Back from hiatus - Social Media is rubbish isn't it?

[dbanbery]

Hello All,

I am a long time member - most of my activity being from the 2010s up to probably about 6 years ago I'm guessing-

I'm going to be on here a lot more, since i fell into the trap of using social media groups and to be quite honest, its been rubbish. The other week i was lamenting about how much better internet forums were for enthusiasts and as such, I'm going to make more effort to get on here to discuss issues and input into others subjects too.

No requests for help straight off - just a re-connection with the forum - and RIP Malcolm - I remember seeing that he'd left us some years back :-(

Car wise after i sold the R129 and the W124s i bought a W211 with an M112 - ran that for 5 years and a few years back bought an X218 CLS 250 CDI shooting brake which seems to have turned into a bit of a project. That's off to Broadley and Holmes on Saturday after a single EML has utterly defeated me. Wanted a Shooting Brake for years, and after having this, it seems to be difficult to DIY which is frustrating.

Rest of the family still has a fleet, currently included is a W201 D 2.5 which has been in bits for 7 years, R171 250CDI and a C218 350 CDI.

 

[Blobcat]

Welcome back, newer cars are much more complex and diagnostic equipment and the knowledge in how to interpret the data is key - that and having a good indie available…

 

[dbanbery]

Welcome back, newer cars are much more complex and diagnostic equipment and the knowledge in how to interpret the data is key - that and having a good indie available…

Blobcat! hello! I remember you!

Broadley & Holmes are great tbh. I've gotten myself in a bit of trouble in the past trying to DIY - towed it to them and within an hour theyve called me with the phrase "fixed it" - which i appreciate makes me sound utterly incompetent.

I'm hoping its the case on saturday!

newer cars are indeed more complex, however it also appears that newer cars are also very plasticy! plastic rocker covers, plastic sumps, plastic coolant connectors, plastic pipes. I do like a challenge but I've been thoroughly beaten with this car on both physical mechanical work and diagnosis - and my last one was a 2004.

I do long for the days of W124s - alas the newest one of those is something like 30 years old now which is a real shame. and prices wise gone are the days where you can buy ANY car for £500 let alone a running W124 with history.

The other thing that has happened is I've entered middle age, and I've developed the moaning to suit it.

 

[Blobcat]

Blobcat! hello! I remember you!

Broadley & Holmes are great tbh. I've gotten myself in a bit of trouble in the past trying to DIY - towed it to them and within an hour theyve called me with the phrase "fixed it" - which i appreciate makes me sound utterly incompetent.

I'm hoping its the case on saturday!

newer cars are indeed more complex, however it also appears that newer cars are also very plasticy! plastic rocker covers, plastic sumps, plastic coolant connectors, plastic pipes. I do like a challenge but I've been thoroughly beaten with this car on both physical mechanical work and diagnosis - and my last one was a 2004.

I do long for the days of W124s - alas the newest one of those is something like 30 years old now which is a real shame. and prices wise gone are the days where you can buy ANY car for £500 let alone a running W124 with history.

The other thing that has happened is I've entered middle age, and I've developed the moaning to suit it.

A lot more designed to be as light as possible for emissions and fuel economy. Problem means nothing lasts as long and plastics used for major engine components is asking for trouble - great for manufacturers to sell you a new car though…

 

[dbanbery]

A lot more designed to be as light as possible for emissions and fuel economy. Problem means nothing lasts as long and plastics used for major engine components is asking for trouble - great for manufacturers to sell you a new car though…

Yeah - also - the planned obsolescence of Petrol and Diesel engines due to EVs replacing them (or at least that was the plan back in 2012)

But anyway, rant aside I've got a number of jobs to bring mine up to scratch, not least the nice scrapy dent my partner put in one of the rear doors when she misjudged a garden wall a our new house - my old trick of finding a panel in 541 Thulite Red seems nigh on impossible.

my old tricks and rhythms no longer work in the car world!

 

[SL63 Mark]

Welcome back dbanbery, I think I remember you from back in the day. I never really went away, Facebook is full of AI these days, but there are still some useful corners if you know where to look.

The CLS shooting brake is a lovely car. Can we see some picture please ? Its been a long while since I have seen one, they were quite rare I believe.

 

[00slk]

Hello and welcome back

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Welcome back!

I don’t use social media and you’re right enthusiast forums are a better place to be.

I miss the old days of being able to maintain cars with a good basic set of tools which is impossible nowadays but having a good understanding of how modern cars work helps to avoid a lot of pitfalls and of course the MB Independents are a great resource.

I still like to get stuck in with what I consider doable jobs ie, refurbing the E53 wheels at the moment.

Enjoy the forum it is a great place to be and it’s always good to be able to help others.

 

[SmartAmg]

(Back)

 

[dbanbery]

Here it is. This was prior to the bodywork damage on the door.

In typical Merc fashion the red paint peels however it’s got a category on it and every door and wing has been painted - we reckon it was vandalised as the roof bonnet and boot lid were original paint - which is where the lacquer peel is!

since I’ve reset the rear ride height with an autel (it was nearly a foot off the ground at the back when I bought it) the suspension settles on its backside like it needs a new strut. Which it probably does.

Social media and cars - extremes - you have people taking a picture of their dash with the tyre pressure warning with the sentence “any ideas” and then when you do a decent post about an issue you are trying to resolve you get people saying things like “this is why I haven’t got that model” or “take it to a specialist” when I’ve already explained that it’s been booked in.


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[SL63 Mark]

Lovely looking car

 

[mioba]

Welcome back to the fold.

Social media forums are an absolute laugh for things like car repairs. The faceache groups often pop up on google searches and the waffle people advise is laughable at least. The experience on forums is far better than the social media keyboard warriors.

My old W124 was without doubt the best engineered car ever, from every screw upwards.

I cant imagine a car with more electrics than my W251. Newer cars are just scary.

 

[dbanbery]

Welcome back to the fold.

Social media forums are an absolute laugh for things like car repairs. The faceache groups often pop up on google searches and the waffle people advise is laughable at least. The experience on forums is far better than the social media keyboard warriors.

My old W124 was without doubt the best engineered car ever, from every screw upwards.

I cant imagine a car with more electrics than my W251. Newer cars are just scary.

Yeah the groups are trash mainly. Posts get buried easily most of the time. Bored of it.

W251? Is that an R class?

I considered one of those when I bought the w211 back in 2018 however the 4WD platform scared me off. How long have you had yours?


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[mioba]

Think it was 2018 i got mine. Had 48k on the clock and I am now on 105k.
The 4Matic is no trouble at all but the OM642 engine has it quirks.
Its a great powerful cruiser and load lugger. I have to clean it tomorrow as a few trips to the recycling centre and farm shop have left it a bit messy. Cleaning it is a beach..

 

[Wighty]

Hello All,

I am a long time member - most of my activity being from the 2010s up to probably about 6 years ago I'm guessing-

I'm going to be on here a lot more, since i fell into the trap of using social media groups and to be quite honest, its been rubbish. The other week i was lamenting about how much better internet forums were for enthusiasts and as such, I'm going to make more effort to get on here to discuss issues and input into others subjects too.

No requests for help straight off - just a re-connection with the forum - and RIP Malcolm - I remember seeing that he'd left us some years back :-(

Car wise after i sold the R129 and the W124s i bought a W211 with an M112 - ran that for 5 years and a few years back bought an X218 CLS 250 CDI shooting brake which seems to have turned into a bit of a project. That's off to Broadley and Holmes on Saturday after a single EML has utterly defeated me. Wanted a Shooting Brake for years, and after having this, it seems to be difficult to DIY which is frustrating.

Rest of the family still has a fleet, currently included is a W201 D 2.5 which has been in bits for 7 years, R171 250CDI and a C218 350 CDI.

Never heard of you buddy , but welcome back anyway

 

[dbanbery]

Think it was 2018 i got mine. Had 48k on the clock and I am now on 105k.
The 4Matic is no trouble at all but the OM642 engine has it quirks.
Its a great powerful cruiser and load lugger. I have to clean it tomorrow as a few trips to the recycling centre and farm shop have left it a bit messy. Cleaning it is a beach..

Ah, the 3.0 v6 - yes - dismantle the entire top of the engine to replace the pipe cooler seals? Turbo actuator? - my dad has had a few cars with those. Refined, smooth, powerful engines but as you say enjoy their quirks and they are extremely complex!


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[dbanbery]

Never heard of you buddy , but welcome back anyway

Looking at when you joined it was in the middle of when I had trailed off!

In other news - it seems the CLS has been repaired.


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[Cole@MBS]

Theres a name from years back, welcome back sir!

 

[DaveE320CDI]

Hi dbanberry I remember you we joined at similar time wellcome back