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Everything posted by AndyW201
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Other arrival was this, Having a few sporty Escorts now, from MK1 to 5, I fancied a MK1 Focus to continue the line, and have been watching these for a while. Tickford had commissioned diecast retailer PDQ diecasts to have these made as a corporate gift to mark the Focus RS's 10th anniversary. A bit of a licensing fracas with Ford ensued, and by the time that was sorted, Tickford had been sold to Intertek, who weren't interested in the model. Leaving Dave at PDQ holding the baby, so to speak, and 2000 models to shift. Lately he has been selling some small batches at almost half price with small paint defects. They were cheaper than Vanguards/Minichamps to start with, so I finally got one as a late birthday present, after having them on eBay watch for years. This does have a couple of small spots, on the roof, I have a few Minichamps models with the same. Ah well, I'm not going to be able to retire on it as an investment, so it's going straight in the display cabinet anyway! It was cheap. It's made by Premium X so it's a well made thing, with plenty of detail. Like the real thing, it sits nice and low. Apart from the slight defects, the Imperial blue paint looks lovely too. Being a "premium" model, the badges are actual badges, not just tampo printed. Nice detailing on the rear screen too. Detail runs to brembo logos on the calipers, My shite phone camera doesn't really show it well, but interior detail is well above the norm, with realistic steering wheel trim and gauges, Decent heater controls and radio, Correct Sparco seats and seat belt buckles, Even the green starter button...
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Slightly raised eyebrows from the Mrs when I got home, two packages landed today. First was a mini-haul from @danthecapriman. I'm secretly pleased with my self-restraint this time. Not being pissed this time round possibly helped as well... These Husky Commer walkthroughs are cute little things, Ive seen a few on here and wanted one for a while. I loved the real vans as a kid as well, there were a few working the streets in our area back in the day as mobile shops (ex mobile libraries), and fish & chip vans. The Corgi VW hot rod was one of my favourite toys when I was a kid, but for years I never even knew there was a standard Beetle by them too. This one is a nice clean example. As is this Datsun 260Z, same colour as the one I had. Another one I was completely unaware of until fairly recently. As a kid I had the Superkings A series U-Haul Luton van, but never came across this in the toy shops. I should be able to form a couple of tow hooks from some of the flexible wire we use to bundle up bandsaw blades at work. Replace the hooks and re-silver the wheels, and it should be reet. This Golf is almost box fresh save for a couple of small chips. My original one had barely a scrap of paint on, and no roof rack by the time I finally parted with it. I shall most likely treat this one to some repro surfboards. Always wanted one of these big Corgi Capris. This one's pretty good, it's all there, glazing is good and the tip up seat backs and steering wheel are still present. Not sure what to do with it yet, as my resto/modding skills are practically non-existent, but I do fancy this in LeMans green or Purple Velvet or something. This one is the highlight for me. Ice cream vans are a bit of a secret obsession of mine, and at the price Dan was asking for this, I had to grab it. It's far better than I was expecting. Tyres are all present and are in great condition, and it sits well on its suspension. Glazing is decent and should clean up well, I think there's a sliding window missing from this side, but it's the serving side anyway, so I'm not too fussed there. The server even still twirls away inside, This one will get a repaint soon, I'm looking forward to getting on with it. My intentions are to not restore it to shiny original Mr Softee spec, but as a 2nd or 3rd owner independently operated vehicle, like the slightly down at heel vans that were around in the '70s. Thanks again to Dan for more bargains and another cracking sale.
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Tat box arrival, thanks to @bunglebus First off, filling in a couple more Corgi 1/36 gaps, for the ones I missed out on as a kid. This SD1 is in nice, tidy, slightly patinated condition, Just how I like them, although I have touched up the bumpers. It's a nice, weighty slab of a thing, a reminder of how getting one of these Corgis as a kid was quite an occasion for me. Used to love an opening tailgate and tipping parcel shelf. And an opening bonnet. Pretty good engine detail for the time. In the same category was this Fiat X1/9. Again, it's survived in pretty good nick, including the paper sticker on the frunk. Pretty sure this edition was part of a gift set with a powerboat in Carlsberg livery (Alcohol advertising on kids toys, those were the days, eh?) Nice engine detail, again. Smaller stuff now. I went through a bit of a late phase of buying Matchbox again around about 1986-87, it was the appearance of "realistic" subjects like the Astra GTE and Escort cabrio that did it. I did like the Land Rover Ninety, but couldn't find it in the shops at the time. Ive always liked the realistic colour schemes it came on, and the County-style side graphics. Another favourite of mine in '86 was the MK3 Transit, I had quite a few of those in different liveries. But I've never had the Smiley version. Not sure whether this was the old MK3 casting, tarted up or a whole new one. Obviously the base is different, the wheel arches seem to be a slightly different shape, and the tailgate has the later font on the Transit badge, Interior seems to be the same casting though. Some recent Hot Wheels too. Yet another Proton, and I was wondering whether I would even get one... And at long last I have a green Escort, While I like the race graphics on the white and red versions, I think I prefer this single colour version, as it looks more like a road car, and a bit like the Java green the real RS was offered in. Nice to see matching wheels on this one too... Another one I've failed to find, Smyths only have the ones left out of this collection that nobody wants, as usual. Obviously a standard Jetta/Vento would have been nice, but I'll take this one. I am tempted to try and remove the tampos on it, though and just have it as a plain, white kitted car. Very Max Power...
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That's what I was thinking. From old pics I've seen of North Riding garages, (it's not there now), it seemed like a small rural garage, rather than a big plate glass dealership like you'd expect from a Merc main dealer. Much like our Sprinter vans at work, they get ordered from the main dealer in Stockton, but always arrive with Newcastle reg numbers, probably from their site in Killingworth.
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Yeah, never thought of that, and I used to pride myself on being a bit of a reg number area geek! KH does seem a bit down the coast for N Yorks, However, According to the original invoice, it does seem to have been supplied new by North Riding Garages. Strange...
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So, this is how it looked in last time. That arch gap had to go, didn't it Mr Crowther? I don't have the correct Mercedes spring compressors, and with my dodgy back being how it is right now, rolling about under a car on the driveway is the last thing I can be arsed with right now. So I paid a visit to my favourite scary bearded garage guy, with a replacement pair of front springs. Couple of hours later, this is how it was looking, Miles better, more or less factory standard now. I would like it lowered a bit, but the speed bumps in our area are a piss take. So much better to drive now too! It used to be quite vague and wandery on my daily dual carriageway commute, requiring constant steering corrections. Accelerating from a standstill, it used to squat quite badly and the front would go skywards. It would make pretty scary banging noises occasionally too, over speed bumps, Mick the mechanic reckons it was because the front was so high, there was virtually no travel on the shocks. Now it's lovely and smooth over bumps and a lot flatter when accelerating and cornering I wasn't taking any chances when selecting which springs to get, with this being almost Colin Chapman "add lightness" spec for an Elegance, (small engine, manual box, no Aircon, no leather,) I went for a pair of springs for the Esprit model, which were about 10-15mm lower than standard, and slightly uprated. I figured this would make up for the lower spec of the car. It's certainly helped the handling. There's a local classic car show in a couple of weeks, which I fancy taking this to. So while it's nice and clean, I'll be getting it jacked up tomorrow if the weather's nice again, or next weekend, and cleaning under the arches as the body colour can be seen under there, but a good scrub should have it gleaming. I'll have to see if my old, old stock of Auto Glym resin polish and sealant wax is worth using too.
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That is superb! Very Onslow... I did similar a few years back, when a Vanguards Escort fell off a shelf and got pretty badly damaged, So it got an underseal tidemark all round, metallic brown front wings, (courtesy of a touch up kit from one of my old 190Es!), various giffer scrapes/gouges and a black rear arch replacement panel on one side, Just how I remember a lot of them circa 1988, and it got added to the other Vanguards Hidden Treasures cars as they never did a weathered MK1, surprisingly.
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It's amazing how many variants there are of those Avenger/1500 part work models there are, along with all the Chevette/Kadett ones. I've had my eye on those Dodge 1500 GT 90/100 ones too, they're pretty cheap from Jumajo. I think they're the Tiger-style ones. They've got slightly different front and rear light treatments to our UK Avengers, but I reckon they'd make a good base for some boy-racer style Avenger models.
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Completely agree there. I did think the wipers looked a bit clunky, but that angle really shows it. I suppose being a cheapie partwork job (I think they cost the equivalent of a tenner or less where they're sold, complete with magazine), costs have to be saved somewhere. Other than the wipers, it can't really be faulted. Those Schuco Monzas, though, are something else altogether. I've got that, and the Senator, and they're about the best detailed models I've got, better than Minichamps even. No... No! You're correct actually. That definitely IS the wiper motor housing (And it can stop bothering me now... 🤣)
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Aye, that's where I got this from, the guy goes under both names of Jumajo and 1:43 man, I've had a few good partwork model deals from them now. The Dodge was slightly more expensive as it seems to be the most sought after out of that collection, but ended up being just over £20 all-in, not too bad considering it came from France.
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Birthday today, so a bit of diecast to open. Not sure if @danthecapriman had acquired one of these among his impressive recent partwork jamboree, so apologies if it's already been seen. But I've been after this one for ages! I've got a few of the Vanguards Hillman Avenger saloons, so when I saw the Dodge 1500 Rural from the Argentinian Salvat Inolvidables partwork by Hachette, I've set my sights on one, as it's more or less a Chrysler Avenger estate. Sadly the only ones seemingly available in this country are the ACA automobile club version Nice, but I did just want a standard version, so would have to get rid of the signwriting and the stuff on the roof. Then came this nice plain metallic blue version, but I've only ever seen it previously on eBay from South American based sellers, at around £30 with about another £30 in postage. Nah! So I bided my time, and waited to see if that nice Jumajo in France got hold of them. Which they did. And I'm pretty chuffed with it, it'll make a nice contrast with the Hillman saloons. Not sure who makes it, (my guess was IXO, but there are normal cross head screws on the base, rather than the weird triangular slot ones). Apart from the tiny Dodge badge on the bonnet, it's just like a UK Chrysler one at the front. Not bad at the rear, (although the tower for the rear mounting screw on the inside of the tailgate jars slightly). The flat bit on the roof is a bit odd, probably a hangover from the roof rack of the ACA version. Love the Rostyles though! Interior, such as it is, is pretty good for a cheapie partwork model, especially the odd Alpine-style single spoke wheel. Brings back memories of BYG 745T, my Dads old Avenger DL in brown with all-brown interior Can still smell that hot vinyl!
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If there's still a Jetta available Rich, can I take one? Cheers.
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Some (limited success) from the local outlets. Smyths was a waste of time again, old mainlines and only a few premium Hot Wheels lines, with all the sought after ones gone. Shit loads of those new Fast & Furious ones with, surprise surprise, not one Jetta to be found... Big Asda had a recent case in, for once the rummage bin hadn't been rifled through much so managed to find mint carded versions of the Proton and Civic, so the mangled ones I got the other week can be set free. I think everyone here has the Proton now? If not I have a spare, Was pleased to find the purple Skyline too, really like this casting although the first red and black factory original spec release is still my favourite, Unusual to have quite an intricate tampo print, and decent rear detailing too, Another sought after one, we might be about 6 months behind in Middlesbrough, but we're getting there... Tesco had the remnants of the recent Matchbox case in seen above, with the blue F-150, green Golf, Gold Mazda CX5, etc now all gone, but missed this the first time round. Much nicer than the HW Fiat 500 IMO, Still missed out on the Moggie though. FML... Went over to TK Maxx too. There were some new stocks of Majorette, though not to the extent that some of the folks on here have found. No Volvo estates alas. There was some interesting stuff though, in among the 2 pack trailer sets, there was the quite nice LR Defender and airstream caravan pairing that nearly tempted, a couple of colour-change editions, a few Volvo bulk tippers with special Volvo branded card packaging and was nearly tempted again by a MAN recovery truck with sliding bed and a Lambo on the back of it. But the clash of scales between truck and load made my teeth itch... So I got these in the end, Yes, to most it's a hideous modern blob, (to the point I had to zoom in with my camera lens on the boot badge to see which model of DS it is) but the reason I've loved Majorette for decades is the fact that they've always done normal, everyday stuff like this. And I like to think in maybe 40 years time this'll be posted excitedly on an internet diecast thread after being rescued from a Tat box like we would with a Majorette Alpine or Peugeot 604 today... Again, I'm probably more excited than I should be about finding a toy Ford Focus, but it's a MK4 and I've so far never seen one in miniature. Love the colour too, and being an ST makes it a bit spicy... Great detailing at the front, glazed lights, and the tiny badging is superb at this scale and price. And this is a bit of an unusual one. I have the previous shape Majorette Twingo, but this the first one I've got of this shape. I didn't know Majorette were also doing chase cars, but it appears they do. A Glitter effect chase car no less. And it does sparkle. Obviously not going to be worth big bucks like the Hot Wheels or Matchbox chase cars but it's a nice novelty.
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New arrival time. Another Vanguards, for which I can only apologise, but another one I've been chasing for quite a while. I've always liked the UK version of the Peugeot 205 Rallye. Not to be confused with the French market mad, lightweight, twin-carbed rally homologation job, what we got was more of a pared down 1.4 XS with stripes, colour coded steels and special interior. There are a few model makers that have done the French market Rallye but as far as I know, only Vanguards have done the UK version, and only in Express yellow. I've not had a Vanguards 205 yet, they always seem to go for big money, especially the Rallye, and that version doesn't come up for sale that often. So this time, I've had to go down the unboxed route, the fact this one had bits missing kept the price down too. Apart from the missing wipers and aerial, which I'm not too fussed about at the moment, the main things missing on this one were the mirrors. With Vanguards, it used to be just a case of contacting Corgi for spares and more often than not, they'd send replacements out if they were in stock. Now they're just not arsed. Sets of genuine mirrors sometimes come up on eBay, but people ask almost the price of a complete model for them. I did however come across a manufacturer of 3D printed model accessories on the bay, and they had a style that looked very similar to facelift 205 mirrors. These were duly purchased for a couple of quid. Quick coat of black, and they were fitted. So, they do look a bit oversized for a 205, but I think it looks better now. The lack of wipers at the front doesn't really show, I think a cut down bristle from the yard brush, painted black, should make a replacement aerial, I've done that before. The model itself is pretty good, with all the usual Vanguards detailing. Only real let down is that this release seems to suffer from slightly over thick application of the paint, which does affect the sharpness off shut lines and some body contours. The Rallye stripes and decals are all nicely done, And those yellow steels look great. I was a bit peturbed at first to see that they modelled the 14" ones from the 106 Rallye rather than the 13" ones the 205 had, but this is correct as the real K988 VTT had the 106 ones fitted. Interior, like most Vanguards of the time, is a sea of black and hard to photograph, but there is a decent rendering of the 205 dash, a GTi style wheel and the bolstered sports seats. So another 'wanted' model crossed off the list, and being cheap and unboxed, it'll be good to join the other '90s warm and hot hatches in the display cabinet. The hunt goes on for a reasonably priced boxed example though,
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Christ, that kid loitering around the Superfasts could be 1980s-me!
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Nothing much new in the usual haunts. Got this recently in the post, many thanks to @Spottedlaurel for grabbing it for me. The one variant in this series I've been unable to find. One of my favourite castings too. And being a semi-premium, it gets a bit more detail than the mainline versions I've got before, Having already found the Camaro, Charger and 240Z, I think I can fight my not-a-completist tendencies and not bother with the rest of this collection Though I probably wouldn't leave the RX8 behind if I came across it... Also got this to make the postage up a bit. Already have a long card one, but it's such a nice thing, I can open one up now.
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I remember the Australian LTD being in the UK Ford brochure in the early '80s. A not-very-successfully stretched and tarted up Falcon XD.
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Yesterday, the missus handed me this, As a super-fan of the drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (see profile pic), this caused much excitement, as I knew they'd recently done a re-release on these., Yay! Another TV/film vehicle for the collection. The 1/43 version of the Bedford HA van as driven in series 2 by one Barry Spencer Taylor, ace electrician, prince of trivia, and one-time Wolverhampton and District Sunday Methodist table-tennis champion (mixed doubles) Great for doing quick getaways from gamekeepers after fishing for trout... Not so good for transporting coving... The first release some years ago sold out straight away and has commanded high prices since. However in a commendable (and rare) example of a model company listening to requests, Oxford announced two more short runs last week, (which also sold out in less than a day), and unbeknown to me, the missus had put herself on Oxfords mailing list and got one ordered as soon as she got the email to say they were in stock, bless her. So, yeah, the Oxford HA has come in for a bit of criticism regards proportions, detail, etc. But screw it, it's still a HA van, it's a fairly old casting now, and no bugger else makes one. To my eyes, it's not that far off anyway, seeing as the real life vehicle looks like it was designed on an Etch-a-Sketch... I suppose the main fault with this version is that it's not weathered, like the real film vehicle was, but at the price that Oxford knocks these out at, its probably not possible. At least the blue lower half is done in a semi-matt finish so it doesn't look too new and shiny. And the font on the signwriting is fairly faithful, including the off-centre "B Taylor" where it had been hastily painted over the original owners name. The ladder is a nice touch as well, as is the painted brightwork on the windows, takes away the cheapness somehow. Main point of criticism among collectors on the HA seems to be on the headlights, which to be fair, look like they were taken from a slightly startled Foden S80. Grille and badging are pretty decent, although Barry's van did have the later black grille. Back end detailing, such as it is, isn't bad either. Earlier badge again though. All the same as a massive fan of the programme, I'm happy to finally have one of these, would have been nice if they'd done Dennis's VW T2 in 1/43 to go with it. (They did do it in1/76 though) What do you reckon Barry? "Uh... yeah, Bostin'!"
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Same here, the colour really appeals to me. Wouldn't mind, they were on Hattons site for £23 when they were doing the closing down sale, but I wasnt quick enough, the scalpers will have got them all.
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Gorgeous! 199 Blue-black with mushroom leather by the looks of it, perfect combo.
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Time for some Thursday Trucking Tacho-break Tat, It's taken me a year to get one of these, but it came on eBay with a seller I've bought from before, at a hugely discounted price. It's the original black release of the RS Turbo that goes for the most money, along with the white and red ones, as those two were only available as part of a box set, so are hard to get on their own. I was glad to get an offer on this then, as for me, Mercury Grey is THE colour for a MK4 RST. Usuall detailing here, the correct vents and '90 spec bumper are there, along with nicely done spotlights. Rear features the '90 spec spoiler and correct chunky back box for the Turbo version. Nice rear decals too. Great interior detailing too, the two tone grey Recaros look spot-on. Only half-assed gripe is the wheels. The spokes look decent but the wheel nuts are poorly defined and can't be seen from a distance. Still, after getting the Vanguards MK4 XR3i, I've been wanting an RS Turbo for a while, and in this scale, its only really this one, or the hard-to-get Neo version for about four times the price. This will do nicely.
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Thanks all for all the positive comments so far! Having had the three generations of baby-Benz, I can say this one feels more "classic", owing a lot more to the 190s than the W203, with almost identical front and rear suspension, and a steering box, as on a 190. The way the doors shut, and things like the big steering wheel, the short throw and lovely mechanical feel of the manual gearshift, the font on the instruments and the leccy window switches on the centre console all take me back to the feel of the 190s too. To drive, it's no ball of fire, (it's one supercharger and about 30 horses down on the newer car), but it doesn't get left behind either, and the ride is lovely. It's an older Merc in looks and feel but still eminently usable as an everyday car. I'll probably miss Aircon in the summer, but at least there's a fully operational sliding sunroof there. I'm pretty sure late in '98, for the '99 model year, all C Classes got Aircon and leccy windows all round as standard, so this will have just missed it. By then, I don't think there was much in it between the top and bottom of the range, barring alloy wheels. The Elegance was just the Ghia of the range with extra chrome trim and more wood inside. Its been mentioned often that with the 190 and early C Class, Mercedes built a Sierra, and having driven many Sierras for a living back in the '90s, its not far wrong.
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I have been thinking along the lines of H&R springs for it. Over the last 25 or so years, every car I've had, bar one, has had either factory sports or aftermarket lowered suspension. Now though, with approaching a landmark birthday and suffering from gout and sciatica, especually in the weather we're currently having, I'm quite liking driving a car that "floats". Compared to the W203 which has the AMG sport suspension pack and 17" wheels, driving over a loose stone in the road feels like going over a brick in that This one definitely needs that front end to come down somehow though.
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So, after six 190Es, two W202 C Classes and one W203, I was going to give Mercs a rest and was happily shopping for a nice, simple uncomplicated FWD hatch among Astra H and Js and MK2 Focuses (Focii?). I soon found 2 grand or so still doesn't get you a hell of a lot, and I started fancying something that was a bit retro but still usable. I started looking at MK1 Skoda Octavia VRSs again, my old black one was one of my favourite cars I've ever had, as well as one of the most reliable. Sadly, trying to find a nice, original one of those that hasn't been de-catted, with "300 brake pop & bang remap M8", and rattle canned knock-off Audi S4 alloys is near impossible, especially finding one that wasn't hundreds of miles away. Then, while looking at older cars, I noticed that there were a lot of low mileage, tidy looking W202 C Classes coming out of the woodwork, now that a lot of the old rusty sheds are starting to die off. On the whole, apart from predictable rust issues, I hadn't really anything bad to say about the ones I had previously owned, 2.0 Esprit manual. Owned 2006-2008. Replaced a 190E. Low mileage, nice to drive and mechanically trouble free. Needed rust repairs at 8 years old! Replaced by another 190E... Another one in Azurite blue, 2.0 Elegance auto. Owned 2018-2019, was a temporary car to get me out of the shit when the Octavia failed it's test. Was a great winter beater, and went on to be owned by a few more shiters on here. And I fancied an older car again to do things like Drive It Day, and a few local shows. There's an old car show near me they do a couple of times a year, that you just turn up to and park up on the show field, and they're not snobby or arsey about what they let in. I fancied a car I could maybe take there. Now the oldest W202s are over 30 years old, they're just about starting to be regarded as a classic-in- waiting, rather than a rusty disposable shed (and prices seem to be reflecting that.) Problem was, there were still no prospective cars anywhere within a few hundred miles... Until this showed up on eBay, in Stockton, 5 miles away! C180 Elegance manual. Now, it was a grey, miserable day when I took the photos of this car., so they don't really do the colour justice. There were a lot of early W202s finished in red, but the old Imperial red is a bit darker. The later Magma red is so much brighter and more vibrant, I've only ever seen the Sport and Esprit models in this, it's such an unlikely shade for an Elegance, I love it! Yes, something needs to be said about the comedy ride height. The previous owner took it in to a local garage late last year for a service and new discs and pads. They advised him that the (original) front coil springs were starting to show some surface corrosion and the PO had them fit a new pair. So something has gone awry, my guesses are either, 1) using generic, non -genuine springs with the wrong rating for the bottom spec 1.8 engine. 2) front wishbones have been torqued up on a ramp with the wheels off the ground or 3) Front shocks on their way out, I've seen it happen on these and 190s, as the springs are so long and under so much tension, when the shocks are knackered, the springs push the front of the car right up. Does seem like something to do with those new springs though, This is a pic from the dealer that the PO bought the car from a year ago and it looks a lot happier on its original springs. I'll get it in to my tame mechanics soon and get it looked at . (That dealer was asking 5 grand for it, although it only had 44k miles on then. I certainly didn't pay that!) So, it's a three elderly owner, 50,000 genuine mile example. Real giffer spec for one of these, someone really wanted a top of the range C Class but weren't prepared to tick any of the option boxes, so as well as the non-metallic paint, we have, Manual gearbox, No air-con (leccy sunroof though), Cloth seats. Check out those mint bolsters though! Ordered new from North Riding Garages of Pickering (Bangers & Cash country!). Pleasingly, the original dealer plates remain, old style font FTW! It does have history to back up the mileage, although it does seem to have been serviced on a mileage basis, rather than time. It also seem to have spent some periods being laid up, and has also obviously spent a lot of time being garaged as the paint is in really good condition, still vibrant, shiny, largely fade free, and no laquer peel whatsoever. Bodywork is, really really good for one of these, probably near-mint in fact. Considering how 1998-onwards cars like to eat their own front wings, this front wing is near perfect apart from some slight bubbling behind the mudflap, hasn't broken the paint yet though. There's a small area of bubbling (less than fingernail size) at the very leading edge of this wheel arch, right above the bumper. Door bottoms are mint, even on the inside Rear arches are as clean as a whistle, even inside the inner lips. Want to get this thing Lanogarded to within an inch of its life though. Drivers side lower dogleg section has a thumbnail sized area of bubbling that will need sorting. And the usual top corner of the number plate recess (TADTS). So far though, that is it for bodywork blemishes. I think that for a 25 year old one of these, it's one of the better ones out there. Wheels were refurbished late last year, when the car was serviced, tyres were replaced at the same time, they're off-brand (Tracmax. No, me neither...) but are all-weather apparently.... The grey cloth interior is again, practically faultless. The seat pattern is still vibrant, carpets have been protected by the original ribbed Merc mats and rubber mats on top of those. Vibrant orange instrument needles! always used to be a cause of excitement in 190 circles in showing that a car had been garaged away from UV rays... Nice period window stickers, still in good condition. I do want to find a nice, period Blaupunkt stereo for it eventually, the modern Pioneer one currently fitted is good, but a bit out of place. Interesting how Blaupunkt re used their old stickers by just laying a picture of a keycard not very subtly over the old "CODE" logo... Nice and clean under the bonnet, And inside the boot. So, unexpectedly, back in an older Merc, but so far, small niggles aside, I'm very happy with it..