W212 - Rusty Calipers and only 2 months old!!

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JuJigsaw

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I took delivery of my W212 Sport Estate at the end of September and it's been a superb car so far (although the MPG isn't close to what MB state, will wait until fully bedded-in to make a judgement).

Anyway, car's now done 1800 miles and a few weeks ago I spotted the front and rear calipers were starting to rust. The fronts are worse but the rears are catching up fast. I took the car into the local dealer yesterday and they've now submitted a claim to MB but they weren't very hopeful at all as they these issues are usually knocked back, in fact they said they'd never had rusty caliper replacements approved. I'm hoping they do accept this one as the car is so new but to say I'm annoyed that this can happen to such a new car and an MB as well is seriously annoying especially as it's done such very low miles.

I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences of this issue with their calipers and also if anyone has managed to get them replaced under warranty.
 

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Most calipers of the cast iron variety will rust as they are not painted.

I always paint mine, and I had to on the CL as they looked awful
 

Naraic

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As above, and as I advised on the other side...they rust...paint them.
 

Ricardo_e220

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Probably brought on by the dealer putting wheel acid on during prep.....

The local stealer managed to use something on my car during service which removed half the paint off the hubs on my new discs...

Their brand new amg modelled 212 with 500 miles was looking the same :(
 
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JuJigsaw

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Most calipers of the cast iron variety will rust as they are not painted.

I always paint mine, and I had to on the CL as they looked awful
How and what did you paint them with?

I walked along the line of Mercs in the dealer car park, easily 40 cars, and none of them, not even the older 03 and 04 plates had rust, although they did look a little furred, but after 8 yrs you'd expect this. Not 3 months.
 

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Silver spray Hammerite does the trick. Apparently Aston, amongst other prestige do this at a service as standard....have seen some of the lotus dealerships also do it like jct600 in Leeds
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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Silver spray Hammerite does the trick. Apparently Aston, amongst other prestige do this at a service as standard....have seen some of the lotus dealerships also do it like jct600 in Leeds

About time the dealers realised that there is no point in manufacturers fitting expensive alloy wheels without them making sure the brake hubs are painted and look good. No doubt we've all seen examples of this on very expensive cars and it looks farcical to the trained eye, well done Lotus and Jct600 for raising the bar.
 

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This is what I do, and with silver hamerite

DSC00772.jpg
 

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Very nice, what level of prep. did you use to achieve such a good finish

Wash down with petrol, small wire brush where possible then sand paper on other parts including the disc centers. Then just 2 to 3 coats of hammerite and I use a heat gun to dry it off quickly, by getting the parts hot with the heat gun, the first coat starts to flash off after 10 minutes and acts like a glue for the next coats allowing a more paint to be applied without getting runs.

All paint responds much better when the parts are hot
 
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JuJigsaw

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Silver spray Hammerite does the trick. Apparently Aston, amongst other prestige do this at a service as standard....have seen some of the lotus dealerships also do it like jct600 in Leeds

Sorry, are you saying Aston actually paint their calipers with Hammerite?? Even done during a service.........WTF?? Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Hammerite, painted plenty of old Mini parts with the stuff in the 80's but honestly, it doesn't give the sort of finish you'd expect on a standard modern car, let alone a top-end luxury motor like an Aston.
 
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Naraic

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Sorry, are you saying Aston actually paint their calipers with Hammerite?? Even done during a service.........WTF?? Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Hammerite, painted plenty of old Mini parts with the stuff in the 80's but honestly, it doesn't give the sort of finish you'd expect on a standard modern car, let alone a top-end luxury motor like an Aston.

It's a brake caliper for goodness sake...what finish are you expecting???
 
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JuJigsaw

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It's a brake caliper for goodness sake...what finish are you expecting???
Very strange attitude from a Mod you've got. It's almost as if you have Merc envy and are on here (or there) to rubbish genuine comment. My point is valid and pretty common sense so I don't get your attitude.

To answer your question I'd expect a better level of finish than on a (percieved) lesser quality vehicle, such as a Ford, Vx etc who CAN produce calipers that don't rust after two months. I'd certainly expect that on an MB and definitely expect it on a motor that cost upwards of a £100k. If you think that's cobblers then feel free to carry on accepting second best.

Hurry up and delete my post quick because you don't agree with my comment.
 
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Naraic

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I was a member before I was a mod...and didn't change heads. If you don't agree, say so, don't bring up the me being a mod nonsense. MB are not the expensive cars they once were. You delete your own post if you want to...I can't be bothered.

"Merc envy"...are you serious...don't you know anything about this forum and it's members?
 
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JuJigsaw

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MB are not the expensive cars they once were.
What price list do you look at? My almost 40 grand car should not be rusting after 2 months, end of. In anyone's world (except obviously yours) that TOTALLY unacceptable. Like I said my wife's old and knackered Touran that cost new half what the E-Class cost new and hasn't got rusty calipers even now with 85k on the clock so I am we'll within my rights to expect them to not rust.
 
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Naraic

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What price list do you look at? My almost 40 grand car should not be rusting after 2 months, end of. In anyone's world (except obviously yours) that TOTALLY unacceptable. Like I said my wife's old and knackered Touran that cost new half what the E-Class cost new and hasn't got rusty calipers even now with 85k on the clock so I am we'll within my rights to expect them to not rust.

The E class estate I first bought was also nearly £40,000...in 1999...not much else has stood still since then...so yes they are not expensive like they used to be. And as for rust...you don't know what rust is. You should see the rusty calipers on my wife's RAV4.
 
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Ricardo_e220

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The brake disc hub part gets painted and if calliper is non treated as in the rears on a lotus, they get a tidy up

But with your rant against merc I'm not surprised they won't entertain it if your posts here are anything to go by here...
 
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television

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It is an interesting subject,, they are not easy things to paint during the manufacturing. Sure they could be masked and powder coated, but they have machined faces where the caliper meets the stub axle, and the bolt holes must be kept clear, the holes for the pins must be kept clear as must the face of the caliper itself where it joins the mounting assembly.

It was not a big thing years ago when we had the disc type wheels as you could not see them. Even the grey primer on the hub centers is only a dust coat and has no water proofing qualities at all.
 

Naraic

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And the rust (or lack of) does not mean anything as regards the quality of either the car or the calipers themselves. Cast iron rusts...end of.

If I was renting a car (so very much cheaper today than it was in 1999) I'd not be bothered.
 
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spock500

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I think it also depends on the colour and the look you want to achieve.

Painted say pillar box red on the wrong colour car it can scream boy racer although this might be the desired effect.

The other things is, if they are painted folks will think they have to clean them ;)
 


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