Looking to buy a 98 E300DT - are they OK and do they rust?

[Ginger Monkey]

Hi to one and all,

Looking to Buy a '98 E300TD Estate and I Would Appreciate a Little Advice and Guidance!

I've just joined your association having been a life-long Volvo fan. I have changed allegiance due to recent Volvo cars not being of the same quality as earlier models. Having spent some time searching through the messages posted here it would appear that it may be the same case with Mercedes E Class; unless there is a vocal minority who have had bad luck rather than all the cars being poor quality.

I've just found a late '98 E300DT estate with 95K on the clock at a main dealer. Although the car has a FMBSH I am effectively buying the car 'as seen' with no warranty due to the mileage/age. I had not thought this to be a problem as Mercedes were bullet proof and totally reliable......right?

I am now worried that I may be buying a rusting money pit. I contacted the dealer today and asked if the 30 year corrosion warranty would be valid. He stated that the car may have only had a 5 year warranty, but 9/10 cases of rust would be honoured by MB: Is this the case? Can you tell me when the 30 year jobby was introduced.

I would appreciate any advice you may have before I buy. Is there anything in particular I should look out for when I buy or should I just walk away? It seems strange that the majority of buyers guides wax lyrical about them. Please HELP!
[/b][/u]

 

[sclass]

How many times do people ask the same question YES THEY DO RUST.

READ THE POSTS. :twisted:

 

[numbnuts]

Why don't you read through the posts we are here to help not to spoon feed members, but the answer to your question is yes they are full of rust
wings doors and bonnet if it was up to me go for an older car they are solid

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Well thanks for that constructive reply, what a welcome to the forum: are all the people as rude and unwelcoming as you sclass? If you had 'read the post' as you have advised me to do, you would have seen that I had hoped to ascertain if all the E class rust or if a few unlucky people have had problems. I had also hoped to find out if the 30 year corrosion warranty would apply to a late '98 car, and determine if a 300DT was reliable, as having 'read the posts' from this forum, and others, covering the last few years there seems to a great deal of confusion with claim and counter claim from members and dealers alike. Is the rust structural or just surface scabs? Finally, I had hoped to find out if they have a 'rust weak spot' or if it is endemic throughout the car.

So if anyone else can offer some constructive help I would be grateful. I am already beginning to feel sorry for the MB dealers if sclass is a typical customer.......

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Numbnuts, why did you bother looking at the message and replying if you find it so annoying? I didn't trick you into viewing my message by offering free Viagra or similar?

 

[190]

The E Class does hve rust problems R,S and T reg are the worst they rust at the headlights and the front indicator repeater lights and are bad for rust on the doors not on the door skin but the frame where the rubber seals are hope this helps.

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Thanks very much. Any thoughts on the warranty?

 

[sclass]

Numbnuts, why did you bother looking at the message and replying if you find it so annoying? I didn't trick you into viewing my message by offering free Viagra or similar?

YOU are getting a bit bold on your first night ps who picked the user name Ginger monkey .How can you expect a proper answer with a name like that Now you know E classes rust like fcuk.

 

[Ginger Monkey]

In the military: used to gobby kids

 

[landover]

The warranty will cover rust if the service has been done and up to date.

But the E class is very prone to rust.

Have a look at the posts in the technical section.

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Tanks for that landover. Can I expect a 300DT to be reliable? Again, the various forums on the web seem to be either side of a high fence: Totally Germanic Reliable vs Totally British Leyland Horror!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Geoff_Slade]

E class do they rust

Ginger Monkey

Sorry you've had such an unpleasant experience with your first posting. It wasn't always like this. I can't give any specific advice but the general opinion on these pages is that in the mid 90s MB went from engineers determining the quality of the cars to the accountants doing it (so quality suffered). The pre 96 W124 E class is definitely very well built. Mine's in for some body work at the moment (botched repair job with a previous owner!!) and with the front wing off the condition of the bodywork underneath was remarkable, not a spot of rust. The only problem with the older cars is it's a non turbo diesel but if you can cope with counting 0-60 in minutes it's a great car once it's up to speed. I know this doesn't answer your specific question but I thought I'd post a reply to show you that the majority of us are civil and helpful. So welcome to the club.

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Thanks for the advice. What a shame that they don't put the TD engine in the older E-Class.

Good night.

Adam

 

[mikemoss]

Hi Ginger Monkey

You're welcome mate - sorry you got such a rough ride from some people on your first posting. can't help re E300 diesel, but I've just bought a supposed rust-bucket E320 of 1999 vintage and yes, there's a touch of barely discernible rust around the tailgate handle but no a sign of anything anywhere else.

Reading the other posts around here and on the mbclub.co.uk forum it seems that Mobilo Life covered cars will have any rusty bits repaired virtually as a matter of course - I believe Mobilo Life was introduced around September 1998, but do please check other postings or the MB UK website to make sure.

Be all of that as it may, the W210 E class is a superb vehicle, the five-speed electronic gearbox a joy and the whole shooting match in a different league, dare I say, to any Volvo. I guess my main advice would be to scout around any potential purchase very carefully for signs of rust (peel pack the rubber seals around all four doors, check the front wheel arches etc) and, if at all possible, go for one with Mobilo Life and a full MBSH.

Happy days, enjoyable motoring, and let's hope you get kinder treatment henceforth on this forum!

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Thanks for the info Mike. I'm off to look at the E300DT in the morning and I'll make sure that it is covered by the warranty. I think I'll steer clear if the 30 year warranty does not apply.

Saying that, do you know if the rust comes back once it has been repaired? It would seem mad for MB to just keep repairing and re-repairing the same rusty bits. I wonder if it would be sensible to buy a car that had all the rusty bits sorted before, even if the original warranty didn't apply?

 

[190]

Have a friend who has a 98 E 200 elegance 94k he has had his 4 doors replaced 2 front wings and a bonnet the only reason Mercedes done it under warranty is because he has had the car from new and
Has a full Mercedes history.

 

[Ginger Monkey]

Went to see the car today. It was an Aug 98 model. It had rust in both front wings and all 4 door frames. The dealer stated that the car was supplied with a 7 year anti perforation warranty. However, they would not guarantee that the work would be done under warranty and I would have to pay for the car now and hope that MB would honour the claim.

Having had a good search about these pages for the last few days I thought this sounded a bit odd so I contacted MB UK. I gave them the reg and they stated that the car was in fact supplied with 12 months mechanical and corrosion warranty!

Bearing in mind that the car was at the top of our budget I had to say no to the deal in case we had to pay a % to the costs: shame, it looked like a nice car.

So, anyone got a post Oct 98 E300DT estate for sale?

Adam

Disappointed.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

If its any help I would only go for it once it has the warranty. I have seen older E Class worse the the often quoted G reg Fiats.

The drive is great but be prepared for a few problems. Look at the threads here.

Knock at front- drop links, not expensive but they only last no more than 25-50k

Brakes, check ABS pump area very well fro fluid leakage.

Check your exhaust too, expensive.

Rear shocks, self levelling, have a look for leaking fluid and insist on replacement if leaking, expensive.

Air conditioning is a weak point, test it well, condenser under bonnet prone to failure, expensive too. Make sure it blows cold air out immediately and does not make funny noises trying to pressurise the system.

Auto has given some problems but I have not had any, a good specialist will see you right on that.

Wipers, watch the front one, if its dodgy get them to replace it, its an expensive unit.

Rust is the big issue. Aware of that, potentially very expensive.

Dont worry too much about the welcome, the guys here all mean well and will help you out with good advice. Its just what dealing with MB dealers does to you.

 

[reefer]

hi m8

and welcome to the forum
as for the peeps not giving a friendly reply..well you get them on every forum im afriad

if everyone looked through the posts for an answer to there question then there would be like 1 post on here a month and where would that get you all :lol: , if you dont want to reply to the question that may have been asked three months ago then dont!..but also dont have a pop at new members..and from what ive seen of one of the members..all they do is post crap anyway

in answer to your question about rust.....

this is my own experience only here...
having owned various types of car i finaly went for a merc thinking it would do me for 6-10 years with carefull looking after and maintanace etc...WRONG :twisted:
14 months later....days spent at merc dealer, car in for 5 weeks in total, sleepless nights worrying about will they/wont they..how much is it gonna cost etc etc i can safely say owning a merc for me has been a nightmare and not something i ever want to do again, ive had 2 resprays, various bits replaced and have now just done a deal with volvo to out the merc in a part x with them..my advice is steer clear of them and buy a car you can get in and drive..mot and tax once a year and get on with the rest of your life HASSLE FREE!
only my opnion tho of course :roll:

 

[numbnuts]

Why buy a Volvo why not buy audi or something, Volvo,s a for crash test dummies