190E rust spot on window seal

[Tassie]

Hello;

I'm looking at several 190E's for purchase. I've read that the 190E's have a tendency to rust around the window seal. Were all versions of the 190's bad for this? Is there a permanent repair with an improved seal? I haven't heard about this with other similarly aged Mercedes.

On one model that I am considering, there is rust about 1" long and well bubbled. What would you budget for repair or would you walk away assuming that the repair is around the entire window?? The model is a 1990 2.3 with a 5 speed manual and is otherwise very well maintained (records show this) although fairly high mileage (166,000 miles).

Thanks,
Paul

[t walgamuth]

You could have a windshield expert come to your home and remove the windshield for you (maybe cost from 50 to 100). Clean and rust bind the rusty areas and apply high quality paint, then have the tech come back and install the windshild.

If your windshield is pitted it might be a good time to replace it.

[86560SEL]

I dont know. I had a 1984 190D (same as the 190E, except diesel) and it didnt have that problem, but it was a southern car. Not sure if cars from up north with "salty roads" had more problems or not. Maybe they did and those from the coastal areas with the salt air.

[Tassie]

There is also rust at the right rear wheel arch. Pictures of the offending rust spots - I was given a verbal estimate of $1000 for repairing this but the wheel arch rust looks too far gone for simple sand and repaint.

The car looks great otherwise and appears mechanically sound but this rust looks scary to me.

Thanks, Paul

[Tassie]

Hi all;

I though that I would share what I found.

I received somewhat similar responses from 3 body shops. In all cases, the repair is very expensive if properly done - about $2500-$3000. The reason for the expense (as I was told) is that there are not any replacement panels for the 190E for these areas and, therefore, the metal work requires building small replacement panels. The rust at the windshield seals also appeared to be at a weld location for the roof panel to the A-pillar so apparently this adds complication to the repair.

A cheap bondo job was much less but still not cheap - about $1000.

In all cases, the estimators stated that there was no guarantee and there was likely rust elsewhere so any repairs would likely be futile.

In other words, the car was not worth the repair costs. So I will keep looking.

Cheers,
Paul