Rusty so gone to BMW

[paul c]

After five years of MB ownership my 8yr old c class started to go rusty round the wheel arches so of i pop to the dealer who tells me it is 1month over the goodwill warrenty but tells me he will try MB to see if they will help 3days later rings to tell me they deny any liability:x so have bought myself a demo BMW motorsport shame i was thinking of a new c class but thats there loss but really dont like rusty cars anyway have enjoyed the forum thanks for advice recieved will look in from time to time.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

After five years of MB ownership my 8yr old c class started to go rusty round the wheel arches so of i pop to the dealer who tells me it is 1month over the goodwill warrenty but tells me he will try MB to see if they will help 3days later rings to tell me they deny any liability:x

Sorry to hear that. I had a year 2000 W202 and had rust rectified on 2 occasions without quibble. I moved it on in the belief that the good will would not last. Pity, as it had low mileage and was immaculate mechanically. Clearly my skepticism was warranted.

Better luck with your new choice. Perhaps we will see you back some day?

 

[Splatt]

I read in the paper that MB are putting several production plants on short time working.

 

[teddycatkin]

Paul sorry and a bit sad to see you go? -I am only into classic cars myself and mainly thanks to Waxoyl they are all rust free. I must tell you my story as it was just the opposite of yours--in the 70,s I worked at RR in Crewe and moved from moggy 1000,s/mini,s ( cooper-S)to BMW and became sec of the north west beemers club--my own favourite car 2002 tii -eventually became a classic race car at with it debut at Oulton Park-also had a csl and 1600- an early 323i with the number plate 3231-and two 325i,s.
I became quite knowlegable on the marque and enjoyed the meets and shows both here and in Holland and Germany I made many friends.
One day in the late 80,s summer evening I was riding through the back lanes of rural Cheshire and saw an old maroon mercedes in a farmyard with a hand written "for sale" sign stuck on the windscreen--Looking round it-It was really filthy covered in cow muck and had a big crack in the windscreen too --I went in the futher into the yard to find behind the old car a brand new reg plate S class saloon same colour. I knocked on the door and a big red faced farmers wife said " they are milking" and pointed to the cow shed. First person I saw was a farm hand I said I have come about the car-he said its a brillaint car he,s had it years from new and its never broken down!
he has gone daft if you ask me cause he has just bought a new one cause the windsceen cracked and he wont pay for a new screen.
Negotiations to buy were just as strange as the owner was-I asked how much --he would not say --how much have you got ? he muttered --thinking hard I said £100 !--no no no says he you will have to double that. I dashed into town and got the other £100 from a cash point--got back and it was now going dark -I handed over the £200 on the understanding the car would start and drive away the following morning.
Next day we drove it home - amazed at the comfort and power it was only an E200 but it had a bit of poke!--( its pictured on my avatar now)
After being asked to leave the jetwash station -drains blocked by the amount of cow muck that came off it and told we could not use it anymore!- it was T cut polished / serviced /insured (windsceen renewed £50 excess) and came up like a new pin!
I took it back to the farm a few months later and parked it beside his new one --it looked the best of the two and even the farmer agreed - would I sell it him back please ? No fear- everyone admired and commented on it. I joined MB owners club after a year or so of happy motoring in that car-trips up to Scotland -Europe were done in style--I was hooked on Merceds from that point on --I eventually sold the E200 - (its still running to this day)-for a E230 had 3 of them (still got the left hooker)- I then came across the W124 estates-they are also very special.
I have owned and driven newer mercs and the beemers--to be perfectly honest a beemer will have the edge on handling if any thing-the modern engines are all so similar now performance seems relativly same- but I think its a matter of owner loyalty - you can get a bad experience with any car + you dont see many of the old classic BM,s on the road nowaday,s they all suffered with rust problems despite the waxoyl!!
Good Luck Paul--we may see you back yet? - if you compare your "Motorsport" with an AMG - I am sure you will return!! -Teddy.

 

[True romance]

interesting read, I love a good story.

 

[stumpy]

We had rust on both our E39s but have yet to experience any on our Bangle era cars.

 

[st4]

We had rust on both our E39s but have yet to experience any on our Bangle era cars.

Surprised-they were always galvanised and have lots of plastic parts for protection (bumpers etc). Was it on the boot lids/boot lock area by any chance as this is a e39 weakness. Generally speaking I've always thought the bodywork was one of BMWs strongest areas relative to MB cars I've seen.

 

[anyweb]

After five years of MB ownership my 8yr old c class started to go rusty round the wheel arches so of i pop to the dealer who tells me it is 1month over the goodwill warrenty but tells me he will try MB to see if they will help 3days later rings to tell me they deny any liability:x so have bought myself a demo BMW motorsport shame i was thinking of a new c class but thats there loss but really dont like rusty cars anyway have enjoyed the forum thanks for advice recieved will look in from time to time.

why didn't you buy an 8 year old BMW then ?

heh good luck !

 

[stumpy]

Surprised-they were always galvanised and have lots of plastic parts for protection (bumpers etc). Was it on the boot lids/boot lock area by any chance as this is a e39 weakness. Generally speaking I've always thought the bodywork was one of BMWs strongest areas relative to MB cars I've seen.

My M5 had a new bonnet, and rust inside the fuel filler bowl, and rusty shadow chrome window trims. My mums E39 Touring had rust where the opening tailgate window frets against the frame, but oddly no rust inside the filler bowl even though the same year (02)

Our E60 is fine but is an 07 so too new to tell.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Same problem here Im afraid with my 8yr old S Class, the car is perfect mechanicallyand driving absolutely A1, tho the drivers seat is a tad uncomfortable on long journeys... but the front wings and rear wheel arches are a mess with rust, I have looked around to see if I can find another make of car that is same age or older with rust and so far have had no luck...again meercedes have said that my car is 2 weeks outside the 8yr warranty..well actually they say it is only a 3 yr warranty but will look at cars up to 8yrs old regarding rust as a good will gesture. So Im now 7series BMW, audi A8 ..the front runner..Lexus L600h..could be tempted, or even the Citroen C6.
I had intended this year to move up to the newer model Sclass, but it is really galling to have spent over £20K a few years ago to now have a ball of rust with a mercedes badge on it ..certainly not cricket is it...

 

[colinallcars]

We had two '03 BMWs. My E39 Touring had the tailgate replaced, same problem as above though BMW had never heard of another one! Funny, as the internet is full of similar cases. A host of other faults forced me into getting rid before the warranty expired. My wife's dream car (3 Series 'vert) was a disaster; paint chipped if you looked at it the wrong way, engine missfired and suffered from flatspots, door handles didn't work - dealer and BMW were useless. Now in Merc C Class and Volvo C70. Our first C70 had problems but Volvo replaced it with a newer one without quibble - great service!

 

[Xtractorfan]

I would have no quibble if MB were to do the decent think and repair the rust, They are the ones who used the below standard metal, so why should they wash their hands of it. The car I bought wasnt a fiat or a lada, I wouldnt have bought the car or paid the amount of money i did for it if I had know that three and a half years later it would be a bag of rust....And we have had 8 BMW's in the family over the years and never a moments bother with any of them.. In fact of all the cars i've had the Merc is the only one I have seen rust on..

 

[anyweb]

go to another dealer, try again, demand that they fix the rust on your car if its only 2 weeks outside of the 8 years....

 

[Xtractorfan]

Yes that is kinda in the pipeline .... and the other problem is they know I have my own bodyshop.but its principle, not anything else..
BTW I have a friend who has a 1963 280S 27,000mls mint original car , no rust whatsoever....

 

[paul c]

Thanks for all the replies to answer the question why not buy an 8yr old BMW after having the Merc for 5yrs and spending lots of money on a full MB service history i didnt feel the need to buy a old car i did not know, Mercedes should have treated me better plus the seats in the BMW are so comfy and it was very very shiny,and goes round corners like its on rails

 

[philharve]

Try another dealer or an MB-approved bodyshop

An interesting tale.

My C230K suffered from the rusting wheel arch syndrome which manifest after 6 years. My indie spotted it but requested I referred the issue to a dealership. The dealership wasn't interested in entertaining my rust repair claim. They measured the paint thickness and declared it to be 'within spec.' Claim rejected! They must have thought I was some kind of idiot. I took the car to their own MB-approved bodyshop where the measurement was repeated. They confirmed the result BUT declared that the spec' was wrong; it was much too thin. The bodyshop subsequently arranged with MB HQ, bypassing the dealership, to have £2k repairs done and they did a magnificent job. I would have no hesitation using this bodyshop again.

The moral of my tale is that if you don't get satisfaction with one dealer, try another, or go direct to an MB-approved bodyshop and get another assessment. A bodyshop will know more about paint and paint thickness than any dealership because they deal with paint issues daily: they know what does wrong, where it goes wrong and why it has happened.

The dealership tried to fob me off with an absurd excuse. A mistake that cost them a customer and a potential new car buyer. I don't use them any more.

I am a firm believer in the indie network who now take care of my C230K. They don't treat me like an idiot.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[Xtractorfan]

In my case it wass the incompetent manner of the bodyshop estimator who decided there and then that the car was out of warrant and my only course of action was to call MB customer service and try my case with them, they say no, but I have persisted and now they want me to go back and have pics etc taken of the rust damage, I think the estimator should have done this first day... The dealership couldnt give a damn..
Still it is something I intend to fight, I dont mind a good scrap, I just dont like driving scrap..must remember to put that in my letter to Ze MD of MB

 

[jerrytlr]

Same problem here Im afraid with my 8yr old S Class, the car is perfect mechanicallyand driving absolutely A1, tho the drivers seat is a tad uncomfortable on long journeys... but the front wings and rear wheel arches are a mess with rust, I have looked around to see if I can find another make of car that is same age or older with rust and so far have had no luck...again meercedes have said that my car is 2 weeks outside the 8yr warranty..well actually they say it is only a 3 yr warranty but will look at cars up to 8yrs old regarding rust as a good will gesture. So Im now 7series BMW, audi A8 ..the front runner..Lexus L600h..could be tempted, or even the Citroen C6.
I had intended this year to move up to the newer model Sclass, but it is really galling to have spent over £20K a few years ago to now have a ball of rust with a mercedes badge on it ..certainly not cricket is it...

Hmmm... Citroen, eh? Surely French cars just fall to bits compared to the Germans...?

Well -

Citroen XM I owned until 3 years ago - P-reg - not a single spot of rust anywhere at 10 years old
Citroen C5 - neglected workhorse, 8 years old, not a spot of rust anywhere (still got it)
Citroen ZX - K reg - had this for many years, not a spot of rust, sold it to our neighbour for peanuts, and now somebody in the village owns it. Still no rust at all.

I did test drive the C6 and thought it was a brilliant car, if it was a hatch I would own one now. Absolute bargain as well if you shop around for a pre-reg car (was offered 0 miles pre-reg top of the range for £19K before Christmas!!)

I will be amazed if my CLS lasts as long as any of the above Citroens.

Cheers

Jerry

 

[hawk20]

Let's get some facts straight. First, the eight year rust guarantee was on cars built before October 24th 1998. That ran out at the end of 2006.

Second, Cars built after that have a 30 year rust warranty under MobiloLife. And MB have fixed many over 8 years old free. See numerous threads.

Third Mercedes cars have been fully galvanised since the beginning of 2003 as a general rule but see my thread here for full details: -
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=23630

Fourth BMW cars are partially galvanised according to their literature since about the same time as MB introduced full galvanising of all steel panels.

Both makes (BMW and Mercedes) had rust problems when they followed European rules to drop cellulose paints (which were essentailly waterproof) and replace them with water soluble paints (which are not waterproof -it is the lacquer on the surface that has to keep the water out and away from the metal).

Followers of BMW forums will find plenty of rust issues on similar aged cars.