The new car

In the absence of anything else to write about, I thought I’d chart the progress of my latest in a long series of Mercedes W123′s. This one is a 280CE, which is my first coupe – previously they’ve all been saloons. I think by anyone’s standards she’s a real beauty, especially for a 22-year old banger.

As of now the mileage reads 130565, but before lunch it said 124544. This isn’t the result of a long journey, but of me replacing the instrument cluster with the one out of my spares car. The original featured two classic W123 faults, a stuck odometer and a bouncing speedo needle. Normally, the needle bounces at low speeds only, and this indicates a worn cable. This one bounced at all speeds though, and it turned out to be the unit itself, which I’ll now (i.e. ‘someday’) repair with the help of this.

I can only guess how long it’s read 124544, but it isn’t really important with a car of this age anyway. What matters is that any major faults have so far managed to keep themselves hidden, although I haven’t really had time to look very hard yet.

I estimate I’ve done about 200 miles in it so far. Hopefully the car will do the counting from now on.