what year is safe rust wise

[Headhurts]

No rust on mine 2016 E350 S212

At last a question I can answer

Robin

 

[philreed52]

I remember as a teenager a mate of mine having a PA Cresta. We thought he was the mutts nuts in that car.

Two or three years ago a mate of mine bought a lovely clean one in the two tone blue and he is chuffed as nuts with it. When he first got it he insisted I had a drive in it. I had been thinking of buying a classic my self until I drove his Cresta, What an awful thing it was to drive, put me right off getting a classic myself. 'They don't make 'em like they used too' thank god they don't !!

Used to be into yank cars big time ( comes from spending loads of time on USAF bases as a kid) Went to a classic american car show ( over a year ago now) and saw a car I use to have a 69 Barracuda looked inside OMG how basic. When I owned one in 1978 I was envy of my mates rather have my CLK nowadays. Lol

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[sweeper]

2011 R Class, no rust on the body but the suspension arms etc look pretty rough, I have a yr 2000 c class and this had plenty of rust on the body but the running gear was really good, all the suspension arms and springs were still coated! real shame about the bodywork on these cars around the yrs 1998-2004, really no excuses, even if you looked after them really well, mine was showing rust on very little stone chip and then the tailgate, then the doors then the wings then the rear arches, it was rusty at 4yrs old and had paint repairs every one of the 8 years I owned it

2014 Viano has no rust but I have noticed the paint falling off on the areas that have sealant, like round the doors where the skin is folded over the door frame and the joins on the roof where these are sealed

 

[AnthonyUK]

I guess issues with rust on even relatively recent MBs is relative. A bit of surface rust on my S203 is nothing compared to the issues I've had with cars, mainly BL, from the 70's and 80's.

My first car was a Triumph Toledo. It was 'only' 8 years old when I bought if for £50 in 1982 and it was basically fit for the scrapheap due to rust. Mechanically it was actually amazing and never once let me down.
My minis all basically fell apart. I had replaced pretty much all external panels, sills and rear subframe etc. My Dolomite Sprints were no better and even my MkII Golf GTI had the common rear window rust.

The only car I've ever had without any rust was a 1998 Renault Espace RXE mkIII which was dipped and all panels except the bonnet were plastic.

I wonder how many cars get scrapped these days due to rust?

 

[joderest]

It would seem that these days cars only get scrapped for rust in the Chassis, Discovery TD5 had rear chassis rust, most of the 2003-2006 Kia Sorentos also die due to rust.
Body panels seem to fair better now.

 

[hopeful]

no rust 2005clk 2.7cdi 240k +

 

[hopeful]

2002 /c220cdi 200k rust light ,repaired osr arch

 

[JimmyTheJock]

My R171 which I have owned from new is showing signs of paint bubbles on both front wings adjacent the headlights.
This appears to be a weak point on these cars as I saw an otherwise nice looking R170 last week with rot in exactly the same place.
Stripped off the wheel arch front wing shrouds and sure enough the headlight / wing support brackets are badly rusted adjacent the wings.
Not difficult to replace them but front wing replacement may be the eventual solution as I have no intention disposing of the car.
Presently in discussion with M-B regards their '30-year perforation from inside to out' warranty but I will not hold my breath.
I can also see signs of rust on part of the floor pan and on a stabiliser bracket so over the next couple of weeks all the plastic covers will be coming off for a good inspection of shell underneath.
Sub-frames both front and back still appear pretty solid...thankfully!

 

[Rockron]

No doubt Mercedes is and has been aware of rust problems associated with a fair proportion of
it's products. Equally I'm sure they are cognisant of the requirements and needs of their customer base, per
se, the actual 'new' car buyer, not the 2nd hand Mr/Mrs/Ms.
So long as the vehicle appears cosmetically and structurally sound for the average ownership time (5 years?)of the first owner of the vehicle, then why would Mercedes overly concern themselves with taking the measures necessary to make a car body virtually rust free for say more than 10 years. I doubt if Mercedes give much consideration to subsequent ownership, knowing many won't be getting body warranty dealer inspections
down the ownership line.

My personal observations.
Mercedes, 10 years old £30,00, chances of body rusting to a noticeable, if not notable degree..........high?
Peugeot, £15,000, chances of body rusting to a noticeable, if not notable degree........low?

So it's not as if the process of effective rust prevention is down to high expense, I'd suggest. And Mercedes do
appear to make varying quasi tech. claims in their Sales Brochures, but obviously not to the standard typical long term owners want.

What we want, what we really really want, is is a full body hot dip proper galvanisation, and sod it
if the paint doesn't stick forever!!

 

[charlysays]

No doubt Mercedes is and has been aware of rust problems associated with a fair proportion of
it's products. Equally I'm sure they are cognisant of the requirements and needs of their customer base, per
se, the actual 'new' car buyer, not the 2nd hand Mr/Mrs/Ms.
So long as the vehicle appears cosmetically and structurally sound for the average ownership time (5 years?)of the first owner of the vehicle, then why would Mercedes overly concern themselves with taking the measures necessary to make a car body virtually rust free for say more than 10 years. I doubt if Mercedes give much consideration to subsequent ownership, knowing many won't be getting body warranty dealer inspections
down the ownership line.

My personal observations.
Mercedes, 10 years old £30,00, chances of body rusting to a noticeable, if not notable degree..........high?
Peugeot, £15,000, chances of body rusting to a noticeable, if not notable degree........low?

So it's not as if the process of effective rust prevention is down to high expense, I'd suggest. And Mercedes do
appear to make varying quasi tech. claims in their Sales Brochures, but obviously not to the standard typical long term owners want.

What we want, what we really really want, is is a full body hot dip proper galvanisation, and sod it
if the paint doesn't stick forever!!

Epoxy primer is a good second best tbh. Properly applied it can last as long as galve and doesn't involve the high temperatures and other risks of galvanising thin metal. Every time I do anything more than a stone chip repair on my W202 I break out the jotun 90 aluminium winter grade epoxy mastic or the lechler 29107 fast epoxy primer. It's surface tolerant so you don't need to get rid of every spec of rust out of the craters, its tough as hell and sticks like s*** to a blanket.

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

Hi there, I'm a former 1991 R129 SL500 owner, which was a little rusty, but not bad. It died due to mechanical issues (209k miles!) and I'm now considering buying another cheap summer weekend toy.

I've found two similar 2000 CLK320 Cabriolets, they are the same price, the first one has 100k miles, has a high equipment level, is cosmetically perfect with zero rust issues, but has a slightly sketchy mechanical history (5 owners, lots of 'advisories' on it's last inspection for things like suspension corrosion, and patchy service history). The other one has only 70k miles, full MB service history, only 1 former owner, but fewer optional extras, and more importantly has surface rust on 3 arches. I've attached a pic of the worst one (the others aren't as bad).

So my question is two-fold: 1) should I choose the mechanically sound, but cosmetically worse one? Or the better-looking one with sketchy history? Is rust likely to be more problematic than mechanical issues?
2) How much is it likely to cost to fix 3 wheel arches in the UK? Is it even worth doing? Would it just come back?

I'm not sure I want to drive around a car with visible rust...

 

[Blobcat]

Hi there, I'm a former 1991 R129 SL500 owner, which was a little rusty, but not bad. It died due to mechanical issues (209k miles!) and I'm now considering buying another cheap summer weekend toy.

I've found two similar 2000 CLK320 Cabriolets, they are the same price, the first one has 100k miles, has a high equipment level, is cosmetically perfect with zero rust issues, but has a slightly sketchy mechanical history (5 owners, lots of 'advisories' on it's last inspection for things like suspension corrosion, and patchy service history). The other one has only 70k miles, full MB service history, only 1 former owner, but fewer optional extras, and more importantly has surface rust on 3 arches. I've attached a pic of the worst one (the others aren't as bad).

So my question is two-fold: 1) should I choose the mechanically sound, but cosmetically worse one? Or the better-looking one with sketchy history? Is rust likely to be more problematic than mechanical issues?
2) How much is it likely to cost to fix 3 wheel arches in the UK? Is it even worth doing? Would it just come back?

I'm not sure I want to drive around a car with visible rust...

I’d buy whichever is mechanically better - full MB service history means very little unfortunately as they’re more interested in charging the customer than servicing the vehicle… Alternatively buy both…

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

I’d buy whichever is mechanically better - full MB service history means very little unfortunately as they’re more interested in charging the customer than servicing the vehicle… Alternatively buy both…

So, the one with the rusty arches has lower mileage, no MOT advisories, never failed an MOT, only 1 former owner and FMBSH. The one without any rust has more miles, failed the MOT several times in the past, had 12 advisories on the last one, and has had 5 owners. Would you go with the rusty one if you had to choose then? On the basis that it's been better cared for mechanically?

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

Any advice on the cost to repair the rust would also be gratefully received!

 

[mioba]

The rust will need cutting out and new repair arches putting in.
Any repair (ie respray without new metal) will last 3 years if you are lucky. Not sure how long you have been looking but patience is key when searching a used car.
Dont discount that the second car may have had a recent paint job.

I paid just over 1k for 2 new arches and paint on my W220. Any good bodyshop knows where to get repair panels.

3 years before I paid 700 to have then cleaned and painted - false economy.

for front wings its easy - new wings - bolt on and off - get original MB. Dont be tempted by the super cheap wings of places like ECP, the difference in quality is night and day side by side and you get alignment issues.

You will hate driving a rusty car and it gets worse with every blink of the eye

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

The rust will need cutting out and new repair arches putting in.
Any repair (ie respray without new metal) will last 3 years if you are lucky. Not sure how long you have been looking but patience is key when searching a used car.
Dont discount that the second car may have had a recent paint job.

I paid just over 1k for 2 new arches and paint on my W220. Any good bodyshop knows where to get repair panels.

3 years before I paid 700 to have then cleaned and painted - false economy.

for front wings its easy - new wings - bolt on and off - get original MB. Dont be tempted by the super cheap wings of places like ECP, the difference in quality is night and day side by side and you get alignment issues.

You will hate driving a rusty car and it gets worse with every blink of the eye

That's what I was worried about - this car is likely to be used maybe 1000 miles a year (3rd car!) and I really don't want to spend any money on it! Maybe better getting a nicer one, or forgetting my convertible dreams! Lol

 

[A.J.]

That's what I was worried about - this car is likely to be used maybe 1000 miles a year (3rd car!) and I really don't want to spend any money on it! Maybe better getting a nicer one, or forgetting my convertible dreams! Lol

But won’t getting a nicer one be more expensive than patching up what you already have and still having a Convertible dream ? Is it not better the devil you know.

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

But won’t getting a nicer one be more expensive than patching up what you already have and still having a Convertible dream ? Is it not better the devil you know.

I don't have the car yet - Shopping around

 

[mioba]

don't lose the convertible dream

 

[danielleighSL500R129]

don't lose the convertible dream

I prefer the look of the W208, but does anyone know if the W209 is less rust-prone? Prices seem about the same, though I think the W209 looks less 'classy' now... The W208 puts me more in mind of my old R129 (though less solid!)