CharlesM

I have the receipt for the fluid but not the type and it was 5 years/50k miles ago, so I think it should be done.

Just had a more pain free run up into the Chilterns. I think it needs better dipped headlight bulbs and I think I'd like to have a proper going over of the car to check everything, but it is really growing on me. Comfortable, relaxing to drive with a great turn of speed when required, I am getting better control over kickdown points but think the gearchange could be smoother on kickdown - possibly a transmission oil change with the latest recommendations, and new wipers. Checking the service history I think cambelt change would also be in order. Apart from that I'm very happy - it's a lot of really good car in good condition for not much.

Day started badly but has improved. Minicab was so late to collect me for the station that the train was pulling in as the machine dispensed my ticket, I got to it just in time but pulled my calf muscle in the right leg, so all the trip there and back has been pretty painful, now back home with anti-inflammatories starting to do their work. So no cleaning today, a shame as it is bright and beautiful here. Car drove home effortlessly, the only internal flaws that the low fuel light doesn't come on (bulb has been changed) and the cruise control light remains off. Petrol not an issue - I treat old car fuel gauges with considerable scepticism anyway and the cruise works so don't care. Tiny tear in the driver's seat bolster where the leather meets the PVC but just not an issue. Outside a couple more tiny dings but it should come up very well. A few photos (cat lit is from a diesel spill the other day). Very nice to see original dealer plates still on the car. I reserve a bit of judgement until my leg is happier, the car felt silky, refined and effortless but I hate flexing my right foot if it hurts!

Looks great, a very subtle mod - do you plan to fit a badge?

I tend to let the muck accumulate until one day I clean the whole car to distraction. If I get back early enough/weather holds I'll have a real blitz on the coupe tomorrow. I love my Mercs, but the W124s are getting too old to run as a daily, and nothing younger comes close. As my friend with the W124s said, a Merc for £1000 is just going to be a world of pain. My family have all run Hondas (mother on third Jazz, father on second - he is forced to take the old Jazz at a higher price than trade in - and my sister ran a Civic VTEC). So it was about time I joined the petrol club - I ran a Civic 2.2 ctdi for a year but the seats lacked support for my back so very reluctantly traded it in. But a nice V6 3.0 litre VTEC, that's an engine I am really looking forward to getting to know!

Ha - well that rules out that approach! Shame, I've got quite decent at it - the centre console of this W124 was scratched to matt and done by me. Oh well, time to try something different...I have used Farecla G3 on hard cut machine pad to good effect on hard plastic trims before so it may well be worth a try.

With the Mercedes veneer (basically a lot of lacquer on top of micron thick veneer) I take the piece out, flat it with wet 1200 and then wet 2000, until scratching has gone then machine polish it with 400 Menzerna then 2600 (if I have the time). I'm not sure about the composition of this stuff so I'll only do a tiny bit first.

The purple is very pleasing as a colour - dark and distinguished but different from the black cars about (nowt wrong with black, but a bit too ubiquitous for me). If the date works (not sure I can see one yet) I'll be there at any meet, great fan of saying hello in person! Tantalisingly close to the car today with a friend for lunch but tomorrow 11am is the collection time. Really can't wait, now just need to get my niece to offer her services for a taxi run to the station. I wonder if all the times I've been Mr Minicab will be remembered (I better not say it's an old car though, she is a lovely girl but horrifically neo-phile when it comes to cars.)

Shell V Power is excellent stuff and at current prices not painful. Just bought a set of 16in Alloys in the same pattern. Mine need refurbishing and by the time you faff around with taking tyres off and putting the car on bricks, it is a bore. So I found a recently refurbished set on Ebay with almost new Dunlop Sport Bluresponse (my current tyre favourite) for less than the cost of refurbing mine. I'm trying to be disciplined at present as my Mercedes W114 coupe restoration is getting close to peak financial pain.

How funny you should be in Brighton. My principal reason for buying an auto like this is because I help a friend based there with his W124 estate business, so I'm up and down every week. I used to take the Alpina but got stuck in traffic for 3 hours on the M25 with the heavy clutch pedal wreaking havoc with my knee. If you see me honk! I must say how impressed I am with this forum - the information available is beautifully set out and very clear. Since working a lot on the old Mercedes I'm restoring I've become a bit more confident mechanically (competence is another matter) so I would hope to do some work myself. Thanks to all for the welcome, I recognise a lot of kindred spirits.

Thanks - ordered! That and one other thing will hopefully be the grand total of my purchases for the new car! I'm getting better...

Horridly trivial but does anyone happen to know the correct size and design for the wheel centre caps for the Accord Coupe? The ones on my purchase are beyond salvation and I do find a good set of centre caps makes a new car feel a lot perkier. Numerous choices on Ebay and I'm not convinced that I should be ordering without some knowledge. Purple Hs don't appear to feature alas!

Thanks for the reminder about the paint - this purple will have a fair old cobalt content which is also very soft - the only time I've ever done any damage while machine polishing was on the bonnet of my Alpina which was a purple blue - through to black primer in a matter of moments. I am very happy (in fact certain it's the only way to get a Mercedes done) to use quite an aggressive cutting pad with Menzerna 400 fast gloss on a W124, but this I think will be more of a trial. If nothing else, modern glazes get you a long way further than they used to!

Thanks all. Photos to follow when I collect, then I'll be getting out the detailing equipment to start getting the looks to match the mechanicals. Some of the paint has been exposed to what looks like car wash brushes so that might be a bit too much of a trial to sort properly, but very few cars can't be made to look a wee bit better. The internal wood trim is also calling out for a cut and polish. First of all though, some driving! My aim is to avoid money being spent on cosmetics, that is what elbow grease is for! I'm aiming to get as close in finish as this W124 estate being sold by a friend, we spent about 40 hours on the flat non metallic paint and the interior to get it spot on.

Good news, plentiful service history, transmission fluid has been done three times, last time about 18 months ago. The box was smooth as silk on all changes, with kickdown being the only time the change was perceptible. Nice car, fully mechanically maintained (all Honda or Honda specialist) with enthusiast owner (he used to work for Honda UK in Chiswick and has run 2 NSXs). Recent work includes front bushes as well as exhaust and brake master cylinder and pipes. Lots and lots of services in his and the previous owner's time (very rare now to see a V5C with only 1 former owner on a 15 year old car). Very good Continental tyres. Wheels as I'd expect in London had some kerbing and there was a small bubbling in the n/s wheel arch. All the electrical stuff worked ok, A/C freezing. Ride good and drives very sweetly. Perfect for what I was after and has a full years MOT with no advisories, so bought it. I collect on Sunday. Frankly for the price it is pretty much spot on, had the cosmetics been perfect (which I don't really care that much about as I can get most things looking a lot better for not a lot) it would have been a decent amount more. So, just turned from a potential V6 owner to V6 owner awaiting collection! Thanks for the help to date.

What are the correct service intervals for the auto, I've noted the correct oil specs from the technical section. A recent Mercedes W124 auto has given me endless grief so I feel your pain Steve. Edit - found the sticky, every 30,000 miles. Is auto fluid change a recognised part of the Honda service schedule?

The good ones are harder to find certainly applies to many older cars alas. I'm not greatly bothered by miles (in fact low milers always make me think carefully) but informed owners who do regular maintenance and spend on important things really do matter. Anyway I'll see how I get on!

Hi - just introducing myself, I'm a bit of a car nut with numerous old cars floating around, but running a modern Volvo XC60 as my main car. As all my other cars are classics that I don't like to drive frequently, I'm looking at a nice cruiser for when I don't need the Volvo (it's leased and I'm always up to the mileage limit). I've had numerous BMWs (Alpinas B10s mostly) and Mercedes W124s, plus some older Citroens (never again!) I'm keen to move in to a larger engine Honda as another of the great engineering led firms with superb engines. I'm off tomorrow to look at this V6 coupe near me, I'll have a good look at levels, bodywork and history and see how I get on. If anyone knows of a well maintained one let me know!