marzman

Good post. So i've just worked out two values... The first - i've worked out how much i've lost in depreciation on cars over the last 7 years. I've only ever had non-new cars (newest was 4 years old, but the average age of my cars is about 7 years old). During this time, i've lost a totoal of £14000 in depreciation, or £2k per year. Comparing the price of the SLK on PCP, a £1500 deposit + 23x £250 = £7250, or £3625 a year - so i'd be losing 80% more than i have done in the past on depreciation. Not good - although i would be driving a brand spanking new car for the first time ever. However - looking on parkers at the previous gen SLK, price new vs 2yrs old for the cheapest model in the range (and therefore lowest depreciation) - they lose £11k over 2 years (not including any interest on finance i'd have to pay!) - which is a damn site more than the £7250 it would cost me to own via PCP. Okay this isnt a totally fair test seeing as the 2011 SLK is at the end of the model iteration, but it's as good a comparison as i've got. (source = http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/prices/us ... arplate=94) So based on the above... financially i'd be better off sticking with old cars as i've always done - obviously. However over a 2 year period, PCP works out cheaper than ownership, as far as i can see, and doesnt leave me with the overhead of trying to to pay a £35k loan.

Doesnt sound too bad

What do you think of it mate? How is it to drive, and hows the ride?

So i stopped in at my local Mercedes dealership on the way home, and the SLK had pride of place in the center of the showroom. I've got to say, i was pretty much blown away by the looks of it Sitting in it, it felt like a really nice place to be. Everything about it was just luxury. I came out with a stupid grin on my face I've scheduled a test drive for saturday lunch time in the 250d so i'll report back on how it goes. ...and i dont want any 'I told you so' comments afterwards... i've never diven a diesel before so I may be totally disappointed by it.

Spot on Have you heard the SLK? Does it sound like @*!#? But even if it does sound like @*!#, the noise inst a huge issue for me as i cant say i ever drive without having loud music on - so aural pleasure is not what im after (not oral, SMD before you start ) Yep that would have been an insult to me... Cars are probably my biggest passion in life, so the fact that i would like a diesel does not mean that i dont care about cars. I rarely drive my zed as a) i dont like getting it dirty and i hate paying for fuel. I drive my girlfriends fiesta most of the time, which is just stupid. If my zed got me 56mpg however, im sure i would drive it a lot more - and yes, i would sacrifice the lovely sounds of my nismo exhaust for that mpg. I dont think anyone here's driven the new SLK yet, so it could knock spots off the zed for all we know (im sure it wont however ) so to say it's stupid to consider it is a shortsighted comment. (not aimed at you Leeroy, or anyone, im just saying). Also the zed isnt a sports car and isnt really that quick, so im not anticipating it to be a huge step down in terms of performance - but i could be wrong.

You know, you actually did go through my mind when thinking about what i could get for my zed... but it would be more like £1500 However im thinking about keeping the zed too, although not sure. Ive just requested a test drive at my local Merc garage, so i'll see how that goes. My mrs is learning to drive at the moment, but i bought her a Fiesta last year to use when she passes. But im thinking now that i could sell that and give her the zed

You failed to spot the major fun factor killer - the SLK isnt petrol 6.5 0-60mph, with 500nm of torque. Im pretty sure that will give the zed a run for it's money in a straight line. That said, im not after it for it's 'sports car capabilities' at all. I just like the thought of a nice looking, reasonably dynamic car that will get me 56mpg...

10k a year, with a 2 year contract. ...thats 50% more than i drive my zed currently Pence per mile penalties, typically are only 6p per mile... so if you go over by 5k miles they'll charge you £300

Yup. 10k miles a year over 24 months. Forget to mention that the diesel model is 6.5 0-60 and has 500nm of torque SLK http://www.contracthireandleasing.com/p ... -benz/slk/ 370z http://www.contracthireandleasing.com/p ... ssan/370z/ You know what thinking about it, the price of the SLK is too good to be true surely?!?

So i've started seeing the new SLK on the road a lot recently, and i've got to say, it looks like a really handsome car. The previous 2 SLK's have been a bit too feminine for me but the new model looks a bit meaner and more fun. On PCP you can get the SLK250 Diesel model (56mpg!) for under £250 a month which is quite a bargain! Compare that to a 370z on PCP which is 25ish MPG at £450-500... thats almost twice the price

So... is there business opportunity to start exporting cars, or are people bound by local tax rules etc?

In texas where my dad lived for 10 years (now lives in upstate new york), the prices of cars like the zed were rock bottom. They were like $15k 4 years ago! I was well jealous! That said, they were ten a penny down there...

Best colour.

Just buy one of the bargain dremmel knock-offs that they sell. Aldi are selling one this week for £12! I bought a £20 dremmel knockoff from Wolworths about 6 years ago, and it's still going strong (and it came with a flexi adapter). Probably had maybe 20 hours solid use out of it during that time. For drop links and areas of rust however, you're better off with an angle grinder than a dremmel... you'll be there all day.

Nice

I love it!!

Not that well TBH, he will be lucky to see 10K Im not going to post links to any other cars but thats A LOT for that car IMO. Agreed, it's very nice but i was expecting to see £7k realistically. I'd have one though... but prefer my zed.

A guy i know who works at a large chain of garages managed to write off a customers' M3 when he lost it on a roundabout after hooning around. He was telling me about it like it was a funny story and that he was proud if it...

Just cos it's universal doesnt mean it wont fir tohugh i guess.... you'd just need to buy one with the correct thread type for the zed.

Adam @ Z1 Auto can source them, but he's based in the US. He was trying to arrange a group buy last year i think.

Love the titanium exhaust tips poking out... you should get some matching wheel nuts to really set it off. The chargespeed rear is amazing, but i dont think the skirts are aggessive enough, they should stick out further.

What kind of plate holder should you get..? Get on this viewtopic.php?f=166&t=63153 With regards to the tow hook... there's a company called Tegiwa imports that makes these kinds of things in the UK, however when i spoke to them at Japfest 2 last September they didnt have one specifically for a zed - but they said they could possibly make one should there be group buy interest. http://www.tegiwaimports.com/advanced_s ... =1&&page=2

You wont see him again... that was his last ever fight I never rated him anyway He's never done well since his fight with chuck liddell , don't think he was good at evolving his game like the likes of Randy couture but to be fare he helped put mma/UFC on the map.. I can't see the big deal with sonnen vs silva fight sonnen made a mistake silva clearly didn't do anything illegal but capitalised on it . Glad it finally shut him up tho was getting sick of his lack of respect for his fellow fighters and just stupidity he really did the sport no favours by acting like a dick I think for a title fight the ref stopped it too early. Yes he was in the phoetal position but he was still definding... he should have had another 5 seconds at least. Just look at the Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin fight the other week... franklin took a pasting in the second but still got up and won the fight. I was gutted for Tito as well... i know like you say he's not the most dynamic fighter and he lost a lot of face not fighting Chuck for so long, but i still really liked him as a character. On TUF 3 he was a great team captain. Aparently Dana was pi**ed at Forrest Griffin for his post fight antics too...

Cool that was pretty good! How can you dislike Lewis.....? He's the man!