Just a though on the lack of kickdown. We've had that problem on our '92 300E and Randy, my mechanic, says that he's had several situations where the floor carpet prevents the kickdown from occurring. That's what our problem was...

__________________
Bill Streep
San Antonio
'57 190SL (toy)
'08 S5500 (mine)
'09 CLK550 (wife's)
'06 SLK350 (daughter's)
'11 GLK350 (daughter's)
'03 CLK310 (spare)

thanks to all for the input. i went ahead and picked up the car.

for the mechanicals, my first order of business will be to change oil and tranny fluids, maybe the coolant at some point - i'll have to go look for that pink stuff, have yet to see it in the stores. i
was told the differential oil is never changed - is that correct?

i'd like to solicit your opinions on a good set of plugs. i like bosch platinums for all-around use. i've heard about the berus which are somewhat expensive. what has worked best for you guys?

TIA - great forum!

Do not use the Bosch platinum plugs. They have a tendency to break! FOr more specific info, run a search. Go with the regular BOSCH copper plugs set to OEM specs (gap).
As for the coolant, you can only buy it (to my knowledge...) (in the US anyway) at Mercedes' dealerships, and it's MERCEDES coolant, simply. So you won't find it at your local auto parts stores. I believe I payed about $11 for the bottle.
Also, the differential fluid should be changed every 30k miles (or at a 'B' service, aka 30k mile service). And the coolant should be changed every 2 years, I'd change it along with the other fluids.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE CAR THOUGH!

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

thanks for the tip David,

i just used the platinums since it appeared that i could get away with changing them every two years on our family van. i always liked the bosch copper cores anyway.

re: pink coolant - there are many variants with commercially available "long life" ones which i haven't checked out yet. audi has their g12 "lifetime" coolant (yeah right). i am not able to verify anything about them aside from the fact from their incompatibility with ethylene glycol, prestone-type products.

cheers

My VW HATED the platinum plugs, so I switched to copper. I think it's more of an issue with the older engines.

Now that the tune up intervals are longer, the switch to platinum plugs is for longevity more than performance. Whatever you decide to use, put some anti-seize compound before installing the plugs. After a few years, the plugs pretty much weld themselves to the head, making removal best left to "divine" intervention. You can do a search and find all sorts of "I can't get the g@#(@#mn plugs off!" and "F@&#ing plug broke off!!!"

I paid $10 for the pink stuff at the dealership. Cheap insurance.

Enjoy the car for many miles of service!!!

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car