Dave2302

They already are, that is my point, not just Mercedes, but a lot of other Car manufacturers are making their diagnostic and repair impossible unless I pay a subscription of £2000 - £10,000 each year to have access to their Server for various Dealer Level diagnostic machines. Mfrs only legally have to release 80% of their Software to the likes of Snap On, Autel, Delphi etc, and guess what, even right now that 80% is the stuff that is less likely to go wrong, so you can bet your life that even if, like me, you have the Dealer Kit for various makes, you cannot fix the most common problems on whatever car without paying the "Server Access" fees. With the advent of the Autonomous Car, Government, Insurance Companies, Main Dealers, Manufacturers, Accident Investigators etc will all band together to push and pass laws that only permit the Manufacturers Approved Agents to repair their Vehicles........................... So one little fault on anything you sell and you or your mechanic will not be allowed to fix it, you will be at the mercy of Main Stealers who will rape your ass and kill your profits on any Car etc.

The Right to Repair This from a WIRED news article... The fight for our right to repair the stuff we own has suffered a huge setback. As anyone who repairs electronics knows, keeping a device in working order often means fixing both its hardware and software. But a big California farmers’ lobbying group just blithely signed away farmers’ right to access or modify the source code of any farm equipment software. As an organization representing 2.5 million California agriculture jobs, the California Farm Bureau gave up the right to purchase repair parts without going through a dealer. Farmers can’t change engine settings, can’t retrofit old equipment with new features, and can’t modify their tractors to meet new environmental standards on their own. Worse, the lobbyists are calling it a victory... Of course, Mercedes has also continued efforts to limit the rights and abilities of owners to repair and modify their vehicles. The W220 S-Class cars may eventually represent the high point of owner involvement with their cars. The complete article can be found at https://www.wired.com/story/john-dee...ght-to-repair/ So that will be all of us Right Royally Fucked then !! Comments please Yes, at the moment the article only relates to Agricultural Equipment in California, but having been around the UK for my entire 56 years, I know fine well that within the next 15 years that will affect us all in UK !! This is quickly becoming a reality now

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Brian, and more so his bro Shane were buddies of mine, used to Barefoot Waterski with Shane a lot And back to the Transmissions, yeah, they are all shit now, that's why we got out of the Auto Box Game when we did. About the only Trans I'd rebuild now for a Customer is a Merc 5 Spd 722.6 Auto, once fixed they stay fixed, everything else is just a lottery

I don't think you'll ever win, the more you earn the more you want more, then if your like me you will realise there is more to life, so you only work to earn what you need, the rest of the time I do what I want to do

I've been in the Motor Trade earning money from Cars since I was 14, so that's 42 years. I was changing Clutches and Brakes, De Cokes, Valve Grinds, Head Rebuilds Ball Joints Rear Subframes etc by the age of 14. I started meddling with an old rusty Car when I was around 12 and started a full apprenticeship when I was 16 which I completed. Car Sales started when I bought my first bit of work for my Gearbox firm, in my late 20's .............. A very tidy Mercedes E300 Turbo Diesel Wagon, guy didn't have the money to pay for a rebuild on the Auto Box, so I bought the car off him for £400, repaired the Tranny and sold the Car after smoking it for 6 months for £2495 That was when my love affair with MB's started, my G/F Partner Mel, her initials are MB And I've only just realised that significance just now, lol we been together 16 years now I still learn something new at least once a week, usually more times. I love the way the technology has progressed and also how the Billys and their Scams, Tricks etc have progressed too Cars is wot i knows

Good on yer Best of luck to you, keep us posted how you are getting on

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Agreed Jeez, I'd like a £ for every Car I've bought that doesn't even have a Jack or Wheelbrace

They do rock and roll about, but if the mounts are good you do not feel it through the Car !! Do not fit cheaper non genuine mounts !! Or are you saying it misfires, does it have rattles or vibration ?? These Engines are so tightly wound emissions wise that any tiny issue with Misfire / Airflow through the Engine would definitely pop a Light and Message on Cluster, plus other Codes stored. Could try getting it on SDS Xentry for an hour with a GOOD operator, but that would probably cost more than a genuine Gearbox Mounting, last one i bought was around £35. HTH Engine mounts are Hydraulic i believe, but yeah like this, AGREED

/\ /\ /\ like. Agreed, especially with a lot more competition in the Southern (to me) areas

Hi, I have several OM651's on my Workshop Books, yes they are nowhere near as sweet as the earlier OM646, but still a nice Engine, and very gitsy in comparison. Can you feel a vibe through the Car when Idling and revving a little off idle ?? I'd put a Tranny Mount on it first, (Genuine MB one), they aren't that dear did one earlier in the year, transformed the car. Motor Mounts also suffer, lift Engine slightly to see in Vibe Changes HTH LOL Gutsy , pull like a train.

Hi, I record and declare everything it works in my favour, but if I get close to the 80k Turnover VAT threshold then I'd rather take a month Holiday off than go over it !! Due to my low overheads, one man band, I doubt I ever will as I don't work 24 / 7 , plenty time for my own stuff and still make a decent wage You want to buy everything you can in your first year Tools / Equipment wise, you are not expected to make a huge profit, you will only pay tax on that money if you do !! I don't do discounted, would rather turn a job or sale away !! When I buy parts for a Customers Car I simply price them at VAT'd price to me, plus 30% mark up. In your first year trading, you don't register for on line Tax Account until you hit the 11 month mark, then just do self assessment and make sure you get it in with your payment by January deadline or you'll get fined !! Your National Insurance payments as a Sole Trader can be made at the same time, and are a pittance compared to PAYE NI figures that you pay as as an employed person. Don't know about England, but in Scotland Highlands Sole Traders pay zero Business Rates. Claim for everything that is a Business expense, even just a packet of paper clips !! Do not claim Diesel etc for the wifes Car, just keep it straight and you'll be fine. I don't pay an Accountant, but I did go see one after 3 months and paid him an hour to look at my books and make any suggestions that he saw, which he did. Finally, look into what Grants you may be able to get as a new start up. Now all ticks along nicely HTH Oh, and the best of luck to you, you should do well out of it, better than working for someone else and not having any freedom, low (piss taking) wages etc etc !! You need the Public Liability BTW in case you sell a car and a week later something lets go and there is an accident, their Insurance co, officials etc will crucify you otherwise, it doesn't have to be the Billy that takes you to court, if it can be proved that something you did / sold was faulty and that cased the problem, i.e. ball joint lets go, car swerves and crashes into a que of ppl at a bus stop etc etc etc then you could be held accountable as you were the last person to work on it ............ Saw a good friend in the Gearbox game lose his house because of that very scenario, and RTA Trade Insurance does not always include Public Liability !!

My money is on the Tranny Mount BTW good result for OP, and yeah agreed, tell original arse hole buyer to fuck right off !!

I have a work mobile and a "private" i.e. family and close friends only who have the number, I don't even take the "work" mobile in the house, let alone on holiday with me Just stick an answerphone message on it "Currently away for xxxxxxxxx back on xxxxxxxxxx I found that the real cheapies just cost me as much as I could sell them for by the time I'd bought parts, 12 month MOT labour etc My Sales model is this ..................... Buy something 2008 upwards, with clean bodywork, (I hate paintwork), but I buy "spares / repairs" stuff privately, normally Cars with electronic problems, and fit second hand modules etc, code stuff where necessary, fresh MOT and Valet, unusual if I don't earn at least a bag out of every one I fix them up when Workshop is quiet, so effectively I'm buying some work, first started that when I had the Transmission Firm, used to buy Cars from customers with a goosed auto box, who couldn't afford or didn't want to spend out to repair them

TV is bang on the money, stay the feck away from the VAT, de registering when I sold my old firm and re located was my best move ever What he says above is exactly what I do now. Good luck to you BTW it's BRAKES !! Cheers Dave

Dr said I had altz something, cant remember now

This is like Dragons Den in reverse Seriously mate, keep your cash for a while and do some Business Studies, selling used Cars is not the bed of roses it used to be. BTW if you are looking for a smaller investment, I have a long term opportunity that might be right up your street, for only £20k, pm me, and I'll give you my phone number and talk you through it !! You won't need to do much work to get a return either

+ 2,000,000

Hi, Pre Safe Message can be caused by a problem in any number of systems, which will then trigger it. The only machine to diagnose this is SDS, Snap On and other generics will likely lead you up the garden path because they simply do not see all codes in all Systems. Don't go the guesswork parts darts as I'm sure you know that will likely end in a huge un necessary expense Xentry (MB SDS), will see all faults, and has guided diagnostics to lead the operator to the problem, or at very least the correct seat in the stadium A good Indie with SDS, is needed ............................... I'd have you an answer within an hour

Seriously ???? I'd sooner cut off a limb than disconnect a Battery on any MB, later the Car the worse the resulting grief......................... Takes half hour to go round checking and normalising everything that won't work correctly afterwards

Sorry to hear that, but yes a helluva lot of "Fast Fit" operations are mostly a shower of shite !! We don't have too many Quick Fit's up here, and to quote their adverts we "Don't Have Mechanics we have Mc Conechy's" From what I've seen Mc Conechys are full of it too I agree re trying to advise Family, my daughter in law is a case in point, always getting ripped off by main agents I don't bother with advice now unless it's one of my Customers, who normally don't question anything anyway, they just drop it off, pick it up and pay the bill

I once failed a Billys Car on MOT for 2 front shocks, and quoted him ......................... "That's far too dear" he said, "Quick Fit is half the price" ........................ He returned for his retest a few days later and sarcastically told me I was a "know nothing" and told me I should have failed it on Discs & Pads all round, plus all 4 Tyres, and also asked why didn't I tell him it needed a Battery and Radiator as well ......................... There was nothing wrong with those items at time of test, so I gave him an appeal form, refused to re test it and told him to Fuck Off !! Wanker

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