I've owned a 1995 E320 for a few years now. Mine is just starting to rust here in New England after 15 winters. Can anyone tell me what is going on with the C and E classes from around the late '90s to the early 2000s? These things are just rusting out everywhere. What is going on? Bad steel? These cars are barely 10 years old and the bodies are train wrecks. This reminds me of the early W123s in the late '70s/early '80s with a rust problem due to some type of "east German low-grade steel" issues.

The was a W210 service campaign involving redoing the cavity wax. I don't know exactly what the issue was. I always suggest that people looking for a used W210 MB try to avoid ones driven in states that put salt on the roads. But that's just a general rule for any car.

Know any other 15-year-old cars not starting to have rust issues?

__________________
Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Sure. How many do you want?

Don't try to defend the W210 in re: rust because it's a widely known problem with many early warranty claims paid.

When the front spring perches rust off and the front of the car goes to it's knees, it's a problem that's hard to ignore.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Roger E.

Mine is rustfree, thanks to the lack of (much) snow and salt on Texas roads. Up in Boston it is different.

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE