Rustymercs.co.uk

martinrwhite

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
My 2001 e class is showing rust around front arches, Boot lock and bottom corner of drivers door, As recommended I took it to my local MB dealer in Swindon and as predicted the answer was "uneven paint thickness", It has been "blown over" !! But it has not. Unfortunately I have invalidated my 30 year warranty by using none MB servicing. MB warranty has turned me away ( I did point out that my 1997 Mondeo is immaculate despite being treated like a skip). If you are frustrated with your rusting Merc (like myself) you may soon post your photo's on my website www.rustymercs.co.uk. The site is under construction at present but I will post a thread to let you know when it is up and running. Oh, by the way, my dealer did offer to get the rusty areas fixed for 2K !!
 

*Thumper

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
0
Location
Warwickshire
Your Mercedes
C220 CDi (09)
So !! ....becaused your miffed at Mercedes for not honouring, their 30 year warranty ........... even though you did'nt honour tyour side of the bargain ... your gonna start an unoriginal website to bleat about it !

I hope you explain on your website, that you used somewhere else for servicing !
 

three pointed star

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2004
Messages
147
Reaction score
1
Location
cornwall
Regardless of where it was serviced, is it not unacceptable for an 8-year-old ‘prestige’ car with the perceived quality of MB to be exhibiting signs of ‘tin worm’? I certainly think so. As the poster states, you see many mundane euro boxes that have weathered far better.
 

jackabea

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2009
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Age
69
Location
Wolverhamton, West midllands
Website
www.classicweddingcars.webs.com
Your Mercedes
Mercedes 380SEL
metal moths

hi, i got told by mb to go away because my book had been stamped by my own garage, my argument is with mb, that when i had my car serviced with them, they carried out a mechanical service Ie filters, oil fluids etc but they don't service the bodywork do you mr. dealer? no you ****** well don't, so what you mean is, if i have not paid your ludicrous service cost's i can not expect you to do anything with the poor quality bodywork, this E300 t/d est must have cost 25k at least 10 years ago???? a quality marque? well enough of the ranting, can anybody tell me if my vehicle had more than one paint code, i have been to buy paint and have been told it is "sparkling silver" and that is the only one in the book my local supplier list's and no i am not going to mb for the paint, can anyone help?

thanks in advance

jack:confused:
 

Xtractorfan

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
6,085
Reaction score
159
Your Mercedes
S class
Most probably 744 brilliant silver, there will be a code under the bonnet or on the drivers B pillar..centre door pillar...
As for the rust ..yea its a problem with the metal used and therefore must come under the manufacturers warranty..
 
OP
M

martinrwhite

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Rustymerc

I am sorry that some don't see things the way that I do (maybe they own an MB dealership !). Please remember that this is a Mercedes (quality, prestige, reputation, customer care etc, etc) and as noted by other members why should we pay extortionate servicing costs just for someone to check our bulbs, oil and filters, grease a few hinges etc. Do you really think that if the car had been serviced by MB it would not be rusty now !! No, I don't think so.
I am not sure what an "unoriginal" website is but having read the comments of all the owners who are extremely unhappy about the corrosion to their cars I decided to build a site where people can post their view (purely about rust) and pictures and when I have enough I will send them to the head of MB in protest.
People who have spent good money buying what should be a quality car deserve to be treated better and if MB want us to drive around advertising rusty bodywork on their behalf then so be it !
 

chrislarkin

New Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
dublin
I am sorry that some don't see things the way that I do (maybe they own an MB dealership !). Please remember that this is a Mercedes (quality, prestige, reputation, customer care etc, etc) and as noted by other members why should we pay extortionate servicing costs just for someone to check our bulbs, oil and filters, grease a few hinges etc. Do you really think that if the car had been serviced by MB it would not be rusty now !! No, I don't think so.
I am not sure what an "unoriginal" website is but having read the comments of all the owners who are extremely unhappy about the corrosion to their cars I decided to build a site where people can post their view (purely about rust) and pictures and when I have enough I will send them to the head of MB in protest.
People who have spent good money buying what should be a quality car deserve to be treated better and if MB want us to drive around advertising rusty bodywork on their behalf then so be it !

Great idea to get a site going to highlight and advertise the problem. If all else fails with the repairs that should be carried out under the manufacturers warranty maybe you're will attract some attention and mercedes might buy the site off you to avoid any negative marketing of their "prestige" cars.....:)
 

turbopete

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
14,209
Reaction score
331
Age
48
Location
Spennymoor
Your Mercedes
2017 '17' Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi ST Line X 180 (sorry)
hi, i got told by mb to go away because my book had been stamped by my own garage, my argument is with mb, that when i had my car serviced with them, they carried out a mechanical service Ie filters, oil fluids etc but they don't service the bodywork do you mr. dealer? no you ****** well don't, so what you mean is, if i have not paid your ludicrous service cost's i can not expect you to do anything with the poor quality bodywork, this E300 t/d est must have cost 25k at least 10 years ago???? a quality marque? well enough of the ranting, can anybody tell me if my vehicle had more than one paint code, i have been to buy paint and have been told it is "sparkling silver" and that is the only one in the book my local supplier list's and no i am not going to mb for the paint, can anyone help?

thanks in advance

jack:confused:

i was reliably informed (by a salesman at MB stealers!) that an e300td elegance registered in 1999 (as mine was) started at 35k! mine has leather trim, aircon, mega light steering at parking speeds (cant remember its name) dimming mirror antiglare drivers mirror and auto wipers. not sure how much of that list was optional on my car, (probably most of it!) but i was told it would have cost in the region of 40k new! it has no service books and needs minor cosmetics on 2 doors, bonnet and bootlid need paint repairs and all 4 wheelarches are crying out to get repaired! :shock::shock::shock::cry::cry::cry:
 

*Thumper

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
0
Location
Warwickshire
Your Mercedes
C220 CDi (09)
There are plenty of people happy to pay a dealer to look at, and replace their bulbs .............. If you can't afford it ........ buy a Ford. .......... dont buy a Citreon C3 for gods sake .......... you'll have a fit at the £40 they charge to replace a set of headlight bulbs.

as for your rust ................. maybe the whole story is'nt known ............ in my experience.... there's always 2 sides
 

deejaybee

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
509
Reaction score
1
Location
Surbiton, Surrey
Your Mercedes
Now - W210 E320cdi
I don't see that there is any reason why you shouldn't go ahead with this, but I doubt if it will have any significant influence on Mercedes policy. At the least though it will be good information for the second hand car buying public.

You have to remember that Mercedes like any other manufacturer will take "warranty" type decisions based on their own interpretation of what these mean in conjunction with a risk evaluation of what the the impact to the business might be. Unfortunatly, problems with vehicles that are around 8 years old or more are going to have very little impact on new car sales. Most people / companies that buy a new car will keep it far less than 8 years and most owners of 8+ year old cars are unlikely to be considering buying a new one. It seems unlikely that a realisation that older mercedes are not quite as good as some people imagined will have a great impact in the overall scheme of things.

On a slightly different note, when buying a second hand car regardless of its age I think it is a very good idea to have some knowledge of any common problems. This sort of information is now available for the majority of makes / models by either paying for it from the likes of Parkers, or by spending time searching on the internet in forums like this. It doesn't need too much research to find out that rust is a major factor on a number of mercedes models from the 90's well into the 2000's until galvanising was introduced.

As regards buying second hand cars, I think there are many bargains out there, but you need to have some knowledge to seek out the best buys. Modern cars are simply more sophisticated and more complicated to maintain. By the time it gets to be 8-10 years old it could still be an excellent car, but it could also have some very expensive faults lurking for the unwary that might make it uneconomic to repair. Take my own car as an example, a '98 W140 S320. I paid les than 5% of its new cost when I bought it last year. I think it is amazing value for money given its condition. It won't cost too much for regular servicing and maintenance, but if something unexpected happens it could be very expensive to fix. If this happens I will need to decide if it is worth spending the money or not at the time, but in the meantime that possibility doesn't stop me from enjoying the car:D.

Obviously in the case of body rust this does spoil the look of the car and will affect it's value quite a bit in relative terms. But in todays market there is probably only about £1000-1500 difference for a 8-10 year old E-class between a good and bad example. I know this will mean a lot to some folk but with current fuel costs, RFT etc it is not really so much?

Anyway, good luck with your website, it will be interesting to see what Mercedes make of it.

Dave
 

*Thumper

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
0
Location
Warwickshire
Your Mercedes
C220 CDi (09)
It's a very simple case of ......... if you think your so right. Why spend time and money on a website, when your efforts could be better directed in a small claims court.
 

eGuru

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2005
Messages
464
Reaction score
11
Location
Northants
Website
www.artguru.co.uk
Your Mercedes
C180 S204, S320 CDi
There are plenty of people happy to pay a dealer to look at, and replace their bulbs .............. If you can't afford it ........ buy a Ford. .......... dont buy a Citreon C3 for gods sake .......... you'll have a fit at the £40 they charge to replace a set of headlight bulbs.

as for your rust ................. maybe the whole story is'nt known ............ in my experience.... there's always 2 sides

Do you work for MB by any chance?:)
 

*Thumper

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
0
Location
Warwickshire
Your Mercedes
C220 CDi (09)
Do you and your new mate Martin, hate Mercedes vehicles, by any chance ???
 

SilverSaloon

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2004
Messages
721
Reaction score
0
Your Mercedes
w124/1994/om606
personally i woudlt bother with the site. and it could (unless done correctly) land you in trouble with MB-UK. be careful what you put on there.

anyway, i agree, move on and spend your time fixing your rust rather than making a site about it.
 

alanuk400

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2006
Messages
215
Reaction score
1
Location
Belfast NI
Website
www.vipsec.co.uk
Your Mercedes
2018 W222 Mercedes S-Class LWB & 2006 R171 SLK 55AMG
So !! ....becaused your miffed at Mercedes for not honouring, their 30 year warranty ........... even though you did'nt honour tyour side of the bargain ... your gonna start an unoriginal website to bleat about it !

I hope you explain on your website, that you used somewhere else for servicing !
Does that affect rust? reading your reaction on this thread, you would think you are going to pay for the repairs!

Alan
 

jberks

Senior Member
Joined
May 12, 2004
Messages
11,153
Reaction score
41
Location
M1, Outside lane, somewhere between Leeds and Lond
Your Mercedes
Jaguar XF 3.0 S, LR Freelander 2, Fiat 500 & Fiat Panda
I know its frustating. You bought a used merc based on the belief, taken from 123's 124's etc that mercs don't rust until they're ancient. Then find the car you bought, afflicted with tin worm.
Buyer beware and 'you should have done your homework' don't really wash. We were discussing E class rust over 5 years ago so its hardly a new issue or a surprise to us.

The problem is that howver you go, you're too late.
From MB's perspective this is very old news. They actually fixed the problem 6 years ago. Thats an entire generation in the car world. The car you're having issues with isn't even the last model but the one before that. Hence, as has been said, they don't really view you as a customer as such. They appear to take the view (not unreasonably) that anyone who buys new is looked after. Anyone who buys 3 year old cars is a potential new customer and also a likely dealer customer so falls into the same category. When a car gets to 8+, most are serviced outside the dealer network and the owners have bought outside the dealer network, so have no real conection to them. You rail at the 8 year rule, ok, but when do you think they should draw the line? 10 years?, 20? never?

Just as you bought on the basis of 1970's to 1990's construction, you're slagging off based on 1997-2002 construction. Having owned a 2000 E class I do know what you're going through, though mine, having been bought 1 year old from the dealer and owned until it was 6, was always repaired without question. I simply accepted they screwed up and changed to one I knew would be ok (post 04) as soon as I could.

People say that they have 8 year old Fords and Hondas that aren't afflicted. Ok, but look at the equivalent 80's models. Those rotted through in weeks! Hence by 1998, they were paranoid and the results are plain to see. Rust was a new issue to merc and they were caught by surprise but to be fair, they've sorted it now. I suspect my 211 will be running round, rust free, when it's 20.

Had my current E been my first I would be asking what you're on about. Anyone who bought a 3 year old car today will think you're mad.

So, by all means, assemble the web site, but be careful that everything you write is true (not easy when you're angry) as the best you're going to get from MB is a threat of legal action. More likely though they'll just ignore you. After all, you'll get bored and wrap it up within a year or so.
 
Top Bottom