lomoto Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Hi Guys thought I drop in and say hello !! ... missing my 350z still Just got back from a trip through France and Spain...in my 500SL (not without incident's !! ) mileage at start mileage at end on the ferry to Calais on route ..stopped off at a few War Memorials around Arras, it is not until you see the quantity of these dotted around the North French countryside do you realise the huge loses incurred in the 1st World War !! after this shot the weather really warmed up and the roof came down on the car..which was running smoothly as ever Stopped off at Chalons en Champagne the first night ! (couldn't get the car in for this shot ! ) Next day set off for the Bordeaux region.. reached a lovely B&B set in fantastic grounds and run by a lovely lady and a fantastic cook !! when arriving at this stop to my horror I found oil running out of the L/H side grill on the wing !!.... checking the levels under the bonnet the power steering fluid seemed very low also the ABC tank !! ( I had the car serviced only 1000 miles before setting off at my local Main Mercedes dealer ! ) ABC is the Merc term for the sports suspension which is automatically controlled a quick ring to my local dealer in England couldn't give any clues to the problem or cure ! and was told to try the Emergency helpline no., even though my car is well out of any Mercedes warranty the very helpful people on the end of the phone told me that as my car was serviced correctly it is still covered by the Mobilife warranty and they would have my car collected and taken to the nearest Merc dealer (in Villafranche in the this case, about 25kms down the road ) Within one and a half hours the car was being loaded on a low loader and I waved it off on it's way ! a few phone calls later on in the day revealed that the problem was a sensor on the ABC unit..and it would take 24 hours to get the part and fit, so my wife and I had to endure another night in this lovely French billet .. the drawing room the pool another night and another great meal at the B&B and at 3pm next day the car was ready to go..out host wouldn't hear of us getting a taxi down to Villafranche, and drove us down the 25kms herself.. The car was waiting for us to collect freshly valeted and looking very polished , the sort of service you expect from a Main Dealer.. Mind you the bill for the repair came to the best part of 1000 euros so a little polish is only to be expected !! I am a little disappointed that such an expensive part failed on my car given that it had only covered such a small mileage, but I suppose my car is such an age now as to be expected ?? never had any probs like this with the 350z the part in question the car from now on never gave any more problems , but the mechanic at the Merc dealer did give me a litre of oil if any of the levels settled over the next few miles !! with missing a day out for repairs we just made for the Spanish border and got the pedal down, stopping off at Girona for a cheap hotel before blasting down to a villa we had rented for a week near Javea on the Costa Blanca..the car ran well and the roof was never put up for the next week nice bar at Javea (with gratuitous car shot LOL ) made sure the Villa had a proper garage !! had a glorious week down in Spain and a uneventful trip back home stopping off at few French B&B's on the way back (all the B&B's were found in the excellent Alastair Sawday's guide book, none costing more than 70 euros all in, even stopped at a lovely Chateau in the Pyrenees !! ) Car averaged about 24mpg overall, which isnt bad for a 5 litre engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Looking good Tim! Love the SL. Glad you're having a nice time. I love the pyrenees region, you get good weather going over the range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Looking good Tim! Love the SL. Glad you're having a nice time. I love the pyrenees region, you get good weather going over the range? Hi Stew, yes the weater was brilliant up to coming home , when we got about 100kms from Calais and it p1ssed it down..but cant complain as we had 3 weeks of sun and got burnt to a crisp with the roof down...hope you are well and the Zed is going good ? weather was a bit overcast though going across the Millau bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Those pics are great Tim and its good to hear from you. Nice to see that you managed to slum your way around What a great car to do the trip in No shirts on show though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 She's looking good Tim, just a shame the car is not standing the test of time as well Seriously though, thanks for taking the time of sharing your trip and pics with us - looks like you had a great time even if MB reliability dosen't match Nissans It is amazing just how many ex-ZED owners keep in touch on this forum - and I'm glad one of them is Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Good to hear from you again, Tim. Looks like it was a great trip and that sounds like a good recommendation about the guide book - must look for it for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Looks a great trip Tim I'd love to do something like this in the Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walbertonio Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Looks like a great trip, love that SL too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Top trip Tim, +1 on lack of shirt pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Some neat pics there Tim. Just not the same without the Sunset though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Hello Tim, great to hear from you and great pics too Hope the Mrs and your shirts are keeping well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maccaman Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Great looking trip you & the good lady did there Tim. The B&B guide sounds a great idea for anyone wanting reliable & cheap accommodation. Now just imagine how good it would have been in the Zed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanS16 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Hello Tim, great to hear from you and great pics too Hope the Mrs and your shirts are keeping well That shot from the Millau bridge is awesome! Glad to hear you have a good time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shuck Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Really enjoyed reading your little story and seeing the pics. Gave me a few ideas for a trip in the summer. Love the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Great little write up - would have preferred it was in the old zed.......... did your wife realise you were pretending to take photos of her when really it was the car you were photographing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Great little write up - would have preferred it was in the old zed.......... did your wife realise you were pretending to take photos of her when really it was the car you were photographing? Hi all , nice to see all the familiar names on here...and yes Nixy my wife knows me too well to think anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Looks like a great trip Tim, wish I could do something similar in the Zed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 This looks a fantastic journey - it has just confirmed that we don't need flights for next years' trip down to Spain- gonna drive it! Tim - would appreciate the details of a couple of the stop-overs you made - what's the book you mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 This looks a fantastic journey - it has just confirmed that we don't need flights for next years' trip down to Spain- gonna drive it! Tim - would appreciate the details of a couple of the stop-overs you made - what's the book you mentioned? The book you need is Alastairs Sawday's French Bed And Breakfast's (I got my copy from Amazon ) Places I stopped at with websites - at Chalons en Champagne... http://www.hotel-pasteur.fr/ang/hotel_ang.htm at Lancie (Beaujolais region , where the car broke down..Fantastic food make sure you have dinner here..5 courses with as much wine as you want for £25 head !! ) ... http://www.lespasquiers.com/index.php?l ... &l_idpa=19 at the Chateau Massal in Bez-Esparon (near Millau Bridge in the Pyrenees ) ... http://cevennes-massal.com/ at Briare in the Loire Valley.... http://lathiau.club.fr/index.htm all these mentioned have very secure parking in their own grounds if you need villa details I can provide them as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Good to hear from you, stranger. Looks like you had a fantastic trip and the Merc would be a great car to do it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 that must be the longest post you've ever written tim Looks like you had a great time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 that must be the longest post you've ever written tim Looks like you had a great time Hi Mike, and I had to post it after I got rid of my Zed... I did post this on the Merc owners website , but they are such a boring forum , nobody evens bothers to comment on posts.. The guys on here dont realise what an excellent site this is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 that must be the longest post you've ever written tim Looks like you had a great time Hi Mike, and I had to post it after I got rid of my Zed... I did post this on the Merc owners website , but they are such a boring forum , nobody evens bothers to comment on posts.. The guys on here dont realise what an excellent site this is Thats why my post count will never reach the dizzy heights you two have achieved as I always write too much We miss your one liners Tim (and the shirts) But hey, why you join us on the HOON in September, sure Stew will let you blast round with in the Merc Unless of course you feel you couldn't keep up...... I could go on but..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 that must be the longest post you've ever written tim Looks like you had a great time Hi Mike, and I had to post it after I got rid of my Zed... I did post this on the Merc owners website , but they are such a boring forum , nobody evens bothers to comment on posts.. The guys on here dont realise what an excellent site this is Thats why my post count will never reach the dizzy heights you two have achieved as I always write too much We miss your one liners Tim (and the shirts) But hey, why you join us on the HOON in September, sure Stew will let you blast round with in the Merc Unless of course you feel you couldn't keep up...... I could go on but..... thanks for the invite Colin, I will let you know.. I think I have done enough miles in the SL so will have to bring the CLK out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 We all look forward to a guest appearance at Zedfest Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.