Corrosion E class

[david walter]

I have had six mercedes cars over a 15 year period all of which hae been regularly serviced, at great expense, by the local mercedes agent.
I now find that the paint is lifting badly on one wing and to a lesser extent on others. As a chartered engineer i am certain that this has been going on for some years but Mercedes deny any liability and refuse point blank to make any contribution to the repair costs which will run into some £2000.

Obviously this attiitude will affect any future car purchases that I may make. I consider their attitude to be high habded to say the least and some of their excuses for not contributing have bordered on the insane.

Have any other forum members had similar experiences with MB?

David

 

[jberks]

What exactly do you mean by paint lifting ?
And - on what model, year etc?
There have been various issues with paintwork in recent years, but MB have generally been excellent in accepting blame and sorting it out.

Also, £2000 is a lot for what you describe as a flaky paint problem. Based on what I've just paid for a 1st class accident repair job, I could have a full respray for that, twice!

 

[Blobcat]

Hi & Welcome,
There are many threads on this forum relating to E class' and rust. The general consensus is that if the vehicle is <6yrs old and MB serviced then MB have covered the cost. However a member has just had most of the body done at 9yrs. I would search this forum and not accept a NO from the dealer

 

[david walter]

The car is some 9 years old and has been regularly serviced by MB agents. The rust is causing tha paint to lift on the edges of the wings adjacent to the bonnet at the front.It is quite evident that it is lifting of the paint and not the result of stone damage or a collision of any sort.

 

[jberks]

Certainly sounds like the normal W210 rust issue. Has the dealer actually submitted a claim on your behalf? I would insist that they do this, whether they feel you would be succesful or not. Unfortunately this problem does affect 210's from around '97 to '02 so yours is apparently one of the early ones. That said, if this is the first sign you've had. then yours is also one of the better ones. My 2000 E class had around 4 claims over the 5 years. None serious but a tad inconvenient.
Bang in a claim, they may turn it down on account of it's age but as Blobcat says, others have been successful at that age so its definatley worth a shot.
Failing that, 2 wings, a bonet respray and general blend in should be no more than around £1000 at the top side for a good body shop. £2000 and look on the roof, you'll see a telescope.

 

[david walter]

The dealer has submitted a claim which, after 2 months they have rejected.

 

[jberks]

On what grounds?
I suspect it's age. To be fair to them they have to let go at some point - it may be that 8 years is their limit. It's a pain. I'd suggest finding a friendly local bodyshop. Assuming it's surface corrosion that can be blasted and treated, I'd imagine you'd be looking at around £300 to fix and respray.

 

[Blobcat]

On what grounds?
I suspect it's age. To be fair to them they have to let go at some point - it may be that 8 years is their limit. It's a pain. I'd suggest finding a friendly local bodyshop. Assuming it's surface corrosion that can be blasted and treated, I'd imagine you'd be looking at around £300 to fix and respray.

If they have dismissed it due to age I would go back to them straight away and ask why is a 9yr old car being discounted when they give a 30yr rust warranty. If you have a full MB service history and have followed any advisories given to you regarding touching up stone chips then I really don't see how they can ignore the claim. I would ask to see the report and find out why they are refusing to honour the claim.

 

[david walter]

Where does it say they give a 30 year rust warraty?

 

[Blobcat]

Service Booklet

 

[hawk20]

Where does it say they give a 30 year rust warraty?

All Mercedes Sales brochures say this. Don't want to be alarmist but get your "spring perches" really thoroughly checked. Hard to do properly. Quite a few have failed and had suspension collapses. If it happens at speed it is a safety issue. Some claim there has been a recall for this in Canada. See
MBWorld.org Forums > Mercedes-Benz Sedans > E-Class (W210)
recall you should look for don't wait for letter in your mail box
And on Benzworld.org if you run a search for 'rust' on the E class forum to 1999 you will get over 100 threads. Lots of cases like yours and Mercedes have been paying to put it right. Run "spring perches" as well. May save your life.

Mercedes don't always pay. Saw a 6 year old E class at my local dealer last week. Lots of rust and recurring. My dealer who is very helpful says it is odd with Mercedes: they will do one free and yet another very similar one they will refuse. Keep trying. Good luck.

 

[jberks]

Not so sure

The 30 year corrosion warranty was only introduced (if memory serves) around 98/99. They brought the warranty in as a direct response to complaints about corrosion. Yours was one of the ones they were responding to, but they didn't offer it retrospectively. Normal thing - fix the issue for new customers to avoid a dip in sales but ignore those who have already paid.

I suspect you're totally into the goodwill aspect so if they've refused that will probably be it. Perhaps worth asking the dealer to intervene on your behalf (as a loyal but P'd off customer of his) and ask whether they'd make an exception. but its doubtful.

 

[Blobcat]

As I posted above pls have a look in your service booklet as that is where the warranty details are listed that are relevant to your car.

 

[hawk20]

The 30 year corrosion warranty was only introduced (if memory serves) around 98/99. They brought the warranty in as a direct response to complaints about corrosion. .

Oh is that how it happened. At that time I was doing big miles and tended to trade in before the 3 year guarantee expired so I didn't hit the rust problem. But the various threads here and on other Merc owner websites have since opened my eyes. Has there been any authoritative statement that the rust issues have now been sorted?

 

[jberks]

Oh is that how it happened. At that time I was doing big miles and tended to trade in before the 3 year guarantee expired so I didn't hit the rust problem. But the various threads here and on other Merc owner websites have since opened my eyes. Has there been any authoritative statement that the rust issues have now been sorted?

Not specifically, but the very late W210's don't seem to suffer, or at least not nearly as badly as early ones, so they were well on the way to sorting it by 2002. Considering what it was costing MB to fix them, (I reckon over £1000 on mine alone - and that was really not that bad) let alone the loss of reputation, I am pretty confident fixing this issue was a no1 priority. In any case, the later models have plastic and aluminium in many of the places that were troublesome on the previous ones.

 

[hawk20]

Not specifically, but the very late W210's don't seem to suffer, or at least not nearly as badly as early ones, so they were well on the way to sorting it by 2002. Considering what it was costing MB to fix them, (I reckon over £1000 on mine alone - and that was really not that bad) let alone the loss of reputation, I am pretty confident fixing this issue was a no1 priority. In any case, the later models have plastic and aluminium in many of the places that were troublesome on the previous ones.

Well that is good news. Let's hope it is behind us from now on. But for those with older cars trying to get a solution this link may help:-
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1207786-rust-warning.html
Quoting the recall in Canada may help to extract help from MB.

 

[swift]

the warranty is void if any bodywork is carried out by non MB people. The MB warranty is for 30 years. Normally a rust warranty means perforation i.e. a big bullet hole in the metal, NOT flakey paint.

I dont see how benz could reject a rust claim,on the grounds that your car was serviced by non MB folk. WTF does an oil change have to do with body condition?

MB tits!

Maybe try your local MB approved body shop. They will perhaps not be so brutalistic with a repair claim and maybe more understanding (ching ching)

 

[hawk20]

Simply not good enough by Mercedes or Mr Walters' dealer. Given he's bought 6 Mercs in the last 15 years, he should expect better treatment. More than that. Even if it was his first Merc, read all the threads re rust on all Mercedes Owners Forums and quite clear rust was a major problem from what 95 or 6 to 2001 or 2002? on the E class especially. AND quite clear Merc know all about it and have spent mega money putting right some/many cases BUT NOT ALL. Quite clear from the threads and from my dealer (quoted ealier above) that there is an element of arbitrariness about who gets helped. I do not think Mr Walters should cave in. I think he should ask for the Sales Manager (who shouldn't want to lose such a good customer). Ask if he can personally help or get a Director involved. The dealer can lean on Merc and the dealer could offer to contribute. Second, contact Mercedes Customer Service. Here's the link: -
CustomerService.UK@cac.DaimlerChrysler.com Tell them all about it and that this Forum and others show the problem has been widespread, they know about it and have dealt with cars up to 9 years old. Why not yours? And you want the "spring perches" checked for safety reasons (see my earlier bit). Surely the dealer and Merc between them should be able to solve the problem. At the least they might make you a part-ex deal offer you couldn't refuse. How people in the business of selling cars professionally could sit on this problem for two months and then say no is beyond me. It shows a level of incompetence, of uncaring arrogance that beggars belief. Which one of us would not fire an employee if we found one who had treated a customer of ours like this.

If all that fails and you have any energy left for the fight, Mr Walters, say you will contact Watchdog, What Car and Autocar. Some have found that works. Keep us posted. Good luck.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I must admit I suffered the dreaded rust too. I had read the posts here, kept looking over the car and finding nothing. Then in July 2004 found a lot. Car went in for a service in August 2004. I heard nothing whatsoever from MB until the following February when they said they wanted the car immediately to replace the 4 doors...under warranty. The job was done perfectly but to be honest I still say thier custoemr relations is apalling.

Two other areas msut be checked for safety reasons, the strut points as mentioned and also the front cross member. There are instances of W210s suffering collapsing front suspension due to corrosion.

 

[hawk20]

I must admit I suffered the dreaded rust too. I had read the posts here, kept looking over the car and finding nothing. Then in July 2004 found a lot. Car went in for a service in August 2004. I heard nothing whatsoever from MB until the following February when they said they wanted the car immediately to replace the 4 doors...under warranty. The job was done perfectly but to be honest I still say thier custoemr relations is apalling.

Two other areas msut be checked for safety reasons, the strut points as mentioned and also the front cross member. There are instances of W210s suffering collapsing front suspension due to corrosion.

How could they sit on your problem for 6 months and tell you nothing. Appalling.
As you say for safety reasons the strut points and cross member need to be checked to avoid collapsing front suspension. BUT why no recall on this major safety issue as there appears to have been in Canada.

Any more news from Mr Walters? Please keep us posted.