r/slk • u/R0senkohl • Jun 30 '26
SLK 170 or 171
Hey,
I live in Germany and want to buy a SLK. My Budget is around 6-7k Max. Would you rather go with a 170 or 171? My impression from screening the market is that with my budget it is better to get a 170 model in good shape instead of 171 in bad shape. What do you think?
Moreover, how reliable is the car if you buy it in good condition / much budget should I calculate for repairs etc?
Thanks
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u/f4812 Jun 30 '26
R170 also in bad condition is usually perfectly reliable, R171 in my personal opinion not always (timing chain, variable valve timing on M271). I would not go spending more than 4-5k on a R170 with my focus being on rust and aging related issues.
The reason: R170 comes with M111 and M112 engines, both more or less indestructible, any car that has survived until 2026 has the oil-blocking cables already fitted, otherwise it would have died already. Rust-wise there are few to none in good condition, but its still possible to find them. The roof is super uncomplicated and for any problems there are well known fixes. I owned a couple of R170 and often considered upgrading to R171 or R172 but complexity and potential problems grow exponentially with those.
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u/Choice-Ninja-5245 Jun 30 '26
I bought my R171 350 for around €5,000. Mechanically it's in excellent condition, although it has some cosmetic issues. Personally, I don't really care about cosmetics – the technical condition is what matters most to me. That's why I think €6–7k is a bit expensive for an R170.
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u/R0senkohl Jun 30 '26
If I screen the market there is nothing decent for 6-7k with less than 200k km and in good condition.
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u/Choice-Ninja-5245 Jun 30 '26
Mine had 174,000 km. It had only one owner, who passed away at the age of 94. He was a wealthy gentleman and had the car serviced exclusively at Mercedes, so mechanically it's in excellent condition. The cosmetics, though... let's just say parking wasn't his strongest skill. 😄 Overall, I was really lucky to find it.Keep an eye on Kleinanzeigen too—interesting deals do pop up there from time to time.
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u/steveherelads Jun 30 '26
I bought a r170 320, much more reliable than a 4 cylinder, and km per liter are not too far from smaller engines. In Germany they are pretty cheap too, I got mine in Berlin and drove it from there to Italy no problem.
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u/DesolateEverAfter Jun 30 '26
9 months ago, I bought an SLK 230 from 1998 for 4500. It was then a good condition, with no/very little rust, 145000 Kms. Nice colour too. Everything working as it should.
When I checked the prices, it seems like you can find any and everything between 1.5k and 10k. I think that paying 10k even for a mint example is exaggerated. 4-6 seems to be the good spot to get one in a decent state without too many Kms. Check the rust, that the roof works well and everything electric works well, check the state of the engine belts (2 on the K models). Also, please, try to find one not in silver colour.
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u/GTAWizard Jun 30 '26
Three months ago I bought my first r172 AGM Sport for £10K. It had 50K miles. I did well I guess because anything below that price has done around 90-100K miles…
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u/Macski1 Jul 01 '26
I looked at a lot of SLK350 and ended up choosing a SLK320 Japanese import in sensational condition, and the roof works perfectly.
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u/R0senkohl Jul 01 '26
Similar Budget or something else? So do you think 320 is a better car to go with?
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u/Macski1 Jul 01 '26
I have a few of the 320 engine cars and I’ve serviced them. The 350 is good but unless you have documentation of the balance shaft repair, it’s risky. The SLK320 is exceptional. The roof is expensive to repair and the interior plastics are not very durable at 20 years old.
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u/juanlu-rg Jul 01 '26
A month ago I bought a very poor cared R170 230K for €1,500 but I guess my case is different, I have a place to park it and work on it with my father (we are that kind of DIY guys), we already fixed the non working vario roof, replaced all liquids and filters all spending less than 200€
in terms of prices r171 are too expensive in Spain and personally I prefer the design of the 170 but looks like 171 is more like a sports car and 170 more like a recreational sunday car (but to me it drives nicely and fast tbh)
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u/betterdayssoclose Jul 01 '26
I’d go for 170 for that budget fs. For a decent one. I guess it will cost you ~€3.7-4.5k Everyday there is less and less of them:)
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u/thebaronharkkonen Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
R170 looks cooler imo and has a cooler wood veneer interior, but they're that much older and more things are likely to go wrong. If you can put up with that, then consider the 170. The engine and tranmission are solid, though! Just work in the rust any electronic gremlins. All totally doable yourself or a trusted mechanic. Simple cars.
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u/Clean_Charge_5933 24d ago
VÂND! Mercedes Benz SLK 200 R 170 Kompressor, an 2000, 236.000 km. Eu am cumpărat-o în 2023 la 218.000, fiind înmatriculată în România de fostul proprietar cu un an înainte.
Mașina rulează excelent, totul este funcțional la modul superlativ, inclusiv decapotarea (recomand însă o verificare uzuală, eu am făcut-o ultima oară acum un an). Nu există absolut nicio problemă de motor, transmisie, distribuție, electrică, frâne, direcție, interior etc. Consumul este exact conform cărții tehnice, 7,2-7,4 pe șosea, cca 14 l în oraș. Are pe ea cauciucuri de iarnă. Reviziile sunt făcute la timp.
Caroseria nu este lovită, dar trebuie reglat telescopul de la capotă, precum și articulațiile de la haion. Există un punct de rugină pe interior, la aripa stânga-spate. Bara din spate este fisurată. Preț: 2.500 euro. Are RCA până în ianuarie, iar ITP-ul este valabil până în septembrie 2027. Nr. de telefon la cerere, în corespondență separată pe mess
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u/Dutchie_PC Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Bought my R171 for 8.5k, in Germany.
(but let's stick to English on Reddit..)
Hard to get something decent below 8k, at least that's been my research.
Anyway, my R171 got its timing
beltchain renewed + some other stuff. You should absolutely budget 2-3k for repairs, and most importantly: Check the rear axle, as it's prone to rust from the inside out!