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Newsletter No.124

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March 10th, 2011

Hello and welcome to the latest Blog

What's going on??

Well, quite a bit actually. As mentioned several newsletters (or Blogs as we now call them) ago our monthly Blog is the first casualty when we are busy. The busy patch that seemed to start around 18 months ago is showing no signs of stopping. So given that most customers would rather their parts on time than reading a Blog all we can do is apologize for the lack of Blogs.

Things have been so busy that we have out grown our current staff levels and below you will see details of two career opportunities with us. Also in this newsletter are details of an influx of Classic cars that we will be offering for sale and some other interesting titbits to entertain you.

OZBENZ.

Long story, but due to server issues the forum is down at the moment. But never fear, it will return bigger and stronger than before… (possibly even before I publish this which will be embarrassing).

We sold an SLS!

Not quite, but were associated with the first resale of an SLS here in Australia. See the add that we ran on our website here. The car was sold via Alex Holland Classic Cars, who we work very closely with.

Two positions open at M.B Spares.

- Rack'em, pack'em and stack'em person. Well not quite. We need someone to handle the inward and outward freight. On a busy day we can have 35 separate customer orders that need to be dispatched to all corners of Australia and sometimes all corners of the Globe. Add to this the steady stream of freight coming from overseas and local suppliers and the back dock is a busy place these days. The ideal candidate does not necessarily need to understand car parts, just be able to follow systems and have a good eye for detail in paperwork. Computer skills are also a plus. The position is currently being done by Sandra, who really doesn't know much about how a car works mechanically, but pays a lot of attention to minor details.

- Nickola, our senior technician, is nearing retirement age and we will need to find someone to replace him. His working career with Mercedes-Benz actually started at the factory in Stuttgart so he will be missed. Our workshop does primarily older model cars and has an emphasis on repairing, not just replacing, parts. Unlike a dealership, we do a lot more than just a dozen oil changes a day so the work is challenging, but on the other hand can be very rewarding and never boring.

If you or anyone you know is interested in a career with us please e-mail me john@mbspares.com.au

Classic Cars for sale

Check out the picture at the top of the newsletter (click on them to enlarge them). That is not a Mercedes-Benz club meeting, that is part of our current selection of cars for sale! Here is the story behind them.

For the last few years Sandra and I have worked over Christmas and then had a holiday when everyone else got back, much better, with no where near as many people on the roads. This year we went to visit my parents in Melbourne and came across a stunning pair of cars in a garage not far from my father's house. They are a 1966 230S with 98000 genuine miles on the clock and a 1961 190Db with 97000 miles on the clock. See the picture at the top of the newsletter for the sight that greeted me when I went around to look at them. Both even still had their original Victorian number plates on them with the rego paid up, even though neither car has been driven for some time.

I had both cars trucked back to Canberra and was pleasantly surprised by the general condition of both of them. The 190Db is the best of the pair and is by far the most "original condition" Roundie I have seen for some time. It is now ready for sale and the 230S will be sometime soon.

The Grey 170SD is my fathers, he has been wanting to sell it for some time, however it has been sitting in his storage shed and nowhere near ready for people to look at. Well the time has come for it to go so it has been trucked here from Melbourne and looks great sitting there with the other classics. This is possibly the best (note I don't have the bold claim of "Best in Australia) 170 in Australia and is for sale for a fraction of what it would cost to restore.

Another recent addition to the sales fleet is a 1969 280SL 2+2, this is a very recent addition and will be listed on the website soon.

Interesting stuff.

- No wonder they lost the war. And interesting video about the building of the B24 bomber. I am not into the whole glory of war thing, but find a feat like this truly amazing.

- Want to be the next Australian Top Gear host?? Here is a Video from someone who tried hard, but didn't make the grade.

- Concours 's are great events, but they can also start arguments about what is original and what isn't. If you turned up with this car, I suspect you would settle a few discussions…

- Bored??Try this, look up your birthday and see what happened…

Plastic cars for sale.

OK, they're not really plastic, but displayed beside our current collection of classics they do look a little plastic!! One odd occurrence is that we have two W211 diesel sedans for sale. These are relatively rare so having two for sale at once is unique..

- E270CDI, 2003 model $26500.00

- E280CDI, 2007 model with sports pack $65000.00

- C200, Elegance 1999 model $ 9990.00

- R320CDI, 2005 super mum truck $54990.00

- E320 wagon, 2000 model (Sandra's old car) $14990.00

You can check out all the cars for sale here

G-wagons, take two.

This month sees the delivery of the first new G-wagons in Australia since 1988. Two specifications are available the G350 BlueTec diesel at $161,680 and the G55 AMG at $217,230. However the current model is nothing like what was sold here in 1988.

Whilst the G wagon still rides on an old fashioned style ladder chassis with coil springs and live axles both front and rear, the mechanicals and interior appointments are state of the art latest equipment.

The G350 BlueTec is the first Benz passenger vehicle in Australia to use AdBlue to reduce emissions from the diesel engine. AdBlue is a urea solution that when injected into the hot exhaust system releases ammonia to convert up to 80 per cent of the nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust into harmless nitrogen and water when it reaches the SCR catalytic converter. Only a small amount of AdBlue is required, and Mercedes Benz claims that a single tank of AdBlue is good for about 12,000km or until the next service interval.

The interiors boast the same level of luxury that you would expect to see in an E or S class, with features like: Power leather seats with memory, satellite-navigation, power sunroof and modern audio and air-conditioning systems.

The Australian Defence Force has recently taken delivery of the first vehicles in an order of 1100 G-class vehicles in a variety of configurations using both 4x4 and 6x6 drive systems. This military order of vehicles spawned the public reintroduction of the G.

Cars for dismantling.

Piles of them have come and gone since the last newsletter. In fact February was a record month for us in terms of recycled parts sales! So thanks to all the customers who brought recycled parts. Some of the current stock includes:

A160, 2000 model, good front panels

E230 wagon, 1997 model, burnt interior, but good mechanicals

190E, 1986, worn out, but good panels.

300E, 1988, good engine and auto

380SEL, 1985, yep another one bites the dust

C180, 1994, perfect cream leather interior (will go cheap)



So that's it for another newsletter . Hope you liked what you saw. If you have any ideas or want to contribute any articles, pictures or other material please e-mail me here. Also, don't forget that you can check out the old newsletters here
Thanks, John Green