There are nearly 100,000 cars currently listed on the AutoTrader marketplace, with a decent number of coupés and even cabriolets, and the cheapest is a 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 Kompressor priced at R69,000.
New, the German cabriolet retailed for R305,000 in South Africa, and even owed some of its assembly to Mercedes-Benz’s local production plant, since it was built on a shortened W202 C-Class platform assembled locally.
This particular example is a facelifted version of the original SLK, produced from 1996 to 2000, when the Stuttgart-based automaker opted for a new look and updated the SLK R170, which was replaced in 2004 by the R171.
The first-edition SLK 200 Kompressor models were sold exclusively in Europe and were only available with the Getrag five-speed manual transmission. After the 2000 facelift, it was introduced worldwide.
Over 300,000 first-generation SLK models – including this model – were built between 1996 and 2004.
The two-seat roadster features Mercedes-Benz’s folding metal electro-hydraulic roof, dubbed ‘vario-roof’, which takes 25 seconds to operate, and shares 80% of its components with the Chrysler Crossfire.
What you get for R69,000
Essa Auto in Brits listed this particular model, which is fitted with an automatic transmission and has completed 185,000km. According to the dealership, its bodywork and paint are faded.
Fitted with the Mercedes-Benz M111.958 inline-4 2.0-litre supercharged petrol motor, the roadster could produce 120kW and 230Nm when new.
This, coupled with the five-speed “Touch Shift” 5G-Tronic automatic transmission sending power to the rear wheels, allowed for an 8.2-second 0-100km/h time and a top speed of 220km/h.
The payoff for this performance was its 9.7l/100km average fuel consumption, which would burn through its 60-litre fuel tank in just over 600km.
It must be noted that this performance reflects what the model could achieve when new. Since then, this SLK 200 has covered many kilometres, making it unlikely to achieve these numbers in 2026.
Standard equipment across this generation of SLK includes power seats, power windows, power steering, dual-zone climate control, dimmable interior mirror, and alloy wheels.
Safety features include front and side driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control.
Options on this model include an AMG body design package, which added body-colour side skirts, chromed tailpipes, 17-inch AMG alloy wheels on lower-profile performance tyres, and a sculpted front apron with black-mesh air intakes.
However, this model has none of these additional body features, so it’s safe to assume the original owner opted not to add them.
Other options, which may well be present, include heated seats, xenon headlamps, a premium Bose sound system, a boot-mounted 6-CD changer, 8-way power seats, and a manually telescoping steering wheel.
Used 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 Kompressor
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