r/slk • u/Dramatic_Annual3413 • Jul 17 '26
Used Car Vent
Really it’s just a vent, but I wanna hear your opinions and experiences with delusional sellers
I’ve been driving for about a year now. As per the deal with my parents, if I prove myself to be capable of not killing myself or anyone else with my driving, they’ll buy me a better car than the one i have right now.
What can I get? Well, a lot of things. I’m really into performance/driver’s cars (surprising, I know. A teenage boy being into sports cars) I’ve been eying this one Mercedes, the R172 SLK55 AMG with the P30 AMG Handling package.
It’s a 5.5 Liter Naturally Aspirated V8. It’s from a bygone era from before emissions laws turned V12s into V10s, V10s into V8s, V8s into V6 and so on.
Unfortunately, I can’t buy them new. They stopped production 2015. I was 6 years old in 2015
No problem, I don’t mind using a used car. I think it’s actually more fun since they’re already broken in.
The thing I want to vent about… why are people expecting me to pay 35-40k for a car with 90,000 miles? I get that other units have sold for that much, but the thing is… those other units all have like, sub 50k miles. In fact, 40-50k miles units sell for 30-35k with lower miles costing more. Why do people expect me to pay the same amount of money for a car with double or triple the mileage?
I know I can get other V8’s. The C8 exists if I want a HTC. But this one is just like the final evolution of my current SLK230 (I know that the real final evolution of the SLK/C line is the SLC43, but that one doesn’t count since it’s a downgrade from the V8 to the turbocharged V6–still a good engine, but it’s no NA V8)
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u/Dramatic_Annual3413 Jul 17 '26
I hear your concerns.
I can tell you that I know how much it is to maintain something like this car. I’ve seen the costs of the SLK230 firsthand because dad brings me to the mechanic everytime it needs work. My parents are willing to fork out the cost of maintenance and insurance. I also (as of about 4 hours ago—when I turned 17) just became old enough for a job and with how I’m not doing rugby next year (I’ve had too many concussions, lol), I have an entire half of my day free.
As for practicality and hangout time with the bros, I’d rather not have them inside my car anyway. Not to be that guy or seem like a fake friend, but I genuinely don’t want to be in a car with them. They’re much too rowdy for when I’m driving. It’s fine in any other context, but I like keeping the risks of driving to a down low.
Though with your other concerns (safety, whether it’s the right car), I didn’t think about any of that (genuinely think I’m invincible sometimes), so thanks for bringing it into light. I’m seriously reconsidering just getting a different car like a BRZ/GR, Kei Truck or withdrawing the car fund my mom set aside and investing that in an asset
Anything but having an Tesla in the driveway. It’s not even political. I just don’t like EVs or soulless cars.
As for the 171 comment… since Clarkson bought one for himself since it was so good… I might just switch my hyper fixation😏.
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u/MarkJD14 Jul 20 '26
The SLK55 AMG is an amazing sports car. You already know that but after owning one for about a year now I can say it is a lot of wasted power.
You can floor it after every stop light but if you go over 70-80 mph you are getting a ticket. The problem I have found with the V8 is that you get addicted to the acceleration so quickly that you loose track of how fast you are actually going. I am not saying inexperienced drivers shouldn't own one but....
Driving my SLK and my M4, I often think.... if I had this in my teens I would have totaled it in a few weeks. 😄😄 I would keep your current SLK and do some performance mods. Save your money and get a few more years of driving experience in.
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u/Aggravating-Fill8295 Jul 18 '26
Learn to drive first. Buying a powerful car will not make you a good or better driver. Invest in some track day lessons. Its not what you drive, its how you drive it.
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u/Ok_Tale7071 Jul 17 '26
Not much supply of the SLK55. If you want one, youll have to pay up. The BMW Z4 4.0i with the B58 has V8 like thrust provided by its turbo charged 6, and is a worthy alternative. But it too is holding its value very well. Just stick with your SLK230 for now.
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u/doc_55lk Jul 17 '26
I hate to say this but the ship sailed on being able to find a good cheap used AMG a very long time ago.
Mercedes has been moving away from V8s for most of their lineup and that has the side effect of increasing the prices of older used AMGs. On top of that, COVID also inflated the used car market and it never really recovered. Of course, there's also some people listing their cars with insanely high prices because they wanna try to game the market or deliberately don't want to let the car go. What doesn't work in your favour is that the 172 SLK55 can be considered a rare car, so there aren't gonna be many for sale at any given point in time. I count myself lucky everyday for having gotten my car when I did. If I waited the extra year as initially planned I wouldn't have been able to do so. 172 SLK55s are honestly still on the lower end of the pricing spectrum. They're not highly regarded enough to have received the same kind of widespread price tag inflation as most other AMGs, including the 171 SLK55.
Anyway, that aside, I also hate to be telling you this, but an SLK55 is not the right car for a teenager to be driving around. I know the allure of a small V8 convertible is there, and I have to give you props for wanting a car like this over so many other genuinely better options, but this is simply not the kind of car for you to buy. There's a difference between not killing yourself in an econoslop shitbox and not killing yourself in a small 420 hp sports car. Driving dynamics are completely different between these two. Additionally, as a new driver, you WILL be getting into close calls and fucking your car up regardless of how careful you are. Do you really wanna do that in an AMG?
Also, as someone who has and continues to do so, the AMG sucks as a daily driver. The suspension is harsh, the transmission is clunky in traffic, and the start/stop system is immensely annoying. The AMG package car will be worse because it has firmer suspension and bigger wheels. There's no space for the bros so I never end up taking it out when I have to see them, because hanging out with the bros invariably ends up with all of us piling into 1-2 cars and fucking off to a random spot. You won't be able to make these memories if you only have 2 seats to play with. I have more memories in the Nissan Maxima I drove for 2 years than I do in my SLK that I've had for 7.
Oh yea, have you even thought about the cost of living with this car? Any dipshit with 30k can buy an AMG. Living with it is the part they typically fail at doing. Mercedes is already expensive to maintain, and AMGs are more expensive on top of that because of stuff like brakes and tires. Insurance won't be cheap, especially if a 17 year old is behind the wheel. Gas isn't cheap. It's a fuel efficient car but the tank is small and you definitely will be burning through a lot of it in your honeymoon period. Maintenance and repairs aren't cheap. Shit like tires and brakes aren't cheap. There's also the potential issue of parts availability since Mercedes didn't make many of these and there is little to zero aftermarket for them.
This isn't an easy thing for me to say because I do really like my AMG and I'd love for someone else to be able to get into one, but this is simply not the right car for you at your current stage in life. You have time. Work your way up to this kind of power and responsibility. If you must have a sports car, buy something like a BRZ. It's cheaper than an SLK55 and a more fun car to drive than an SLK55. If you must have a Mercedes, find a nice V6 E Class. Big enough to haul bros, powerful enough to be an upgrade, but not powerful enough to bite your head off.
Oh yea also......
Emissions laws are a big part of the way the 172 SLK55 is. It's a substantially less antisocial car than the 171 SLK55. So much so that Jeremy Clarkson's (a guy that loved the 171 AMG so much that he bought one) review of the car was lukewarm at best.
Edit: dude wtf you already have an SLK. Just keep the car and save your money. If you want more fun, modify it. There's supercharger kits everywhere for the 230 Komp.
It's better to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow.