Third Mercedes Benz.

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tron

Active Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2006
Messages
705
Location
Bournemouth or France
Car
S203 220CDI.
I haven't bonded with the 124. I had wanted one for twenty years, it is almost to my ideal spec and it drives very well but it just doesn't work for me.
It reminds me of the Rover Three Litre I owned and enjoyed thirty five years ago but my world has moved on.
Cook thinks it too big and dislikes it for numerous unspecified reasons explicable only by the absence of a Y chromosome so it has to go.
As soon as a suitable estate became available, it would be bought went the plan. Three days of looking at the MOT history of S203s with common problems that ought not to afflict a quality car and seeing large sums asked for high mile cars of, frankly, tatty condition put them finally out of the question. The 270CDI for its power and economy was, for a while a contender but I didn't have the money for something that wasn't leggy and I didn't feel like stumping up for a car that in a couple of years' time would be as tired.
I ran all the 202s on sale through the MOT checker and, quite simply where the 203s fail on anti rollbars, broken springs and rear brakes, the 202s fail on discoloured indicator bulbs.

Just try finding a 250TD estate though. Unicorn dung. The best I could find was a metallic green Sport (and I prefer Elegance trim).
And it is a six hundred mile round trip to get it.

The woodwork isn't a difficult thing to find but I shall miss that lovely leather interior.
I doubt if it will find the place in my heart that the old one had but I am looking forward to fetching it back home.
 
On a slight tangent - my Dad had a Rover 3 Litre in the early 1970s and one day he met what must have been a nearly new Hillman Avenger coming at him on the wrong side of the road.

The Avenger came second......
 
Make that seven hundred miles. En route overnnight to Newcastle then back to Bournemouth. This should be fun.
 
The Rover 3 litre P5 and 3.5 litre P5B. Always on my wish list in years gone by. Probably will never have one now.

Sorry for continuing the tangent.
 
On the coach home. Fag burns in the door cards, and too many dings. Seller inspired no confidence. Turn around.
 
Always vital to walk away

On the coach home. Fag burns in the door cards, and too many dings. Seller inspired no confidence. Turn around.

If you're not certain when you see it, you'll be depressed when you discover "what lies beneath."

And there's always another one, just round the corner, and you never go broke by not spending money.
 
You'll probably have to wait a very very long time to find a decent 250TD estate these days. If you can at all. Thought about a C220 W204? They feel a lot more solid than the 203 and the om646 (in the pre-facelift) is unlikely to cause you much grief. Easy to find a decent car.
 
"mercedes c250 cdi sport estate deisel auto needs nothing drives amazing"

Was it that one?
That ad. title would ring my alarms bells.
 
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Today's didn't look safe to drive to the scrapyard. I am beginning to lose hope of finding any nice ones left.
 
i know the story here. looked for a rover P6 for a while, because I had one 25 years. had to be the manual 3500s. then I remembered I "needed" a Mercedes benz.

ive never thought of the P6 again. I'm only looking forward to my next Mercedes benz:dk:
 
Meanwhile, obsessive tinkerer in me has rehung the door strikers which now close much better reducing the wind noise and the biocide in the tank seems to be doing its bit. I think that I shall clean up the injectors and replace the fuel piping to the filter. It might just help the surging. A few long runs appear to be helping and a set of idler bushes should help the slight lost motion. I can live with the thermometer being mad but l should very much like to have some details of the heater vacuum solenoid block. Mine has only four wires, not the common eight.
 

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