Titivating my Mercedes 124
Discussion
Tea may be a misnomer, given that I squandered my afternoon yesterday chasing wine and olive oil, meaning my 'sightseeing' at the beach had to be conducted in Cannes this morning, followed by coffee and a walk in Monaco, a little tiny bit of the F1 track, then into the hills to an incredible hilltop village olive oil producer.
All of which is to say, I didn't set off properly until after 4pm and I still have 300 miles to go today.
'Tea' may be a late-night drink, rather than anything more filling. Still, the panini at the Autogrill are nice.
All of which is to say, I didn't set off properly until after 4pm and I still have 300 miles to go today.
'Tea' may be a late-night drink, rather than anything more filling. Still, the panini at the Autogrill are nice.
Car is behaving wonderfully. I'm now on the last leg of the trip home, sadly - just the run to the tunnel and the schlep home to do.
~380 miles yesterday, including a couple of hours stuck each at Savona and the Grand Saint Bernard tunnel, so quite a long day to Bex in Switzerland. But worth it.
460ish miles today from Bex, through France, Germany (Saarlouis), Luxembourg, Belgium, and back to France. My longest drive, I think, and a very good car to be driving in changeable terrain & weather. I don't really want to give r129sl his car back....
~380 miles yesterday, including a couple of hours stuck each at Savona and the Grand Saint Bernard tunnel, so quite a long day to Bex in Switzerland. But worth it.
460ish miles today from Bex, through France, Germany (Saarlouis), Luxembourg, Belgium, and back to France. My longest drive, I think, and a very good car to be driving in changeable terrain & weather. I don't really want to give r129sl his car back....
tobinen said:
Weather
On this trip, whenever someone has mentioned the weather, I've been hit with a thunderstorm. This time included. Currently taking my ease at the Maidstone M20 services. Eurotunnel was delayed but straightforward once I found it (had to go to Carrefour first, because it's there).
Security checks took the form "do you have any cocaine hidden in this car?", which is a bit like the Americans asking if you're entering their country to perform an act of terrorism.
I had a nice chat, on the train, with the guy behind me. He was impressed with the quality of the car, even before I told him the mileage (388,630 right now) and the trip we've just undertaken.
By the time the car gets home, it'll be on 389k, and will have travelled ~3700 miles on this outing. Impressive stuff for a 25-year-old.
Car, that is. If I were talking about impressive 25-year-old other things, my mind would be back in Cannes.
pictures man, pictures!^^^Good luck BP with the smoke silver acquisition. Headlamp wipers are a total pain anyway. The motors gum up and fail every second summer.
Here is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
Here is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
r129sl said:
^^^Good luck BP with the smoke silver acquisition. Headlamp wipers are a total pain anyway. The motors gum up and fail every second summer.
Here is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
I know it's an old picture but I'm mildly disappointed at the lack of dog-ends, crisp packets, biscuit crumbs and those melted chocolate bar smears that leave embarrassing marks on your trousers. Hopefully the car's temporary custodian will have rectified that and turned it into a complete sHere is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
t-pit before handover. r129sl said:
^^^Good luck BP with the smoke silver acquisition. Headlamp wipers are a total pain anyway. The motors gum up and fail every second summer.
Here is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
Ooooo - Sportline leather. Nice. Here is an interior pic from a 5 years and 125k miles ago. I've had to replace the beautiful Becker because the Bluetooth handsfree side of it packed up and it doesn't reliably do audio streaming. There is an ugly Pioneer in there presently. Otherwise, all is the same.
S100HP said:
Stupid question time, do you have breakdown cover?
Yes, I am in the AA and when I go abroad in the car I usually take out AA breakdown cover, which is not cheap but gives peace of mind. As time goes by, I get more and more handy with the spanners. I take a decent tool kit and I am confident I can handle most minor breakdowns. The wheel bearing on this occasion was the first trouble we have had for a while. Changing a wheel bearing is beyond me, especially on the road, but I was able to tighten it up in the hotel car park and the later puncture wasn't a problem.
r129sl said:
S100HP said:
Stupid question time, do you have breakdown cover?
Yes, I am in the AA and when I go abroad in the car I usually take out AA breakdown cover, which is not cheap but gives peace of mind. As time goes by, I get more and more handy with the spanners. I take a decent tool kit and I am confident I can handle most minor breakdowns. The wheel bearing on this occasion was the first trouble we have had for a while. Changing a wheel bearing is beyond me, especially on the road, but I was able to tighten it up in the hotel car park and the later puncture wasn't a problem.
Never had any bother obtaining European Breakdown Cover for the 124. It always costs about £140 for a little over a week, mind. I haven't had to call on it.
https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdown-cover/
I have used my AA membership twice in the UK in the last year. The first time, with the w210, they were hopeless but thankfully Merc's Mobilo service was excellent. The second time, with the r129, the AA were pretty good and it was Merc who let me down.
https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdown-cover/
I have used my AA membership twice in the UK in the last year. The first time, with the w210, they were hopeless but thankfully Merc's Mobilo service was excellent. The second time, with the r129, the AA were pretty good and it was Merc who let me down.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Hopefully the car's temporary custodian will have rectified that and turned it into a complete st-pit before handover.
J handed me the car freshly-polished (before its 350-mile drive down to me) and mostly-vacuumed. Aside from the rainstorms it's been through, any tickling it had with a hose while in Cannes, and the flies (lordy, the flies), it doesn't look like it's covered 3500 miles since its last wash. t-pit before handover. On the outside, that is.
On the inside.... I didn't eat in the car until Maidstone yesterday, and didn't drink anything but water (no cupholders) so it's fine. Sorry to disappoint!
Ref the radio: I didn't bother reading the manual, didn't bother more than pressing a couple of buttons desultorily, and so didn't use it.
r129sl: just noticed the lack of front wheel arch liners. Either some scrote has nicked off with them... or maybe that might be the cause of the aero fluttering we discussed....?
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