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Sunburst yellow Mercedes SLK 230K


Jim Bell

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Finally decided to get one of my late father's plates put on the car too. I don't usually keep anything long enough to warrant it but it looks like this one is staying a while.

 

 

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Now these need pre bent for the front but I don't have a heat gun........... He said. About to make a mistake.

 

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Yeah.

 

 

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Now to gently be.........

 

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Yup. I creased it.

 

Fuck it, it's still going on.

 

 

 

Now being a posh man's car, the rear plates are in a holder.

You know to stop people stealing your good numberplate (?)

 

 

So you needs one of these.

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(Or a screwdriver)

 

 

Pop pop.

 

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And presto-change-o!

 

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I was booked it for rear tyres tomorrow too but Black Circles have emailed me to say that they can no longer honour the date and time that I booked for fitting and will I go on Friday instead.

 

Terrible customer service experience. One star.

 

 

Yes, this WAS just a post about car mats and number plates. Sorry about that.

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One thing that the car has been lacking (apart from rear tyres) is cup holders. I'm a prick so like to pick up a coffee on the way to work. Holding a cup kind of gives you licence to be horrible to everyone when you stride into the office as folk normally put your terrible manners down to you not having had your coffee yet.

 

The SLK has literally nowhere to Ballance a cup. WtfMB?!

 

You CAN get cup holders that replace the dash coin tray but prices are obscene and you need the dash out.

 

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Being a cackhanded shitter on a budget, I thought VERY FUCK both of these things.

 

Instead I hopped on eBay and bought a cup holder for a Land Rover and presumed it would fit the SLK centre cubby. Worst comes to the worst, if it doesn't fit, I'll just have to buy a Land Rover.

 

I also made this purchase drunk so it was a nice but puzzling surprise when it landed.

 

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Far more reasonable.

 

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But does it fit? I heard absolutely nobody shout in anticipation.

 

 

The answer is........

 

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Yes it kind of does!

 

Even closes properly.

 

 

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I'll "adjust" it at some point by wrapping loads of black Duct tape round the unit so it's a more expert fit, but it's functional and I'm happy enough.

 

 

No more trying to hold a VENTI LATTE (OR MCDONALDS EQUIVALENT) between my legs whilst driving to work, and I can still be a prick when I get there!

 

Double result.

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Have you just reached your motoring nirvana?

 

There is something to be said about keeping a car a long time so it becomes a familiar friend. It's like marrying vs many one-night stands. You get kicks from one but you get comfort, predicability and reliability. Know the fobiles and also know the positives.

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That is a canny idea. Not sure thered be room on the edge of the seats with two people in the car but I bet I could have got one in the door pocket.

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Have you just reached your motoring nirvana?

 

There is something to be said about keeping a car a long time so it becomes a familiar friend. It's like marrying vs many one-night stands. You get kicks from one but you get comfort, predicability and reliability. Know the fobiles and also know the positives.

He doesn't fit in it..

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That is a canny idea. Not sure thered be room on the edge of the seats with two people in the car but I bet I could have got one in the door pocket.

I had it in both the mk4 Fiesta and the Mondeo, gf didn't find it obtrusive :)

I personally think this one was a strong contender...

 

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All about that <3

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Yes yes this seems like the place for me and people like me.

 

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Acting as fitters only for Avons I purchased from Blackcircles. At half the price quoted at Prestige German Cars. Must be hard for them to make any money on tyres when they're massively undercut by the company they actually provide a service to.

 

 

I hope they appreciate my £1.00 1990s hipster colour coded air freshener.

 

 

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Be nice to have a bit of grip on the back end now.

 

 

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Isn't there a cup holder in the small cubby with the slidy lid, for'ard of the big cubby with the slammy lid?

No. That's the width of a pack of tic tacs. I know this because there's 5 packs of tic tacs in there in a row. It'd need to be a very narrow cup to get in there.

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Prestige German Cars read the codes for my E39 for free. Wasn't exactly there as an official customer though so let us know how it goes!

 

You should have popped past to say hello. I only live round the corner. They were great to be fair. Mine was the oldest and worst car there by a country mile though.

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  • 1 month later...

What a shame Mercedes are binning the SLK range. I still remember being at Motorshow when the SLK and mk3 MR2 Roadster were both new to the market. I was there with family and we were all really impressed with the SLK. MR2 seemed ok, but bit flimsy in contrast.

Ironic that all these years later I ended up choosing an MR2 as a plaything! Brother in law has an 02 SLK though, and there’s no denying that they still look good.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It was all going too well with the SLK. It had been no bother really and I got a bit complacent and expected it to never be any bother.

 

Last week, the bonnet strut failed. No bother, not like it's taking a gear box out. I can fix that.

 

New one arrived from Elizabeth Bay and sons.

 

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It's a weird set up. The gas strut goes inside an oversleeve and you have to unscrew the end piece and swap it over.

 

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Ballance bonnet on head (it's a heavy fucker) and refit.

 

 

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Job jobbed.

 

Now I could get on with the real problem............

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As things were going too well, water unexpectedly started leaking through the underdash into the passenger footwell after heavy rain.

 

 

 

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Not a lot, but suggests there's more stuck somewhere.

 

So. I know there's drain holes either side of the panel underneath the windscreen, under the plastic scuttle panel.

 

To get to the drain holes I've got to remove the wiper arms and scuttle trim cover affair.

 

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Wiper arms put up a bit of a fight but I was pissed off and more stubborn.

 

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Apologies for the offensive Sports Direct bag.

 

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With the wiper arms off I got the scuttle panel off.

 

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There was a LOAD of mud, shit and detritus in the driver's side drain so I started clearing that out with a screwdriver, welding wire, strimmer cable.

 

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Cleared it out and cleaned it up. Then ran a water test.

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