Newsletter No.101 New Mercedes-Benz Clubcard
Newsletter Number 101
24th July 2006
Welcome to newsletter number 101! Wondering what happened to the newsletter? Things are busy, see below for an explanation. This newsletter we have some great news for all Mercedes-Benz club members about your new membership cards and pictures of the new CL600. We also have our usual line up of articles for your enjoyment.
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks John and Sandra Green.
Why is the newsletter late?
Good question! I started to type this Newsletter on the 27th of June, but since then things have been a bit busy. The second instalment of the M.B Spares & Service history will have to wait for the next newsletter. The biggest project that is occupying my time is the Stock clearance that is discussed in a separate item below. Apart from that we have also been up to the following:
- Sandra and I sent a week in Vanuatu, without the kids! First holiday on our own that was not work related for 14 years! This had been planned for some time and of course was only a week after the bulk buy of spares listed below, typical Murphy's law that the two would happen so close to each other. For anybody thinking of a holiday in the South Pacific I can recommend Vanuatu! They are a wonderfully content country and a real joy to visit. We stayed on an Island in the middle of Port Vila, which is the Capital city. Vanuatu has recently been voted the Happiest Country on the planet by the New Economics Foundation.
- It was the end of the Financial year and we had to do our annual stock take. This was further complicated by a hiccup with the conversion that we did last year in our software that handles all of our new parts. We have over 3400 new parts on file and had to add an extra field to every record before we could process the stock take. However, as a result of this we will now be able to look up parts faster for you when you ring or call in.
- We have had an extraordinary amount of staff on sick leave. This has backed up our workshop a little and we would apologise if this has effected you. At the moment we are booked out about a week for regular servicing and about a month for major engine/transmission work. However, we always leave a little time for emergency breakdown work for regular customers. Providing it is nothing too serious we can normally get you back on the road the next day.
New Mercedes-Benz Club cards now
available.
All Mercedes-Benz clubs in Australia and around the world have a governing body. That body is managed by DaimlerChrysler and is called the "Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Club International" or the MBCCCI for short. At the recent national rally held here in Canberra I spoke with the representative that came out from Germany about their new Club cards and the associated website. The website was only in German, however they have just released the English version. The URL iswww.mercedes-benz-clubs.com, to convert it to English you need to go to the bottom of the first page and click on the link that says English. Some pages are in both English and German so if you find instructions in German on other pages just scroll down until you find the English ones. The text below is from an e-mail sent to me by Thilo Wessel who is the web master for the MBCCCI.
A few weeks ago, MBCCCI introduced its Mercedes-Benz ClubCard. More than 20,000 of these cards have been distributed to the members of the German Mercedes-Benz Clubs alone. However, since many members still have questions concerning the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard, and the associated offerings are being continually expanded, we have decided to help by providing the following information.
Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Club International GmbH (MBCCCI)
MBCCCI is the central umbrella organization for all Mercedes-Benz brand
clubs. There are a total of 68 officially recognized Mercedes-Benz Clubs
worldwide, with more than 75,000 members. This year, a uniform
Mercedes-Benz ClubCard was introduced for all Mercedes-Benz Club members
around the world.
The Mercedes-Benz ClubLounge is online
The Mercedes-Benz ClubLounge provides information on Mercedes-Benz
ClubCard offerings, and it has a number of special features, including a
member forum, prize competitions and a dealer discount product list. The
ClubLounge is currently still accessible to all visitors. Once all the
Mercedes-Benz ClubCards have been distributed to the Mercedes-Benz brand
clubs, card-holders will have to use their ClubCard ID and a password to
log into the ClubLounge.
You can find the Mercedes-Benz ClubLounge at
http://www.mercedes-benz-clubs.com
Museum admission ticket discounts
The Mercedes-Benz ClubCard entitles club members to discount prices for
admission tickets to many museums in Germany. In the new Mercedes-Benz
Museum in Stuttgart, for example, holders of the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard
receive a 50-percent discount on both individual tickets and yearly passes!
Discounts are granted upon presentation of the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard at
the following museums:
· New Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart (Germany)
· Dr. Carl-Benz Museum, Ladenburg (Germany)
· Technik Museum Sinsheim, Sinsheim (Germany)
· Auto & Technik-Museum Speyer, Speyer (Germany)
· Boxenstop Auto- und Spielzeug-Museum, Tübingen (Germany)
· Museum Autovision, Altlussheim (Germany)
· Deutsches Uhren-Museum, Furtwangen (Germany)
· Unimog Museum, Gaggenau (Germany)
· Erlebnispark Nürburgring, Nürburg (Germany)
Mercedes-Benz Club shop now open
Mercedes-Benz ClubCard holders can order more than 200 different items
from the Mercedes-Benz collections at the new online shop
(
www.mercedes-benz-club-collection.com). Scale models, watches, pins and
much more can now be purchased around the clock at discounts of at least
ten percent.
Dealer discount product list
This discount product list will allow you to easily purchase reasonably
priced spare parts, accessories and other products for classic Mercedes
brand vehicles. On the basis of postal codes and other selection criteria,
the sorting system will enable you to find the Mercedes-Benz dealership or
Mercedes-Benz workshop you're looking for in your vicinity.
The discount product list is being drawn up in cooperation with the German
Mercedes-Benz R/C 107 SL Club as well as with other Mercedes-Benz Clubs.
MBCCCI asks you to contact Mercedes-Benz brand clubs, DaimlerChrysler
dealerships, Mercedes-Benz workshops and contract partners so that we will
soon be able to create a global discount product list for holders of the
Mercedes-Benz ClubCard. The clubs should fill out the form at
http://mercedes-benz-clubs.com/documents/anmeldung_rabattliste.pdf.
This database enables all ClubCard holders to acquire reasonably priced
genuine parts for their Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Please assist MBCCCI in
creating this discount product list, as there is no real alternative to
purchasing genuine Mercedes-Benz spare parts.
Hotel offerings
For the club members, MBCCCI has managed to make special hotel
arrangements with premium partners.
Upon presenting the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard, club members receive a
discount or can book special offers. In the future, this service will be
offered for hotels in all price categories. This offer is valid for a
number of hotels, including several from the following chains:
· ALTHOFF Hotels
· MARITIM Hotels
· BEST WESTERN Hotels
· STEIGENBERGER Hotels
Online forum
One of the main features of MBCCCI's new Internet offerings is the Club
Forum. The forum went online several days ago and is for the exclusive use
of Mercedes-Benz ClubCard holders. To participate in the forum, card
holders must first create a user profile in the ClubLounge.
The forum was established to promote communication among the club members
and with Mercedes-Benz Classic. In addition to the employees responsible
for Mercedes-Benz Club support, you will also be able to contact experts
from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center and from the Mercedes-Benz Classic
Collection. Any questions regarding the Classic Collection or spare parts
will be answered in this forum by DaimlerChrysler employees.
The forum website is
http://forum.mercedes-benz-clubs.com
Questions concerning the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard
How can I activate the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard?
The Mercedes-Benz ClubCard does not have to be activated this year. The
cards have already been activated during the introductory phase, to ensure
that the launch goes as smoothly as possible.
How can I get a Mercedes-Benz ClubCard?
You have to be a member of a Mercedes-Benz brand club. All 15 German brand
clubs have introduced and distributed the ClubCard as their new membership
ID.
How can I get another Mercedes-Benz ClubCard?
Is your name wrongly spelled on the card? Is there a printing mistake on
the card? Did you loose the card or never receive it in the first place?
Has your name changed?
The individual clubs are responsible for ordering new cards. If you need
another card, please contact the administrators of your club.
I can't log into the ClubLounge.
You need to enter your ClubCard ID to log into the ClubLounge at
www.mercedes-benz-clubs.com.
Your club ID is printed on the back of your Mercedes-Benz ClubCard. For
the Mercedes-Benz Club of Queensland, for example, the ID consists of
the letters "QLD" and a six-digit number.
When you log in the first time, your password is your last name written
all lower case.
If you still can't log in, just send an e-mail with your contact details
and your ClubCard ID to
info@mercedes-benz-clubs.com.
Who are the two men depicted on the Mercedes-Benz ClubCard?
The Mercedes-Benz ClubCard displays images of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl
Benz.
Best wishes from Stuttgart, Germany.
Thilo Wessel
MBCCCI
thilo.wessel@daimlerchrysler.com
If you would like to join a Mercedes-Benz car club
here in Australia please click here for
there contact details.
The M.B Spares & Service story (part 2)
As outlined above there will be no instalment in the history story this newsletter.
W107 SLC's
A few months back on the OZVETS mailing list we were discussing the various SLC's from the W107 range, especially what did and didn't come to Australia. So here is the answer just in case you were wondering!
The following models were "officially"
imported into Australia:
280SLC - Only sold here in Australia for 18 months in the mid 70's. I am
told this was a reaction by Mercedes-Benz Australia to the oil crisis.
Obviously SLC buyers were not actually worried about fuel consumption as
very few were sold. All the other ones are imports mainly from Honk Kong
and generally are rusty heaps of s#!t. As mentioned not a bad car to drive,
has less power but has a higher diff ratio to compensate.
350SLC - Sold here in 71-73 and was then replaced by the 450SLC. So once
again any other year models are imports. Not a bad car but the 450SLC was
so much better. One interesting option is that you could order a 350SLC
with manual transmission which made for a very nice "drivers" car.
450SLC - sold from 73-80 and with several differant cosmetic and
mechanical up grades along the way. The best cars are anything from 1978
onwards. They had heaps of great standard features like cruise, alloys (yes
this was an option on early cars), sunroof, walnut timber console, plush
plie carpet, etc.
Then there are several models we never saw:
380SLC - only made in 1980-81 with the 380 alloy block V8 from the W126
380SE/SEL. Very nicely balanced and highly optioned car. But as they were
never imported the only ones you will see here in Australia are from either
Hong Kong or the UK so the rust is an issue.
450SLC 5.0 - Built to race in the WRC in 1978 and then turned into a
production model. This would certainly be my pick if I had to choose one
RHD examples are almost non existent..
500SLC - built 80-81 and was a more up to date version of the 450SLC 5.0
Jokes of the month.
Two Irishmen were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up.
IRISH ENGINEERSA blonde walks by and asks what they are doing.Paddy: "We're supposed to find the height of this flagpole, but we don'thave a ladder."The blonde took a spanner from her purse, loosened a few bolts and laid
the flagpole down. She pulled a tape measure from her pocket, took a few
measurements and announced that it was eighteen feet and six inches. She
then walked off.Mick: "Ain't that just like a blonde! We need the height and she gives us
the length."
CHEAP PARROT
The woman thought about this, but decided she wanted the bird any way. She took it home and hung the bird's cage up in her living room and waited for it to say something. The bird looked around the room, then at her, and said, "New house, new madam." The woman was a bit shocked at the implication, but then thought "that's really not so bad."
When her 2 teenage daughters returned from school, the bird looked at them and said, "New house, new madam, new girls." The girls and the woman were a bit offended but then began to laugh about the situation considering how and where the parrot had been raised. Soon after, the woman's husband came home from work.
The bird looked at him and said, "Hi Keith!"
MARRIAGE COUNSELLOR
A husband and wife go to a counsellor
after 15 years of marriage.
The counsellor asks them what the problem is and the wife goes into a
tirade listing every single problem they have ever had in the 15 years
they've been married. She goes on and on and on and on.
Finally, the counsellor gets up, walks around the desk, embraces the
wife and kisses her passionately. The woman shuts up and sits quietly
in a daze.
The counsellor turns to the husband and
says, "This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can
you do this?
The husband thinks for a moment and replies, "Well, I can drop her off
here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I play golf!
Cars for dismantling.
Cars in this month for dismantling include the following:
W123 280E, 1982 model, bad hit in the rear. Good auto, blue cloth interior.
W123 230, 1977 model, not a bad car really....
If you are interested in parts from any of these cars please contact our Spare parts department toll free on 1300 787 300 or by e-mail to spares@mbspares.com.au
Stock take clearance.
As mentioned above, one of the reasons that this newsletter is a little late is due to the list of stock below! We were contacted in June to see if we were interested in putting a price on a very large quantity of parts that had come up for sale due a change of ownership in a large Sydney business. And to cut a long story short on the 30th of June we struck a deal to buy them but had to pick them up the next day! So I hired an 8 tonne Pantec truck and headed to Sydney, Chris Righton (our Service manager) and Ray Smith (restoration technician) followed in our Sprinter and by chance Sandra was already in Sydney with her Viano van. We loaded it all up, drove back to Canberra and unloaded the hired truck in one day! This picture is of what was in the back of the truck and Sandra's Viano, we only just started to unload the Sprinter this last weekend. Have a look and you will see that it is quite a substantial list of stuff and this is not everything, there is also large pile of carpet sets that we should have catalogued by the next newsletter. Also by the next Newsletter we will have the list priced. In the meantime if you are interested in any thing from the list please send Murray our Spares manager an e-mail or ring us toll free on 1300 787 300.
| Part Number | Part Description | Quantity |
| 126 880 26 40 7176 | REAR BAR COVER 560 SEL | 1 |
| 126 880 17 40 7174 | REAR BAR COVER EARLY W126.280/380 | 1 |
| 115 880 16 16 | REINFORCEMENT FRONT BAR | 6 |
| 115 880 08 16 | REINFORCEMENT REAR BAR | 8 |
| 114 880 00 70 | LWR FRONT BAR.EARLY COMPACT | 7 |
| 126 690 49 40 | N/S SILL COVER LATE 126 SE | 1 |
| 113 492 02 14 | EXHAUST CHROME EXTENSION STRAIGHT 45mm | 217 |
| 126 720 17 46 | N/S/F W/REG.ELEC.REITER W126 LATE SEDAN | 13 |
| 126 720 18 46 | O/S/F W/REG.ELEC.REITER W126 LATE SEDAN | 16 |
| 126 690 53 40 | N/S SILL COVER LATE 126 SEC | 6 |
| 126 690 54 40 | O/S SILL COVER LATE 126 SEC | 7 |
| 126 690 52 40 | O/S SILL COVER LATE 126 SEL | 2 |
| 126 690 49 40 | N/S SILL COVER LATE 126 SE | 4 |
| 115 881 00 01 | LWR GRAVEL TRAY | 7 |
| 108 828 01 61 | HEADLAMP EARLY 108 | 8 |
| 108 820 20 61 | HEADLAMP LATE 108 | 4 |
| 108 820 15 64 | N/S TAIL LAMP W108 | 8 |
| 111 826 61 52 | L/H/R TAIL LAMP RIM(CHROME SURROUND) | 3 |
| 110 826 01 52 | N/S TAIL LAMP RIM | 4 |
| 110 826 01 52 | N/S TAIL LAMP RIM | 1 |
| 115 880 03 71 | N/S REAR BAR | 11 |
| 115 880 04 71 | O/S REAR BAR | 15 |
| 123 470 02 59 | CHARCOAL CANNISTER MOST MODELS (SA) | 85 |
| 107 885 07 21 | REAR BAR RUBBER | 20 |
| 115 888 03 15 | GRILLE SURROUND EARLY | 10 |
| 115 880 10 18 | O/S FRONT GUARD LATE | 1 |
| 115 880 13 18 | N/S FRONT GUARD EARLY | 2 |
| 126 350 16 05 | LH REAR CONTROL ARM W116-032/033/036 | 1 |
| 126 350 09 23 | GEAR | 1 |
| 107 350 29 32 | SUPPORT (EX GERMANY) | 1 |
| 000 430 27 60 | (5423.2) M/CYL KIT SUIT 0044300901 ONLY | 37 |
