Well, it's sort of a Merc..

[gaz_l]

Actually, it isn't. But Mercedes kind of had a hand in its development so there is a link there, however tenuous. The SLK has to go to market soon, and this is what I've got as its replacement for now. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum..



Having the mindset I do, I had to buy the most powerful one available, so it's got the full 84 BHP - whoopee! It's still about as interesting as a washing machine, but at least it keeps up with the traffic.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[clk320x]

Don’t fancy the SLK anymore Gaz?

 

[DSM10000]

Don’t fancy the SLK anymore Gaz?

He has given up hairdressing so is not allowed to drive one anymore

 

[gaz_l]

He has given up hairdressing so is not allowed to drive one anymore

Says the man who owns an MX5. People who live in glass houses etc..

It's not that I'm tired of the SLK, I've had it 8 years now and it still makes me laugh like a drain whenever I floor it. That's never got old. But I have, and getting in and out doesn't get any easier. And, simply, I'm not using it enough these days - it's off for MOT next Saturday and it's done 1600 miles in the last year! At 12 years old it's got 37000 on the clock. I'm planning on giving up work next year and it's time to draw my horns in - £550 a year road tax and 20MPG will be more difficult to justify when the money's not rolling in any more. I suppose the Mrs. could get another job on top of the one she already has..

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Smart320]

Don't let them make fun of you, but do make sure you avoid potholes! My wife has had 2 of them , an original model , a 84 bhp turbo then traded it in at the dealers for the last of the old model they had in stock , a convertible. We were in Jersey at the time so loved it, especially as it had Power Steering ( needed it on the windy roads ) and with more kit than my w211, sat Nav, Bluetooth etc!

 

[Smart320]

Oh , forgot to mention that afte 2 years in the uk we found it was too wet in west wales for a convertible, soft top always going green and my wife felt bullied when driving it. Traded it for what she really wanted another 3 door RAV4! Miss the zero tax as my ML now costing over £500 and her RAV4 nearly £300, in Jersey no road tax, car insurance premiums are £15 extra which covers that!

 

[DSM10000]

Says the man who owns an MX5. People who live in glass houses etc..

It's not that I'm tired of the SLK, I've had it 8 years now and it still makes me laugh like a drain whenever I floor it. That's never got old. But I have, and getting in and out doesn't get any easier. And, simply, I'm not using it enough these days - it's off for MOT next Saturday and it's done 1600 miles in the last year! At 12 years old it's got 37000 on the clock. I'm planning on giving up work next year and it's time to draw my horns in - £550 a year road tax and 20MPG will be more difficult to justify when the money's not rolling in any more. I suppose the Mrs. could get another job on top of the one she already has..

Cheers,


Gaz

How very dare you Sir?

You need a hairy chest and biceps like Popeye to drive an MX5, ask the wife

 

[gaz_l]

Well the Smart is getting there. A good valet followed up by a little extra cleaning by my own fair hand and it's looking pretty tidy. Took a chunk of the dashboard out (that was fun) to try and find whatever it was that was rattling around inside, and although it wasn't conclusive the rattle has now gone so don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's been to the friendly local garage for some fresh fluids and a kick of the tyres, and they declared themselves happy with it. So, two jobs left to do: the aircon condenser fan sounds like a bag of spanners (a known weak point, and I think fairly expensive to fix. I'm waiting on a quote from a Smart specialist. I've cured this in meantime by the simple expedient of turning off the A/C). And secondly, to do something about the frankly rubbish stereo. Again, I've had the dashboard apart and getting the old stereo out isn't actually that difficult once you've done it the first time (it does involve some tugging on certain parts, you just have to pretend the car belongs to somebody else), but finding a fascia adapter to fit a standard DIN stereo (single or double) has been a right game for some reason. Anyway, I managed to find the right bits in sunny California of all places, the main problem being they wanted 55 bucks to ship a 17 dollar part to the UK! That wasn't happening. Fortunately, we have a US office so I'm getting it sent there (a much more reasonable 7 dollars, although the office is in New Jersey), and our US office manager is going to chuck it in the next box coming to the UK. I'm not in a screaming hurry for it, so all is good.

It's been on a couple of runs outside of town, and although it doesn't like crosswinds much it's certainly not slow. The question is, to remap or not to remap? The jury's still out..

I don't think I'm ever going to love this car, but it's turning out to be something quite useful. Probably the most praise it's ever going to get!

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[grober]

Actually, it isn't. But Mercedes kind of had a hand in its development so there is a link there, however tenuous.
Having the mindset I do, I had to buy the most powerful one available, so it's got the full 84 BHP - whoopee! It's still about as interesting as a washing machine, but at least it keeps up with the traffic.
Cheers,
Gaz

Smart are a division of Daimler AG and in the main are retailed thro MB outlets so apart from not having a Mercedes logo I'm not sure why they are so coy about the connection. Bit like they don't acknowledge the Nissan/Renault connection either . "Das Beste oder Nichts--zut alors" as Ol Gottleib said before they edited the tapes.