Help! Coding COMAND W203 - Yorkshire

[sportedition]

Hi, after 12 years of ownership I’ve finally installed a COMAND head unit into my W203 coupe! I found a good used unit on eBay and then purchased the Mercedes GPS from comandonline.co.uk. I’m struggling to find someone within a reasonable distance who can code it to the car. I searched the forums and came up with starcommercials.co.uk but they’ve said they are unable to do this. Is anyone aware of someone within an hour or so of South Yorkshire who could help?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Neil

 

[Benz17]

Could you not get Comand to do the coding, appreciate they are a fair bit away, but they do know their stuff.

Nice looking interior by the way.

 

[sportedition]

Could you not get Comand to do the coding, appreciate they are a fair bit away, but they do know their stuff.

Nice looking interior by the way.

Thank you. The car’s only done 38,000 miles and is a second car now. Not worth a great deal but I’m reluctant to let it go for a couple of grand.

I could get comand to do it, but they’re over 3 hours away from me. The guy who sold me the unit said that he can do it - but he too is a 3 hour drive away.

 

[Chrishazle]

Do you have a local taxi firm that uses MB's and does their own maintenance? I'm lucky enough to have that 8 miles away, and they have the full MB Star/Xentry system, maybe there's someone close to you with the same! Also look at local MB specialist indies and MB main dealers.

 

[sportedition]

Do you have a local taxi firm that uses MB's and does their own maintenance? I'm lucky enough to have that 8 miles away, and they have the full MB Star/Xentry system, maybe there's someone close to you with the same! Also look at local MB specialist indies and MB main dealers.

Thanks, I thought I’d cracked it when starcommercials were recommended on here as they’re within about 40mins of me but they’ve come back to me and said it’s not something they can do. I contacted the local dealer and they want £144 an hour and ‘hoped’ it would be done within one hour. Not exactly confidence inspiring!

 

[markjay]

Your CL203 can be retrofitted with either COMAND NTG2, or COMAND NTG2.5.

The latter is the better unit and has built-in Bluetooth hands-free telephony, but it was only fitted to the CL203 from 2008 onwards, so if you have an earlier car and want to keep it 100% original than NTG2 is the unit it would have been supplied-with if specified as an original factory option.

The CL203 is an older design, and options don't really need SCN coding, i.e. there's no need to update the Datacard when swapping the Audio20 for COMAND.

You will need STAR, however, to finalise the unit setup, but this can be done in offline mode as well.

 

[sportedition]

Your CL203 can be retrofitted with either COMAND NTG2, or COMAND NTG2.5.

The latter is the better unit and has built-in Bluetooth hands-free telephony, but it was only fitted to the CL203 from 2008 onwards, so if you have an earlier car and want to keep it 100% original than NTG2 is the unit it would have been supplied-with if specified as an original factory option.

The CL203 is an older design, and options don't really need SCN coding, i.e. there's no need to update the Datacard when swapping the Audio20 for COMAND.

You will need STAR, however, to finalise the unit setup, but this can be done in offline mode as well.

Thanks for your reply.

The install is already complete and I was aware of the ntg2.5 units but they were prohibitively expensive. Probably almost half the value of the car by the time you’ve got the proper parts to fit. My ntg2 unit works and navigates as it is. I think the car it came from must have had an aux input whereas mine doesn’t. I think the only thing I’m going to gain from the coding is the nav instructions in the instrument cluster. Having said that, I’d like the installation to be as complete as possible. Hence, me looking for someone who can code the unit correctly to my car. I’m not clear on exactly what is needed to do the job, I was just hoping to find someone who knows what needs doing and who has the necessary equipment to do it.

 

[Alfie]

Thanks for your reply.

The install is already complete and I was aware of the ntg2.5 units but they were prohibitively expensive. Probably almost half the value of the car by the time you’ve got the proper parts to fit. My ntg2 unit works and navigates as it is. I think the car it came from must have had an aux input whereas mine doesn’t. I think the only thing I’m going to gain from the coding is the nav instructions in the instrument cluster. Having said that, I’d like the installation to be as complete as possible. Hence, me looking for someone who can code the unit correctly to my car. I’m not clear on exactly what is needed to do the job, I was just hoping to find someone who knows what needs doing and who has the necessary equipment to do it.

If the unit is in and working then all you really need is the instrument cluster coded for navigation.

Aux on the unit should work as it is.

 

[sportedition]

If the unit is in and working then all you really need is the instrument cluster coded for navigation.

Aux on the unit should work as it is.

Yes, all seems to be ok although I haven’t tested the phone cradle as the old Nokia that used to fit in it died about a decade ago! The aux shows on the menu but I don’t have the adapter the glovebox - should probably have installed this too and maybe even the cd changer but for now I’m just happy I’ve got the big, colour screen.

I don’t suppose you know anyone reasonably local to me that can code the cluster?

 

[Alfie]

Yes, all seems to be ok although I haven’t tested the phone cradle as the old Nokia that used to fit in it died about a decade ago! The aux shows on the menu but I don’t have the adapter the glovebox - should probably have installed this too and maybe even the cd changer but for now I’m just happy I’ve got the big, colour screen.

I don’t suppose you know anyone reasonably local to me that can code the cluster?

Your local Mercedes dealer can do it for you.

 

[sportedition]

Your local Mercedes dealer can do it for you.

I know but like I mentioned previously their reply didn’t inspire confidence. They said they work on the basis of £144 an hour and they ‘hoped’ they’d be able to do it within the hour.

 

[markjay]

I know but like I mentioned previously their reply didn’t inspire confidence. They said they work on the basis of £144 an hour and they ‘hoped’ they’d be able to do it within the hour.

So their cost estimate is in effect 'between £144 and £288'?

 

[sportedition]

So their cost estimate is in effect 'between £144 and £288'?

Yes, which will be more than the total cost of all the parts so far

 

[Alfie]

Yes, which will be more than the total cost of all the parts so far

Yes but you are asking for specialist services which dont come cheap.

 

[sportedition]

Yes but you are asking for specialist services which dont come cheap.

It would appear so.

 

[mioba]

So their cost estimate is in effect 'between £144 and £288'?

is the dealers working unit an hour. Thats ridiculous tbf. Its just a matter of marrying the command to the vin.

 

[markjay]

I think that the simple explanation is that main dealers are not really interested in doing the last step of an install of a system that was bought second hand off eBay and fitted to a 15 years old car. That's just not how they make their money... the OP will be better-off looking for a specialist with STAR, rather than a main dealer, but even so, someone who runs a business and invested in equipment and subscriptions will probably not do it for a tenner either. But someone out there with STAR will sort it out for him, he'll just need to be patient and keep looking.

 

[sportedition]

I think that the simple explanation is that main dealers are not really interested in doing the last step of an install of a system that was bought second hand off eBay and fitted to a 15 years old car. That's just not how they make their money... the OP will be better-off looking for a specialist with STAR, rather than a main dealer, but even so, someone who runs a business and invested in equipment and subscriptions will probably not do it for a tenner either. But someone out there with STAR will sort it out for him, he'll just need to be patient and keep looking.

I’m really not looking to get this done for a tenner, I’m prepared to pay a reasonable price. If I was trying to get it done ‘on the cheap’ then I wouldn’t have forked out for the gps from comand.co.uk and would’ve used the cheap eBay one that the seller supplied. However I’m all too aware that dealer prices will be top dollar. As you state, I was hoping to be pointed in the direction of a local(ish) independent who could sort this for me and I thought that this might be the place to get suggestions.