Two Exotics, Two Different Budgets

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A few years ago these two exotic sports cars were priced quite similarly on the used market. The Porsche 996 was unloved by the purists and as a result it became the “affordable 911”. The Mercedes 350 SLK looked more aggressive than its predecessor and journos seemed to really like it. Today, the 996 may still be the affordable 911 without being cheap, but the Merc is actually affordable. These two examples at Turners might appeal to similar buyers on very different budgets. Read on...

To many Porsche fans the essence of the 911 was its air-cooled boxer engine and adding water to the cooling equation was akin to dropping a four cylinder lump into a Mustang. But even with the purists tearing their hair out with rage the 996 quietly went on to sell over 175,000 cars over its 7 year production run and, along with the Boxster, saved Porsche from financial oblivion.

Today the 996 is still your cheapest bet to get into 911 ownership but prices have been rising steadily in recent years. This NZ new example is a desirable 4WD Carrera 4S with 116,400kms on the clock. It sure looks good in yellow and the auction estimate is $55,000 - $65-000.

The first Mercedes SLK appeared in 1996 and to many it’ll always be a hairdresser’s car. But this 2nd generation model is more than just a pose-mobile, although it works on that level, too. Its 3.5L V6 and 7 speed auto box will shift you along to 100kph in 5.6 seconds giving many hairy chested V8s a scare along the way. But being a Merc it has luxury, comfort and safety in abundance. This imported 2005 SLK350 has travelled just 74,000kms and had just one NZ owner. It needs some tidying and the alloys have been involved a fair amount curb-touch parking. But, and it’s a big BUT, the auction estimate is just $2000 - $4000.

The Porsche edges the Merc in power and driver focused fun but both cars are from the exotic end of the sporting spectrum but will appeal to very different budgets. More details here and here.