Q: i have saved up $19,000 canadian since i can remember and i am getting my g2 in a couple months and have asked my parents if i can use the money to buy myself a nice car of my choice. everyone in my family encouraged me since iv saved all that money myself. i looked around an there arent many new fun cars u can get for that money and as a teenager im not really into having new cars i like used more as its cheaper. i looked into the porsche boxster 1999 model, bmw z4 and a 1999 mercedes benz slk230. my dad says that car is too old my friends say its not fast enough as it only has a V4 and....its for girls. what do u guys think what chould i buy with that money im not into used hondas nissans and mitsubishi i was hoping an older but stronger brand like the slk. i like the fact taht itis a hardtop convertible. what do you guys think. can u guys give me sum info or advise such as how fast and how fuel efficent it is or anyother cars to consider?? http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mknm=740&Region=-1&subcategory=&CAT=1&ADID=6889908&ADS=6889908%7C something like that
A: If you still want a nice car that won't be as expensive to maintain, I would just settle on a getting a 03 or 04 BMW325 You get a nice car that is a little more reliable than an SLK. I would stay away from the C230 just because I think the 325 is a more fun car to drive for someone your age. If you are sold on the 2 seaters then I would suggest the Z3. Here are some rough stats on the SLK's at least SLK230 0-60 is about 7 - 7.5s MPG is about 22-25 SLK320 0-60 is about 6.5s or so MPG is about 21-24 SLK32 AMG 0-60 is about 4.6 - 4.7s MPG is about 18-22 As an FYI I had a 1999 SLK230 and recently sold it to buy an SLK32 AMG. While they are fun to drive, especially the SLK32 they are not the most reliable of cars. They won't leave you on the side of the road or anything, but a lot of minor things has gone wrong on both of my cars. Here are some examples of what has gone wrong and what is cost to fix them. By the way I a in North Carolina which isn't the most expensive of places in the US. All prices are based on dealership prices. New set of tires: Buying fairly cheap Kuhmos or low end Yokohamas will cost you $700.00. I recently bought 4 continentals for my SLK32 and they were over $1200 Oil Change is $100 but you only have to change it every 10,000 miles, so this cost kind of evens out with a normal car. In addition to an oil change it is recommended to get an A or B (you alternate) service each 10,000 miles as well, this will add $250 to $350 to the cost of the oil change pending on the service. So expect to pay $350 to $450 every 10K miles for service. Things that have gone wrong. I owned the SLK230 for about 3.5 years and now have had the SLK32 for about 8 months 1) Window regulator broke in the 230, cost $500 to fix 2) Tail light assy went out: Cost $200 to fix (later this was issued in a recall) 3) The cars have a very bad habit of paint chipping in the center consoles, both of mine have this issue. Cost is about $100 to $200 to fix this at an outside source 4) Plastic underneath the steering wheel in the SLK230 broke and came loose. I sold the car before I fixed this. 5) Supercharger went out in the SLK32. $1300 to fix. I don't expect you to have this problem in the SLK230 though 6) Coolant pump for the supercharger went out in the SLK32. $700 to fix 7) Various minor oil leaks on the engine were fixed which typically cost about $300 or so per leak. These leaks were minor though and didn't smoke or effect the engine in any way. By the way I checked that ad the car in it is not a car that Mercedes produces. The AMG cars did not come out until 2002 on the SLK and all of them are called SLK32 AMG's. A SLK230 AMG does not exist, only a normal SLK230 Kompressor exists, there is a big difference between the two as you can see from my 0-60 times above.