New to the Forum, but thrilled to be soon getting our 4th Merc

[Shude]

The one extra that I would like on our estate, which I think is not available, is a deflector that prevents the rear getting prematurely covered in muck. In this weather I wash the car, drive 10 miles and the back is again covered in a thick layer of black muck.

Do you mean the tailgate gets dirty? This is due to poor aerodynamics - estates are pretty much the worst shape I'm afraid, there is a vacuum formed right behind the tailgate which sucks dirt off the road etc.

 

[Subyland]

The one I really wanted - and could not have on a UK car - was the auxillary heater. Thereofre, any information you find on this subject would be gratefully received. It is something I definitely want in time for next winter.

Thanks in advance

Philip

I can recommend you someone if you want. They are a Webasto dealer and have been excellent in sourcing from Germany the parts I required.

 

[glojo]

The one extra that I would like on our estate, which I think is not available, is a deflector that prevents the rear getting prematurely covered in muck. In this weather I wash the car, drive 10 miles and the back is again covered in a thick layer of black muck.

Hi Bonzo,
Your roads must be in a terrible condition?? It sounds more like Rallycross conditions

If we park outside in the rain then sometimes the glass that is not cleared by the wiper gets obscured but I have never really noticed the rear getting much dirtier than anywhere else????

John

 

[Diapason]

The one I really wanted - and could not have on a UK car - was the auxillary heater. Thereofre, any information you find on this subject would be gratefully received. It is something I definitely want in time for next winter.

Thanks in advance

Philip

Dear Philip and John,

The story starts really with the wish to have Webasto auxiliary heaters for our two care, our new A-class and the E-class we're just about to get. My wife uses the A-class, amongst other things, to take our little 2-year old to nursery in the mornings. We wanted to have the aux heater so that the car was warm to get into and our child's clothing could be appropriate to the WHOLE journey; also, of course, to ensure that the engine was warm first and to reduce fuel consumption (although it uses fuel to heat the water, it's much more efficient than running the engine).

Anyway, I made equiries, firstly of Mercedes. As you probably know, in the continental specification you can order option 228. The operation of this is detailed in the on-line abridged manual for the car - but includes both a timer and a teleswitch on a kind of keyfob. I basically asked whether it was possible to fit this to a UK spec vehicle. The answer, from Mercedes UK and Europe, was that they couldn't factory fit this as it was only suitable for LHD models - BUT they do approve installation by aftersales companies, such as Webasto - who make the units for the spec 228 continental option.

An interesting diversion here is that when I asked Mercedes UK why they didn't offer the option here, the reply was that they had decided not to offer certain things that were available on LHD models as the cost of adaptation didn't make sense for such a limited market. The aux heater was obviously on this list and another was 4-matic. I told them, were it available here, I'd have had that too! It's interesting to have a look at the German price list on the web and see what we're missing. Anyway, back to the auxiliary heater.....

Webasto have agents around the UK - including Vehvac in Edenbridge, which would be my nearest installer. I was told by Webasto that this company did a reasonable volume of work, and were good at dealing with any difficulties, particularly the peculiarities of adapting the installation to a RHD fit. They were very helpful, but at the time of my enquiry - early November last year - there wasn't yet a kit for the new A-class, but they said that the E-class would be no problem. They offer three methods of operation - timer, remote fob (2 types: one exactly as per the Mercedes manual and the other offering more sophistication such as remote timer programming and temperature selection; but both of which will operate at up to 100m) and the most sophisticated - operation via a GSM receiver in the car. The latter option allows you to use your cellphone or home telephone, via voice messages and keypad operation, to programme a timer, or directly activiate or deactivate the heater. Obviously the range of this control is global. For someone arriving back at a station, this is clearly the only real solution.

Cost of supply and fitting for these systems is around the £1200 mark, so not cheap, but then again the 228 option factory fitted isn't cheap either.

To cut a long story short, I was told that on the 1st December a kit would be available for the A-class and Webasto said that they'd deliver one to Vehvac for installation in our car ASAP. As of today, I've chased every few weeks, and been told that they'd let me know. I'm still waiting for a reply, or any notification that they system has arrived. So, I'm not too confident that it'll ever turn up now. Maybe in time for next winter!!

I'm going to keep pursuing this one, as I think this is a very sensible addition to the car. I'll be chasing them again soon, and then of course, there's the E-class. I'll probably leave installation of that one until the Autumn, as I want to flush out any teething problems first (avoiding the dealer having any recourse to suggestion that the Webasto installation has caused the problems).

I'll let you know how I get on.....

All the best,

Simon

 

[Diapason]

At the very, very most it should take no more than 30 minutes for the dealer to fix them, but they should really fit them for free. I have always had mud flaps fitted to our vehicles and it is a very cheap price to pay to protect the bodywork. The flaps are very easy to fit, but why should you. I am amazed at the dealers atitude and it is not something I would appreciate.

Please feel free to pm me.

Take care
John

John,

I love the look of your flaps, and totally appreciate the functional benefits (I used to have them on my W123), so I'm going to push the point with my dealer and insist that the car comes with them fitted but, following your lead, I'll get the price down first! In the total bill, this is chicken feed!

All the best

Simon

 

[Subyland]

Simon,

is your A class already fitted with an add-on heater or not? I know that the old A170cdi and any 220CDI have got it but I do not know for the new A class. ?

 

[glojo]

I'll get the price down first! In the total bill, this is chicken feed!

All the best

Simon

Go for it...

Regarding 4Matic. You are not alone in wanting this option. I looked into it in great depth.

You will find numerous threads\messages saying about how it is only a limited market, but I believe it has more to do with a bulge in the transmission tunnel that protrudes into the footwell. Some front seat passengers in 4Matic 211's complain that this protusion causes them to move the left foot so it rest against their right. This is clearly a major problem which would require expensive re-engineering if it were to be offered in RHD format, at present this has not been done. I have no idea why the transmission was designed like this but the bottom line is that it is.

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa Japan etc etc, are all markets that drive on the correct side of the road, but like ourselves do not have a 211 4Matic.

John

 

[Diapason]

Simon,

is your A class already fitted with an add-on heater or not? I know that the old A170cdi and any 220CDI have got it but I do not know for the new A class. ?

Our A-class is a petrol model - an A170 Elegance SE 5dr, and it doesn't have an add-on heater. Looking at the specs and the Webasto literature I don't think the diesel models do either, as the same aux heater unit is specified for both models (albeit with a different injector) but I may be wrong. Frankly, I wish we had bought the diesel model (as I'm about to get an E320 CDI) but my wife didn't think the A-class diesel was very quiet. We did some sums and on her mileage the extra running costs of the petrol model were very small. Also, and I have to be honest about this, I was pretty certain that we'd end up with petrol in the diesel tank. Life with a toddler can be very hectic. So, I decided to have an easy life and let her have what she felt most comfortable with....

All the best,

Simon

 

[glojo]

. Life with a toddler can be very hectic. So, I decided to have an easy life and let her have what she felt most comfortable with....

All the best,

Simon

No one would disagree with that, it might be a good idea for you to be responsible for refuelling the E-class. Petrol in a diesel can prove very, very costly.

John

 

[Diapason]

Go for it...

Regarding 4Matic. You are not alone in wanting this option. I looked into it in great depth.

You will find numerous threads\messages saying about how it is only a limited market, but I believe it has more to do with a bulge in the transmission tunnel that protrudes into the footwell. Some front seat passengers in 4Matic 211's complain that this protusion causes them to move the left foot so it rest against their right. This is clearly a major problem which would require expensive re-engineering if it were to be offered in RHD format, at present this has not been done. I have no idea why the transmission was designed like this but the bottom line is that it is.

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa Japan etc etc, are all markets that drive on the correct side of the road, but like ourselves do not have a 211 4Matic.

John

John,

Am I right in asuming that the W/S211 is the first E-class not to offer this option on RHD too? I've seen numerous W123s and W124s with the option on the road (well, with the boot badge anyway!), but don't know about the W210. They must have made a decision not to bring this onto later models - probably the cost of engineering this for what they perceive as being not prime winter motoring markets (just like the Webasto). Well, it is true to say that none of the countries you mention get (by German standards anyway) significant amounts of snow. They market both of these features to the extreme cold weather brigade.

Anyway, despite living in the English Riviera (with palm trees if I remember correctly?) and the South-east respectively we're obviously like minded on this one, and would have liked the choice!

All the best,

Simon

 

[Diapason]

No one would disagree with that, it might be a good idea for you to be responsible for refuelling the E-class. Petrol in a diesel can prove very, very costly.

John

John,

You must have guessed that we've already had this conversation at home, and I think you've also guessed the script! As far as the E is concerned, the only person I've got to worry about is me....... I can't tell you how many people I know who have made the error, but I'm determined to get it right all the time.

Seems to me that we need the simple equivalent of a toddler's shape sorter on the fuel nozzles, that way - the wrong nozzle wouldn't fit.

All the best,

Simon

 

[glojo]

Seems to me that we need the simple equivalent of a toddler's shape sorter on the fuel nozzles, that way - the wrong nozzle wouldn't fit.

All the best,

Simon

Totally agree, and it would have been so simple. Someone could make a fortune selling a different shaped adapter that fitted into the filler cap, then of course it would have to be sold to the fuel companies.... hmmmmm!!!!!!

The 210 never offered 4Matic.

Four wheel drive in cars has become more of a safety feature the R-class will have this as a standard feature, but sadly the new S-class has not arrived here with 4Matic.

John

 

[Dieselman]

No one would disagree with that, it might be a good idea for you to be responsible for refuelling the E-class. Petrol in a diesel can prove very, very costly.

John

John you are so right but what I can't understand is how do people fill their car with the wrong fuel?

I've had and have driven many cars and other vehicles and have never reached for the wrong nozzle.
This involves filling in a number of European countries also.

 

[glojo]

John you are so right but what I can't understand is how do people fill their car with the wrong fuel?

I've had and have driven many cars and other vehicles and have never reached for the wrong nozzle.
This involves filling in a number of European countries also.

I think we are very fortunate as there appears to be more and more folks making this mistake. (I'm touching wood as I type )

John

 

[Diapason]

At the very, very most it should take no more than 30 minutes for the dealer to fix them, but they should really fit them for free. I have always had mud flaps fitted to our vehicles and it is a very cheap price to pay to protect the bodywork. The flaps are very easy to fit, but why should you. I am amazed at the dealers atitude and it is not something I would appreciate.

Take care
John

John,

Spoke to the dealer today, he tells me the car has arrived and we've scheduled handover for the 2nd March. After your advice, it will now have mudflaps, and the paint and interior protection added, at an attractive price . I'm looking forward to seeing it. Many thanks for your help.

All the best,

Simon

 

[prprandall51]

Dear Philip and John,

...auxiliary heaters...

I'll let you know how I get on.....

All the best,

Simon

Hi Simon, thanks for the informative post - I will look out for an update to the story. I am very keen to get this fitted before next winter.

Philip

 

[glojo]

John,

Spoke to the dealer today, he tells me the car has arrived and we've scheduled handover for the 2nd March. After your advice, it will now have mudflaps, and the paint and interior protection added, at an attractive price . I'm looking forward to seeing it. Many thanks for your help.

All the best,

Simon

Congratulations.

Regards,
John

 

[Diapason]

Collected the new car on Thursday - Folding Mirror question

Dear all,

We collected the new E320 CDI on Thursday. She is absolutely beautiful (pictures to follow) and I am SO glad to have selected the options that I did. Distronic is wonderful - I have never used cruise control that so simple and straight forward, and I am very impressed at the way that Linguatronic is able to manage the whole COMAND system, dial numbers, navigation, CD players etc. This is surely a very powerful safety feature indeed.

However, I have one question. We bought an A170 for my wife in July last year. One of the features is the ability to auto-fold the wing mirrors when the car is locked, it's selectable from a menu. I believed that the E-class would be able to do the same thing. So did the salesman. But apparently, according to the dealership, this situation changed in cars built after Jun 2005, and now this feature has been discontinued. You can, of course, press the button to fold the wing mirrors in, but the auto-fold on lock feature has been stopped (at least on the E-class). So, my question is a very simple one - why? Is it safety, a simple issue of wearing out the mechanism (if so, I'm sure that others would like to know too!), or something else?

Could the experts on the Forum advise please.

Many thanks,

Simon

 

[glojo]

But apparently, according to the dealership, this situation changed in cars built after Jun 2005, and now this feature has been discontinued. You can, of course, press the button to fold the wing mirrors in, but the auto-fold on lock feature has been stopped

Good morning Simon,
I always get critised whenever I say that the best time to have bought a 211 is the first half of 2004, after which time basic features were removed from this excellent vehicle.

If there is no mention of.... 'Fold in mirrors when locking' in the Convienance menu then I would politely suggest it is no longer available.

Have you read and re-read your manual? Boring but very necessary.

I could say go to page 156 of the manual, but so many features have been removed it is possible that this number has no relevance to folding mirrors or indeed the convienance menu?

If I explain where it is on older models, hopefully this will help decide whether you have it.

On the steering wheel simply page through the various functions until the Convienance options are highlighted. Select this, then page through the various options. No mention of folding mirrors, then it is not there.

If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

John

 

[C43AMG]

At the Kent GTG Steve programmed Greg's Mirrors to folding when the car was locked!!