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Anyone deal with problems with mbtex aka "don't-call-it-vinyl vinyl" I have a glk with cracks and breaks in the vinyl on my driver seat, MB is claiming I must sit with knives in my pockets or drag things across my seat in my free time. Car is still under warranty but they are not honoring it. Intead they are offering "good will" repair - they pay for parts I pay for labor. Have a feeling its a long shot, but I thought I'd ask here anyways if anyone has dealt with this before, and outside of the warranty issue, what my options are in terms of repairing\replacing the seat. (Cracks getting worse and bigger as time progresses)
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Aug 17, 2012 02:52
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I have a GLK with mbe and the drivers seat ha developed a small crack. I bought a type of superglue from the upholstery section of a fabric store. I put a small dab of glue onto the crack and rubbed it into the area. It worked quite well; you can see a small gap if you study the area but it doesn't spread when you push it. My GLK has been at the dealer for a few days. I'm approaching the end of warranty, so I had them revisit a small leak near the transmission/engine interface and fix a damaged wire. Earlier I had an independent shop service my transfer case. The dealer wasn't impressed with the work and were going to "clean it up" for free. They're so meticulous...
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Aug 17, 2012 14:06
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The dealer finds a transmission leak every time I get my C300 serviced  at least it's warrantied well into '14.
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Aug 17, 2012 20:00
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toaster_pastry posted:and the seller still cries himself to sleep every night You can always buy it back. Might cry again when you see the odometer. I'll be posting a pic of it in two weeks or so as another milestone is reached. She's just completed a second trip to Canada and back as of yesterday.
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Aug 20, 2012 01:50
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Photographed this beast yesterday;
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Aug 22, 2012 03:47
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Bojanglesworth posted:Photographed this beast yesterday; Saw a mat grey one driving in downtown Austin today. I have to say, the really are quite striking. That said, the SL series looks so similar now I bet most people couldn't tell them apart (doors closed). What I mean by this is I cannot wait for the current gen SLs to hop on the Turbo-Rocket-sled of Mercedes depreciation and cost me $35K in 4 years. Tai-Pan fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Aug 22, 2012 |
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Aug 22, 2012 05:00
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Tai-Pan posted:Saw a mat grey one driving in downtown Austin today. I have to say, the really are quite striking. Yeah, when the two were parked together the front end is very similar:  Sl65 Black, SLS, SL65 AMG
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Aug 22, 2012 16:55
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Bojanglesworth posted:Yeah, when the two were parked together the front end is very similar: That's not the new one. The current model has nearly the exact same front end (as does the new SLK): http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-SL/bodystyle-RDS
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Aug 22, 2012 21:36
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Stealth Like posted:That's not the new one. The current model has nearly the exact same front end (as does the new SLK): Even then, at a glance at any of the cars in the picture I'd say "oh, an expensive Benz of some sort" but I couldn't begin to tell you which of those was worth any more money. Hell, only reason I was able to pick out a Black-edition CL as not being 'just another AMG' when I came across one a few years ago was the awesomely sexy exhaust note.
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Aug 22, 2012 22:11
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Stealth Like posted:That's not the new one. The current model has nearly the exact same front end (as does the new SLK): I guess I should have been a bit more specific. If you look to the right of the SLS there is a grey 2013 SL63 AMG.
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Aug 23, 2012 01:35
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mod sassinator posted:Depreciation on the 65's is nuts. I've seen a few S65's and CL65's for almost 30k. Even an SL65 can be had for around 50k. What? God drat. When I was looking a year or two ago, I was seeing S & CL600s for $30-35k, but the 65s were still up in the 50k+ range. If the S65 & CL65s are really down to the 30s, I may have to start looking for one again. Also, I'm eagerly anticipating the depreciation of the E550 w/ the 4.6L biturbo V8. I test drove one and it felt almost exactly as fast as my E55 AMG (funny thing since they both have the same amount of torque... 517 ft/lb)
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Aug 26, 2012 01:11
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Here are my Mercedes: The daily driver:  1997 E420, about 130,000 miles on it now. It's been solid as a rock. About a month ago I put on Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks up front, KYBs in the rear. Sits about 1.5 inches lower than stock. It drives very well. 275HP, 295TQ peak out of the 4.2 V8 so its fairly quick. It also gets lovely gas mileage but it's fully depreciated and paid for. The new arrival:  2004 E55 AMG. No mods that I know of besides an iPod adapter and some black wheel caps. Hilariously fast - about 470HP, 516TQ. About 54,000 miles. I think my average since receiving the vehicle on Thursday is somewhere around 12 MPG.
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Aug 27, 2012 00:46
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Cyrezar posted:
Congrats on the E55! I have a 2005 myself. If you think it's fast now, wait till you get a pulley on there! I have a 180mm pulley and Eurocharged tune, shorty headers, PLM heat exchanger, separated coolant system and upgraded intercooler pump, and it pulls like a freight train on crack. I wanted the best bang-for-the-buck upgrades, and these are them. If you're going to do it, wait for the frequent sales from Eurocharged. I got the pulley and tune for $999, and they give you free canned tunes for life if you upgrade past that, and fairly cheap remote dyno tunes too. The next thing I want is the TCU upgrade to quicken up the shifting, but you have to pull the TCU and send it in, and it's too hot to go to work in any of my other vehicles right now. I'd definitely check to make sure the intercooler pump is working, mine was dead when i bought the car--with the stock pulley, after one pull to 80mph in the winter, the ECU would turn the supercharger off and stop the fun. My lifetime MPG for the car is something like 15.7, but I DD it and don't burn the tires off every single day; they're too expensive. It is hilarious to see the holy poo poo look on somebody's face when they realize, yes, you just broke the tires loose at 45 mph.
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Aug 27, 2012 01:06
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Thanks, I've been wanting one of these for years and finally pulled the trigger. The supercharger is most certainly functioning, it is non-stop power. Actually the power is kind of anti-climactic because as soon as you mash it you're going extralegal speeds. I can't even imagine how fast a modded one would be. I'm definitely considering some mods down the road. Right now I've got about $5,000 set aside in case something breaks (self-financed extended warranty?) so my plan is to give it a few months and if everything is solid maybe put some of that towards tuning. First mod will probably be the upgraded IC pump and cooling system as from everything I've read that's the weakest link on this car, followed by a pulley and tune. Any pics of yours? Have you put it on a dyno?
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Aug 27, 2012 01:13
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Does anyone here have much knowledge/experience in using WVO in old diesel Mercedes? I'm debating whether I could eventually consider a WVO converted Mercedes as a reliable work-commuter or if it would end up becoming little more than an experimental project.
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Sep 3, 2012 18:15
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There are a shitload of articles out there on conversions. Most of them turn out to be just projects and experiments. WVO is starting to become a hot commodity. Plus you have to take into account of refining the oil as well. If you have the time to do it, go for it. Otherwise your just wasting time.
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Sep 3, 2012 18:23
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Sleepy Robot posted:Does anyone here have much knowledge/experience in using WVO in old diesel Mercedes? I'm debating whether I could eventually consider a WVO converted Mercedes as a reliable work-commuter or if it would end up becoming little more than an experimental project. If you don't filter it right it will destroy your engine and injection pump
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Sep 3, 2012 18:51
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Found another Mercedes that I want to buy. Some of you may remember I was looking at at w123 grey market factory 4-spd 300d recently, but the guy wouldn't budge on his price (4500) and the car had a few too many issues for what he was asking. Vacuum locks didn't work, neither did A/C and heater, it had a lovely maaco paint job, had some damage to the driver's side fender that wasn't repaired well, etc. I didn't end up buying it. But I found an even rarer bird locally, a w124 grey market 250d which seems to be so rare that the only thing I can find about them in the US is a peachparts thread every few years when one pops up on ebay. It's a nice color combination, although the paint is shot. It's metallic gold with the "mushroom" leather interior, and the interior is pretty much mint. 5-speed manual, no 3rd brakelight, manual rear windows. The car's a trip and I totally want it. The guy's only asking 2500 too, which is pretty much what a comparable 190d 2.5-liter goes for around here. I wish it had the steel rims and plastic hubcaps that a lot of these cars came with in europe, but my mom lives in the UK so I could always get her to ship me some.
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Sep 22, 2012 20:52
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CommieGIR posted:If you don't filter it right it will destroy your engine and injection pump Even with really good filtering, WVO will destroy the injection pump, end of sentence. Ok, maybe a little hyperbolic. WVO isn't completely terrible and the OM61X engines will ingest it mostly without problem. The problems come in when you ask it to stop ingesting WVO. Once the engine cools down to ambient temps, the WVO thickens and stops giving up what meager lubrication properties it has. Cold starts with congealed WVO in the injection pump kills the injection pump. It's also hard to start on because it congeals in the fuel filters, which means the injection pump and lift pump have to work even harder. Because of these problems the best way to run WVO is a system with a second heated tank for the WVO, a switch to start running the WVO about 10 minutes into your drive (depending upon ambient temps), and a mind to remember to switch off the WVO about 10 minutes before arriving at your destination. This is the only way I'd run WVO. Now, process the WVO into biodiesel, now you've got a useful product you can pour directly in the tank. It'll still gel up quicker than standard diesel, so watch your mix and remember to use additives, but it's easier on the whole system. Please note however that biodiesel tends to have very strong detergent properties. This sounds pretty awesome, and it's great for a newer vehicle, but for an older Merc that's been fed dinodiesel it's entire life it can present problems. Mostly it cleans the tanks and lines of the normal crud that would build up (dino diesel is nasty dirty stuff) and flushes it down into your fuel filters. Make sure to keep a few spares in your glove box cause they can clog up quick. So, now that you're processing WVO into bio, you've got a new problem. Glycerol. The process to make bio also creates Glycerol and eventually you're gonna have to deal with it. Glycerol is basically glycerin and methanol. You can distill the methanol out of it and reuse it in your bio reactor, but distillation isn't entirely a safe process. Stills can and do go boom and if you have no experience distilling, I don't recommend you cut your teeth on methanol. If you do distill, you still have the glycerin left to deal with. If it's pure enough, you can make soap from it, I don't know how much soap you need in your life, but be prepared to make a lot. You can in some cases dump it down the sanitary sewer, call your local waster water treatment facility to find out. You can load it into sawdust and make your own durable fire logs. If you have a wood burning stove or heater, you may really like this option. If there is any methanol left in the glycerin, expect a really hot fire. You can also just burn the undistilled glycerol, I recommend someplace outdoors and away from flammable structures. It's a liquid so you may want to load it into something like sawdust.
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Sep 24, 2012 15:29
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So I've been hanging out in the BMW thread for a while because for the longest time I've been pretty set on an older 5 series wagon as a new family car, but of course I haven't been able to find the right one at the right price. So anyway I saw an E-Class wagon the other day and I was pretty smitten not only by how nice it looked and the amount of cargo room but also because it was loud and seemed to be able to get out of it's own way and so I did some research and these things seem pretty reliable. So anyway if I get a W124 wagon am I going to be sad that I didn't get the BMW and am I going to be even sadder at repair time?
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Oct 31, 2012 17:09
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Mr. Wiggles posted:So I've been hanging out in the BMW thread for a while because for the longest time I've been pretty set on an older 5 series wagon as a new family car, but of course I haven't been able to find the right one at the right price. So anyway I saw an E-Class wagon the other day and I was pretty smitten not only by how nice it looked and the amount of cargo room but also because it was loud and seemed to be able to get out of it's own way and so I did some research and these things seem pretty reliable. W124's are easy enough to work on. The serpentine belt-routing is simply a piece of wizardry. Depending on the vintage, the 6-cylinder might still have the brass-nozzle mechanical fuel injection system that, when working, is solid. Unfortunately they do clog after years of use, and they are laborious (not to mention costly) to replace. I've often found myself wishing I hadn't gotten rid of my 300E; It was a great cruiser.
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Oct 31, 2012 17:58
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How fast are they/can they be? Obviously not a rocket sled but I'm hoping better than the W123 cars I've driven before?
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Oct 31, 2012 19:09
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I've got a 86 300E, which has the 180hp 2-valve straight 6. It's plenty fast for my needs, initial acceleration is a little slow, but once the power hits the back tires, you're not doing anything but gaining speed very quickly. On the highway I can easily cruise at 90 mph no problem, this car was designed for Autobahn driving. The w124s also benefited from being super aerodynamic and at the time they were produced having an extremely good coefficient of drag. According to Wikipedia, the 0-60 on my model is around 9.5 seconds, which sounds about right to me. Compared to my other Benz, a 78 300D non turbo, my 300E is a goddamn rocket.
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Oct 31, 2012 19:21
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7734 posted:I've got a 86 300E, which has the 180hp 2-valve straight 6. It's plenty fast for my needs, initial acceleration is a little slow, but once the power hits the back tires, you're not doing anything but gaining speed very quickly. On the highway I can easily cruise at 90 mph no problem, this car was designed for Autobahn driving. The w124s also benefited from being super aerodynamic and at the time they were produced having an extremely good coefficient of drag. According to Wikipedia, the 0-60 on my model is around 9.5 seconds, which sounds about right to me. I'll second, adding that mine was a '90. If you were in a need to accelerate, press the throttle to the floor, it will move. I had the transmission in mine rebuilt by a highly-respected transmission shop in the area, even the local vintage-Mercedes shop uses them. The experience was even more of a pleasantry after.
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Oct 31, 2012 19:38
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Maintenance and repair costs on mine have also not been that much all things considered, there is a really affordable old school import shop in my town though. This is a good time to buy a w124, due to their lackluster fuel economy and having to run premium, a lot of old people are dumping their extremely well maintained and low mileage cars for next to nothing. I got mine earlier this year with 145k on it, good maintenance history, always garaged, couple year old professional paint job from the 2nd owner for $2700. During their day these cars were $40K+ new.
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Oct 31, 2012 19:51
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While reliability, cost, practicality are all well and good, driving a car like this is really all about how it makes you feel. Suffice to say I kind of know what the Germans felt like when they drove into Poland back in September. Most slowpokes on the road will get out of your way in a hurry if they see the distinctive grill these things have in their rear-view mirror. There have been many situations when I'd run up behind someone going slow in the left lane, a couple quick flashes of the brights and they would get out of my way.
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Oct 31, 2012 20:05
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7734 posted:While reliability, cost, practicality are all well and good, driving a car like this is really all about how it makes you feel. Suffice to say I kind of know what the Germans felt like when they drove into Poland back in September. Need not forget that a dark colored-variant, coupled with some legal window tinting, and lowering springs while sitting on a set of Monoblocks, the car looks quite... cool. As the urban kids might say, swag; which may be an appropriate term -- may be.
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Nov 1, 2012 00:24
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EvilMoFo posted:So, I am thinking about getting a (4 speed, on the floor) 1966 W110 220D. The fuel timing is hosed, so it would be 1000 (listed, but likely lower with some talking) plus a trip to the mechanic. In other news, my 85 300D works again after I put it back together for the most part, with the help of starting fluid; seems the glow plugs are content with doing nothing useful. Once I finish bolting the exhaust back on, it will be taking a trip to the mechanic to fix the brakes; then my mother can work on destroying that car instead of the 77 300D I want to convert to manual. edit: didnt buy the 200d, I expect to regret it for a while. EvilMoFo fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Nov 2, 2012 |
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Nov 1, 2012 09:17
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Finally got to take my 87 250d on a road trip and man that thing is a dream to drive on the highway. It just cruised up all the grades I took and never gave me any fuss. Having a fifth gear is really nice too. My buddy's 2.5 liter 86 190d (same engine as the 250 just in a w201 instead of a w124) is* screaming at 4k rpm at 80 mph but the 250d cruises at 80 in fifth at a hair over 3k. * - more of a was at the moment. We tried to do an italian tune up to it since it'd been running cold for tens of thousands of miles probably (he bought it recently). halfway through the italian tuneup we were going up a 8% grade and his water pump exploded so we had to have it towed also: this car is pretty sweet, but what's with people with CDs listing their cars for so much and citing NADA guides?? I swear every 300CD I see on craigslist cites NADA eighty-four merc fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Nov 13, 2012 |
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Nov 13, 2012 21:25
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SLAMMYsosa posted:also: this car is pretty sweet, but what's with people with CDs listing their cars for so much and citing NADA guides?? I swear every 300CD I see on craigslist cites NADA Mercedes brand=$$$$ to non-car people for some reason. It might be that owners of those cars are usually old and don't get the internet or crazy. They could look at the armoralled hackjobs with pretty pictures that sit forever on eBay for $15k or Mercedes Motoring's website. That CL one looks nice but has a rust bubble on the trunk, salt & water can get underneath the moulding and cause rust. Mercedes in its infinite wisdom punched holes for trim while BMW used glue. 1981 is the best year for non-turbos, but owning an '80 and dealing with so many issues that MB fixed later in production means I would only own a 1985. Make it a 5speed 280ce, because I actually want to hear over the engine above 55mph.
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Nov 14, 2012 00:19
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How bad are W123's (most likely diesels) maintenance/parts wise? I gather that they're solid cars, but how do they stack up compared to a similar vintage Volvo 240 (my current DD) in terms of poo poo going wrong/niggling issues and parts prices etc.? I'm looking to get rid of my Volvo 240 in the next few months, and have always loved W123s, I just don't want to get into something that's going to be nothing but heartbreak and  Common issues seem to include anything to do with Vacuum (which is a lot of things) are there wiring/electrical issues? I know that Mercedes automatics are great, are the manuals 4 or 5 speed (or what years had what) and do they have any electrical overdrive fuckery or whatnot. What are the things that notoriously break and how much/how hard are they to fix, and finally, what mileage would a 240D see realistically? Is it worth bothering with diesel or are the 280's in the same ballpark of fuel consumption.
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Nov 14, 2012 08:41
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Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:How bad are W123's (most likely diesels) maintenance/parts wise? On the 240D, the vacuum nonsense is far less prevalent. The 300D has more, a lot more; the later the car the worse it is, the lines in the engine bay on my 85 are like double compared to my 77. I would be hard pressed to purchase an automatic at this point. The vacuum nonsense impacts the auto, especially if it has that vacuum piece on the top of the engine. The manual 240D I have has nothing bizarre like you describe. 5 speed in a 123 is quite uncommon, from what I have seen. My 240D runs around 30 mpg when I bother attempting to calculate it.
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Nov 14, 2012 09:30
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Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:How bad are W123's (most likely diesels) maintenance/parts wise? I gather that they're solid cars, but how do they stack up compared to a similar vintage Volvo 240 (my current DD) in terms of poo poo going wrong/niggling issues and parts prices etc.?
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Nov 14, 2012 18:42
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EvilMoFo posted:They are relatively common at picknpull, keeping them going is pretty reasonable. There are stupidly expensive components but I chalk that up to the price of german engineering. The heater coolant valve on my 77 300D failed, it is ~600 bucks and is a mixture of electricity, vacuum, and coolant; I bypassed it, instead of replacing it, with the thanks of a forum. I concur. My 240d is pretty simple and inexpensive to keep on the road. Recently replaced a giubo at $90 for the part. Little sore about that and I know I could have had it much cheaper had I planned ahead. Was pleasantly surprised replacing rear calipers at $50 a piece. The weekend prior I had done an Integra that ran $120 each. I've run up roughly 40k miles on it, so enough time/miles to shake out some repairs and maintenance. I get 28mpg out of it most the time, mixed driving. The only vacuum my 1982 240d manual transmission has is shutdown valve, locks and the recirculate/fresh air gate in the HVAC, I wouldn't want much more than that as the only one that works out of the three is the shutdown.
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Nov 14, 2012 19:26
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How terrible of an idea would it be to buy this: 2005 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG with 72k miles? My budget is $25k and I've been looking at used GTIs with leather and around 30k miles for the same price. The factory warranty on VWs runs out at 36k anyway. Most people don't cross shop those, but I'm looking for a 4 door automatic with a nice leather interior and plenty of acceleration.
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Nov 28, 2012 04:31
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sim posted:How terrible of an idea would it be to buy this: 2005 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG with 72k miles? My budget is $25k and I've been looking at used GTIs with leather and around 30k miles for the same price. The factory warranty on VWs runs out at 36k anyway. Most people don't cross shop those, but I'm looking for a 4 door automatic with a nice leather interior and plenty of acceleration. You will have plenty of acceleration in an E55, as well as comfort and refinement. It has a supercharged engine and according to goons who own and have owned them, a simple pulley mod can increase power significantly. It is in a completely different league compared to the GTI. But keep in mind that the maintenance costs will reflect its original ~$82K price, not the (suspiciously?) cheap price you're looking at right now. Repairs will be significantly more expensive than on a GTI. If buying a car at $25K is already straining your budget, service costs on an AMG are probably too high. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 10:46 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 10:43
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sim posted:How terrible of an idea would it be to buy this: 2005 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG with 72k miles? My budget is $25k and I've been looking at used GTIs with leather and around 30k miles for the same price. The factory warranty on VWs runs out at 36k anyway. Most people don't cross shop those, but I'm looking for a 4 door automatic with a nice leather interior and plenty of acceleration. Every part on these cars are astonishingly expensive. Don't do it unless you've got what the guy a few posts up has; a $5,000 or so 'war-chest' for the (inevitable) repairs and maintenance. They are incredible cars though.
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Nov 28, 2012 15:36
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While an E55 (and an awfully cheap one at that?) is on the high end of the cost spectrum, for any Mercedes purchase really, it is a good idea to never go into debt to buy the thing and to always budget for the inevitable repairs it will need.
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Nov 28, 2012 17:50
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I bought my 2004 E55 with about 53K miles several months ago for less than $21,000. It's been mostly solid so far other than having to replace the A/C / heat changeover valve which was about $60 from the dealer. I bought the car with about a $6000 reserve for any maintenance but haven't needed it so far. I've been following prices on the 55k e class for several years. My dad used to have one and I fell in love with the car. After looking into (and test driving) everything from Mustangs to BMWs to Subarus, I have come to the conclusion that there is simply not a way to get more car and performance for the money than the E55. It's hilariously fast even with 5 people in the car. 35 feels the same as 135. I've put about 3,000 miles on the car already. Averaging about 16mpg around town. I think Dan Neil's review is still very relevant. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/sep/24/autos/hy-amg24
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Nov 29, 2012 00:44
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I've looked everywhere and haven't really gotten a decent answer outside of "leaked pictures" and such, do you guys think the twin turbo motor will make it to the C63 in 2014? I've seen 2014 and 2015, and since I really want one, I'll be budgeting to get one.. I just need to know how long I have to budget. Anyone know with more of a certainty than a 2 year window, or if at all it'll be launched for the C63?
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Nov 29, 2012 07:09
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