Aspire14

Bought my 2003 CLK 270 CDI Avantgarde (67,000 miles) this March. Previous owners had spent £1045 on last 'B' service and new discs and pads all round. Unfortunately the previous owners insisted on putting a new MOT on the car before I took it over....bad move as the MOT garage left the headlights on and flattened the battery....even worse the ignoramus that was tasked with jumping the battery managed to blow the dash control unit...they had to pay £850 for a new unit.
Now I have the car and after reading up on radiators etc etc I now have fitted a new radiator as the VIN number; although not in the group affected was too close to call. So new rad in Valeo made in 2013. Transmission oil tested but no sign of anti-freeze contamination. Any way new trans oil and filter fitted dipstick tool made and checked against friendly MB dealers tool who said I could use there tool if necessary (I work round the corner from them). Thermostat changed but managed to break the plastic low pressure supply pipe 't'ee piece, so made up my own fuel lines (£4.56 pipe and clips). New serpentine belt belt fitted as previous 'B' service and complimentary checks missed dammed great slit across the multi-vee's.Repaired flexible circuit board to restore speedo and clock rev-counter back lights using ingenuity and electrically conductive paint.
Love car to bits and get between 43.5 and 52.00 mpg depending on journey. Expecting slight improvement with a thermostat that now gets the engine temp up to around 92 degrees C rather then 60 degrees C.
So that's my introduction to date Thanks for the info and very good pictures of how to etc.