Merc - new brakes

Yay - it's been ages but I finally got round to pulling a car apart again. OK, no massive modification here - just a straightforward brake replacement - but nice to get my hands dirty anyway and saved ~£150 compared to having Merc do it for me!

FS: Smart Roadster Brabus Xclusive

Kris has decided to sell her Smart Roadster - so, if you know anyone that would like it pass this on to them.  It's black/black with ALL the usual Smart toys (flappy-paddle gear box, auto roof, air-con, elec everything...).  It's a 55 plate, MOT Sep, Tax Feb, full Smart service history (last in Nov) and has all keys, receipts, etc.  There's more info on Pistonheads (link in title).

Caterham

A and I went to Caterham today (A is thinking of buying one).  I got to have a test drive which was fantastic.  Also got to sit in the R500 that was on Top Gear (photo).  More photos linked in title...

Hubcap Lost - Replaced

I lost a hubcap a couple of weeks ago whilst in the UK heading for the ferry. Very annoying looking at the car all week with one black wheel. Anyway, Merc kindly replaced it under warranty and I am, as of an hour ago, back to 4-silver-wheeled symmetry again. Thanks Merc!

Renault F1 @ Silverstone

K and I were invited to Renault's World Series at Silverstone. Had a great day with the hightlight being K getting to sit in Alonso's car from last year. Thanks to RS for making the day so awesome! Pics linked in title.

T's RS4

T popped in at lunchtime to show me his new toy - a black RS4! What a car too - looks mean, feels solid and sounds awesome. There's a 'S' button on the steering wheel - when you press it the exhaust valves open and the seats move to grip you more. We took it for a little run, the speed is amazing (0-60 in about 4.5s). It pulls like a train despite being naturally aspirated. I now have major car envy...

Merc Service

After 7 months the Merc is due its 15k service. Only niggles so far are a couple of quiet rattles and a rubbish rear wiper. Best part of the service is it gets returned cleaned! :)

Stolen Wing Mirror

Came down to the car this morning to head off for work and noticed that the passenger side wing mirror glass was missing. Not broken off, but carefully removed. I then noticed another 4 or 5 cars on the same side of the road with the same thing. I presume some drunk kids thought it was a good idea :(

So, reported it to the Police and popped down to Merc where they promptly fitted a new one.

Not a great way to start the weekend...

Roadster Foglight Foils

I fitted some foils to K's roadster yesterday. They get rid of the massive silver fog/indicator backs that stood out so strangely on the front of an otherwise all-black car. I think they look great :)

Roadrage - Chased by an Audi

I was on my way home from the office yesterday evening when I was the subject of some incredible road rage! I was nearly home, just coming off the motorway. I was in the outside lane. I overtook a lorry and started to indicate into lane 1 and then to the slip road. As I moved to lane 1 a silver Audi estate came bombing up the inside having undertaken the lorry into the slip lane. I took avoiding action and narrowly missed him. So, I sounded my horn and flashed my lights. We both left the slip road and stopped at the entrance to the roundabout of Junction 7. At this point he wound his window down and started shouting and swearing. I shouted back and then proceeded onto the A602 leaving him behind (he was too busy shouting to notice the gap in the traffic).

The next thing I know I see him carving through traffic behind me along the A602 - driving like an idiot. He overtakes me before the roundabout leading down onto the B197. At this point he slams on his brakes at the exit from the roundabout stopping me and several other cars - this is now the second time I have had to take avoiding action to stop hitting him. He waits for a bit and then heads off again - I follow at some distance. At the bottom of the road on the London Road roundabout he stops again - so do I. This time he puts the car in reverse and comes for me. I scoot round his outside and leave him at the roundabout - this is getting a bit weird. He takes up pursuit again - roaring past me up Stevenage Road before slamming on his brakes again (but not stopping). I let him head into Knebworth before turning off and loosing him.

It was certainly an interesting experience - I can only presume he had a very bad day and my sounding the horn after his undertake threw him over the edge. Still, I've never witnessed road rage this bad ever before! I only wish I had remembered his number plate in order to report him.

K's car is dead :(

I was awoken this morning by a worried looking K - her car would not start. It shows a one-bar error code when you try and start it. We tried the usual - fuses - disconnect battery - but nothing worked. In the end we had to be towed to the Smart garage for them to look at. They think it is as simple as recoding the keys - I am worried it is a broken immobiliser or key sender unit. We await their findings...

Update: car is in overnight with suspected dead ECU :( We'll know more tomorrow...

£600 job, Warranty Direct claiming they will not cover it despite salesman specifically saying this part would be covered when we bought the policy - let battle commence...!

MINI gone...

With just under 64,000 miles, 0 miles of fuel left in the tank (well, actually 0 turned up as I left Knebworth so it is more like -3 miles) and 3 years and 9 days old I handed the MINI over this morning. I am very sad to see it go - it has been such a fun car to drive. I'll miss its crazy under steer, ability to carry speed through roundabouts and the hugging you got from the sports seats. I'll also miss its retro looks and sculpted interior. One thing I won't miss is the lack of space for my right leg on motorways - about the only thing I can say I did not like about the car.

This afternoon I fly to Stuttgart and then on Friday I pick up the A-Class straight from the factory. Home again on Sat. One chapter begins as the other closes...

Mercedes Collection - SORTED!

It's all booked and confirmed. J and I will be travelling with BA, business class, to Stuttgart. From there we pick a taxi to Rastatt for an overnight in a local hotel. The next morning we get the factory tour and pick up the new car. From there we head North to the Hockenheim F1 circuit. Form there North-West to the Nurburgring where we plan to do a sightseeing lap. After that we are staying at one of the most famous Ring hotels (the one you can see on every console game of the ring - see picture). We'll drink beer and watch the public lapping the ring from the balcony until 19:45 when it closes for the night. The next morning we scoot through Belgium and then France to catch the Eurotunnel back. A great weekend trip!

New GPS

It was a bitter pill to swallow but I had no choice but to order my new car without built in GPS. I have gotten so used to it in the MINI and it will be sorely missed. However, it does mean I have had the excuse to go and buy the latest TomTom - a 730T. It's fairly slim, has a 4.3" screen and covers all of Europe. Best thing is its ability to take traffic flow into account when planning a route - it knows the M25 on Friday afternoon is busier than Tue morning for example. It's first outing will be to get me back home from the factory in Germany!

LT58 NEJ

Mercedes called - my car is ready! Much earlier than expected. I have managed to organise the time from work, applied for the flights/etc and convinced (didn't take much) J to come along too. We leave on Thu 18th and will have the car back by Sat 20th. Should be awesome!

The garage gave me a HUGE list of number plates to chose from. None of them were any good or made sense and all started LT58. In the end I went for NEJ to remind K of the answer should she want to borrow my nice new car :)

MI CABLE KIT

The media interface for the A-Class came in this morning. It will eventually allow me to connect my iPod to the car (as well as AUX or USB stick).

MINI's broken...

Oh no - it was doing so well. I got in the MINI last night and the engine management light didn't go out. Phoned MINI Emergency and they said I should drive it home and then drive it in to the garage tomorrow - no need for a tow but get it looked at asap. Took it in this morning but they cannot look at it immediately so have left it with them. They wouldn't give me a spare car as I'd driven it in! So, now I wait. I need to be in Bury for 14:00 so if it is not looked at by 11:15 I'll have to get a train which will be over 4 hours of travelling!!! EEK!

Update - took K's car to work instead - it's fun driving with the top off :)

Update - turned out the O2 sensor had died and needed replacing. Car back with me by the end of the day.

Mercedes Personal Collection

I should have the order for my next work car in by then end of this week. As a bit of fun I am going to use the Mercedes Personal Collection service. They'll fly me business to Germany, taxi me from the airport to the hotel, provide dinner and breakfast with overnight accomodation. In the morning they'll taxi me to the factory and give me a tour. I then pick up the car and get to drive it home with insurance, transit plates and Eurotunnel included. The best bit - it is free!

Merc re-spec

I had to re-spec the Merc as a load of options changed with the new-look car coming in Sept. A shame as I lost some good options (climate control), but gained others (auto-parking) :) The new spec is:

A150 Classic SE, black with black
Exterior sight and light pack (auto wipers, lights, mirror)
Seat comfort pack (adjustable lumbar and cushion angle)
Cruise Control/limiter
Leather wheel, gear and handbrake
Centre arm rest
Panoramic fixed glass roof
Multi-contour driver's seat
Active park-assist
Adjustable steering column
6CD changer with multimedia interface (iPod control)

Here's a demo of the 'Active park assist' :)

New Car Decision - Mercedes

So, I made my mind up for my next car. I went for the Mercedes (a close contender last time actually). The new new MINI was good but just not as exciting as the last. The Merc is obviously quite different but the major benefits are how quiet it is on the motorway and how comfortable it is over long distances. In fact one of the main reasons for this decision is that the Merc has a place for your right foot when you are on the motorway with cruise on. The MINI had none so your foot was hooked uneder the clutch/break pedals. This meant you sat with a twist - not nice to your right knee in the long term.

As standard the car comes with fogs, ABS/ESP, Hill-Start, selective damping suspension, one-touch direction indicators, multi-function steering wheel, parametric steering, trip computer, lots of airbags and a tyre pressure loss warning system. The new 2009 MY that I am getting also comes with a stop-start engine management with regenerative breaking to cut down emissions.

Here's the car I have chosen: Mercedes Benz A-Class A150 3-door

Classic SE in Night Black with Black Interior
Exterior Sight and Light Pack (auto mirror/lights/wipers)
Seat Comfort Pack
Speedtronic Cruise Control and Limiter
Leather Steering Wheel, Gearknob and Handbreak
Central Arm Rest with Storage
Luxury Dual-Zone Climate Control
Parktronic (front/rear audio/visual parking sensors)
Steering Column Adjustable for Reach
Speaker System Upgrade with Centre Speaker and Bass
iPod Integration

I know, I know - the Sat-Nav is missing but I am going to get a TomTom 930T this time round. I also had to forego heated seats - to be fair I hardly use them on the MINI. The car will be delivered September 1st (first day of new 58 registration plates) - can't wait!