Sensible family daily wagon - Mercedes Benz S211 E500

[bolidemichael]

Mr E said:

bolidemichael said:

I know a man called Ash in Watford who knows his onions. He's a one man band to whom the AV work is outsourced from local MB dealerships. I'm pretty certain that he told me he could fit them for around £300.

Can he make 2010 command do Apple CarPlay.

PM me and I'll fwd you his number so that you can whatsapp him and ask.

[bolidemichael]

I had left my summer alloys in the garage, untouched, since fitting the winter wheels in November. A hard working year meant that the languid luxury of lovingly cleaning and polishing the summer alloys was cast aside. Somehow I'd convinced the rather reticent proprietor to fit the new tyres for me and this year I'd opted for Michelin Pilot Sport 4; whilst they were significantly more than the excellent Falken FK510 (I could purchase four Falkens for three Michelin), it was an itch that I wanted to scratch.

So I contrived for him to unlock the wooden door to his lockup one Saturday morning as I reversed back up to the door and he chucked them in - this was pretty early on in lockdown #1, so the caution was understandable.







and at some point along the way we hit a nice round number

[bolidemichael]

During the lockdown (now in April 2020), Magnus was put into use mainly to source beverages for the business, rather than send the hard working drivers on another risky errand.



Back to the summer tyres and alloys, I had sourced a product called 'Tuf Shine' which essentially adds a lacquer layer to the sidewalls ensuring ease of future cleaning. Since the tyres were new, it seemed sensible to apply them whilst I had the time and the sun was shining and warm in the garage.

For the alloys, it was a clean with Bilt Hamber Auto Wheel and the BH double speed wax had done a largely competent job of preventing the dirt, brake dust and iron filings from sticking to the lacquer. I then dressed them again with a few layers of double speed wax, since I had the time and voila!













An issue that had been cropping up recently was an intermittent action on the rear wiper. I tried to remove the rear wiper in order to squirt the motor with some BH Ferrosol, but I couldn't get access.





So I settled for squirting and letting it soak, in the vain hope that it'd work its way loose somehow.








It didn't work. So I bought a tool.



I'd also been eyeing up some official MB bike racks, because well, OEM geekery. The prices for these are all over the place and as with most things if you wait for long enough, the correct items will come around for the price one expects - I paid about £15 each for these.









and that was pretty much all car related activity in April!

Edited by bolidemichael on Tuesday 9th February 22:14

[Gallons Per Mile]

Brilliant thread! If I could've had my M3 in 'Touring' format I think I would have.

[pmorg4]

Those wheels looks great. It's nice to see the more traditional Mercedes wheels rather than the more common sports style wheels.

Great deal on the bike racks, sounds like you got a real bargain.

[B'stard Child]

bolidemichael said:

I'd also been eyeing up some official MB bike racks, because well, OEM geekery. The prices for these are all over the place and as with most things if you wait for long enough, the correct items will come around for the price one expects - I paid about £15 each for these.

That is a bargain - if you need a bike rack - my biggest weakness is I'd see something like that and buy it but never use it

I have a BNIB heater Matrix for an E38 - Never used (picked it up for buttons when my local dealer cleared out some old stock) - I came from a background of Opel/Vauxhall cars where they are a service item and I thought I'll need that one day.....................

[anonymous-user]

B'stard Child said:

bolidemichael said:

I'd also been eyeing up some official MB bike racks, because well, OEM geekery. The prices for these are all over the place and as with most things if you wait for long enough, the correct items will come around for the price one expects - I paid about £15 each for these.

That is a bargain - if you need a bike rack - my biggest weakness is I'd see something like that and buy it but never use it

I have a BNIB heater Matrix for an E38 - Never used (picked it up for buttons when my local dealer cleared out some old stock) - I came from a background of Opel/Vauxhall cars where they are a service item and I thought I'll need that one day.....................

Oh I know that feeling, got a shelf full of bits for my old W210 that was written off before I could change anything, I'm thinking of buying an S210 now just so I can use the parts

[BrettMRC]

I'm starting to want one of these, or maybe a C55...

What sort of range do you get out of a tank going long distance?

[bolidemichael]

Gallons Per Mile said:

Brilliant thread! If I could've had my M3 in 'Touring' format I think I would have.

Thanks GPM; it's funny because I don't so much do a lot of the work myself, so I'm wondering what this thread is all about, in comparison to the more hirsute fix and rebuild threads

The V8 makes the car and with the space and air suspenders, it just picks up speed nicely and flies on long distance runs. It's a silly statement from a petrolhead, but I honestly don't think that it'd benefit from the M113K power plant in the E55, for my purposes, anyhow.

Personally, I'd love an E92 myself (in addition) and always lusted after an Imola Red with a carbon roof when they were new, but there are lots of colours that suit them as it's a great design, Carbon Black (as is yours iirc) and Silverstone Blue II.

Edited by bolidemichael on Wednesday 10th February 17:10

[bolidemichael]

pmorg4 said:

Those wheels looks great. It's nice to see the more traditional Mercedes wheels rather than the more common sports style wheels.

Great deal on the bike racks, sounds like you got a real bargain.

Thanks - they're called 'Ankaa' and are 17". I sourced them second hand from gumtree - as with the bike racks, I watched and waited and also searched for mis-spellings or poorly described ads e.g. 'winter wheels'. I picked these up from East London for £100 and refurbished them - it was only then that I was told that they're a diamond cut finish. They look great, but I didn't know that the lacquer punctures easily and milky spots emerge - additionally, there are a finite number of refurbishments that the material on the alloy will tolerate for diamond cut, so can only be done two or perhaps three times (I'm willing to be enlightened if anyone thinks that I am verbalising from my posterior).

The advantage of 17" over 18", is that they offer more comfort and are less prone to cracking, due to the sprung weight of the vehicle in combination with pot-holed UK roads. I don't know whether the air suspension would make a difference to this likelihood over and above the conventional springs.

[bolidemichael]

B'stard Child said:

bolidemichael said:

I'd also been eyeing up some official MB bike racks, because well, OEM geekery. The prices for these are all over the place and as with most things if you wait for long enough, the correct items will come around for the price one expects - I paid about £15 each for these.

That is a bargain - if you need a bike rack - my biggest weakness is I'd see something like that and buy it but never use it

I have a BNIB heater Matrix for an E38 - Never used (picked it up for buttons when my local dealer cleared out some old stock) - I came from a background of Opel/Vauxhall cars where they are a service item and I thought I'll need that one day.....................

Funny you should say that BC, I think that I bought them in order to add to my collection just in case.



The main restriction is that I don't know how fast I can drive with bikes attached - I suppose that they might be okay for the autobahn? I don't tend to go faster than 130mph, which is sensible with this car's visibility and capability for the public road (particularly in the autoroutes in France).

However, as the children age, it's increasingly likely that I'll need to cart an adult, a teenage and a junior bike around, which won't fit in the boot with passengers in the second row. Mrs Bolide is rather unlikely to cycle

swiveleyedgit said:

Oh I know that feeling, got a shelf full of bits for my old W210 that was written off before I could change anything, I'm thinking of buying an S210 now just so I can use the parts

Since you're on a V8 wagon thread, have you seen this?

[Gallons Per Mile]

bolidemichael said:

Thanks GPM; it's funny because I don't so much do a lot of the work myself, so I'm wondering what this thread is all about, in comparison to the more hirsute fix and rebuild threads

But you're giving your ownership experience instead which is still interesting.

bolidemichael said:

Personally, I'd love an E92 myself (in addition) and always lusted after an Imola Red with a carbon roof when they were new, but there are lots of colours that suit them as it's a great design, Carbon Black (as is yours iirc) and Silverstone Blue II.

Mine's Sparking Graphite in fact, but there have been a couple of Carbon Black ones posted in my thread too Imola Red looks brilliant on the coupes with the carbon roof for contrast.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Op how much would you say you've spent since you bought the car?

I am tempted

[tog]

B'stard Child said:

my biggest weakness is I'd see something like that and buy it but never use it

A couple of years ago I found a rare original spec chrome and wood roof rack for my Rover P6 for sale locally so snapped it up. The car hasn't really been on the road for about ten years.

[bolidemichael]

BrettMRC said:

I'm starting to want one of these, or maybe a C55...

What sort of range do you get out of a tank going long distance?

I think that the prices are starting to go up and additionally to maintain, from 90k-150k, you're looking at having to refresh key components, so you'd need a stack of invoices to demonstrate work completed, or a commensurate asking price i.e. £3k(ish), dependant on demand. I refer you to a theory derived from Gresham's Law:



i.e. owners hold onto the good ones and the good ones that come onto the market are snapped up fast, leaving only ones that linger because something is wonky - either the maintenance history or the asking price.

There is a rare one for sale with the M273 5.5L engine, though, according to my the asking price is questionable.

The C55s are very fizzy. The rear subframes, in particular. Here's a thread from an owner even MORE fastidious than I and he eventually couldn't do any more, seemingly, so sold it to another forum user. Anything less than that car would be a right ol' pain in the goolies.

In general, a good long on the motorway, 560miles at an avg of 75mph will yield a consumption figure of 24.1mpg of Shell V Power. Over 4,000 or so miles or daily usage (I live in SW London with speed bumps and low avg speeds), about 19.x mpg.

The M273 5.5L (as opposed to my 5L M113) touches 30mpg on motorway runs, from my understanding (though I'd like to see those figures with a heavy foot on the loud pedal).

[bolidemichael]

Gallons Per Mile said:

bolidemichael said:

Thanks GPM; it's funny because I don't so much do a lot of the work myself, so I'm wondering what this thread is all about, in comparison to the more hirsute fix and rebuild threads

But you're giving your ownership experience instead which is still interesting.

bolidemichael said:

Personally, I'd love an E92 myself (in addition) and always lusted after an Imola Red with a carbon roof when they were new, but there are lots of colours that suit them as it's a great design, Carbon Black (as is yours iirc) and Silverstone Blue II.

Mine's Sparking Graphite in fact, but there have been a couple of Carbon Black ones posted in my thread too Imola Red looks brilliant on the coupes with the carbon roof for contrast.

Thanks GPM. Spk Graphite looks good too, QED, the E92 shape is a good palate for a variety of colours.

[bolidemichael]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Op how much would you say you've spent since you bought the car?

I am tempted

I have been keeping a warts 'n all log, so allow me to lance your temptation with a cold dose of reality.

Up until 31st January 2021, with maintenance, unnecessary purchases (such as the bike racks etc), paintjob, detailing etc (should one count 'uplifting' in man maths?) it's cost £0.63 per mile, of which maintenance has cost £0.45 of those pence.

I've covered around (glorious) 48,000 miles.

I calculate that with an avg of 20mpg across those miles (perhaps pessimistically), that it has cost £0.28 - £0.30 per mile on fuel based on V Power at £1.25-£1.30 per litre.

The interior has yet to be properly fettled, with steering wheel trim, perhaps replacement leather for the drivers seat, replacement of fabric on some panels etc.

So, that's a sunk cost fallacy of:

£750 pcm on ALL car related spend (on average across forty months)
£350 pcm on ALL fuel (on avg across forty months)

Edited by bolidemichael on Wednesday 10th February 18:16

[bolidemichael]

tog said:

B'stard Child said:

my biggest weakness is I'd see something like that and buy it but never use it

A couple of years ago I found a rare original spec chrome and wood roof rack for my Rover P6 for sale locally so snapped it up. The car hasn't really been on the road for about ten years.

Well that's the winning mentality that drives success at car boot sales

It has its own intrinsic worth and you'll be able to re-sell that all day long.

Edited by bolidemichael on Wednesday 10th February 22:19

[bolidemichael]

So starting with a blank canvas, I found some time to swap the wheels around



Armed with an aldi impact driver, a draper alloy impact wheel socket, to be kind to my diamond cut alloys, a breaker bar and a torque wrench, I felt like a pro before I'd even started - so I rewarded myself with a cup of tea.



The wheel nuts should be torqued to 120Nm, according to MB tech specs.

Once they were on, I then had a go with the new wiper removal tool that I'd purchased for a few quid.







But it didn't give me the access to the motor that I'd hoped to gain - it seemed as though I'd need a replacement motor. Does anyone want to purchase a wiper removal tool?



So there was nothing left to do but take the car for a spin down the A3 and try out the new tyres.





First impressions... from memory... they were grippy but slightly inaccurate when adjusting and settling into direction on a high speed turn. Then again, it was probably over-enthusiastic driving, after all, the roads were absolutely dead and no police spotted on the south-bound run...

[B'stard Child]

bolidemichael said:

But it didn't give me the access to the motor that I'd hoped to gain - it seemed as though I'd need a replacement motor. Does anyone want to purchase a wiper removal tool?

I never knew such a thing existed.................

I've always lifted the arm of the screen and used it as a lever to wiggle the thing free