 140k on it. Either the SAI has been replaced, or it didn't have that problem up here in MA. Still sounds like a semi on cold starts, but it's the cooling fan.

[@andras1]

That car has been through some serious heat for sure. So I would say that's not well taken care of.

[@Tabeib]

Thank you for your efforts to provide us with these KZbin’s. The driver side looks as it had been painted either from front to end of door or back fender had been painted. So wit he situation of the door and door jam I believe the car had an accident and repaired by a poor shop. And the interior in a convertible seem to have been exposed to a lot of heat and poor cleaning and car Manintenance. I believe this KZbin is unfair for the Mercedes car. I owned them before and believe they ar excellent cars. I wonder where this car had been manufactured?!!

[@mr.rellik1090]

I have a 2003 R170 32 and agree. 132,000 miles and runs like new

[@davidedgar3509]

The SLK 320 is a V6. That car is an SLK 230 Kompressor. It has the supercharged 4 cylinder engine. I should know as I used to have one. At 0:16 of the video you can see the SLK 230 badge over your right hand.

[@pedazodetorpedo]

Well spotted. I thought this guy was full of s**t and that proves it. If he doesn't even know which model it is how can he know anything about the state of the engine.

[@artworkkennedy]

im looking at buying one at 200,000km, did you have any issues with yours and if so how were they to fix?

[@Braxton-xk5bi]

It's because when they repainted the car they put the wrong badge on it 👀

[@BC-wj8fx]

He was just being dyslexic. If it were a SLK320 supercharged it would be a SLK32 and you would notice the V6

[@murrys5444]

There isn't any sun bleaching that I noticed so it wasn't sitting outside in the open sun, but it does seem like that car got very hot on the inside many many times, thus the adhesives and color on the plastics just started to dissolved away. I don't think this is totally Mercedes' fault here, more it seems that how it was stored was not conducive to it's health.

[@robsdeviceunknown]

ANd yet millions of other cars can withstand summer hear just fine. No, this is 100% mercedes being a cheap company that only stupid people buy from. Right above Ferrari and BMW

[@B0xlife1]

Cheap quality with any Mercedes during his period of time basically all car makers got cheap

[@james_chatman]

Cope. American cars can sit a decade outside sitting without the interior falling apart. Japanese cars can stand whole decades outside and stay in showroom condition. US-built Mercedes are just built to a very short life-cycle.

[@Vitormarques542]

My father had a Mercedes c classe from this era and the interior was like new even after 15 years of use and more than 260k miles

[@05Forenza]

I had an 05 C Class wagon with a very similar interior (same door pulls etc). The thing looks brand new and it had 125k miles on it. This SLK was just used rough.

[@mr.goodpliers6988]

I picked up a 30 year old BMW, at first glance I thought the owner had dismantled it to install speakers and wiring. Once I looked closer I realized that 90% of the fastener clips had failed, and the panels had simply fallen off 😣

[@baitse7676]

I think that era of benz is the best. I use 3M panel bond to glue door panels back together. The vacuum locks work nicely, don't sound like lockdown on a prison wing when working. The driver's quarter panel has been repainted on that SLK.

[@lostforgottencars824]

As a former owner of a W203, 2002 C320 With the 3.2, this video is spot on. Mine had 32k when I got it 5 Years ago. Great car mechanically (but small bugs like the washer fluid issue). Rode great, smooth, quiet as Anything, great power. I got 29mpg with 93 gas (required). I had most of the same interior issues: door handles, door sills peeling. Headliners in the hardtop Mercedes from this era are also notorious for failing. Seat modules caused a battery drain (reason I bought it because the owner discounted it heavily, replacing the modules is $200). Most Of the interior issues can be fixed easily (JB weld door handles into place, used door sills on EBay). If you can get one cheap, I’d do it again.

[@potatochobit]

all those oil leaks on top the engine make me suspicious it was an odometer roll back.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

@@potatochobit - If you ever saw one with high mileage, you'd know it. They look like thrashmobiles. This one looks pretty clean, I don't doubt the mileage. These cars were built cheap, to a price point, because the hardtop mechanism was so expensive, they cheaped out on the rest of the car and materials.

[@xkavarsmith9322]

You actually need 93 Octane to run this car? It can't just be 91 Premium like you find at every gas station in North America?

[@jamesclark7248]

I've had two SLK230s, a 1998 and a 2004. Both were mechanically totally reliable, but they did require a higher level of TLC than other cars I've owned. Both had the peeling paint problem on interior plastics (center console in particular). The '98 needed a K40 relay due to faulty solder connections, and the vario top needed hydraulic cylinder rebuilds due to poor O-ring quality. Still, I put 129,000 miles on that SLK with no other issues. The '04 has 55,000 miles and has been trouble free.

[@persiancucumber9255]

I have a 2003 SLK 230K with 125k, im the 2nd or 3rd owner. Reliable car expect for the supercharger. Another problem area for me is the hand brake area where the top controls are (its broken). My car has less wear on the drivers seat vs your 35k one in the video. This car must have sat outside in the sun too long.

[@annielee2897]

I have a SLK 1998, 230 for 10 years. I mechanically fix it myself. Never failed me. It runs like a top at 10905 and 25 years old. The color is a rare paint for my car. It's a calypso green. I even peeled the rubbery stuff. And repainted it glossy black. I Love my car.

[@matthewdropco]

OMG Scotty would have a field day with this car about the plastics, lol

[@ChristianRuf91]

I have never seen broken door trim or broken door pins or really anything of those issues over here in Europe

[@esiebert7625]

Heat and time always kills adhesives and plastics, low mileage doesn’t mean much, time still takes it toll on anything non metal.

[@donnellclark3791]

I did a complete rebuild of my 01 SLK-230. Areas of concern: Bad solder points in the K40 relay (bought new one and resolder all points). PSE pump on the PS side trunk. Leaky hydraulic lifts (I removed pump and all hydraulic lifts and had them rebuilt with proper seal material, Google Top Hydraulics). Bad car alarm will drain the battery. Fenders will rust. Failing roof liner. (I upgraded material). Cracking and peeling paint on interior. I bought all brand new interior and painted with SEM paint (new interior color; no more peeling). Added sound deafening throughout the interior. Replaced micro switches for the roof (I believe there are 5). Brand new HVAC system to include new compressor, HVAC box, vents, heater core, sensors and piping. Sensor for wiper fluid is in the PS fender. I am no professional mechanic and did all the work myself, with help of this platform. I can say this car is the easiest vehicle to work on compared to other German model ( I have an A4 & Q7). OEM parts are fairly cheap for this model. DS and front of the engine bay is completely new. I'm now planning the PS, consisting of rebuilt SC (cannot purchase new) and finally repainting the car. Minus the battery drain, vehicle has been very reliable since I purchased in 2007.

[@BillLaBrie]

Some KZbin commenters from around the world still don’t believe me when I say I see Benzes abandoned around most major cities. Even an old S-class has almost no remaining value as a status symbol, and that’s all they’ve ever been to us here in America. Not worth the expense of keeping on the road

[@ronalbright5138]

I have Slk 320 and the door handle was broke in the same place and the previous owner super glued it back together. The color is known to come off in the cars but there is a paint that is color matched out there and works great. They are a lot of fun for little money though and as long as your hydraulics work they are fairly trouble free. Especially the 320. Great video.

[@garys9694]

I have the same car as you and I agree with most of what you say except what you say about the video (last sentence). The engine and tranny from this era of MB's is known as their most reliable. Mine has 87K on it a lot of them put on by my son who was rough as hell on it. Did the maintenance on it regularly and it does run, especially for an old V6.

[@dobbiesmith8314]

I have been wanting to buy one of these for a weekend car. Do you recommend the 4 cyl or 6 cyl? I like early models ( around 2001) better than the later models. Thanks.

[@ronalbright5138]

@@dobbiesmith8314 I’ve heard that 4 cylinder is ok I just think from a reliability standpoint having something non turbo is easier to live with. Neither is a screamer as far as speed goes but that’s not the intention of either one. Good luck

[@jctaiter]

Get a kompressor with the Kompressor (Eaton supercarger) put a bigger pulley on it and upgrade your tires because it's squirrely. And when I say squirrely I mean it's nuts.

[@jaggal16]

@@dobbiesmith8314 I have one that I'm looking to sell, if you're in california it might be worth the trip for you

[@bly4233]

You are being way too hard on this car. I was a tech at a Benz dealer in SoCal when these were new. The biggest flaw was the interior coloring came off easily. I’ve never had one of those vacuum connectors fail by itself. Someone or something broke it. Most of the interior fell victim to extreme heat and humidity over decades. I find many Benz problems people gripe about occur at least a decade or 100,000 miles after a comparable car would have been scrapped. Most compromises in quality occur because of price point competition issues with the Japanese who claim to be just as good, and aren’t. There are a large list of things built into the design of a Mercedes that are never advertised and provide significant benefits above and beyond competitors who claim to offer the same. I found the most problems were with electronics and stupid owners. Spoiler alert: the computers and electronics in a Benz are sourced from Japan.

[@codyhanson4062]

For people wondering why the plastics are in such horrible shape, the era of Mercedes was a joint effort with Chrysler and really explains the build quality from that time. Our 230’s interior is cracked everywhere from the Florida heat

[@petercollingwood522]

Had noting to do with Chrysler. The decline in quality started before they took Chrysler over. However. While the flaking paint in the interior is irritating, it's common to many cars of the era. My wifes 05 Saturn Vue had the exact same problem. There are kits out there to redo these and have them looking like new. Epoxy primer and the relevant color that you sponge on. Probably better than factory. The rest of the car though is mechanically pretty solid and many people are racking up high mileages with little trouble. The complexity is in the hard top hydraulics and sensors. If you're not prepared to maintain those don't by the car.

[@peppi142]

original miles based on what? just because you read it on the speedometer? an accurate method of evaluating cars congratulations, looking at the paint starting to bubble on the valve cover that slk will have about 100k miles on it... moreover I can also buy a new car and then split the door panel in two because I don't know what I'm doing and how to disassemble it, this video is totally uninformative and the slk was a well made car, only flaw on the interior especially those colored red or blue which lost color but it is a minor flaw that can be resolved without problems

[@lilah66]

My parents had a S550. It was the biggest POS on the planet. They took the dealer to court and ended up with a new Lexus SC and it never had a problem . It was funny ,my dad spoke fluent German and so did the head mechanic at the dealer. The mechanic told dad in German what a pile of garbage the car really was and no one else knew what they were saying.

[@unstablebobgable]

If I could check out the Mercedes SLK with Watch Jr Goes I would drink the shot of whiskey with him and pack up the Hash Pipe with Rocky and get all schmoked up with him.

[@tim3849]

The door needs to be locked with the key from the outside of the car. I own a 99 with 133k miles and she runs amazing. I drive it everyday, but yes the interior is terrible. I’m going to guess he had to disable the power door locks because they are air powered. The air pump in the trunk gets wet and shorts causing the alarm to go off.

[@johnk5461]

My 2002 SLK320 had many of the same issues, except my problem with the locks and interior lights was caused by the vacuum pump, a $500 part. Interior plastic and trim does not last long. On the other hand, the 722.6 5-speed A/T is easy to work on and bullet-proof, IMHO one of the best A/T’s on the market. The 320 engine, brakes, rear end, just about everything mechanical is GREAT! Oh, and before I forget, CUP Holder SUCKS! If your drink from a glass or plastic cup, condensation drips right onto your radio.

[@joemac6954]

That car was exposed under high UV sun temperature and bad maintenance in general. if you put a Kia , a plastic Ford mustang or a soft Chevy under the same situation it will Milt down and trashed...

[@mexicanspec]

Mercedes people don't glue things, they buy new parts.

[@saleendriver]

MB ain't what they used to be. Now MB is the GM of Germany. How the mighty have fallen.

[@sasapopadic384]

Lot of Turks and the rest..

[@randomenthusiast6898]

Low miles doesn't always mean it wasn't neglected at some point during its 23 years. I've owned multiple w202s and w211s and they were all great cars.

[@matsujarvinen]

I agree.I have W210 and W220,very good quality cars both,too.

[@blackcountryme]

I remember when central locking came out, my dad had gone to night school to learn about modern motor mechanics (EFI etc) and the guy from the AA (like AAA), came in with a car with new central locking and told the class how it worked and it couldnt be picked, so one penny one tennis ball and a Stanley knife later my dad put the ball with the hole over the keyhole in the door, and thumbed the nball, all the locks opened. the AA guy was stunned... I didn't know anyone used it past the late 80`s to 90`s

[@dirklindsayfranke1753]

It's not about the miles it's about the age, things fail after a while I guess.

[@tomjones5079]

Secondary air is a dead relay in the RCM. Crossfire SRT6 owner, so familiar. Been there , done that.

[@michaelbaka4777]

When I was searching for my SL500, FIRST thing I looked for was country of orgin. Mine was built in Stuttgard, Germany. German-built Mercedes seem to be much better than those built anywhere else. I would attribute a lot of these issues to NOT being built in Germany.

[@unkelartgarf3792]

Agreed. American-built Mercedes MLs prove that point! Worse built cars in history!

[@gavinhomeier5761]

I own a 2008 SLK, the R171 after that model. It’s way better quality than that generation. It’s been in the family for about 10 years, and now has about 45k on it. It’s holding up way better. Not too much has broken over the years, and the things that have were super easy to fix at home. Amazing the difference one generation of Mercedes makes. And the top is like twice as fast 😂

[@Tarkov.]

This is why luxury cars depreciate faster than computers in the 90s. If it was a 2000s Corolla with 40k miles it would look showroom

[@Tempsho]

and probably be worth more too lol

[@CommodoreFan64]

My aunt simply wanted a newer car because she could afford it a couple years back, and ended up with a 2018 Toyota Corolla, but ended up selling her 99 Toyota Corolla to our neighbor who gave it to his granddaughter as her first car(she got more than the dealer was going to give her on trade in before prices went through the roof), and other than a few age related issues he fixed himself like hoses, belts, etc.. it's running great, and looks nearly showroom with over 240K miles on it, and I'm sure in today's market it is worth more than this junk mercedes LOL!

[@batsonelectronics]

my 2007 Elantra with almost 123,000 miles looks great and EVERYTHING still works compared to this POS. A coil pack and 15 minute to replace, valve cover gasket is all that has failed. I drive it hard too, no one beats me off the line.

[@darbbively3406]

@@Tempsho You laugh. I had a 2003 Mercedes C230 Sport Coupe (worst car I ever owned, by far), and I just compared pricing on it to a 2003 Corolla. The Toyota is worth more. 😀

[@cawimmer430]

Things can break and fail from the lack of use. Aside from that, this car looks like it was poorly maintained despite the low mileage. These R170s are actually quite reliable if properly maintained. I worked for a Benz dealership back in the day and these cars were overall good cars. Their biggest issue in my opinion was their cramped interior, cheap interior (by today’s standards) and the rather rough-sounding and rough-feeling 4-cylinder engines, which lack the refinement of today’s smooth 4-cylinders. Mechanically and even electronically, these were pretty solid cars.

[@arianeproton101]

I have a 1997 SLK with 96,000 miles on the clock and it has precisely *zero* of the issues highlighted in the video. Something very strange must be going on - it doesn’t seem anything like consistent!!!

[@philtowle4683]

Needs a check on car vertical every youtube channel in the uk would have done one

[@stephenbacks3100]

My friend had one with a glass retractable roof. Push a button, and the glass would change from opaque to clear. The roof cracked, and would cost $15,000 to fix. Insurance totaled it, and he bought a Miata. Not as luxurious, but far more dependable, and more fun to drive.

[@AMomcilo1]

This car is full of stupid examples on what not to do when designing a car.

[@kyle.smyle.]

CaR iS FaLlInG aPaRt -missing 1 door handle

[@alansmith4734]

This short classic clip from 70's Laugh In TV Show says it all about that German car! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYXHkGppiNGdabM

[@bearing_aficionado]

Amazing how you was able to post a link. Every time I do, the overlords at KZbin delete it.

[@paradoxbrothers1635]

There is something fishy with this Mercedes,my Focus MK1 is 2003 and plastics inside are looking superb

[@james_chatman]

Seen it myself. Lots of people in the comments really don't want to believe this.

[@alexcesario2004]

Hello 189 km runs like a dream..amazing vehicle

[@nomebear]

I'm not a mechanic, but found KZbin saved me a fortune in repairs by giving me the confidence to tackle the myriad of problems these cars present. I was constantly gluing things back together. The soft touch paint fails on all of German cars and that includes my neighbor's Passat. It's easily purchased on the Internet from Germany. I've had a similar paint fail on the dash of a Ford F150 crew-cab of the same vintage. Hirshmann makes the pull trunk pull rear hatch for VW and the fancy convertible top mechanism. It's expensive to fix. The vacuum door locks and seat bolsters is also made by Hirshmann and the compressor burns up after the vacuum hoses begin to leak. The engine is bullet proof, and the auto transmission is very tough. Be observant of rubber dry-rot. There's a grommet behind the belt tension pulley that perishes causing a tension piston to no longer apply tension to the pulley. The alternator and a/c compressor will slip, the alternator will appear to have failed, the battery won't charge, the a/c compressor won't cool, and the engine will sound like there's a serious internal problem, when it's just a failed rubber grommet. The duo valve plungers will stick causing hot air to blow from the A/C. Sweating bullets thinking its the compressor, you'll find it's an easy fix.They need to be pulled and cleaned. I wish the current owner much luck and enjoyment.

[@GsrItalia]

Enjoy the "sub-C" class prototype. R171 and R172 had lesser "whoopsies", due to bugfix of several "novelties" on R170.

[@TopGear759]

After 22 years that actually very good.

[@vincezab1]

Let's see what the wear on the brake pedal looks like - the seat bolster definitely suggests more mileage than reported, the brake pedal wear is always a good indicator of mileage.

[@russelldavis7214]

Put in preheated oven at 350 degrees Cook for 20 years.

[@paulnoble5627]

A lot of that interior just needs to be redyed. I use fibrenew to do this and that would cost under $300 to make it look perfect. The dye and top coat they use would never flake so it would be a permanent cosmetic fix. Even if it did flake, they would repair it for free.

[@artlayton1425]

I don't think I have ever seen such an expensive car with the cosmetic problems it has. Is it possible this is a one-off?

[@Tastytorble]

Not sure what happened to this one since it is “brand new. But my 1999 slk is perfectly fine with 120k km 💀

[@Roskellan]

I have the R171, and as much as I love the car there is certainly some quality issues, that should not be present in my opinion, on a Mercedes of any model.

[@dlunn196]

Alex from Legit street Cars has video's to fix the leather on the seat bolsters and SamCracc just did the same on his new old Ferrari

[@NaserElectronica]

Se está desmoronando pues le han dado como tambor a ese auto, puede que tenga pocas millas pero, cada una, con cero cuidado. Uno de mis Mercedes es justamente el SLK230 del 2002 y a pesar que ya tiene 21 años, está en muchísima mejor condición que el de su amigo. Buen video, buen audio, pero algo subjetivo. Saludos desde Chile.

[@mikeluscher159]

Late 90s was Mercedes flop era

[@drnubb762]

grandma's 03 c240 wagon was the same way. black interior in a hot climate (hawaii) didn't help either. it was parked indoors and barely driven, but it had so many (especially electrical) issues. one time she spilled some water on the shifter and it totally locked up the car. $1k for a new TCM. only made it to 60k miles on it until it was mechanically totaled not to mention the interior falling apart. she had a w124 wagon before that- the newer wagon was certainly a downgrade in every way.

[@slasher9883]

The W124 was the last honest to god rock solid reliable car MB made, everything after that was garbage in comparison. Sorry your Gran found out the hard way.

[@christopherholloway8102]

You can buy the interior paint on eBay. It comes from Germany. Once prepped, sponge it on and no more ugly console and glove box. Mine was a 2001, same exterior but red interior. It was a beautiful car that was a joy to drive. The vacuum pumps drove me nuts. If the pump in the trunk gets wet, the whole thing goes bonkers until it dries out.

[@tasty2choc]

lol falling apart like your content! All known issues. And dry leather is a sign of neglect.

[@garys9694]

So true!

[@organiccold]

Hey Jake, good to see you around! The power train is really good,the interior...well. They ate build in the US, aren't John?! Funny enough the Chrysler Crossfire that is basically the same car has a way better interior...

[@alexandermikhailov2481]

34 k original miles my ass 😃 looks more like 134 k at least.

[@mrmcgraw3706]

Mercedes by word for quality. Lol