Are there any rust free CLK W208s?

deejaybee

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I have been looking around at '99-2000 W208 CLK coupes over the last week or so. There seem to be quite a few on the market in the £3.5-4.5 price range, but I haven't seen one so far that has not had rust - the rear wheel arches seem to be the most vulnerable and some have been quite bad. Also have seen rust on front and rear wings where they met the bumper and also on doors etc by the trim.

Is it likely that there are any rust free examples out there? I also find it suprising that rust wasn't fixed by previous owners within the 8 year corrosion warranty period; or maybe they were and it just rusts quickly again after a repair?

I quite like the W208 overall but am rather put off by the rust issues I have seen. It wouldn't be too bad to live with right away, but I can see the corrosion getting pretty bad over a yera or two running through the winter and it looks as though it would be quite expensive to do a reasonable repair over the rear wheel arches.

Any feedback from current owners appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave
 

buccal

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Hi,

Mine is totally rust free, and has never had any remedial work from MB.


Seems the majority are terrible. Not sure why mine has been different but i hope i'm not tempting fate:(

Keep on looking, i've yet to find a rust free w210

Buccal
 

television

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Yes there are a few rust free cars out there, but no many.

Yes the rear wheel arches are the worst, I have seen them so bad that the metal,what was left of it just crumbles away, all mainly due to poor metal and bad wheel arch design that allows wet mud to sit there forever.

If I really wanted one, and they are nice cars, then I would go for the best spec and non rusty front end, and have new metal put into the rear arches and treat the car heavily with waxoil. It is not that expensive to have new metal put in, filling and sanding is a waste of time
 

Alex M Grieve

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I have been looking around at '99-2000 W208 CLK coupes over the last week or so. There seem to be quite a few on the market in the £3.5-4.5 price range, but I haven't seen one so far that has not had rust - the rear wheel arches seem to be the most vulnerable and some have been quite bad. Also have seen rust on front and rear wings where they met the bumper and also on doors etc by the trim.

I think it is even worse than that Dave - as post 1998 cars, should they not be entitled to more than 8 years anti-corrosion warranty, which would imply that they are still eligible? :confused:
 

SQ_W211

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Mine is rust free as well and I got MBS to check all arches with the inner liners out as well.

You can surely find the cars without rust but they will be more in price obviously.
 

Uncle Benz

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I am echoing Amo here. You are looking at a price range which will limit you to rusty cars. There are rust free ones, but they will be at a price. My 2000 cabrio has not a trace of it anywhere, but I recognise that it is rare, and so my price will be higher. (If it was for sale, which it isn't)
 

Xtractorfan

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I think it is even worse than that Dave - as post 1998 cars, should they not be entitled to more than 8 years anti-corrosion warranty, which would imply that they are still eligible? :confused:

The only real way to get rid of the rust bug is to replace the panels /bodyshell, MB realise this and are fervently hoping that they will grow out of the problem..
 

television

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The only real way to get rid of the rust bug is to replace the panels /bodyshell, MB realise this and are fervently hoping that they will grow out of the problem..

When they have rusted away there will not be any metal left thats rusty = end of the problem,, I mean that you cannot paint a rusty wheel arch if its not there
 

SQ_W211

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When they have rusted away there will not be any metal left thats rusty = end of the problem,, I mean that you cannot paint a rusty wheel arch if its not there

Fair point. We will just drive around with rust/panel free cars in next few years.
 

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Fair point. We will just drive around with rust/panel free cars in next few years.

I was taken to court once for not keeping my lights in a good working order. The judge threw the case out when I told him that there were no lights on the car, he said that I could not maintain what I had not got
 

philharve

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Rust repair an investment

Hi All

As I intend to keep my C class some years I have decided to have any rust that develops professionally repaired. To date all 4 wheel arches, the bonnet and 3 of the 4 doors have had the full repair and anti-corrosion treatment.

I regret having to fork out loads of money to repair corrosion because I did not foresee that this would be one of the ongoing costs of owning a Mercedes of a particular age. However, I'm older and wiser now and I tell myself that dealing effectively with corrosion is an investment and it will stop my car oxidizing away before my very eyes.

Owning a rusty car does not engender a sense of well being, quite the contrary, it could continually act as a reminder of a bad decision.

I have no idea what the price differential would be between two identical cars of the same age, one with corrosion in all the 'usual' places and one rust free, but I tell myself that a clean example, whether rust free or professionally repaired, must be worth considerably more than a poorly maintained example. If this differential is greater than the cost of repairs then I think the effort will have been worth it, especially if the car is in excellent condition in every other respect.

REGARDS

Phil
 

Alex M Grieve

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As I intend to keep my C class some years I have decided to have any rust that develops professionally repaired.

I have no idea what the price differential would be between two identical cars of the same age, one with corrosion in all the 'usual' places and one rust free

Painful Phil, but it is likely that a severely rusted car might eventual become unsaleable. Worth seeking any assurances you can get from the professionals who do the work for you.

A bit like the debate of dealer servicing v Indy servicing, it is also well to compare the savings/costs with eventual price at sale and not to go overboard on rust revisions when the value of the car gets lower.

I had 2 episodes fixed by MB and decided to move the car on in favour of a galvanized one.

All strategies have pros and cons. Benjamin Franklin said :

“In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes”.

Had he been alive today, he might have said,

"In this motoring world nothing is certain but rust and depreciation".

It is how you balance them that matters.
 

SQ_W211

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Goes to show how our police operates... Taking you to court for inappropriate reasons and costing everyone £££££'s to public when they could be doing better things
 
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