I have a lot of rust build up on both of the lowest side strips on my 87 300E. It makes the car look bad...really bad. Anyone have experience with this issue? Repair cost? Here are some pictures.

__________________
1987 300E w/ 170k Miles

It's a common problem with the W124 and W201. The lower trim panel collects moisture/road salts, etc. and rusts around the jack hole covers and from the inside out. The best fix is to replace the lower trim with rust free units, applying extra rustproofing before installation or consider getting aftermarket sideskirts.

Thanks for the response MTI. A few questions though. Is it possible to replace the lower trim yourself? Do you know of a website that supplies replacement trims? If replacing them becomes a pain, I'll consider aftermarket side skirts.

__________________
1987 300E w/ 170k Miles

I had the same problem with my 300E. My body man cut out the rusted out areas, welded heavy washers around the jack tube and re finished the both sides of the car. The cost was more than I expected, about $900 but was worth it to me because it was done right and it looks great!

__________________
Donwo
1999 SL 500 Sport (30K miles)
1998 E320 (SOLD)
1989 560SL (SOLD)
1987 300E (TOTALED)
1986 300E (SOLD)
1984 300SD (SOLD)

The lower trim on the pre-88 cars is screwed and clipped onto the body and is sold in that off-grey metal shade that all the cars had.

Again, do you have a link to where they're sold? I'm having a hard time finding it. I searched this site, thepartsbin, adsitco, performanceproducts...and a few others. Thanks.

__________________
1987 300E w/ 170k Miles

I checked the EPC and the footnote indicates that the side sills aren't available anymore, so your best bet is a recycler either local or online.

Thanks a lot MTI.

__________________
1987 300E w/ 170k Miles