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So I've got this Mercedes and I have questions

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Why did you need the Merc then?

Because he stripped a bolt on the Passat just before going on holiday. Do keep up 🙂


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 12:20 am
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Of course I'm selling the Passat. I'm going to get it fixed first though.

The Merc wasn't the ideal purchase from the peace of mind standpoint, but as said I didn't have a lot of options and I was under a lot of stress. And it's a great car in other ways. Really was brilliant on holiday.


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:04 am
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For stripped thread/stuck bolts etc just get the gas torch on it - can't be stuck if it's liquid!

I'm with molgrips on this one though, I often avoid asking questions on here due to the pile-on from folk. Just not worth it.


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:11 am
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On a tangent, what I really want to know is how @nickc is getting on with rotaku.

(CLWRota for the win by the way)


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 7:06 pm
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What you all have to remember is that just because I am thinking about something doesn’t mean that it’s a problem that I want someone to solve. I usually just post asking a specific question, and then you all pile in telling me what to do. This is actually far more stressful than anything the car actually does

This is interesting, I'm fairly new to this forum and find it..fairly helpful, certainly people try to be, perhaps too much and perhaps not always very well, I don't read much sarcasm other than a few attempts at being funny(myself included) but then I'm used to forums that you can get shredded for having the audacity to have an opinion that differs, this place is a breath of fresh air, you mustn't take things personally.


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 10:36 pm
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@espressoal

It's hard not to take it personally after the umpteenth time. It grinds you down. There are people here that think they are hilarious but actually just tedious. Wait until the umpteenth time the front page has 10 hilarious clone threads and see if it's still amusing.


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 10:55 pm
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I’m used to forums that you can get shredded for having the audacity to have an opinion that differs

Welcome! 😀


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:03 pm
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On a tangent, what I really want to know is how @nickc is getting on with rotaku.

who ever thought that giving GPs holidays would be a good idea, needs a stern talking to, that's all I'm saying


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:04 pm
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who ever thought that giving GPs holidays would be a good idea, needs a stern talking to, that’s all I’m saying

I assume there are also primary care equivalents of ‘Dr A and Mr B won’t work with each other, Dr C doesn’t work Wednesdays, Dr D doesn’t do vascular or obs, it’s Dr E’s ITU block…”?


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:14 pm
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I’m fairly new to this forum

Where's PP when you need him...


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:38 pm
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This is interesting, I’m fairly new to this forum

I'm not, I hang around here all the time, but there are certain kinds of threads that promote disapproval and yes, a bit of mockery. And certain posters have a knack for posting them from time to time. It's often stuff like where someone asks a question and people say 'why do you want to know that why don't you just do something else?' and then people like me respond with a deeper explanation and that ends up being ridiculed or torn apart in some other way, then I end up trying to defend myself and it all starts to get personal.


 
Posted : 22/08/2021 11:43 pm
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Where’s PP when you need him…

Seriously you have a member called 'PP' ha! can't wait to meet him.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:21 am
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PerchyPanther, he's been AWOL for a while actually. Fae Wishy.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:30 am
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Mol, to be fair, you asked in your first post if the car was a liability with expensive failures waiting to happen.

We now know that it has corrosion problems, unsuitable wheels and other issues.

You asked a question.
You received answers.
You ignored the advice given in many of those answers.

Basic knowledge of human nature would suggest that this is going to result in a little light piss taking.
I refuse to believe that you are naive enough not to know that this would be the inevitable outcome.

The Merc wasn’t the ideal purchase from the peace of mind standpoint, but as said I didn’t have a lot of options and I was under a lot of stress.

A horrible situation. I have had a car fail the day before a holiday. In fact, it happened twice with the same car.
I feel for you.
But you now have time to look at this rationally and perhaps to seriously consider the advice you have been given.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:32 am
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Molly, I know you're not new to the internet, but I learned a long time ago* that unless you ask a [b]very[/b] specific question, with no possible way it can be misinterpreted, asking a general question on a general forum is like asking a bunch of scaffolders to solve your Rubik's cube.

You'll be told: you're thick, it's not a Rubik's cube, best thing is to bin it, it doesn't need solving, most will just hit it with a hammer because that's all they know, some genius will peer over their solved sudoku and say nothing but you'll never hear their opinion and everyone that's left will tell you that you should have bought a jigsaw, because that's what they did.

*Still haven't learned


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:41 am
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We now know that it has corrosion problems, the wrong wheels and other issues.

I think you've completely misunderstood.

- It doesn't have corrosion problems, it has some light corrosion on swingarms that one guy thought be treated. Most cars have that at that age (if the swingarms are steel), doesn't mean the bodywork is full of holes.

- The wheels aren't wrong, I just fancy changing them.

- According to the specialists it doesn't have any problems. I think that the engine mounts are tired and I fancy replacing them, but that is to be expected on that car at that age.

You asked for advice.
You received advice.
You ignored the advice, which has not come as a surprise.

No, I didn't ask for advice, I asked specific questions about the car, from people who might've had experience of these cars. I did NOT ask what I should do. However, people queued up to give me bad advice - I was told to hand the car back which I am NOT ENTITLED TO DO; I was told to take it back to the dealer to ask for them to fix it, WHICH I DID; I was told to leave it on their doorstep and demand a refund, BUT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO GROUNDS TO DO THAT and they'd have laughed at me.

Honestly, it's as if some people are deliberately mis-reading the thread.

@bearnecessitites yeah you're right, in my stressed out state I forgot the basics.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:41 am
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I’m not, I hang around here all the time, but there are certain kinds of threads that promote disapproval and yes, a bit of mockery. And certain posters have a knack for posting them from time to time. It’s often stuff like where someone asks a question and people say ‘why do you want to know that why don’t you just do something else?’ and then people like me respond with a deeper explanation and that ends up being ridiculed or torn apart in some other way, then I end up trying to defend myself and it all starts to get personal.

I was on forums before they invented the internet, there are always people who tear you down, it's just a thing, they sit there in their pants behind a keyboard and think they are winning at something, they're not, they're sitting in their pants being a dick, it was their destiny.

What you might want to avoid is asking a question then letting it become a long running saga, from responses in this thread I'm guessing this was not your first autotragedy..not that it is but it seems to have turned into one, the key is that when there is nothing left to say, and you have just spend two and a half painful minutes locating the thread and finding where you are(the forums I was on before they invented the internet were more modern) then you feel compelled to say something, and the easy option given no new news to comment on, is ask why or similar.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:53 am
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OK Mol.

You'll notice I changed a couple of aspects of my post before you replied.

No, I didn’t ask for advice, I asked specific questions about the car, from people who might’ve had experience of these cars. I did NOT ask what I should do.

You asked......

Is it a liability with expensive failures waiting to happen?

Did you genuinely expect a yes/no answer without anyone offering advice?
Sorry, people just don't work that way.

I'm not here to argue with you, as I've said previously, good luck with it.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you ever genuinely ask for advice on here I think some of your responses on this thread might have an adverse effect on the amount of people willing to provide it.

Peace.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:10 am
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I’m not, I hang around here all the time, but there are certain kinds of threads that promote disapproval and yes, a bit of mockery. And certain posters have a knack for posting them from time to time. It’s often stuff like where someone asks a question and people say ‘why do you want to know that why don’t you just do something else?’ and then people like me respond with a deeper explanation and that ends up being ridiculed or torn apart in some other way, then I end up trying to defend myself and it all starts to get personal.

I call this phenomenon “Renton’s Dustbin”. It’s exactly how decent people asking questions get hounded off of forums by other keyboard warriors. You know we’ve had this with Renton, Hora and Weeksy had a bad time recently, I’ve experienced it and there are undoubtably others.

Just let it go. Let the thread die, don’t read it again and stop providing ammo for everyone to comment against as I suspected even the well intentioned is being read with a bit of mental stress that’s just tiring you out now. If unfortunately you don’t have your answers quietly slope off and use other sources.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 8:53 am
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I'll update it with car things, it's meant to be a thread about cars and hopefully we can have some car chat.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 8:58 am
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bearnecessities' comment is genius :clapping hands:


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 9:08 am
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Now then. My VW Passat has developed a squeaking/whistling noise when I turn on the AC. Any Passat owners on here got any tips?


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 9:10 am
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new rubber band / drive belt on the compressor?
some oil for the blower fan bearing?

standard disclaimer, I've never fixed a squeaky AC, although I do own a Passat


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 9:32 am
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Now then. My VW Passat has developed a squeaking/whistling noise when I turn on the AC.

I leave my AC on all the time, keeps everything in good nick.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 10:10 am
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My VW Passat has developed a squeaking/whistling noise when I turn on the AC. Any Passat owners on here got any tips?

In the words of a Haynes manual...

"and simply remove the AC unit..."

Definitely take the car to pieces. Don't forget to post plenty of pictures


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 10:17 am
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Sounds like a belt. Hard to say though. Do you mean actual AC or just the fan?


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 10:47 am
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Is there a decent Merc owners'/enthusiast forum where you can get a more informed answer without the noise? You'll likely find other people who've had the same issues and worked out the best solution. I've found the water-cooled VW forums brilliant for advice on specific faults, part suppliers and specialist independents and no-one's ever been snide or condescending with me.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 11:13 am
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Yeah I'd thought of that. And a popular opinion is.. engine mounts...


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 11:22 am
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“and simply remove the AC unit…”

lol.

Internet says easy. Mr Knob spends an hour upside down in the passenger footwell, swears, says not. I do suspect I just need to put a squirt on GT-85 on a spinning thing.

But to get the AC unit out I have to remove the glove box assembly which gets uncomfortably close to air bag gubbins.

I am out.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 11:59 am
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I do suspect I just need to put a squirt on GT-85 on a spinning thing.

My old Polo had a terrible squeaky rattle. After beating the crap out of the interior at various points I realised it was the fan. I fixed it by spraying plenty of WD40 into the air intake in the scuttle drain with the fan going. Worked well for ages til I got rid of it.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:22 pm
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Leaves in the pollen filter


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:28 pm
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which gets uncomfortably close to air bag gubbins.

what d'you mean you don't like to have your head next to some electrically fired chemical explosives...what could possibly go wrong?


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:31 pm
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Leaves in the pollen filter

This wont fix the engine mounts or the air con.

HTH


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:46 pm
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but will stop the trains


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:58 pm
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WD40 into the air intake in the scuttle drain with the fan going

Ah, crafty!


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 12:59 pm
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But it reminds me I need to change my pollen filter, good call there.

Aircon is witchcraft to me, but there are only a couple of moving parts to squeak, fan bearings? belt, bearings inside the motor thing that turns the belt?

Quite like the idea of a continually running 'car problem' thread.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:01 pm
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Quite like the idea of a continually running ‘car problem’ thread.

Or even a non-running car problem thread 😉


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:10 pm
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wwaswas
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Welcome back!


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:11 pm
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WD40 into the air intake in the scuttle drain with the fan going

Well, WD40 into the intakes worked well enough for FAA Buccaneers.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:17 pm
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Quite like the idea of a continually running ‘car problem’ thread.

Would we be allowed to offer advice? 🙂


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:22 pm
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Yeah I’d thought of that. And a popular opinion is.. engine mounts…

Take that, binners!


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:42 pm
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Would we be allowed to offer advice?

Only if asked for 😉

Even my wife heard the vibration when I pointed it out. I think that I've had the car long enough to notice it and I know when it's going to happen, but a test driving mechanic won't necessarily. She also thought the car more grumbly sounding since we got it. A bit like me obvs.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 1:48 pm
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There are people here that think they are hilarious but actually just tedious.

"I'm in this post and I don't like it."

However, people queued up to give me bad advice – I was told to hand the car back which I am NOT ENTITLED TO DO; I was told to take it back to the dealer to ask for them to fix it, WHICH I DID; I was told to leave it on their doorstep and demand a refund, BUT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO GROUNDS TO DO THAT and they’d have laughed at me.

Yes you are and yes you do. Your statutory consumer rights don't change even if you use capital letters. If you buy a used car from a dealer then you have the same rights as new, you can take it back for a refund within the first 30 days if it proves faulty.

It's not bad advice, it's just advice you didn't want to hear and refused to listen to. That's not everyone else's fault.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 3:54 pm
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If you buy a used car from a dealer then you have the same rights as new, you can take it back for a refund within the first 30 days if it proves faulty.

Yes but as I said at the time, what constitutes a fault is not well defined and open to a lot of arguing. As we have established, there's plenty of doubt.


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 6:41 pm
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Sorry if I've missed the bit where you took it back to the selling dealer (and asked them to fix it) - I've read through the thread and had the impression you'd taken it to an indy Merc garage (and others places) for an assessment. What did the original dealer say when you took it back and asked them?


 
Posted : 23/08/2021 7:00 pm
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