RUST- THE RULES Aug 2009

[Frontstep]

1. There has probably never been a successful corrosion warranty claim under Mobilo Life/Mobilo in the UK because of the very limited inside out perforation

Inaccurate, I have had work done under Mobilo at no cost my car was nine years old.
The inside of a panel is under the paint not on the other side,
your pork is in the pie the pastry is on all sides (or should be) and too further my analogy it would be the pork that rusts not the pastry.
Many people are mislead on this and other forums by people with alterior motives.
Mobilo is a contractual obligation not goodwill.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Your analogy would be correct but the problem is that MBs analogy tends not to be based on a similar logic and finds excuses for not paying...Maybe you buy lots of Mb products..

 

[eGuru]

Interesting thread - I have an SLK with rusting arches. Does anyone know the best dealers to apprach on Beds/Bucks area? Willing to travel if needed.

Thanks..

MB Bedford have really been good to me regarding the issue.

 

[television]

MB Bedford have really been good to me regarding the issue.

Maybe that is because that Dermot Kelly was a salesman at the Bedford branch

 

[Frontstep]

Don't buy lots of MB products, have got full MBSH, don't like bulls**t from MB puppets.

 

[Mic]

1. There has probably never been a successful corrosion warranty claim under Mobilo Life/Mobilo in the UK because of the very limited inside out perforation

Inaccurate, I have had work done under Mobilo at no cost my car was nine years old.
The inside of a panel is under the paint not on the other side,
your pork is in the pie the pastry is on all sides (or should be) and too further my analogy it would be the pork that rusts not the pastry.
Many people are mislead on this and other forums by people with alterior motives.
Mobilo is a contractual obligation not goodwill.

The problem arises when some one unknown eats the pastry exposing the pork to pork eaters. If it is not known how the pastry came to be removed then the owner of the pie will always have difficulty getting the baker to eradicate the pork eaters and reseal the pie with pastry.
Of course good pork does not burst out of a pie spontaneously.

Mic

 

[eGuru]

Maybe that is because that Dermot Kelly was a salesman at the Bedford branch

That could explain a lot!

 

[Frontstep]

The problem arises when some one unknown eats the pastry exposing the pork to pork eaters. If it is not known how the pastry came to be removed then the owner of the pie will always have difficulty getting the baker to eradicate the pork eaters and reseal the pie with pastry.
Of course good pork does not burst out of a pie spontaneously.

I like that, yes you do allude to the nub of the problem but it is not insurmountable as I have demonstrated.

 

[alc250d]

My merc 250d is vegetarian.

 

[television]

My merc 250d is vegetarian.

Are the tin worms vegie too

 

[alc250d]

Rusty nuts

No Malcolm,being veggie the car has not got worms,it just gets a rub down with Jenolite before being put to bed + an electro magnet permanently attached to the body work. But thanks for your concern.
alan.

 

[AndrewBP]

Rust the rules

My car is a 52 plate E Class W210 which was suffering wheelarch rust slightly. Reported it to my MB dealership and they gave me the number for their bodyshop. Within 2 months I had 2 new wings and 2 new rear wheel arches & a courtesy car covering the time it took to complete. All free of charge. The finish is great so I'm more than happy. This is just to post a positive feedback because I was very dubious about it when I approached them after reading about the warranty.

 

[GAFFER]

I have a 2001 S320 and its a complete rust bucket, really when you think new was around £49-53K to buy from dealer surely a car of these expense in a court of law even if nine years old would be seen as a manufacture default as its been rusting since the day it was built.
I was told it was due to Russian Steal, No lead in then paint, water based paint and many other reasons. One thing I have not seen anyone pick up on here is the times we refer to is the times when Mercedes was cutting cost on everything and the build quality went down hill, trim fitting etc... I mean the frog eyed e-class was not the same build quality as the previous one... oh and I also own one of them and thats a rust bucket too!
Anyhow i took photos and sent to merc they not interested as I went over my service interval, but I fail to see how this effect rust. It would not matter if your never serviced the car the problem is a manufacuture default, and really means it was not fit for purpose. Why should they get away with it, has anyone taken them to court? has anyone challenged them and got the rust done for free?

 

[GAFFER]

That is positive but the upshot is do you feel that a 30K car should suffer rust like a Lancia at such a young age! its not a £6995 on the road bargain bucket its supose to be a quality motor car! so although you got treated fair on this you should not have had this happen in first place.

 

[television]

That is positive but the upshot is do you feel that a 30K car should suffer rust like a Lancia at such a young age! its not a £6995 on the road bargain bucket its supose to be a quality motor car! so although you got treated fair on this you should not have had this happen in first place.

So true a very poor show from MB

 

[Frontstep]

Even with full service history the excuses start rolling its a long battle, stone chips, surface corrosion, a cursory examination by a corrosion expert for my last battle with them had him doubting their sanity.

 

[tessa0146]

Back again to rusty Mercs

All the fuss I hear about rust on Mercedes, I have a Rolls Royce alloy doors, bonnet, boot the rest is steel the arches rust even rot as do the sills, the rust that scabs behind the trim, if not looked at pretty quick will soon turn into holes, Rolls Royce never had a good will policy for this sort of thing you grinned & beard it, after all if you own a Rolls you can afford to have it repaired!!!!!!!! all metal will rust after a time its the luck of the draw,I also have a 250 SE 1967 Merc that hasent got anywhere near the rust that the Rolls has.Griff :neutral:

 

[M80]

Ah rust a true mark of quality :lol:

 

[television]

All the fuss I hear about rust on Mercedes, I have a Rolls Royce alloy doors, bonnet, boot the rest is steel the arches rust even rot as do the sills, the rust that scabs behind the trim, if not looked at pretty quick will soon turn into holes, Rolls Royce never had a good will policy for this sort of thing you grinned & beard it, after all if you own a Rolls you can afford to have it repaired!!!!!!!! all metal will rust after a time its the luck of the draw,I also have a 250 SE 1967 Merc that hasent got anywhere near the rust that the Rolls has.Griff :neutral:

Yes the rot on all of those coach built cars is horrendous, the rolled rear wheel arches all fail, water sits between the metal and the rot out.

 

[clive williams]

Just to add my experience:

Our '51 plate E321 CDI (W210) Estate has been sitting on the drive waiting for me to scrap it. This car runs a BL Maestro VP a very close second as the worst car I have ever owned. The rust reminds me of a '70s italian car. I went into Mercs Leics in October 2008 and then had to wait until March 2009 for a MB inspection, by which time the pox had sprouted everywhere. It required 2 new front doors, 1 rear door, a tailgate and most of the arches to be replaced/refurbished. The panel at the base of the C pillar infront of the N/S/R arch was similarly corroded but it was discovered that the paint was too thick (!) so it may have the source of a previous repair. Separately, I agreed a price to repaint the bonnet that was stone chipped and with that the vehicle would have needed almost a complete respray bar the roof.
Overall MB agreed that it was liable although they said that the extensive nature of the rust was in their opinion excessive (remember that it had suffered another full winter between notification and inspection) and therefore they were only willing to contribute 55% of the cost. Bearing in mind the potential overall cost that in my estimation was ~£4,500 the vehicle was not worth me spending over £2000 on a rusty shell with 150,000mls on the clock. I would have argued the percentages but:
1) The rust would not have been defeated and would have resurfaced again without MB picking up any further liability (see the previously painted panel)
2) The paint would have been water based Acrylic that is not durable.
3) It would have been easy for MBUK and MB Leics to have massaged the figures so that I ended up footing most of the bill. A retail bill of £4,500 would have cost me £2,025and MB ~£400 - £500 with trade discounts. The cost of panels for example would have been £Retail - 75% to MB and £Retail to me!
4) MB were having the worst trading year ever in 2008 so they were not going to be generous.

Clive.