Sensible family daily wagon - Mercedes Benz S211 E500
Discussion
bolidemichael said:
AC43 said:
Considering the first part were damp D roads and the next part was rush hour around Paris, I'd say so!
BTW are you on some sort of perma-holiday? I can't keep up :-)
AC43 said:
bolidemichael said:
AC43 said:
Considering the first part were damp D roads and the next part was rush hour around Paris, I'd say so!BTW are you on some sort of perma-holiday? I can't keep up :-)
James72911 said:
bolidemichael said:
So much coolness going on in this post James. Setting the CC stuff to one side -- what are the speed limits and are they regularly enforced by the Dubai supercar police cars? What is the attitude to speeding and what are the avg speeds, generally? In the UK, I'd say that (perhaps before rocketing fuel prices) it would be 85ish.
Thanks! Dubai only made up around 100km of the total journey, but has the strictest speed limits - 120kph, but you can get away with 130/140 - largely monitored by cameras. The supercars are for events/showing off - the 'normal' police cars are Toyota Landcruisers/Nissan Patrols/Ford Explorers.
Abu Dhabi - around 300km - once past the city, roads become much quieter, mainly trucks, and again speed cameras. Limit 140kph.
Saudi - sections with little or no traffic, very few cameras, could make good progress.
We had a Garmin GPS and stuck to 140kph, which the tow truck seemed happy with, so not a similar average speed to you.
Sn1ckers said:
One of a small (ish) number of great threads on PH. I’m not great at posting my stuff but genuinely enjoy reading about the ups and downs of real car enthusiasts.
After recent travails I hope you continue (and if possible point me towards the new home of one of the other great Mercedes’ enthusiastic thread meisters who recently, and sadly, left these pages).
I don't imagine that he'll be relocating his threads elsewhere in a hurry. Only two weeks to go...After recent travails I hope you continue (and if possible point me towards the new home of one of the other great Mercedes’ enthusiastic thread meisters who recently, and sadly, left these pages).
I had grandiose plans of capitalising on the new-for-2022 ferry service to Cyprus, but with the varying itenaries and plans that we had, coupled with the paucity of cabin options for the later outbound shipping in combination with the strangely limited options for the return, we figured that this would be best left for another time -- in any eventuality, Easter or Autumn may be far more pleasant times to visit Cyprus. So... off to France we go!
We want to have a camping experience as part of the holiday and we have had a positive experience in the past with Huttopia. Previously we stayed at the 'village' of Lac de Rille in The Loire and like the proposition of decent facilities, pool, no traffic, safe environment for the children etc... as it is already getting on in the summer, however, you can imagine that a number of popular places are booked.
Our itinerary demands that we're in Provence for 23rd August, so working back from that, plus some travel time, gave us a few options. However, the ones in the Vosges would be an unecessarily long route to access the autoroute and additionally, the thread of traversing Switzerland in which one must purchase an annual vignette at CHF40 for motorway use -- irrespective of the duration of time for which it is used (though having said that, CHF40 is considerable less than I recall it having been in the past).
The place in Mersault seemed small with the available option in compromised locations (close to car park or swimming pool etc), so we settled on an available site in the Dordogne.
This is eight hours from Coquelles, so in the interests of a leisurely experience, we've booked a hotel on the outskirts of Orleans, which is about equidistant -- so day one will be a 90 minute drive to the Chunnel, followed by a four or five (inc lunch stop) drive to Orleans, arriving in time for the children to have a swin then to head into the centre for dinner.
Day two will involve a leisurely departure and drive to the Perigord in time for the 2om check in time -- enough to get settled in. In consideration of the fact that we'll have a kitchenette and a bbq, I've also gone ahead and purchased an MB 12V fridge for the boot, MB part number B66560300. Hopefully the French won't spot check our boot.
We'll stay for four nights then drive to nr Pont-du-Gard for some Roman history.
There is also the Colosseum in Nimes and the amphitheatre in Alres to enjoy, so we've booked two nights there.
Days one to seven accounted for, we'll spend four nights in Provence then meander back to the UK, possibly via the Alps and Geneva, to visit f&f. The caveat for Geneva is that one can access the largely unmanned border via St-Julian-en-Genevoise at which point we'll access our destination within a short drive on the back roads -- so no needless expense on road tolls, Mnsr Swisse.
Prior to that, an MOT is due -- expiring 23 August, at which point I may consider getting the air con topped up (just to be sure -- perhaps I should test it this evening) and I'm also intending to replace some trim on the scuttle under the front windscreen which has perished. Poor Magnus, no wash in months and barely turned a wheel -- the mighty Merc has been relegated to long, epic family journeys, almost exclusively.
We want to have a camping experience as part of the holiday and we have had a positive experience in the past with Huttopia. Previously we stayed at the 'village' of Lac de Rille in The Loire and like the proposition of decent facilities, pool, no traffic, safe environment for the children etc... as it is already getting on in the summer, however, you can imagine that a number of popular places are booked.
Our itinerary demands that we're in Provence for 23rd August, so working back from that, plus some travel time, gave us a few options. However, the ones in the Vosges would be an unecessarily long route to access the autoroute and additionally, the thread of traversing Switzerland in which one must purchase an annual vignette at CHF40 for motorway use -- irrespective of the duration of time for which it is used (though having said that, CHF40 is considerable less than I recall it having been in the past).
The place in Mersault seemed small with the available option in compromised locations (close to car park or swimming pool etc), so we settled on an available site in the Dordogne.
This is eight hours from Coquelles, so in the interests of a leisurely experience, we've booked a hotel on the outskirts of Orleans, which is about equidistant -- so day one will be a 90 minute drive to the Chunnel, followed by a four or five (inc lunch stop) drive to Orleans, arriving in time for the children to have a swin then to head into the centre for dinner.
Day two will involve a leisurely departure and drive to the Perigord in time for the 2om check in time -- enough to get settled in. In consideration of the fact that we'll have a kitchenette and a bbq, I've also gone ahead and purchased an MB 12V fridge for the boot, MB part number B66560300. Hopefully the French won't spot check our boot.
We'll stay for four nights then drive to nr Pont-du-Gard for some Roman history.
There is also the Colosseum in Nimes and the amphitheatre in Alres to enjoy, so we've booked two nights there.
Days one to seven accounted for, we'll spend four nights in Provence then meander back to the UK, possibly via the Alps and Geneva, to visit f&f. The caveat for Geneva is that one can access the largely unmanned border via St-Julian-en-Genevoise at which point we'll access our destination within a short drive on the back roads -- so no needless expense on road tolls, Mnsr Swisse.
Prior to that, an MOT is due -- expiring 23 August, at which point I may consider getting the air con topped up (just to be sure -- perhaps I should test it this evening) and I'm also intending to replace some trim on the scuttle under the front windscreen which has perished. Poor Magnus, no wash in months and barely turned a wheel -- the mighty Merc has been relegated to long, epic family journeys, almost exclusively.
bolidemichael said:
I had grandiose plans of capitalising on the new-for-2022 ferry service to Cyprus, but with the varying itenaries and plans that we had, coupled with the paucity of cabin options for the later outbound shipping in combination with the strangely limited options for the return, we figured that this would be best left for another time -- in any eventuality, Easter or Autumn may be far more pleasant times to visit Cyprus. So... off to France we go!
We want to have a camping experience as part of the holiday and we have had a positive experience in the past with Huttopia. Previously we stayed at the 'village' of Lac de Rille in The Loire and like the proposition of decent facilities, pool, no traffic, safe environment for the children etc... as it is already getting on in the summer, however, you can imagine that a number of popular places are booked.
Our itinerary demands that we're in Provence for 23rd August, so working back from that, plus some travel time, gave us a few options. However, the ones in the Vosges would be an unecessarily long route to access the autoroute and additionally, the thread of traversing Switzerland in which one must purchase an annual vignette at CHF40 for motorway use -- irrespective of the duration of time for which it is used (though having said that, CHF40 is considerable less than I recall it having been in the past).
The place in Mersault seemed small with the available option in compromised locations (close to car park or swimming pool etc), so we settled on an available site in the Dordogne.
This is eight hours from Coquelles, so in the interests of a leisurely experience, we've booked a hotel on the outskirts of Orleans, which is about equidistant -- so day one will be a 90 minute drive to the Chunnel, followed by a four or five (inc lunch stop) drive to Orleans, arriving in time for the children to have a swin then to head into the centre for dinner.
Day two will involve a leisurely departure and drive to the Perigord in time for the 2om check in time -- enough to get settled in. In consideration of the fact that we'll have a kitchenette and a bbq, I've also gone ahead and purchased an MB 12V fridge for the boot, MB part number B66560300. Hopefully the French won't spot check our boot.
We'll stay for four nights then drive to nr Pont-du-Gard for some Roman history.
There is also the Colosseum in Nimes and the amphitheatre in Alres to enjoy, so we've booked two nights there.
Days one to seven accounted for, we'll spend four nights in Provence then meander back to the UK, possibly via the Alps and Geneva, to visit f&f. The caveat for Geneva is that one can access the largely unmanned border via St-Julian-en-Genevoise at which point we'll access our destination within a short drive on the back roads -- so no needless expense on road tolls, Mnsr Swisse.
Prior to that, an MOT is due -- expiring 23 August, at which point I may consider getting the air con topped up (just to be sure -- perhaps I should test it this evening) and I'm also intending to replace some trim on the scuttle under the front windscreen which has perished. Poor Magnus, no wash in months and barely turned a wheel -- the mighty Merc has been relegated to long, epic family journeys, almost exclusively.
Excellent itinerary you have there.We want to have a camping experience as part of the holiday and we have had a positive experience in the past with Huttopia. Previously we stayed at the 'village' of Lac de Rille in The Loire and like the proposition of decent facilities, pool, no traffic, safe environment for the children etc... as it is already getting on in the summer, however, you can imagine that a number of popular places are booked.
Our itinerary demands that we're in Provence for 23rd August, so working back from that, plus some travel time, gave us a few options. However, the ones in the Vosges would be an unecessarily long route to access the autoroute and additionally, the thread of traversing Switzerland in which one must purchase an annual vignette at CHF40 for motorway use -- irrespective of the duration of time for which it is used (though having said that, CHF40 is considerable less than I recall it having been in the past).
The place in Mersault seemed small with the available option in compromised locations (close to car park or swimming pool etc), so we settled on an available site in the Dordogne.
This is eight hours from Coquelles, so in the interests of a leisurely experience, we've booked a hotel on the outskirts of Orleans, which is about equidistant -- so day one will be a 90 minute drive to the Chunnel, followed by a four or five (inc lunch stop) drive to Orleans, arriving in time for the children to have a swin then to head into the centre for dinner.
Day two will involve a leisurely departure and drive to the Perigord in time for the 2om check in time -- enough to get settled in. In consideration of the fact that we'll have a kitchenette and a bbq, I've also gone ahead and purchased an MB 12V fridge for the boot, MB part number B66560300. Hopefully the French won't spot check our boot.
We'll stay for four nights then drive to nr Pont-du-Gard for some Roman history.
There is also the Colosseum in Nimes and the amphitheatre in Alres to enjoy, so we've booked two nights there.
Days one to seven accounted for, we'll spend four nights in Provence then meander back to the UK, possibly via the Alps and Geneva, to visit f&f. The caveat for Geneva is that one can access the largely unmanned border via St-Julian-en-Genevoise at which point we'll access our destination within a short drive on the back roads -- so no needless expense on road tolls, Mnsr Swisse.
Prior to that, an MOT is due -- expiring 23 August, at which point I may consider getting the air con topped up (just to be sure -- perhaps I should test it this evening) and I'm also intending to replace some trim on the scuttle under the front windscreen which has perished. Poor Magnus, no wash in months and barely turned a wheel -- the mighty Merc has been relegated to long, epic family journeys, almost exclusively.
AC43 said:
Excellent itinerary you have there.
Agreed. If I can get passports for those in my family that don't have them we might do something similar. Not stalking you, I promise. We've not booked anything at all because of the passport situation, but my wife has booked the last three weeks of August off so we will see what can be found on the cheap and at the last minute.We’re doing a road trip in three weeks to Annecy, we’re using the tunnel and stopping in Reims to break up the journey. Our F31 330d touring is a great car to do it in, big enough to be comfortable with two older teens, effortless on the Autoroute and 45mpg.
I think it’s the way to go, I love a road trip, no farting around at airports, no covid risk on a ferry and you’ve got your car with you once you’re there.
I think it’s the way to go, I love a road trip, no farting around at airports, no covid risk on a ferry and you’ve got your car with you once you’re there.
tog said:
AC43 said:
Excellent itinerary you have there.
Agreed. If I can get passports for those in my family that don't have them we might do something similar. Not stalking you, I promise. We've not booked anything at all because of the passport situation, but my wife has booked the last three weeks of August off so we will see what can be found on the cheap and at the last minute.I've always referred back to this thread on camping in which the hive mind of PH shortcuts one's research far better than any search engine. I suppose that a certain knowledge of certain areas helps to figure out which routes should 'flow', also.
tog, a marvellous outcome of my having made the final push to get this thread into real time means that these interactions are all quite timely and engaging, something that this thread was missing at times. If you happen to end up in a similar area at times, it would be quite a giggle to share a glass of wine, or two.
Gunk said:
We’re doing a road trip in three weeks to Annecy, we’re using the tunnel and stopping in Reims to break up the journey. Our F31 330d touring is a great car to do it in, big enough to be comfortable with two older teens, effortless on the Autoroute and 45mpg.
I think it’s the way to go, I love a road trip, no farting around at airports, no covid risk on a ferry and you’ve got your car with you once you’re there.
Very nice -- though don't rub it in with your forty five emmpeegees! I'll be scraping twenty two with the roof box I think it’s the way to go, I love a road trip, no farting around at airports, no covid risk on a ferry and you’ve got your car with you once you’re there.
Reims to Annecy is going to be quite a long day and depending on your crossing time, I would've been tempted to push it a little further on day one -- possibly as far south as Chalons-en-Champagne. However, back to my point above, Annecy is another place that I have yet to visit.
If you have yet to book anywhere (though I'm sure you would've done), I can recommend the place south of Reims in which we stayed in February (in Athis) -- Au clos des colombages.
ETA: I'm talking out of my posterior -- Reims to Annecy is perfectly manageable and a sensible stopping point
Edited by bolidemichael on Tuesday 19th July 23:48
Gunk said:
I love a road trip, no farting around at airports, no covid risk on a ferry and you’ve got your car with you once you’re there.
Yes, having your own car there is a major bonus. I've never hired anything better than mediocre at best. I still shudder at some of the awful clattery soot chuckers I've had to endure in some of the most beautiful parts of southern Europe. There's nothing worse.Today was the MOT. I had figured that Magnus would be a little peeved at the gratuitous lack of use recently, so would make my life difficult prior to the trip, so I had planned an early MOT in order to anticipate inevitable titivation.
So en route to the garage
Quite. This would be an expensive trip... anyway, car dropped off
a little browse around some of the owner's cars, a 205 GTi 1.9L and an R129 SL600 and a walk back home to await the verdict... which dinged up on my phone a couple of hours later.
The recess in the front wheel arch had rusted through and is close to the wishbone for the front struts.
The struts will need to be removed, the rust removed and new plates welded (I think), the 'misting' on the strut assessed and the 'visit workshop' display diagnosed through STAR.
So en route to the garage
Quite. This would be an expensive trip... anyway, car dropped off
a little browse around some of the owner's cars, a 205 GTi 1.9L and an R129 SL600 and a walk back home to await the verdict... which dinged up on my phone a couple of hours later.
The recess in the front wheel arch had rusted through and is close to the wishbone for the front struts.
The struts will need to be removed, the rust removed and new plates welded (I think), the 'misting' on the strut assessed and the 'visit workshop' display diagnosed through STAR.
Gallons Per Mile said:
This inevitably brings about a full underside restoration of course! Man maths means it makes total sense. You've already got a spare car for the mean time 
You say that, but it is temporarily disabled...
bolidemichael said:
The struts will need to be removed, the rust removed and new plates welded (I think), the 'misting' on the strut assessed and the 'visit workshop' display diagnosed through STAR.
Oddly enough, there's a thread about what looks like the exact same thing on the MBclub site.
IIRC it's caused by blocked drainage holes and the fella had a quote for £400 of welding.
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