cl500?

[Juddian]

Luddite here finally found a car that Georgeous likes as much as her 96 320ce. We looked at a 52 plate cl500 yesterday and its the only car she would consider replacing the ce with. Obviously had a good look round this one as they are as rare as hens wotsits in this area. Very disturbed to find RUST on this beauty ..o/s/r wheelarch 3'' bubbling section also small bubbling to rear roof pillar/rear panel meeting point, both sides! We were disturbed(some time now) as we hoped the problems of the 210 were history, and want to miss the rust issue if at all poss. Is this a normal problem (car had covered 48k) also are there things to look out for or models to avoid, wouldn't mind a 55? Any advice much appreciated. Brian

 

[daveenty]

Didn't think the rust was an issue either....thought they'd sorted it out by then (2002)
No help with the 500 sorry, but if I were going for the 55 I'd make sure it was on a 52 plate (or above) as this had the kompressor (supercharger) engine with the extra horses (500 as opposed from 380 ish)

Nearly bought one a few months ago, but decided against it from a practical point of view (Death threats etc.)

 

[type49]

Never seen rust on a 215 either. I think these where apparantly specialists to repair in an accident due to the metals used in construction. Is it possible it's had a repair & not done properly?

 

[jberks]

As far as 2002 is concerned, my dad recently had some warranty paintwork done on his 02 E220cdi (W211) on the 2 rear wheelarches. As it happens, he was chuffed as there was a scuff on it when he bought it and they fixed that at the same time, but some corrosion does appear to have crept as far as 2002.

 

[Juddian]

Blimey been on the other forum and makes some grim reading seems like the cl does have corrosion probs exactly in those places and cos of specialist repair work on aluminium it can be expensive. Looks like the 211 is heading the same way too. It amazes me that we talk about cars costing £40k upwards rusting as if its normal, have the manufacturers got us all conned? Thanks for the replies so far it would be nice to hear from someone who has had a cl and lived with any probs. Brian

 

[jberks]

Looks like the 211 is heading the same way too.

Possibly but to be fair, his may have been a one off. It certainly wasn't bad - I hadn't even noticed it and was amazed when MB agreed to pay for what I felt was damage. Anyway, at that age, my 210 was on it's 2nd visit, his is now spotless and my 211 is pretty clean though at 2 years old I guess it should be!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Blimey been on the other forum and makes some grim reading seems like the cl does have corrosion probs exactly in those places and cos of specialist repair work on aluminium it can be expensive. Looks like the 211 is heading the same way too. It amazes me that we talk about cars costing £40k upwards rusting as if its normal, have the manufacturers got us all conned?

Your not wrong, i had a 1995 golf tdi finally sold it last year with 195,000 miles on it and i hardly had any rust spots, load of stone chips, but surprisingly solid.

Also owned a 1990 944 turbo, its bodywork was immaculate, a coupl eof very small bubbles on one of the rear arches, a bit of saand paper some krust and touch up paint was as good as now. Had a nice 92 530i with really was a nice car, just 18mpg with the v8 wasnt so good. Again not a single spot of rust, paint still looked like new, it really did.

I bought my 210 with my eys open, and am spending £600 or so on getting some rust repairs, but it still blows me away that MB owners actaully accept this talking about 4 year old cars rusting, its really crazy. Tell you what you just wont find any rust on a 4 year old BMW or Audi..

Not that i am complaining too much if my e class was buit by BMW it would have cost me twice what i paid for it last month. Just got to spend £500 every year fighting the good fight!!

 

[Mikesmerc]

Never seen rust on a 215 either. I think these where apparantly specialists to repair in an accident due to the metals used in construction. Is it possible it's had a repair & not done properly?

This would have been my first thought also, a poor repair, if it wasn't you would expect the near side to be showing similar symptoms.
In my view an awesome looking car.
Rgds
Mike

 

[sleepezy]

w215's are known for rusting in two places - the same as you mention - rear wheel arches (front bit) and where the c pillars meet the rear wings

 

[hawk20]

Blimey been on the other forum and makes some grim reading seems like the cl does have corrosion probs exactly in those places and cos of specialist repair work on aluminium it can be expensive. Looks like the 211 is heading the same way too. It amazes me that we talk about cars costing £40k upwards rusting as if its normal, have the manufacturers got us all conned? Thanks for the replies so far it would be nice to hear from someone who has had a cl and lived with any probs. Brian

When you say 52 plate, remember that could be 2001 or 2002. Five or six years old. You will see plenty of examples of rust on BMW's of that age too. You will also see many examples of both makes with no rust. That's life.

Modern water based paints are required for environmental and Health and Safety reasons. But they are not inherently waterproof. It is the varnish-like clear lacquer that keeps the water away from the steel and if the lacquer surface is broken by scratches or stone chips (not touched up properly) then water will get in and rust will ensue.

The above is an unavoidable fact of life unless the steel panels are galvanised. Most threads on most forums say that both Mercedes and BMW began galvanising of all steel panels from 2004 onwards. But those panels on the CL which are steel were galvanised from the beginning of 2003. Definitely. Buy one of those for best rust prevention.

Alternatively, buy a 2001 or 2002 CL with a full MBSH and you will have a 30 year rust guarantee so the problem and any costs of correction will fall to Mercedes. Only Mercedes offer this protection.

 

[Blobcat]

52 reg is from Sept 2002 until March 2003.

 

[hawk20]

52 reg is from Sept 2002 until March 2003.

You cheated. You looked it up. I counted on my fingers.

 

[Blobcat]

I didn't have to look it up.
Just think of the 5 as an 'S' then think of the month that starts with S and that is when the 5x registrations come out. Simple really.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

When you say 52 plate, remember that could be 2001 or 2002. Five or six years old. You will see plenty of examples of rust on BMW's of that age too. You will also see many examples of both makes with no rust. That's life.

kDont think you will find many 5 year old BMW with rust.

Seriously i dont think you would find may 5 year old Citreons or Pugs with rust at that age. Lets face it its an issue with MB, you only have to chat with a few bodyshops to know this.

Its funny when you ask for a quote for rust, they ask what car its for. You say an E-class and they laugh and can almost give you the quote without looking at the car.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

52 reg is from Sept 2002 until March 2003.

So we are talking about a car that is at most 4 years and 4 months old.

Lols not 5 or 6!!!!!

 

[Blobcat]

It could be over 5yrs old depending upon when it was manufactured

 

[hawk20]

kDont think you will find many 5 year old BMW with rust.

Seriously i dont think you would find may 5 year old Citreons or Pugs with rust at that age. Lets face it its an issue with MB, you only have to chat with a few bodyshops to know this.

Its funny when you ask for a quote for rust, they ask what car its for. You say an E-class and they laugh and can almost give you the quote without looking at the car.

I've seen plenty BUT you never know how much is due to the owner not touching up stone chips and scratches. What you do know with a Mercedes is that if you touch it up, but nonetheless get rust from the inside, then they will fix it free -and for 30 years if you service regularly with a Merc dealer.

 

[hawk20]

52 reg is from Sept 2002 until March 2003.

Yes that is useful. And I hope you realise I was only joking about 'cheating by looking it up'.

The difficulty I have, is remembering the years because many (all?) registrations could apply to two different years. And when you count back on your fingers, the sequence is not straghtforward is it? Is there a simple reference to look up dates and registrations?

 

[Blobcat]

This site has all the details; http://ukcar.co.uk/features/reg_year.htm

 

[hawk20]

Thanks Blobcat. What a useful site. All those queries about facelifts, model changes etc all are covered.

On rust, those interested in when Mercedes began galvanising to cure the problem may like to look at the new thread on Galvanising Mercedes Cars