Confession time

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Dave Elcome

Active Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
Messages
216
Location
Maidstone, Kent.
Car
300TE
With this thread in mind i was having a look in the members gallery for a picture of my car, but it seems not to display for some reason, but i can only summise that the server must be phsycic, i have changed the 300TE, it is now a Peugeot 406 diesel estate!!

There are very sound resons behind this decision, well i think so!! The 300 was nearly 11 years old, with 130k on the clock. The self levelling rear suspension was playing up, and when i spoke with George Fraser about it, he gave me a pointer to try out, to see if it was the pump that was at fault, he said, and i quote, "if the pump is working, then the fault is at the rear, and that will cost you dearly" well i carried out his test, and yes you've guessed it, the pump was working fine.

So it was discussed with Mrs E, and we came to the conclusion that it was best if it went while it was still looking good and the suspension was only playing up, not totally knackered. So it was consigned to the history books.

It was always my big game plan to keep it until i could afford a w210 320 cdi, which i anticipated would be about another 18/24 months, we bought a new caravan at easter, not expecting that the car would need changing, so i modified the master plan, and bought the Pug, its 2 years old, and intend to keep it until i retire in just under 7 years time, then i'm going to waltz into the nearest dealers a flash my lump sum at them and get me a brand new one, with loads of extras!! i've had loads of brand new motorbikes in my time, but never a brand new car, so it will be something to work towards. (if the carrot of retiring is not a big enough one!)

I would really like to remain a member of the forum, but obviously respect the fact that its a Merc forum first and foremost, if that's not possible, then i'll see you all in 7 years, when i'll be older, greyer, and 7 years more grumpy!!
 
Dave,

Your a Benz enthusiast and that is just as good as owning one ( which you have). its just circumstances have changed for a bit...

Your one of the gang!!!!
 
Dave
I am sorry to read of your sad loss.
My g/f is too sadly an owner of a baby Pug (206) which I drive every other day. You are a true Merc fan, so it only means at GTG you have park across the street.
I hope you enjoy your new caravan as much as I enjoy my Merc.
Lol
Cheers
Mate
 
oh dear - we too are the sad owners of a peugeot 405 diesel estate - well, the girfriend is I'm having nothing to do with it if I can help it. welcome to the world of dodgy electrics - particularly the central locking whic can have a mind of it's own sometimes - ask annie who has had to climb in through the tailgate more than once as that was the only door that would unlock - well, i thought it was funny. There is a cure for this (as we have found out by trial and error) but the dealers deny the problem exists so if it ever fails drop me a line.

The sunroof has steadfastly resisted all attempts to get it to move for the last 3 years but despite the fact it's closed completely it still manages to leak everytime it rains and the car is parked on a hill.

Last year the windscreen wipers developed a sense of humour only working in the dry. despite our determined efforts one wekend with a hosepipe we couldn't get the fault to happen outside the house and it miraculously cured itself a few weeks later and has never given any trouble since.

On the plus side the engines are good and rdiculously economical - ours is the non turbo 1.9 version and turns in the best part of 50 m.p.g.

What goes wrong - apart from the electrics?

they have a habit of blowing the cylinder head at about 150k - ours went in style, a small leak at tescos and a completely immobile car 300 yards down the road

watch the rear suspension - there's a type of self levelling/tension system on them that has a habit of seizing up if the car is run without a load in the back (ours drives a whole lot nicer when the boot is full of heavy stuff - the back end can be a little jittery otherwise.) not expensive to replace but an MOT failure all the same.

If it's a cable clutch replace it - they are known for snapping regularly if not properly lubricated.

Good cars though and they are surprisingly agile when hurried along.

Shame about the Merc though if the shock absorbers had gone - they cost £500 for the pair from Mercedes, £250 for a pair of aftermarket ones from Europarts (apparently they don't last as long but that could be just merc dealers scaremongering) or anything from about £150 a pair for the genuine item on ebay. They only take about an hour to fit once you've worked out how to get all the trim out of the boot if you have the additional seat in the back :)

Perhaps we should call this the MB&PClub UK now all the sneaky pug owners are coming out of the woodwork.

Andy
 
Andy
Thanks for the giggle truely a wicked post. My only hope is you meant to be so entertaining.Lol
Cheers
Ian
 
lol Ian, you need a sense of humour if you own a Peugeot.



the kids call it the Donkey - cos it's noisy and stubborn

Annie occassionally calls it Herbie because of it's antics but more usually refers to it as "that heap of s**t" - she'd sell it but who's going to buy a car with doors that don't unlock, a sunroof that is jammed shut but still leaks, accelerates at about the same rate as a snail on prozac and is probably the grottiest dark blue colour ever created by a car manufacturer. So it looks like we are stuck with it until it dies - a couple of redeeming factors here - they refuse to go rusty - 11 years old, 170k on the clock, hardly ever been washed, not been polished since she bought it, still the bodywork is as solid as the day they plastered death blue paint all over it - not even a blemish anywhere and despite the best efforts of two growing kids over the past 7 years stuffing chocolate and all sorts of crap into the upholstery it came up like brand new a couple of weeks ago when we shampooed the interior.

At this point it's only fair to point out she bought the car before I knew her and apparently she "got a good deal"

Andy
 
nice one ..... will we see the new estate in max power soon with some crazy mods too ?:D
 
Sad to here the 300TE has to go.

I'm sure you'll stick around and view what goes on here.


Good luck with the Kent Peugeot Massive.
 
Dave

Hang around please - your views and opinions are always appreciated, despite some previous history of disagreement with certain presons :)

I didnt fight for your right to free speech just for you to buy a Pug and leave us ;)

Mark
 
Dave,

That is you and Mike B that are leaving MB ownership, both 300TE's as well, both boyz in blue! Coincidence?

Thanks for all the help and advice, legal and motor related. Enjoy your new car. I'll miss you on here, if you go..... I bet you can't though!

I spose 7 years is just long enough to work out what you want from the options list for that retirement gift to yourself....

Best of luck mate.

RS
 
Dave

You can't leave us mate. Who are we going to take the mickey out of if you go.:D :D I mean because your one of those :D :D coppers!

Where are you going to spend your idle hours surfing the net if you leave us. You need the banter after a hard day booking innocent motorists for doing 2mph over the limit.:D :D

Your'e not going and thats that.:rock: :rock:
 
Thanks everyone for you kind comments.

As it would appear that there is no objection to a Pug owner posting on here i'll keep posting, but thought it was only right to ask, and having looked at some Pug forums, the only other option would have been to sell the computer, as i certainly would NOT have fitted over there.

For those that are interested, i went away in said Pug this weekend, with the dreaded caravan of course!! and with a mixture of m/way and A road driving i returned the staggering consumption of 39.7 mpg!!..... not being one to put the 300te down, but that is at least double what i could have expected from the Merc, so looking on the bright side, if my fuel bills are going to halve, does that mean i'll have an even bigger wedge to wave at MB in 7 years time?? might even have enough for an S320 cdi!!
 
Good luck Dave!

I have just gone the other way and am in the process of swapping my 406 HDi estate for a C220CDi estate. I can vouch for the pug diesel - its a real peach of an egnine. I mainly swapped because I now need a heavier car because I have just changed my caravan (for a heavier model) and now require the extra kerbweight (didnt want to go for 4 x 4 but rather enjoy the experience of MB ownership). Good luck with the Pug and see you on the boards mate!
 

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