Rust, has owner care helped it?

[Juddian]

We've had many discussions about the dreaded rust issue over the years, and i have a niggling thought in the back of what passes for my mind that ownership lack of care has contributed somewhat.

Let me explain, i've driven a car transporter for more years than enough, and because of the various different movements requirements i first noticed the rust problem on the 210's when P and R reg cars were 2/3 years old, untreated stonechips on bonnets/doors that had allowed corrosion to creep over some some large areas.
(I was quite shocked to be honest, as previous E's and S's were usually very good bodywise when much older, and i've collected many 3 to 7 year old 123's/124's/126's that were exported to the far east)

You see i'd be collecting these cars (210's mainly) from the compounds of leasing companies when they had completed their usual 3 years use.
This was the first time that E's really became high volume company lease cars, i'd never carried fleet E's in such volumes previously.

Bear with me i know i waffle.

Now previous generations of E classes were usually bought by well heeled people, often old money, lets face it previous generations of MB's were usually priced out of the reach of people in normal jobs.

Old money tends to look after their possessions, my parents were in private service for much of their lives so i've grown up around old money who often had very old quality cars that were kept immaculately, they didn't keep their money by giving it regularly to a salesman/car maker, so their cars were made to last many years.

The 210 saw a change, the 190 may have been the first high volume (company car) model but was built to battleship standards.

The 210 user was often a company car driver given the use of this vehicle for a set period, usually 3 years, and being fair to them most of them wouldn't care a jot for the thing, no doubt exceptions and apologies to those.
I daresay that the vast majority of 210's have never in their first 3 years had a good underbody clean, let alone a weekly wash and wax which the previous generation of E's would often have been subject too.

Now i've collected these 210's and many other makes of cars from these compounds in late summer/autumn and when up on the top deck the encrusted salt and filth was plain to see, so these cars have often cooked all summer long with the previous winters salt doing its not so good works, its no wonder we see so may rotten ones.

I know MB were far too late in doing something about their corrosion problems, quite unforgivable in my opinion, and other cars Audi/BMW/Lexus will have been equally neglected and didn't suffer the rot.

I wonder though did those other manufacturers aim their vehicles at the fleet market and build them to be neglected as they often are, and MB just jump on the fleet bandwagon forgetting they hadn't prepared their cars for the onslaught?

If this is just too much waffle please delete it mods.

 

[television]

Without doubt lack of care does play a part in this,just take the wheel arches where up to ½ inch of mud and salt can build up and sit there all the year round, by cleaning this out the cars would do better. but what I do not understand is why MB do not bring the wheel arch liners out a bit, to keep the arches free of mud.

The above is only one little point, as the 210 will go rusty on both the top and bottom of the doors.

The metal is rubbish, and a poor grade, just take a look at any transporter taking away cars to be scrapped, non are rusty and all look as though they would T cut up nicely.

All car manufactures use water based paint, so that is no excuse either

 

[Quick Silver]

There is a lot of truth in what Juddian says I have two 638 Vitos that have done truly horrendous miles but are still in good condition . They are both treated to regular underbody washing and body washed every couple of days (twice daily with all the crap on the roads at the moment) and are waxed once a month and any stone chips are touched in regularly .They are on the go continously in all weathers as Taxis usually are and one is 10 years old and the other 8 years old . The majority of 638 Vito's of this age are rusting hulks or in the knackers yard . So proof that a little bit of TLC keeps the tin termites at bay.

 

[jberks]

In the case of the 210 I'm not so sure. Yes the earlier ones were neglected and this contributed. Neglected stone chips that became far more of an issue than they should have, wheelarches uncleaned and also high mileages that predecessors didn't have to cope with.
Thinking back, (I've mentioned this before) we had a 123 250, 1980-1986. By the time it moved on, it had been tidied up several times and had rust erupting out from under the trim in several places. This was a loved and fetled car but it had spent much of it's life on the M1 so perhaps mileage matters. I also had a relative that put his 126 into a bodyshop annually to have any blemishes or stone chips taken care of. That one was immaculate.
But that said, my 210 was a 2000 model, babied, cleaned, polished etc as much as my 202 (which remained immaculate) and it still rusted. I suspect a lot of the corrosion was there from manufacture so any rust would have been unavoidable, no matter how well fettled.