BMW Z3 or Merc SLK?

[Bizziebod]

BMW Z3 or Merc SLK.. Which would be the most viable car to buy? Looking at resale value and parts/servicing costs.. Anybody with any knowledge of these two could give me any help?.. looking at the around the 2 litre versions... Thanks in advance

[scotstone]

I have had both of these cars ,a 1.9 L Z3 and a 2.0 L SLK. The Z3 was more fun to drive but it had a manual gearbox. The SLK was an automatic and reduced some of the driver involvement. If you buy an automatic SLK it should depreciate less than the Z3. The metallic folding roof of the SLK was more convenient than the hardtop accessory of Z3. Also the plastic rear window of the Z3 was susceptible to damage from creasing as I had to have mine replaced. The handling of the BMW was superior to the Merc but there is little to choose in build quality,servicing or parts.
If I was to choose it would be a 2.2 L Z3 with the 6 cylinder engine because owning a sports car is about enjoying driving and resale value and convenience are secondary.

[Bizziebod]

Thanks for your answer scotstone.. It's a difficult decision to make and was hoping someone was gonna say 'ooh don't buy that one cause of this or this one cause of that' just to make the decision a little easier... Thanks again for your advice!