Rusty Mercedes.

goldspanners

i know of an slk that failed its second MOT due to heavily corroded front chassis legs.

a mate also has a clk w reg, its been painted more times than the forth rail bridge. i'd hate to see what state its in underneath.

richardvc

I had an old C Class which didn't have any rust on at all - went to look at a CLK and the paint was already bubbling.

Thought this was a one-off but doesn't look like it is !

property.advert

All galvanised from the mid 2000s I think, perhaps 2004 ?

kaya

i have a 55 plate c class estate now , no sign of rust on it anywhere, although the turbo bearings failed at 60,000 miles, merc wanted to charge me £1500+vat to supply only, got one for £700 down the road

waynedance

I work at a garage and have seen many 10 year old and less Mercs with plenty of rust about them.

vikingaero

Mercedes has taken a real battering over the last decade over the quality of their cars and quite rightly so. The W124 model E Class (85?-94) were the last of properly built and engineered Mercedes. These are often have rusty wings but they are 16+ year old cars.

The successor to the W124, the W210 (95-02) is one of the worst cars Mercedes ever produced and preceded the abysmal first generation A-Class in quality.

The W210 successor, the W211 had problems in the early years and it is these cars on which you are still seeing the rust and grotty bodywork.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The W210 contains many of the parts found in the W124.

Its only the rusty bodywork that sets it apart from anything else. In all other respects, it is a far superior car to the W124.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

The W210 contains many of the parts found in the W124.

Its only the rusty bodywork that sets it apart from anything else. In all other respects, it is a far superior car to the W124.

Agreed PPPL, the 210 gained the magic ingredient that would have made a 124 one of the most desirable cars of all time...it gained the much need turbo on the Diesel.

I've often toyed with finding one of the last 300td's (320CDi too complicated)with low mileage and having it fully professionally rustproofed.
I'm quite sure half the rot problem is the sheer bone idleness of the owners, you've only got to run you fingers around the rear wheel arches of alsmost any car and you'll find thick salt laden crud imbedded in every trap from the first winter of the car's life.

Those same cars will suffer corroded/seized brake calipers, locks, hinges etc after a few years and those same idle owners will be criticizing the maker when they themselves lacked the nous to wash the salt and crud off and protect with something.

''it doesn't say to do that in the handbook'', it doesn't say use your head as an axle stand for a 10 ton bus either but then common sense and mechanical sympathy seem to be in ever shorter supply these days.

mikey72

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Agreed PPPL, the 210 gained the magic ingredient that would have made a 124 one of the most desirable cars of all time...it gained the much need turbo on the Diesel.

I've often toyed with finding one of the last 300td's (320CDi too complicated)with low mileage and having it fully professionally rustproofed.
I'm quite sure half the rot problem is the sheer bone idleness of the owners, you've only got to run you fingers around the rear wheel arches of alsmost any car and you'll find thick salt laden crud imbedded in every trap from the first winter of the car's life.

Those same cars will suffer corroded/seized brake calipers, locks, hinges etc after a few years and those same idle owners will be criticizing the maker when they themselves lacked the nous to wash the salt and crud off and protect with something.

''it doesn't say to do that in the handbook'', it doesn't say use your head as an axle stand for a 10 ton bus either but then common sense and mechanical sympathy seem to be in ever shorter supply these days.

Washing?
Sounds high maintenance to me. I'll have to stick to my Vauxhall that gets washed every year for the MOT (usually), 04 with no rust. My previous 93 Fiat wasn’t that lucky, I sold that after ten years, with no rust on it. But I did wash it before I sold it as a special one off.

somech

worst ive seen are late ninetys e class with rotted inner arches and top coil spring caps rotted.