I've started to get a little rust on the roof of my car, near the sunroof, towards the front over the driver's door. It's about 5 inches from the front and 2 1/2 inches from the side. It has bubbled up under the paint and is about the size of a silver dollar. I did at one point have a leak in the sunroof. At one point the rust has formed a head and is visible throught the paint (about the size of a pin head). I don't know how much rust is underneath. Its going to be looked at this week. Can it be fixed? I can only think they'll have to cut out a big piece of the sheet metal from the roof to remove the roof, weld in a new one and paint it. Is this worth it? The rest of the car is in terrific shape, inside and out. Mechanically it is also in great shape. IF they are going to do that could they just cut out the whole sunroof and weld in one big piece so I won't have a sunroof anymore and won't have to worry about it again? I had planned on owning this car for another 5 to 10 years, and am realy upset that I might not be able to. Any ideas?

JP Toronto

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Jason Priest
1986 420SEL

You probably won't know if the rust is all the way through the paint until they sand through the spot and get through to bare metal. If you're lucky and there is no actual hole in the sheetmetal, you might be better off having them just prime and "feather" new paint on just that area. Unless they do it perfectly, you probably will see where they did the repair. At least the area affected is small.

Hi Jason,
Rust has to be the BIGGEST aggravation in our climate. I've got a few spots on my 300E that need taking care of as well. My experience has been that once you have a rusty spot, you can fix it - but the rust will come back through. If it's economical to have it cut out and welded, do that, especially if the car is a keeper. And oilspray the car if you haven't.
My parents hit a deer last year in their 300TE and the hood, passenger side light and passenger side fender were damaged. They took the opportunity, while it was in the shop to have the entire car repainted at the MB dealership in St. Catharines, at a cost of about C$2700 (on top of what insurance covered for the damage). I remember raising my eyebrows when I heard what the cost was, but hey, at least you could trust the job, right? Two of the rust spots are beginning to show their way through the paint again! Just be careful about where you're taking the car, and ask how they plan to eradicate the rust from that area before painting. Living here is a mixed blessing, that's for sure.
Best of luck,
Nick