New to Mercedes and new to rust !!!

[AdamRT]

I have just taken delivery of a Mercedes 320 SLK 2002, told the wife I was selling my Avensis T-Spirt and buying a diesel to save money (I do 20,000 miles a year) I saw the MB for sale on Ebay and was hooked.

It was discribe as immaculate condition, always garaged and being sold by a Doctor ! so I drove from London to Hebden Bridge which was about a 400 mile round journey and bought the car on a lovely sunny day.

The car was filthy, with the price already being agreed at the close of sale (Ebay) he didnt really care, so I check the car and it looked fine, the cream interior leather was a bit tired and the dash was filthy, but a new set of Avon ZZ3 alloys had just been fitted and as I said the sun was out, the top was down and I was smitten.

Having parted with the cash I drove off in my new car and WOW what a drive, what power, what fun! I have owned various automatic car over the previous 10 years including a MR-2 T-Bar but I was glad that my 3.2 Roadster was a manual, not all of you will agree but when you drive a sports car, and this really is a sports car, it should be a manual.

As soon as I got it home I was out cleaning it and thats when I found the rust, its not bad, just a couple of areas the size of a 50p coin on the arms either side of the windscreen, rust on a car thats just 5 years old,and it's a Mercedes, surely not. Thats when I started looking on the internet and found this site, it seems that MB reduced the thickness of the pain from 250mg to 100mg due to a cost cutting exercise. Cost cutting, its a Mercedes !!

Anyway it has a full MB service history so once the log book comes back I will visit my local MB dealer and see if they will repaire it, hopefully I won't have to wait the 6 months that is mentioned on here. Having spoken to a local body shop I know, he has told me that the arms are seperate panels and only cost £70 for the pair plus spaying, so not the end of the world.

I told the wife I was going to sell the MB, I got it for a very good price and could make a couple of quid, but after driving it no way am I going to sell it, even with rust problems and high service bills I LOVE IT.

As for the wife, well lets just say I am sitting in my office with her VW Golf TDI in the car park as she has the MB today

 

[kth286]

AdamRT

Yes - it is true - cost cutting has taken place at Merc. That is why they are now half the price they used to be. They are now a mainstream marque just like all the others - shame.

I used to like the phrase " Mercs - a car made like no other".

Unfortunately today it is " Mercs - a car made like every other"

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Adam, problem is that they are not galvanised and seem to have very thin paint. I was as disapointed as you are. Stone chip = rust. My bonnet is peppered. I have a very small stone chip on the windscreen pillar that has rusted and MB want £350 to re-spray it. The whole area must be about 3 mm across.

This wont be covered by the rust warrantee as it has not rusted from inside.

Welcome to the world of Mercedes owenership.

 

[muzzere320]

Hi Adam

Commiserations on the rust

I was as shocked and disappointed as you when I found the extent of allbeit not too serious but nonethless unsightly rot on my car. A local (very reputable body shop) has estimated about £1250 plus vat. to remedy 8 small areas which seem to stem from stone chips on my car, given its age I'm not at all certain whether I should bother. The really galling thing is you see loads of "Lesser" Fords, Renaults, Nissans's etc, of the same vintage that barely have a mark on them.

Despite all that and the fact that I hate loathe and detest automatics the ****** thing is still growing on me - really sweet engine, lovely gearbox, quick(ish) quiet and comfy - it fits the bill very well and I'll probably end up spending the money to keep it looking good.

Mind you if you really want a sports car - buy a Porsche!!!

 

[alexspurs61]

Hi Adam

Commiserations on the rust

I was as shocked and disappointed as you when I found the extent of allbeit not too serious but nonethless unsightly rot on my car. A local (very reputable body shop) has estimated about £1250 plus vat. to remedy 8 small areas which seem to stem from stone chips on my car, given its age I'm not at all certain whether I should bother. The really galling thing is you see loads of "Lesser" Fords, Renaults, Nissans's etc, of the same vintage that barely have a mark on them.

Despite all that and the fact that I hate loathe and detest automatics the ****** thing is still growing on me - really sweet engine, lovely gearbox, quick(ish) quiet and comfy - it fits the bill very well and I'll probably end up spending the money to keep it looking good.

Mind you if you really want a sports car - buy a Porsche!!!

Amazing isn't it? My sentiments entirely (even down to the auto box bit!) and if mine doesn't sell (see this forum) I'm probably going to spend the same as her p/ex value on getting the bodywork fettled - she's got under my skin, just like the rot's got unders hers! And mine's not a silky six like yours.......
__________________

 

[philharve]

Hi AdamRT

I'd like to add my comiserations to your predicament which countless thousands Mercedes owners have experienced before you, myself included.

This Forum is littered with hundreds of stories about corrosion and member's attempts to have the problem fixed under warranty. Some claims are successful, others are not. I have forked out for a bonnet respray but a door was fixed under warranty, twice!

I became a Mercedes owner 26 months ago and have visited the bodyshop twice. I will be going again in a week or twos time. This is the reality of Mercedes ownership with vehicles of a certain age. What I find extraordinary is the extent of the corrosion. My problems are relatively minor (spots on bonnet, one door, B pillar trim) but there are examples elsewhere in this Forum which are simply horrendous. I could not believe it until one day I came across one such example first hand sitting in an independent's workshop. It was an E-class estate, also a W registration. Every panel was rusting. The story was no better underneath.

Like a Sword of Damocreas hanging over my head, I am forever watchful of rust breaking out. Otherwise, mechanically and electrically the car has been near perfect and it provides a very comfortable ride. It's powerful, quiet, surprisingly frugal ,if driven carefully, and quite cheap to insure. Are these the factors that seduce owners in keeping their Mercedes? What price loyalty?

Regards

Phil

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

phil, how much does a bonnet respray cost? My bonnet is starting to look like it's been shot at by an angry farmer, mind you the car is 4 years old now so I suppose you'd expect........oh hang on, no you wouldn't.

 

[philharve]

phil, how much does a bonnet respray cost? My bonnet is starting to look like it's been shot at by an angry farmer, mind you the car is 4 years old now so I suppose you'd expect........oh hang on, no you wouldn't.

Hello Neil

It cost me GBP344 plus a few pennies. I had 3 or 4 small spots around the trailing edge of the bonnet and around the water jets. I am fortunate in that there is a champion bodyshop within 30 miles of my home and I took it there. The bodyshop stripped the paint completely off, chemically treated and sealed the bare metal and built up the paint thickness in stages far in excess of the original. The bonnet had been placed in an oven and the paint baked on. The colour matching was done by computer to a very high standard; you can't detect any mis-match - perfect. The car was with the bodyshop just 3 days and they took photographs during the work. I was given copies much to my surprise.

I would rather have not parted with the money but when I approached the dealership with my claim they used the 'untreated stone chips' ploy and I knew they weren't going to help. However, I'm glad the work was done and in a way it was kind of a bargain considering all that was done.

Regards

Phil

 

[PAPA]

Hi all

If you car still has the mb paint they may paint it under warranty, Any paint you have done ( not by mb ) will void your paint warranty on that panel.


Also ( It was discribe as immaculate condition ) if the car is not as he said, You are protected under the sales of goods act, under uk law