Okay, so here's what I've done so far on my 2005 C230.

#1 Put a license plate holder on, realized it looked stupid. Took back license plate holder, exchanged for a chrome one.
#2 Found I don't have windshield wiper fluid. Researched for hours to find Summerfit specific to mercedes, drove to dealership, mixed it in a gallon of water, bought a funnel, poured it in and it overflowed after 2 seconds. Apparently, when you hit the windshield wiper fluid button you have to hold it down. Doh!
#3 Bought a mercedes key chain with an engravement I didn't like so I bought a sandblaster and after 10 minutes I fried off the logo. Took it back, got a vice, 3 hours later, I accomplished something.

Tomorrow I'll be replacing the gaskets in the vacuum pump. I got a 1/4 ratchet, E10 bit, T20 torx and the gaskets and I'm ready to rock and hopefully not kill my car. Any tips before I dive in?

Oh, then I'm spraying, yeah, spraying the chips/nicks with the OEM paint, then clear coating it, then sanding it, problem is I really don't understand the timing of when it "cures" to know when to sand or when to apply clear coat. I guess I'll figure it out as time goes on.

Next week (if I'm still alive) I'm putting an aux. input to the CENTER CONSOLE and maybe, just maybe, fixing the valve cover gaskets.

 

You've got a very interesting assortment of fit-it items

 

2 DYI's with two stones, actually more like twenty. It's amazing how much IMPORTANT information people leave off when explaining this stuff. I'm going to tell you the stuff no one told me, but I wish they would have b/c it would have saved me HOURS.

1) Replaced the leather boot on the gear shift. You can get a genuine leather, perfect fit for $13 on ebay shipped from the UK. Trick is getting the non-twisting black plastic part off under the silver knob. Pro tip: Go to an automotive shop and get help, if you break it, you're SCREWED. Second tip: You can lift the whole lower console off simply by opening the ashtray cover and pulling the snaps off from there by pinching it firmly and gently lifting it straight up. You do NOT need to disconnect the battery or even unplug the wires for this.

2) Aux. input. I ran it under the passenger floor mat and around the passenger seat. Now I have the option of putting it in the center console or letting it chill on the cup holder. The trick with this one is finding a good male:male audio connector to your $50 OEM cable b/c it effects sound quality- I know b/c I tried 4 diff. ones till I got it right. If you run your cable the same way I did you'll have about one foot left to get to the center console so keep this in mind when getting an audio connector. 6 foot cable is OVERKILL which I of course found out first hand.

3) Now I'm working on fixing paint chips on my metallic granite grey C230 and it's a sea of misinformation either unwittingly by a moron or from a sheister trying to sell you something. The main problem really is color matching. Anyone who says it's all about the distribution of the metallic flakes is full of SHLT. You can shake the OEM can till your hand falls off and it won't change the fact that the paint is simply too dark. I've bought some lacquer-based glossy white paint I'll be mixing to lighten it up. I'll also be mixing it with lacquer paint thinner since the OEM touch up paint is WAY TOO VISCOUS when mixed with clear coat. Again, nothing anyone on the forums has simply explained.