is there a problem with c class paint?

[citroennut]

hi all,
as with the post in 'general' i am considering changing the e class for a c class. i don't need such a large car as have sold the caravan and bought a motorhome. i have been to look at an '02 c270 avantdarde estate with 42k on the clock at the dealer who has given me a fantastic price for the e class. on further inspection of the c class i noticed that there was hardly a panel without a rusty stone chip. having had the problems of rust on the e class - fixed under warranty - i'm not that eager to have them all over again, so is there an underlying problem?. the e class had stone chips prior to respray but they didn't go through to bare metal at all. is it the same with the e class or should i go for an e class instead?
cheers
simon

 

[D3Less]

There are stone chips on my 51 reg but they have not gone rusty at all.

 

[Alfie]

hi all,
as with the post in 'general' i am considering changing the e class for a c class. i don't need such a large car as have sold the caravan and bought a motorhome. i have been to look at an '02 c270 avantdarde estate with 42k on the clock at the dealer who has given me a fantastic price for the e class. on further inspection of the c class i noticed that there was hardly a panel without a rusty stone chip. having had the problems of rust on the e class - fixed under warranty - i'm not that eager to have them all over again, so is there an underlying problem?. the e class had stone chips prior to respray but they didn't go through to bare metal at all. is it the same with the e class or should i go for an e class instead?
cheers
simon

There were paint problems with the earlier pre facelift W203's Mostly confined to the bonnet where the paint was too thin.

That said, there were numerous electrical issues with the early W211 E class cars. The facelifted ones were/are much better.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I've never owned a car with such thin paint. A gnat fart 100 yards waway takes the paint off - and then the car rusts. as these are stone chips they are not covered by the MB rust warrantee.

That said the only 2 places I have issues are the bonnet and the windscreen pillar. The windscreen pillar has a stone chip that has started to bubble under the paint and MB want £300 to fix it.

There is also a small chip on one of the rear wings, under the fuel cap, that I can see rusting.

So yes, in answer to your question, they do suffer very badly from stone chips and subsequent rust. Later cars (2004+) were galvanised to get around this problem. Shame the earlier ones weren't.

However, the E-class suffers from "serious" rust problems not just stone chips. MB have recognised this and is fixing the e-class rust problems free-of-charge as long as the car has been regularly serviced by MB

 

[Dave's E55 AMG]

However, the E-class suffers from "serious" rust problems not just stone chips. MB have recognised this and is fixing the e-class rust problems free-of-charge as long as the car has been regularly serviced by MB[/QUOTE]



Where are these rust points on the E class?

 

[daveenty]

Mainly on the W210 Dave......mine was a bit of a dog as well.

A mate painted it for me and suggested I got rid when he saw the extent of damage.

Having said that, I'd bought it cheap, so just traded it for my CLK.

 

[Dave's E55 AMG]

Thanks Dave - panic over!

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

sorry Dave. Didn't mean to scare you. I'd still swap if you're up for it....

 

[Dave's E55 AMG]

I keep getting these offers to swap.

 

[citroennut]

thanks guys,
i think i will look for a late '03 or early '04 going by the build quality and galvanising of these cars.
cheers
simon