[flash]

for the last month or so, we have been trying to find an SLK350 - we had a couple of mis-starts, with cars that we were told were exactly what we wanted, only to find out they were missing something or were already sold

basically we wanted a capri blue car with ash grey leather and wood trim, sport package, harmon kardon system, heating package, and climate package - after 4 weeks of searching, and the unwillingness of mercedes to install what we wanted, i was ready to walk away

then the salesman asks me "have you considered an SL?"

i responded with "uh - sure, but 100k for a commuter car is out of line"

i had to remind him that the primary reason for getting the new car was that the M3 was manual trans, and that no longer fits into our life and car needs - for the next couple of years, we needed an auto, but it had to be sporty, fully loaded, very quiet, and idiot proof when it came to reliability - that dictated something new, and the only cars we could think of were the SLK350 loaded the way we wanted, or the Z4 - the wife was not really sold on the Z4, and wanted the Benz

but, after a short pause, he said "come with me for a minute" - he then walked me back to the CPO area - we had not even considered a pre-owned car this time around, but since we had done it before, and at this dealership, and had success, i went ahead and looked

the second i walked up to this car, i knew i was screwed - i knew what the wife wanted - i knew how we both felt about this car - i knew exactly what her response would be - i was right, and after 4 weeks of foul balls, this deal took 15 minutes - it was exactly what she wanted

made a GREAT deal on a 2007 CPO with full manufacturer warranty to 100k - full side ding warranty for the next 5 years - brand new tires - brand new brakes - i made them put on the AMG wheels, add new thresholds, new mats, yada yada - it's like a brand new car now, with all the bells and whistles and warranty and all that, but i didn't take the retail hit of a new car - got a great trade-in on the M3 too

not the car we went after, but a whole lot more than we thought we would get

   
   
   
   
   

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[PorscheDude]

Very nice! I guess that's better than a rock for missing your 1st anniversary.

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[flash]

lol - i told you it was going to cost me something shiny

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[94SilverCab]

VERY nice, and it's German...

Jay

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[banditsc]

Nice...

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[Darryl]

Congrats! As mentioned in a previous post and probably on a phone call or two, I think you'll be happier with the Benz and there's certainly nothing wrong with the SL line. Enjoy!

- Darryl

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[Johannvb]

Very nice! I love the sound of the benz V8. I hope this doens't make your 968 feel slow [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[flash]

lol - it does right now since i am STILL waiting for a couple of parts to be done so i can put it back on the ground and finish the supercharger kit - i just found out the delay has been due to a break that is down so they can't bend the parts - arrrrrrrgh!!!! this is making me crazy

on the benz, i am trying to figure out if there is something i can do to improve the sound system - it's going to have to be custom work though, as nobody lists anything for that car

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[ds968]

As I said, my favorite model of all the MBZs out there ! ( and no one bring up the McLaren SLR please, that is one butt-ugly MBZ, IMO )

Congrats !!

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[flash]

it has been my favorite too - i never saw us owning one though - it just made sense now though

people keep asking me about the fuel economy - who cares? it's a rounding error

i think of it like this:

a smart car would cost me about $1000 less a year in fuel - big deal - i spill more wine than that - it's more than worth the grand to me to be comfortable

i am constantly amused and baffled by people who will run out and spend $30k on a car to gain some 20mpg fuel economy, rather than keep their car they already own that gets 15-20mpg - quick math says that's pretty stupid- talk about stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime - sure it's the "green" thing to do, but it is NOT going to save you any money

for example, for a $30k car to save you any money at all over a 15mpg car you already own, at 15k miles a year, ($3000 dollar fuel expense at $3/gal) it would need to get over 150mpg to break even - stretched out over 5 years, i would still need it to get at least 50mpg to break even

and what are you subjected to the entire time? how much do you need to spend on R&R to recover from that experience?

so, we aren't going to worry about the fuel economy

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[94SilverCab]

My daily commute is 13 miles (to and from the train station). I could drive a blown Hemi and still only fill up every 3 weeks [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

My Volvo S40 gets about 25 MPG on this short haul, 35-45 MPH drive. It would take a hundred years for a "Smart Car" to make sense.

Anyway, you don't buy an SL for its economy...LOL.

Jay

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[flash]

lol - nope

this in no way suggests that i don't think we should all do what we can to conserve resources - i just spent $15k on low-E windows and a bunch of new insulation (not so much for the savings though as the comfort)

but adding another car to the landfill to save a couple of gallons of gas just didn't make sense

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[rxter]

Nice looking car - good color. My SO also fell in love with these a while back, but apparently I have better control in my house (and less cash [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]. I drove a very similar version at a MB dealer not too far from your house (might be the same place) and really liked the car for what it is. Felt like a very well sorted muscle car. Not a carver, but fast, incredibly smooth, and very refined. Would make about the nicest commuter I can imagine.

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[flash]

definitely not a carver - the car lets you know just how heavy it is - in sport mode it's a lot better, but still not like the 968 - but it does smooth out the bumps - day 1 report has been nothing but stellar

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[jlm968]

Sweet ride, Flash! I'm thinking my next car will be a BMW 335i cabriolet in a metallic blue. Love the color of your new ride, too.

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[flash]

lol - wish i knew - we just traded in the E46 M3 cab - triple black with manual trans though - to get that, we traded in a midnight metallic blue E46 325 manual trans cab

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[Scott Collins]

Nice. Great colors. Cool rims. Congrats!

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[SHA-JR968]

Much better than a SLK.

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[rhudeboye]

Never really liked the SLKs or the Z4 or the 1 series. Too much of a chick car. Always drooled over the SLs. Perfect blend of sport and luxury. Damn you Flash.

I think you can retract the top at speeds up to 50mph. It's kinda nice to be able to drop in the slow lane, drop the top then get back left and pass all the people in awe. Very cool!

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[Fox944]

congrats on the new ride, looks sharp.

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