No two ways about it...the amount of rust on a mercedes is inversely proportional to the amount and quality of care and maintenance they are given.

Need to wire-brush, prime and repaint the neglectful owner


Oh, I'll wait to compare and pass judgement WHEN I find a twenty-five year-old Lexus survivor with several hundred thousand miles on the clock...

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

Well, the '86 has a few little spots of surface rust here and there, (basically where the car was dinged and was never repaired), but for a 20 year old car is pretty good. The '94 Cadillac I've got, no rust, no where. The '94 Lincoln, ditto. The '85 Lincoln I had, had a little surface rust (much like the 560) in scratches and for some reason, on the door hinges. Cars I have had in the past like a '81 Cadillac Seville (bustleback) it had a few areas where rust was taking hold, and once I had a '81 Olds Delta 88 , and It was rusty when I got it (and it wasn't that old), but the old car ran forever. I've also had a '86 Cimarron (Cadillac) that RUSTED OUT SOLID. My dad's '86 300E had no rust when I got it, and none when I sold it about 8 years ago, and now the 450SLC that my mother had for a while was a rustbucket. The floorpans were gone, rockers were ate up, there was no trunkfloor or battery box, and if you pulled up your floormat, you could see the asphalt. The '95 E420 that my mother had for a few years never rusted, but it was only 3 years old when she bought it. My dad also had a '73 450SE, no rust (this was in the late '80s), a 77 280SE no rust whatsoever (early '90s), a '74 240D (early '80s) with hardly any rust, and then there was the '68 280S he gave me. Rusted out solid. But it was my first Mercedes .
Merry Christmas,
Dave

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Currently Driving:
1986 Mercedes Benz 560SEL
1994 Lincoln Town Car
1994 Cadillac Deville
1985 Lincoln Town Car- Retired

The Official Car of a Realtor- Lincoln Town Car
The Official Car of the Successful Independent Insurance Agent- Mercedes Benz S Class

I hope you are talking about swtiching to the new model M-class. The first generation M-class has been considered the WORST model Mercedes-Benz has ever produced.

Again, same as the W210 and W220, after the facelift it gained some composure, but just enought so it will not self destroy.

Fit, finish (inlcuding rust problems), mechanical issues, electric and electronic bugs, just name it, and the original ML misses the mark by far.

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

No rust on any of my fleet.
Maybe it has something to do with washing the car, top and bottom, often. In the winter, I go to the touchless car wash with bottom sprayer at least once per week. I buy a book of washes, so it is fairly inexpensive.
I park the SL and the 16V in the winter.

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Thank You!
Fred
2009 ML350
2004 SL600
2004 SL500
1996 SL600
2002 SLK32
2005 CLK320 cabrio
2003 ML350
1997 C280 Sport

Some rust, I have seen W210's that were horrible rusted, but many many more that were fine. My friends W210 has seen salty winters its whole life and is as clean as can be. Not a hint of rust anywhere we checked all the usual W210 spots.

I think you just get some good ones and bad ones, but yeah they did cheap out on the early W210's in regards to rust proofing. On my W126 they sprayed that wax stuff and undercoating everywhere! I think the guy shooting them had stock in the company or something! On the W210 the undercoating is skimpy as hell. I think the best W210 years to get are 2000-02 I bet those prove to be more rust free.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

So far so good on my mother's '01 wagon.

However, no. Even the 2000 + 210 will rust away. Just not around the keyless entry receiver or grille area. 210's like to bubble around the rear wheel wells, on wagons underneath the rear hatch handle, in and around the cladding strips, underneath the doors, etc.

Sometimes a 210 may seem perfectly rust free (and it is) for a couple of years, then, all of a sudden it appears. The rust on these things blooms from DEEP within. My old E420 is rotting out. I don't own it anymore, but when I did there was almost ZERO rust on the car. Now its got some nasty spots under the grille, the trunk receiver, and rear wheel wells are starting to bubble from DEEP within (non-surface).

Also, the 203's are swiss-cheese in this respect, too.

Yeah all this talk about W210's rusting. Screw them I'm skipping that generation and going right to a W211 when the time comes. I bet the W211 does not suffer from these issues, MB has been working hard to bump the quality.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

LOOOOL. my friend, you should go visit the W211 boards on mbworld and benzworld. yes they are still too new to have rust probs but check out the 10523095120352 other problems. if u must, avoid 03s and 04s at all cost

the supposed "bump in MB quality" is in place for 2007 models and on.

goodluck

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Current cars:
2001 MB E55 AMG
2003 Honda S2000
2000 Honda CRV

Gone but not forgotten:
2004 BMW 325i 5sp sport
1999 BMW 540i sport
1997 MB E420
1995 BMW M3 coupe

I have a 2000 S430 W220 with rust on the rear driver's side door. The dealer and MBUSA both claim no knowledge of any recall/service campaigns.

Any specific information would be appreciated.

They're also working very hard to lower the cost, as are all manufacturers, and you're never quite sure which trend will prevail. It's hard to say there's been any real signs yet of improved quality.

Service Campaign 2005030003 may apply to your car. The only way to be sure would be to check the VMI. This Campaign concerns issues of rust on the lower edges of all doors.

You're easy to please, Hat.

With the advent of the R-Class, the GL-Class (they speak for themselves), the bird-beak E-Class with no center armrest, the S-Class with column mounted shifter and uncomfortable driving positions (specifically the left-arm rest), the gimmicky and useless Nightvision and Distronic-Plus, the LCD speedometer's only purpose (seemingly) is to make things more expensive when it fails, the Airmatic suspension when it fails will cost $$$$ to fix. I could go on, and on.

One can't just declare MB has worked out quality issues when one is comparing a brand new car to an older one. You have to drive them, live with them, experience them day to day to make an honest unbiased review.
Usually the used car buyer makes the best distinction in that regard since his pride is not in the line of fire. You'll notice this type of new car brand loyalty on places like m*bworld.org. But the models that have been out for more than two years have posts of a different nature.

HAHAHHA, this is so true!!!


anyway, i think when my 97 E420 dies in 4-5 yrs, I'll buy another 2002 W210, not a W211.

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Current cars:
2001 MB E55 AMG
2003 Honda S2000
2000 Honda CRV

Gone but not forgotten:
2004 BMW 325i 5sp sport
1999 BMW 540i sport
1997 MB E420
1995 BMW M3 coupe

I just moved the trash cans out from the street into my backyard. I happened to meet my neighbor when he pulled in from work. He is a 4-year technician at Penske Mercedes Benz in Covina, California.

I was discussing the rust discussion on this thread, and replied that in four years, he has never seen a W210 with rust. Not one.

In fact, when he and the other techs are shooting the bull, they nearly unanimously agree that the W210 chassis E320 / E430 is the most reliable car from Mercedes in recent years, and is the one they would consider owning as their personal car.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

You guys in California crack me up! Why would ANY car rust in California, unless you lived in the mountains and had road salt. I lived there for 4 years, I don't think I even had morning dew on my car once! It rained maybe 5 inches per year.

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Thank You!
Fred
2009 ML350
2004 SL600
2004 SL500
1996 SL600
2002 SLK32
2005 CLK320 cabrio
2003 ML350
1997 C280 Sport