Road to £25k l We SOLD the Merc and BOUGHT THIS! (S3, EP.1)

Ajouté : 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Now, welcome back to the road to 25K, turning £1,000 into £25,000 by flipping cars. Now, we've done some really indepth stuff so far. We've bought Subarus which have needed new engines. We've bought things which have needed a bunch of rust doing. So, the last car I bought was a Mercedes CLA with a misfire for what I thought was going to be an easy fix. Now, it was definitely not an easy fix and we had to strip the top of the engine down. And luckily, we found a broken rocker arm which was causing low compression on cylinder number three, which we really got away with. So, in the last video, we got the car up and running, and we did fix that misfire. But today, there's still a long way to go before we can get this Mercedes for sale as there's a massive electrical problem, which took me weeks to fix. But it is good news. We get to the end of the Merc, we fix the Merc, we sell the Merc. And today in this video, we're also going to be showing you the next car that we have bought to replace it to hopefully make some more profit.

[00:01:05]People, hello. I know I still have this thing. Uh the truth is I've been really ill for uh for 2 weeks. Uh and I've not been able to work. It's the first day me coming back after 2 weeks. I've been really really ill. Probably still hear me. There's one big problem with it.

[00:01:19]First of all, look how dirty it is.

[00:01:20]Second of all, it still stinks the smoke in there. So, from a lot of recommendations in the comments. Thanks, guys. I've actually ordered this ozone generator. I don't know what it does other than generates an ozone, but I'm not quite sure what that means. So, we've got some instructions. And apparently, this thing is really strong.

[00:01:38]Uh I spoke to a detailer the other day.

[00:01:39]He was like, "Just be careful with that.

[00:01:41]Make sure you don't over run the tanks.

[00:01:42]It can start killing the interior." So, I know it's strong. So, we're going to use this today. But first of all, we're going to clean the seats, clean the carpets, clean the headliner, and just try to irritate some of that some of that smell out the fabrics, and then we're going to use this. And hopefully, this is going to kill it all. Right. So, the first thing we do, I've just got some interior detail cleaner from Amazon. It's nothing amazing, but it come with this brush as well. So, I'm just going to spray everywhere, especially on the seat belts and the headliner. Anywhere that's going to kind of stick that smell of smoke to, we can agitate it all and clean it all. And hopefully that's going to release all of that scent into the car and then the ozone generator is going to kill it.

[00:02:21]That's my plan. But I have no idea what I'm doing. Okay. Well, it says 10 m squared for 10 minutes.

[00:02:29]This is definitely not 10 m squared. So, like every situation in life when you have no idea what you're doing, get out, chat, GB Tizzle. Okay, so we're just in the car. We're going to set it. I can hear the timer going down already. We're going to set it for 30 minutes. Just going to leave it on the seat there. Oh, it's doing something. Woo. Okay, we'll leave it there. Now, at this time, I forgot to tell you how well that ozone generator worked, but I do later in the video, but it worked unbelievably. I couldn't believe how well it worked. But it's time to take the Merc for its first ever drive.

[00:03:01]>> So guys, it drives absolutely amazing.

[00:03:04]I've had absolutely no warning lights.

[00:03:06]It drives straight. The brakes all work.

[00:03:08]It's really smooth. It's powerful. It's got a lot of power. But we do have one problem. After like 10 minutes of driving, as you can see, the indicators have stopped working. So yeah, something really weird is happening. The indicators were working and it was absolutely fine and then I was driving home and then the indicators stopped working.

[00:03:28]I was like, "Oh, the indicators stopped working." So I turn the key off, turn it back on again, and they're they're working.

[00:03:36]So, something is stopped the indication working when it either gets warm or it's gone through so many different cycles.

[00:03:44]I'm going to see I'm just going to keep it like that and I'm just going to see at what point it dies. Um, but in the meantime, we're going to put the scanner on and see if there any codes because it could be a module or it could be the stalk itself. Um, or it could be a relay that's overheating potentially. So, it might be worth checking the relays. But, first and foremost, I'm going to uh scan it and just see if anything's coming up.

[00:04:11]So, we got a bunch of faults here.

[00:04:13]Instrument cluster, parking, sunroof, doors, and even though we've not got one. Um, but I think this is from where the battery's been dead. Yeah. See, look. These are stored codes. Power supply. Power supply. I think this is just having a dead battery and these clothes, these codes are still stored.

[00:04:29]So, what we're going to do is we're going to go back and we're going to erase every single code. Um, and then see if that stops the problem. Okay.

[00:04:37]Now, this is interesting. We've cleared all the codes. Thank you.

[00:04:42]And this is one of the codes that are stored in the um well, one of the codes that stored switch signal switch turn signal has a malfunction. I think that's that. So, we're going to drive it anyway after clearing those codes and see if it see if it kind of it's okay. But if not, I'm going to have a look for the price of a new uh turn signal switch.

[00:05:03]>> And it didn't fix it. Every time we go for a drive after 5 minutes or so, the indicator is just completely cut out like this. It's so weird and it's so random. So, we need to see first what actually is causing it to stop indicating. So, first of all, I'm going to do a first test. Is it something heat related or time related? So, I'm just going to sit here with the engine on, not going to be turning the wheel, and I'm going to keep the indicators on. And I'm just going to just keep turning them on and see is it something that's getting hot? It could be a terminal that's getting hot or is it something to do with the steering?

[00:05:37]Is there a certain steering point where where we, you know, where the ribbon gets caught or something like that and it turns off or is it something to do when we're driving? Is it a speed? Is it a bump? We need to figure out what it is. So, first of all, I'm actually just going to sit here for 10 minutes or so, cuz that's when it usually goes off and just not do anything else, but just keep the indicators going. Now, these multi-function things, I've heard there's some big problems with these things. The connectors inside are so over complicated, Mercedes, uh, and then they start wearing out. And after sat in the car park doing this for 10 minutes straight, looking like I've been let out for the day, uh, it didn't actually stop indicating. They're still working. So, let's talk about how an indicator system works. Now, on an old car, it's simple.

[00:06:20]You have an indicator stalk, which then turns on a flasher relay, which then turns on the indicator bulb. Simple, right? Now, in the Merc, you can see it starts getting a little bit complicated.

[00:06:30]You have an indicator stalk. Now, that is seen by the steering column module, which has its own brain. Now, if that's happy, it will tell the SAM module, which also has its own brain, that it's happy sending a signal. Now, the SAM module will then tell the flasher relay which is internally built into the SAM module to turn on the indicator bulb.

[00:06:50]And you can see where it starts getting complicated as if all of these don't talk to each other correctly. None of them are going to work. I've done absolutely everything when driving around the car part erratically. The only time when it stops is when you turn them off for more than 30 seconds or so.

[00:07:05]So, it's almost like when the module goes to sleep, it doesn't wake back up again. Now, there is a module in here which controls all of that. There's like a little ECU in this clock spring unit and it controls all of these stalks.

[00:07:20]Now, I think it's going to be that because there is a module in the bonnet which controls other things, but the other things that that controls are the hazards and the wipers.

[00:07:31]They're working. The only thing that stops working is the indicators. So, I think it's something in this clock spring unit here. So, we're going to get the uh the scanner. We're going to do one more test and then we're going to start pulling this apart. Now, the good thing about having so many brains is that you can actually go into the brain with a computer and you can basically control parts of it and see what's being activated and what isn't. So, first of all, we're going to log into the steering column module and see if it's actually receiving the signal from the indicator switch, which it is, which kind of says the steering column module is working correctly. Now, when we log into the SAM module, this is not changing. and it's staying off, which kind of suggests that the SAM module is the problem, but it still could be it's just not receiving a signal. So, we're going to do one more test. So, the final test we're going to do is we're going to force the SAM module to turn on the indicator when it's in a failed state.

[00:08:27]So, right now, we're in a failed state.

[00:08:29]Okay. So, we're going to come into an active test on the SAM module, and we're going to force the SAM module to turn on that indicator. If the indicators now work, it means that the SAM module is capable of sending a signal to the indicators, which means it's working even in a failed state. So, let's do that test. So, we're going to come into active test. We're going to come into exterior illumination and we're going to force we're going to turn on that sand module. We're going to send a signal directly from this scanner to the sand module to turn on the indicators. Left front turn signal F4. So, we're going to press that. Now, that should turn to on.

[00:09:11]Okay. So, that indicator should now be on. Now, if this indicator is working, it means the SAM module is working. It's just not receiving the signal. Yeah, the indicator is on. So, it's not this sound module because it's capable of sending a signal to the indicator. I just think it's not getting a signal. Now, the reason it's not getting a signal is because this thing isn't sending it even though the live data is recognizing the switch. It is recognizing the switch that's being turned. But I don't think this module in here is sending a signal to the sound unit.

[00:09:49]I know that's a lot of words. So, we're going to order a new one of these, but I want to make sure I'm getting the right one. So, we're going to take off the steering wheel and obviously get the part number. So, we're going to be ordering the correct one. So, since we're dealing with an airbag, I always like to, especially in a car like this anyway, always just disconnect the battery. And then we can actually just pull off the airbag from the steering wheel by using like a push clip on either side. And we can unbolt the steering wheel with an 11 mil hex. And then we can take away just pull away the steering column module. Okay. So, I managed to find a secondhand steering column from a very reputable online um like car breaker, even though it's from a BMW car breaker, but I've got one. So, we're going to go outside and bang it in a Merc. And first of all, pray that it doesn't need coating.

[00:10:36]Let's pray. I really don't trust German electric. So, we're going to go and unplug the battery before even touching any of this [ __ ] Now, the likelihood of this not needing coding in some way is extremely small, but we're just going to plug it in and turn the car on and make sure everything's connected and just see how crazy it's going to go. Now, I was getting a hell of a lot of codes on the dash, but after doing all the adaptations I could find and all the resets, it seemed to be working.

[00:11:04]>> It's working. We got indicators. Yay!

[00:11:08]Woohoo!

[00:11:10]>> I was happy because the indicators were working. Sadly, something else wasn't.

[00:11:16]>> Now, we have another problem. Oh my god, these cars are so [ __ ] The high beams are on all the time. When I pull the stalk, they turn off. How does that make sense?

[00:11:29]Oh my god, these cars are so stupid.

[00:11:33]High beams are on, high beams are off.

[00:11:38]Oh my god.

[00:11:42]This is why I stay away from cars like this because they're just so unnecessary. Do you know what I mean?

[00:11:46]Everything's just so stupid.

[00:11:50]I I apparently I might need to go to Mercedes and get this thing [ __ ] coded with some Mercedes special thing.

[00:11:58]I've coded it for tell, but clearly something's not right.

[00:12:03]Now, at this point, I left the car for a month. I didn't want to keep going through used steering column modules and them not working, but I decided to take one more punt. I can't believe it, guys.

[00:12:15]I've been struggling with this problem for weeks. I tried to get some I tried to find somewhere to send my original one off to uh to get it coded and, you know, to get it fixed and no one could do it. Everyone's like, "No, you can't really get on the bench then." Blah blah blah blah. So, I just randomly took my chance and just ordered a new steering column module, just a random one off eBay. I've plugged it in and everything is working. Oh my god, everything is working. My high beams are working. Oh, thank god indicators are working. I've just took it for a drive and I've not even had to code it or anything. I just plugged it in, cleared the codes, and it's working absolutely fine. So, it was just a dodgy steering column module that we got last time.

[00:12:59]The place did refund me, which is fine.

[00:13:01]But, you know, however days I wasted trying to make that work is not great.

[00:13:05]So, the merk's done. We can finally [ __ ] sell it. Oh my god. This is a happy day. Happy day. I've already took the pictures. I've already got it ready to go for sale. So, so I'm just going to just do a I'm going to drive it for the next couple days just to fully make sure everything is okay. But I think it's going to be fine cuz that was the only problem and everything is sound. So, hopefully uh in the next clip you will see me saying that we solved it.

[00:13:30]>> Unfortunately, that's not the case. Uh there was another problem. Um I'm starting to get sick of this [ __ ] thing.

[00:13:40]As you can see there, um the horn isn't working. So, this is the fuse, which is fine. And I'm like, what the hell? But J is meant to be the relay. Now, this didn't take me 2 minutes like it seems like in the video. I was on this for a good hour because every fuse diagram you look online is completely different. But apparently Jay is meant to be the relay for the horns. And for some reason there's not one there. Is it one like that?

[00:14:09]I'm going to see what this is. Well, I just unplugged it anyway. But let me see what this is. And I'm going to use this one and put it in there cuz that looks like a similar relay.

[00:14:21]You [ __ ] Turn the key off.

[00:14:24]Oh, hey. So, after replacing that reader that we took out, we now have a working horn and we can finally sell this thing.

[00:14:31]Woohoo. Now, selling a car comes down to the photo. So, you need to take your time taking a photo. So, I take them on a proper camera and I make sure I'm in a nice location. So, I'm at my flat, which luckily is nice, and I've got my Porsche next to it as well, just to show that I'm not too much of a scumbag. Now, brightness is everything, and variance is everything. So, make sure you photo absolutely everything, way more than you need. And I always take the photos on Lightroom and just increase the contrast, just increase the saturation, just increase the brightness. That way, people can see everything and it almost feels like you're not hiding anything before you actually come to view the car. So, I'm in the Merc now and I've had it up for sale for around 2 weeks or so. Now, I overpriced it at first cuz we all know what Facebook is like. Everyone undersshoots you. So, I had it up for 4 12 grand and I was expecting to take around four grand for it. I haven't really had many bikes. I think that's because the lack of service history this car comes with. So, I dropped it to £35,000 no offers and I've got three people coming today. Now, ideally, I want to wait to see exactly how much I've got for this car, but I need to get this video live very quickly due to YouTube reasons. So, I'm going to say that I've sold it for 3,400.

[00:15:46]I'm not going to take 33. Uh, and I uh I might get 35, but let's just say for the sake of video I made 3,400 from selling the Merc. So, let's go over some of the pricing. We bought the car for £2,250.

[00:16:02]Now, the steering column cost me £110.

[00:16:05]The hydraulic lifter cost me £10. The rockaround cost me £16. Service in the car cost me £99. and the MOT and extra little bits to get it through the MOT cost me £105, which means we spent in total £340 fixing the car, which puts the total cost to £2,590.

[00:16:26]And after selling it for 3,400, we made only £810 profit, which is the worst performing car we have ever done on this series.

[00:16:36]Now, if you account how many days I've spent on this car, and if I was paying myself a wage, which I am not, I would have come in at a massive loss. But we're not counting our wages in. So, we made £810 profit over collectively maybe 2 or 3 months of work. I think it's time to go and buy something new. So, we're on the way now down to Brighton to buy something. Now, I'm not going to lie, I did really want something this week. So, it's a bit of an impulse purchase and it could potentially be a bad decision, but that's what it's all about, right?

[00:17:10]Making some bad decisions. But speaking of making a good decision, I'm running around like a see you next Tuesday 24/7 and sometimes I get very stressed out.

[00:17:19]Sometimes I can't be asked actually doing anything in my life. But a good decision is drinking. Holy. Is that even pointing at me? It's like it's pointing at this drink. So, I mean, I went through a stage a couple of years ago, maybe 3 years ago, of literally being so miserable and so bored with my job that I actually almost did quit YouTube. And I got prescribed vitamin B12 tablets to help me stop being a miserable bar student. Then I found this company called Holy, and it's an energy drink designed specifically to help lift your mood. But the best thing about it is it's actually good for you. There's no sugar, no torine, and no added flavor.

[00:17:50]And it's got 13 different vitamins and neutropics uh in the drink. One of them is the same amount of vitamin B12 as I had in those prescribed tablets. I am absolutely obsessed with it and I've got so many my friends onto it and holy actually tell me how many of you guys in video buy them and it's thousands of people which is absolutely insane. Look at that. Look at that good [ __ ] in there. Look at that. Look at that good [ __ ] But seriously, I genuinely do drink this every single day and it has actually changed my life. Uh and uh and amazingly this they've got this holy bottle and I was like that is going to be the color of the S14. So the the S4 is actually going this color pink into white. And celebrate summer they brought out a bunch of new cocktail flavors. And they're giving out a free mix of all of these flavors in a start set deluxe which is the best option if you've never tried Holi as you can choose a bunch of different flavors and you can choose your favorite. And also don't forget to use the codes on screen for a big discount. But let's go and pick up this new car which hopefully we can make some profit on. But how good is it? Um what's it drive like? I have no idea.

[00:19:00]I've not even drove it. I turn up and I was like, "Yep, that's the car." Um throw it on the trailer, mate.

[00:19:07]But I'm actually intrigued. Right. I've turned up. I've just gone, "Yeah, that's that's that's the pit. That's what it looks like." And then I've just threw it on the trailer. And he drove it on the trailer, which now I think it might be a little bit worrying. We're going to get it home, show you what we've got, how much I've got it for, how much I think we'll sell it for, and how much work hopefully we don't have to do.

[00:19:42]It is a a Sorraco. Uh, it's it's a Straco.

[00:19:49]Sorry for bigging up everyone. It is actually a Sorco. But there's a reason I got this and I kind of wanted to tell a message within getting this car in the process of how to actually sell a car cuz there's a big miscon misconception misconception about modifications, etc. But before we go over what's wrong with this car, because there are a few things, let's talk about the good points. Someone's smeared in some some [ __ ] [ __ ] or something. I'm not sure what that is, but underneath the paint, it is actually pretty good. And there's actually no dents or anything like that.

[00:20:24]It does actually look like a clean car.

[00:20:26]And the best thing about this is it actually has a pan roof and it works, which is very rare for a Sorocco of this year. I didn't actually even know Sorco's come with pan roofs. It's a black black interior. It's manual. It's got some good history and some good books with it and stuff. And it's got a really expensive head unit in there.

[00:20:47]It's got Apple CarPlay. Got a lovely steering wheel. It actually is a nice car. And it's also got the upgraded speakers and the upgraded entertainment system. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. So, it is actually quite a nice car. So, yes, it's not a Sorocco R, which is annoying, but I've been trying to find something good, like a good car, which to make good profit on for a good like two months now cuz the merk was taking so long. And I don't know what's up with Facebook Marketplace at the minute or what's up with the used car market, but there's nothing really worth getting. So, this popped up. He had it up for a price and he dropped it even lower cuz he needs it gone this week.

[00:21:22]Uh, so I was like, I think I might come in and get a steal here. And I think I have got a steal depending on what's wrong with it. So, let's go over the bad bits and how much I got it for and why I got it cheap and why hopefully I know I said it with the mer. I said with the merc this is going to be an easy flip to make myself feel better and blah blah blah. Next thing was stripping the whole engine apart, but I actually think this is might be an easy flip. Okay, so obviously the guy had this up for a little bit of a while and he was struggling to sell it. Now, I know the reason why he was struggling to sell it and this is a big misconception. Let me show you why he was struggling to sell it. Lots of stupid [ __ ] like this badly welded, horrible, stupid exhaust which look absolutely horrendous. Now, not only does that exhaust look horrendous, oh my god, listen to this.

[00:22:20]Now, I'm not totally against splitters, but what the hell? Oh, there's a bolt that just come off there. Stupid [ __ ] Stupid. Stupid [ __ ] Now, I like Ram Air as a company. I like their filters when they have a purpose. On an engine like this in that position, it has no single purpose whatsoever. You do not need an intake like this on a car like this. I understand some modifications, but nine times out of 10, modifications usually just look tacky and they actually devalue the car like completely. They devalue it in a resale value and they massively devalue it in an insurance value. People think if you do modifications on the car, you're actually increasing the value of the car. You're not. You're decreasing the value of the car by installing modifications for two reasons. One, if you're a buyer, do you want to buy a car like this which has got stupid hot air intake, a stupid bodgeged up exhaust, and some terribly installed splitters with tag seal? No. Because who has owned that vehicle? Exactly. And in an insurance value or an insurance sense, if you and people think, oh, I've just installed this exhaust that you're going to have to add the value on. No, because in an insurance sense, it actually costs less because to replace an aftermarket exhaust is going to cost way less than replacing the exhaust from the OEM manufacturer from new. So, people don't understand that again, suspension. Is it going to cost more to replace one cheap front coilover or to buy a whole new front strut from Volkswagen? It's going to cost more to buy them from Volkswagen. So, you are in theory devaluing the vehicle by installing modifications, especially when they're useless, tacky ones like they are on this. Right now, not only does it look like a tacky piece of [ __ ] even though it has the potential to be a nice car, there's something mechanically wrong with it as well.

[00:24:15]Absolutely atrocious. But anyway, if we can get over the noise, if we can get over how bad that sounds. We also have lots of lights on the dashboard. We've got some lights out. We have a problem with the brakes. And we also have an engine management light on as well. Oh, it's got a proper misfire.

[00:24:35]Yeah. [ __ ] knew it had. I sensed it.

[00:24:38]I could smell it over fueling as well.

[00:24:40]The problem is the mileage. It's got over it's got 159,000 miles which is quite a lot but ultimately it's a highspec Sorocco with a pan roof and we're going to make it nice and tidy and we're going to be able to do that stay with me for free. I think we're not going to be able to spend a single penny on this car. And that's because all of these [ __ ] tacky horrible things that we're going to take off, some other person who also likes [ __ ] tacky horrible things is going to want to take them for some reason. I think everything that we take off this car, i.e. the hot air [ __ ] Take the stupid [ __ ] wannabe Sorco exhaust. Somebody's going to want to take them and we're going to be able to swap them with somebody on the Facebook groups for some standard part. So, I think we potentially might be able to make some profit on this car without spending a single penny. So, we will see.

[00:25:38]>> Hey. Hey. Good car, man.

[00:25:45]>> Oh no, guys. It It gets worse. Listen, it's got a blowoff valve.

[00:25:53]No, this is bad. This is really bad. And it's definitely got a misfire cuz it's driving like [ __ ] and it's knocking all over the place. Listen, it's got a blowoff valve. Are you ready?

[00:26:09]The suspension is terrible.

[00:26:13]No words.

[00:26:14]No words. Hate it, but I actually quite like it. I really like it. I like the things it could be, but what's making me not like is it is the things that it is.

[00:26:25]But we can change that. We're going to make this a nice car. Nice good car, man. It's good car. Oh, I've not said how much we bought it for. We got it for £1,400, which I actually think is not that bad. Um, we'll only see we come to sell the damn thing, though. So, this car is actually really nice, or it has the potential to be really nice, and nice cars sell for good money. The only thing that's letting this car down is just how tacky it is, and that comes from all of the modifications. So, we're going to see how well we can clean this car up to make it a nice clean example and hopefully spend nothing or as little to nothing as possible from converting it back to standard and therefore massively increasing the value of the car. So, I'm actually excited for this one. But we do have some mechanical problems to fix first and foremost.