Galvanising Of Mercedes Cars

[hawk20]

As I say to people who critisise the amount I charge for what they see as a similar job to theirs, if it's so easy and lucrative, why not join them! Lets face it, in the case of dentists, there are lots of vacancies!
The grass is always greener.

According to my dentist, the problem is not a lack of vacancies for qualified dentists but a lack of training places to become qualified. Apparently the govt controls the number of places. (not that this has all that much to do with galvanising. Heard of Mercury fillings and gold but none galvanised that I know of )

 

[television]

Sometimes the grass looks green on the other side, but a dentist must have an assistant, so thats 2 people,that need feeding, the equipment they use is more expensive than mine, the bricky goes onto a job with a bucket, trowel, bubble stick, string line and hammer and bulster, no rent´,no phone,no secretary,no heating or electric bills.

Malcolm

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Sometimes the grass looks green on the other side, but a dentist must have an assistant, so thats 2 people,that need feeding, the equipment they use is more expensive than mine,
Malcolm

boo hoo my heart bleeds...

 

[Schtum]

3 years too late IMO. :cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[hawk20]

Just to return to an earlier part of this thread, even if a bit OT, is there no foolproof way of getting build date? Can't a dealer tell you from the VIN number?

 

[stats007]

It depends how old the car is - over 5 years old and they weren't updated onto the new computer system - older 'classic' cars have a seperate system though I don't know how MB categorise these. The VIN can obviously give you a rough idea if not exact from a datacard. Vehicle idents were incremental and amended with model revisions etc.

 

[Blobcat]

Yes a dealer can derive the build date from the Vin, however the easiest way for an owner is to check the date stamps on plastic parts in the car.

 

[stats007]

That will give you a rough idea - but a lot of cars are made up from parts manufactured 6 months beforehand.

 

[television]

All of my 99 SL was within 6 weeks of the regestered date, one little problem being that mine was only 4 months after the face lift. As Stats says,could be 6 months, but there are many places to look, the newest date stamp I found was 2 weeks before delivery.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

Non of the ones I have found on mine are older than 2 months prior to delivery. Since "Just In Time" came about it is as about as accurate as you would need.

 

[stats007]

I suppose it depends what you need it for. Homologation and DVLA requires specific build dates, delivery dates and date of first registration.

 

[Shambolic]

well I have a perfectly good NHS dentist (I'm not telling where mind!) and some of the wealthiest folk I knew in the 70's were dentists so don't blame Maggie!
As I say to people who critisise the amount I charge for what they see as a similar job to theirs, if it's so easy and lucrative, why not join them! Lets face it, in the case of dentists, there are lots of vacancies!
Then again, we could all be plumbers as they are rare and minted too. But personally I don't fancy spending my days with a hand down a khazi!

The grass is always greener.

Or heating engineers
Although the grass isnt always greener (I dont do toilets though)

 

[hawk20]

Non of the ones I have found on mine are older than 2 months prior to delivery. Since "Just In Time" came about it is as about as accurate as you would need.

Discovered from my local dealer today that they have all the data on the car on their computer system including all extras, build date etc etc. He printed a lot off for me. Interesting. Don't know how far back they go.

BTW got a puncture, which I had repaired and when they balanced the wheel the little three pointed star in the centre of the wheel (held on by circlip and plastic lugs) shed one of the lugs. New one is only £5. Annoying though.

 

[television]

.

BTW got a puncture, which I had repaired and when they balanced the wheel the little three pointed star in the centre of the wheel (held on by circlip and plastic lugs) shed one of the lugs. New one is only £5. Annoying though.

There is a knack to getting them out,one quick blow with a hammer handle, and they dont feel a thing.

Malcolm

 

[poseidon]

Just to return to an earlier part of this thread, even if a bit OT, is there no foolproof way of getting build date? Can't a dealer tell you from the VIN number?

Hi,

My car has the build date in the owner's book. At the back there is a page (or two pages perhaps) in germain with lot of ticks. At the bottom, there is a chief engineer's signature (inspected) and date. The date is November 1995, and the car was bought and first registerd in May 1996.


Regards,

Pose

 

[television]

Hi,

My car has the build date in the owner's book. At the back there is a page (or two pages perhaps) in germain with lot of ticks. At the bottom, there is a chief engineer's signature (inspected) and date. The date is November 1995, and the car was bought and first registerd in May 1996.


Regards,

Pose

Just had a look in mine,I have a typed out card,no date though or signature.
Maybe they stopped doing it.

Malcolm

 

[hawk20]

Just had a look in mine,I have a typed out card,no date though or signature.
Maybe they stopped doing it.

Malcolm

But you can definitely get build date from the dealer (e.g. when you next get a service) and the print out from their computer has lots of interesting stuff on it.

 

[jamesmc]

But you can definitely get build date from the dealer (e.g. when you next get a service) and the print out from their computer has lots of interesting stuff on it.

As the owner it would be nice to have that 'interesting stuff' as a matter of course without having to do a Sherlock Holmes on it. After all it is your car.

 

[thebeard]

For information Porsche have been making cars from galvanised steel since 1980 and that was on a 924 bottom of the range (was,nt even a porsche i hear some of you say), even had a 10 year anti-perferation warranty on it.
As far BMWs i,ve owned six 5 series one 6 series 1980-1987 all had rust issues from wing rust (from the inside out) to completely rotten boot floors so i do find it hard to believe that BMWs of this age were ever Galvanised
You talk about rust on Mercedes but i,ve seen far,far more rusty BMWs.

It a shame Porsch only have a 2 year parts and labour warranty so they'll not rust but you can be sure 2 years and a week old somthing major will fail as it did with mine.

Porsche IMHO are even worst than MB for warranty and failures.

The image prevents may owners from making a big song and dance about problems besides many just trade in for the new one every 2 years its that type of customer they rely apon so the problems only appear with the 2nd 3rd etc owners and even they just pay the money beliving they just got unlucky. Just look up the threads about engine failures and oil seal leaks on 911's it's quite unbelieveable.

The Japanese make reliable cars the Germans in 2010 are no better than the French FACT !

They continue to reinvent the wheel cutting weight and materials to save cost and fuel and increase UN-reliability, afterall they need to keep all the designers busy!

 

[dieselman]

The Japanese make reliable cars the Germans in 2010 are no better than the French FACT !

That bit actually is true according to the latest Autoexpress Driver power survey.
In straight reliability French cars were better than many German ones, including Mercedes.