Hello from a new member

[LancsNeil]

Hi all, I just wanted to say hello as a complete newbie, so I hope I am not posting in the wrong place or breaking any rules. A few weeks ago I fulfilled a lifelong dream and purchased my 1997 C200, fell in love with it immediately, jet black with grey interior, lovely AMG alloys and as soon as I got behind the wheel I realised that my motoring life was now going to involve wafting serenely round enjoying the sight of that three pointed star at the end of the bonnet. I am finally happy!! My car has it's problems and no doubt I will be wittering on about them frequently as unfortunately I have very little knowledge about the inner workings of my new car but at the moment I just wanted to say hello to everyone, I have been browsing this forum for ages and promised myself the moment my car was outside the house I would join. I am hoping my Mercedes experience is going to be as rewarding as I have always imagined.

Thanks for reading my rant!

Neil

 

[robert_winter_1000]

Welcome to the Forum, Neil. Congratulation for buying the real car in which you are going to enjoy driving.

Robert

 

[dizzy lizzy]

hello and welcome - like to see some pics of your car

 

[The Crooner]

Welcome

We need pictures!

Tony

 

[turbopete]

hi and welcome. the 202 is a great car. ive owned 2 in the past and loved them both. just cruise along with the star glinting at you in the corner of your eye and enjoy the intense sense of pride that the badge will give you

 

[television]

Nice cars, nothing else out there quite like them.

Welcome to the forum and ask what ever you like

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Welcome to the forum Neil, you will get lots of good advice on here and have quite a laugh too

 

[LancsNeil]

thanks for your welcome everyone, have never been a member of any groups before so was really nice to hear from you! just ventured out in the throwing it down rain to take some pics so once I work out how to get pics onto my pc from my phone i will post them...and you are right, I have never felt quite so proud as I do sat in my car!

 

[carloss]

welcome neil

Carloss

 

[LancsNeil]

first attempt at posting a picture, so be prepared for me crashing the whole system lol.....certified technodunce here!

 

[television]

And I can see why you like that

 

[LancsNeil]

sorry its such a small pic but thats my new pride and joy!

 

[Mr CLK]

Hello and Welcome Neil! Just looked at the picture of your car and it is indeed a beauty especially with those AMG alloys. My dad has the C180 and they are great to drive whether it is a short journey or a long one and so Happy Motoring!

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Looks a very nice car Neil

 

[LancsNeil]

Thanks, I love it and I still can't believe I could have such a lot of car for such a little amount of money! It has done a lot of miles, but still has such a quiet and refined ride that I find myself making excuses to go out to the shops just so that I can slip it into drive and float off into the distance lol.

It does have a fair few things that I want to get fixed though, so it is an ongoing project but I am determined (and my friends think I am mad planning to spend on a car that is 12 years old, well, until they get in it that is, and then they can see my point!) to restore everything in it to full working order.

Things I need to do...in no particular order:

The headrests at the back fold down at the touch of a button on the dash, something that will never get boring to me as I never grew up lol...they go down but are they supposed to pop back up when I press the button again?

There are a few areas of bubbling on the bodywork: hidden under the paint, the front wheel arches and on either side of the licence plate on the boot.

A few of the instruments on the dashboard fail to light up at night, namely the dials that control the fans, and the headlight dial. All the others work though!

The cruise control doesn't work.

The little digital display of the external temperature underneath the speedo doesn't illuminate, although the mileometer and time all light fine.

The horn doesn't work! I was gutted, as under the bonnet the double horns look ace and after driving a car previously that had a horn that tooted in a most demeaning fashion I was looking forward to people not laughing at me if I ever had to beep!

The most serious thing is probably the ABS/ASR light on the dash is constantly illuminated. I have been told it may be the sensors are blocked/dirty because the car was standing for a while and needs a very good service but I am not so sure about that advice lol although the brakes all work fine.

So there we go, plenty for me to be getting on with in my effort to bring my dream car back to its former glory!!

Neil

ps sorry again for waffling lol

 

[littlebrooklyn]

ps sorry again for waffling lol

It's okay, we all waffle on here

 

[gre1591]

Hi Neil welcome to the forum, you will find the C200 you have bought to be one of the last of the really well built Mercedes and they are a pleasure to own and drive. They are so smooth and serene with lovely absorbent suspension, you will struggle to find even any modern car that rides as well. I bought mine new nearly 15 years ago and it has given me good and reliable service now for 110,000miles. I actually come over to Preston to get mine serviced at Leon Thornley’s at Walton -Le Dale (01772 – 886759). If you do have any problems he is really clued up on Mercedes and reasonable prices to fix em too, give him a try.
No don’t worry there is nothing wrong, the headrests need putting up manually and they only drop at the touch of the button.

Happy Motoring

 

[Buzz Cagney]

That is a very sweet looking car, Neil.
Also a newbie here (to the forum and Merc ownership). Due to times being a bit hard I had to sell my Mitsubishi Colt CZT (great little motor but needed to raise some money) and buy something cheaper. Looked at the usual, Fords, Nissans etc but really couldn't see myself in them. Spotted a very clean one owner C180 from 1996, only 90,000 on the clock and I know just how you feel, Neil. One of the nicest cars I've owned. Really sweet and smooth.
I took a spin in a similarly aged E today and it drove well with a smoother shifting box- but I'm still happy with my C. I think i'll be sticking with Mercs for a long time now.

 

[robert_winter_1000]

Neil,
It is really a beautiful car but to be honest I didn’t expect otherwise!
Robert

 

[The Hooded Claw]

Hi Neil, welcome to "class" motoring i'm just up the road from you in Fleetwood & Simonours AKA "The Flasher" is just over Wyre in Stalmine.

If you need any help just give us a shout & we'll help out if you need an "Expert" to look over that real stunning car you've bought check out my post here


http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=56984

Gary will sort out any little "Niggles" you come across

Enjoy yer stay mate Talk soon no doubt


Keith