Autoshiteboy's German shenanigans

[paulplom]

He's not very good at the technical side of things so I've started a thread. He'll send me the pics, I'll post them up then he can tell you about them.
He's just bought this stunning merc convertible and flogged his A classe.

[paulplom]

Washing it before sale. Very low mileage iirc although he's stuck 15.5k on it recently.

[DodgeRover]

Free car wash with every boiler install over 10k?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

At least the CLK has the last good Mercedes petrol four, the M111. Everything after that is landfill.

[AutoshiteBoy]

I bought the A-klasse as I changed jobs and Enterprise Rent A Car (ERAC) are shite. So this car was to cover the times ERAC couldn't supply me.

I did 15,500 miles solely commuting between Bedford and Newcastle over 11 months when ERAC failed me. The A-klasse is a most curious of cars, the likes of which we'll never see again. It could only be a German design. The driving position is peculiar but not bad, very sit up and beg and you have a high sitting position. This model was a detuned 2.0 diesel with a CVT box. 86bhp from a turbo intercooled motor. Cold weather killed the fuel economy and I was being paid 23.8p per mile.

I had it serviced by an approved but independent Mercedes workshop which was very cheap considering it gave me European break down cover. Nothing went wrong in the time I had it. It did like a slurp of oil however. Thankfully, no DPF, just an oxidation catalyst.

Just after I left the job, where I'd parked it was petrol bombed. You may have seen that on TV..

The car had only done 33,000 miles when I bought it. My mate's mother had owned it since 14k miles. I suspect it was a Mercedes daily rental car before she bought it as the history folder came with its original advert. However, thanks to DVLA, it lost a keeper when she did a plate change prior to selling me it. So it was a 1 lady owner car.

I sorely missed a windscreen shade band driving this car, but did appreciate very powerful fogs. I left home at 03:30am and headed south, but wouldn't leave the south until gone 5pm or 8pm, so it just lived on the A14/M1/M18/M1. I got to know the staff at Costa Trowel Services very well in that time. TPMS gave me a good heads-up. Cruise control was used extensively.

In that mileage I did, the car consumed the following: oil & filter service. Front pads and discs. A battery. Thats it, although the front continental tyres were slick by the time I sold it to a colleague in the south. Mercedes gave me a new airbag and steering wheel controls for free under a recall, but the dealer treated me like the council house scum I am and couldn't have been less friendly or helpful. Cunts.

Bought £1,500 (inc battery as it failed when I went to collect) and sold for £1,800. 11,000 miles were covered between November and April, so I fairly lived in the little thing.

[AutoshiteBoy]

The Merc cabriolet is the current ongoing saga. Its come off the back of the Merc A-klasse and Max DeFrost, formerly of this parish, (for it was his mother who owned the A-klasse). A widow in the same cul-de-sac had this CLK 200 Kompressor bought for her Christmas present on Christmas Day 2002. It was delivered by the dealer wrapped in ribbons. The car was bought by her husband who sadly passed away, hence her keeping it for close to 20 years.

However, she bought a new car at the start of this year, meaning this car was just parked-up. I was asked in February if I was interested in buying it, but the call didn't come through until October to actually do the deal. The last week in October saw me travel the 350 miles to collect it.... then the fun began.

[AutoshiteBoy]

I went to collect the CLK and it wouldn't start. £127 battery latter, it still wouldn't. The starter was stuck. I eventually started but it wouldn't unlock on the central locking so it I had to prize the fuel flap open. I couldn't switch it off. Essex to Washington, never switching it off, even when filling it with petrol. It drove back OK bar an engine warning light. I got an auto electrician out to confirm the failed starter, fix the central locking (fuses removed, believed to be an issue with the boot lid solenoid, get the fault codes out, Primary Oxygen sensor).

The wheels are currently away for a refurb. While its up on axle stands in my garage, I'll get the brakes stripped and cleaned.

[Warren t claim]

I went to collect the CLK and it wouldn't start. £127 battery latter, it still wouldn't. The starter was stuck. I eventually started but it wouldn't unlock on the central locking so it I had to prize the fuel flap open. I couldn't switch it off. Essex to Washington, never switching it off, even when filling it with petrol. It drove back OK bar an engine warning light. I got an auto electrician out to confirm the failed starter, fix the central locking (fuses removed, believed to be an issue with the boot lid solenoid, get the fault codes out, Primary Oxygen sensor).

The wheels are currently away for a refurb. While its up on axle stands in my garage, I'll get the brakes stripped and cleaned.

Do these have vacuum central locking?

The CLKs come in a close second to the R107 when it comes to Mills And Boon Mercs. I can imagine the first owner was a lady who paid for it with her divorce settlement.

[AutoshiteBoy]

The lady I bought it from is EXTREMELY wealthy.

[AutoshiteBoy]

The wheels have been sent to a reputable* garage in Sheffield for a refurb and a pair of Avons.

Meanwhile, the brakes have been stripped and cleaned. The front brakes are standard single piston sliding calliper on a vented disc. Nothing seized beyond what you'd expect. Slight uneven wear on the inner face of the N/S/F disc but that's it. All back together. The rears are really old fashioned and over engineered. Twin piston callipers, old fashion pads pinned in. One pad had seized, but the discos while corroded on the face are sound. So a new pair of Brembo pads were thrown in at £24+VAT from Euro. Except Euro sent the wrong pads, so they'll be done shortly and then we'll flush the brake fluid through.

Slight play in the steering joints, but then we discovered its got a steering box. In 2002. On a sports car*