The pictures below are shots of rusted out areas on the 300SD I just bought. Didn't see these when I looked at it, because the undercoating is so thick that it looked solid, but if I would have pushed on it I would have felt the holes. Anyway, I want to know first how bad is this rust, and second is it repairable and how? The first picture is taken of the area below the sway bar. The second is of the rear jack point (or what's left of it). The third is where the lower control arm mounts (there is a big hole to the left that isn't really visible in the pic). Both sides are pretty much the same. The thing is that the body is really nice, and the suspension is good, the interior is really good, so this is the worst part of the car for sure.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

when i click your link im forwarded to microsoft.com... could you use a photo bucket or attach the photos to your post

I am working on uploading the pics. Thought they would go through, but the limit is 65kb, and mine are 66.5kb!

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

In some states like MA if the cost of repairs is over a certain limit of the purchase price of the used car, and/or it will not pass a State safety inspection you usually have some legal recourse to return the car for a refund. If the rust is not in critical areas than do a search for rust repairs. Miracle Paint and other types have been used with good results as long as the proper steps are followed applying it to your car. I bought a car that was not exactly as described, but the body is rust free at least. How long that lasts living here in the salt capital of the East Coast is another question. I am having the underneath of the cars frame, and as much exposed metal as we can get to painted with a good rust inhibitor/prevention paint this spring by my body man on a lift. Then a chassis black will top coat the rust inhibitor paint like magnet paint or other. Good luck and let us know how you make out. John

This car was from DC, so it has seen it's share of salt. I don't think I'll be returning the car, as I only paid $700 for it, and the parts alone are worth more than that, but I really hate to part out such a nice looking car in which everything works. I really just need to know if the car is roadworthy considering the location of this rust. I know if it was in an accident, that it would definitely break at the areas that are rusted, but I just want to make sure that it won't do the same if I hit a large pothole.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

That looks like some pretty bad rust to me. I'd be inclined to consider it a parts car. Can be fixed for big $$$ though, and I do mean big $$$, if you can find somebody willing to do the work(that looks like a job for Superman IMHO). Looks like the PO never heard of self-serve car washes and was totally unaware that his car had an underneath to it. I mean you can see the caked on salt residue and the resultant damage. I've had mine here living on the street, she's doing OK. I make sure the undercarriage is clean with regular trips to the U-spray it, keep an eye on everything, and don't fix my oil leaks. No rust from being in DC for two years, though I don't drive her often and I never drive her when the roads have been salted. Always wait until it rains really good to drive it again, and when I do that it's usually directly to the car wash.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

In my opinion, from looking at those pictures, I would say that car is unsafe . The last picture shows a suspension mount with rust perforation. If you hit an expansion joint on the highway and overstressed it, you would be just a passenger along for the ride.

I would try to back out of that deal if at all possible. Hopefully you are under 18. If not, you may need to consult a lawyer to see what you can do.

Here's the kicker - if you do drive it, and it does fail and damages someone/property, you're going to get picked clean by the lawyers. Why? You suspected the car was unsafe, you consulted a forum of Mercedes owners who said it was bad, but you decided to drive it anyway.

Who did the Pre-Purchase Inspection?

No inspection, just looked at everything myself, and it looked fine. The problem is the factory undercoating appears to have cracked, and let water in, and once it was in it was trapped there. But just looking at it, it seemed as if the car was solid, because the undercoating was hiding everything. I doubt the previous owner even suspected a problem. I guess I'll end up swapping some parts with my other car, then sell this one with the disclaimer that it has some serious rust issues.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

Alwys take a screwdriver with you to car deals where rust may be a factor...poke and poke...

I've gotton lucky with the two benzs that I have owned.

I wouldn't say its unsafe. Their is still a lot of meat on that subframe mount. Thats pretty much just thinner sheet metal up their.

Just drive it for awhile and part it out. Unless you are a welder/body guy it isn't practical to fix that. I would guess a number in the $3k+ range.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

My rear left jack point isn't a whole lot better than yours, although has a taad more structure left. I wouldn't worry about that so much, but the other two areas on your car seem a little more important. I'm not an expert, but I wouldn't feel that safe with a disintegrated control arm mount, esp since you say there's a big hole not even in the picture. Then again, what probably matters more than the rust is what's left ... i.e., is there enough remaining to make it a safe car.
I'd have someone with a solid knowledge of body damage take a look at it in person. It's hard to tell from photos, and where safety is concerned its probably worth the effort. Most body shops will do a free estimate, and if you find an honest one, they'll tell you A) if it's safe, B) if it's fixable and C) if it can be held at bay safely long enough to get a couple useful years out of the car.
I had my car looked over thoroughly by the best shop in town, with the full understanding that I couldn't afford a full workup. The guy was real nice and helpful, and basically told me the car was in pretty good shape and that the damage wasn't a problem at this point in any way other than aesthetic.
And if the aesthetic part bothered me I could A) get the pro job done for $7,000 or B) do it for very cheap (and maybe a bit ugly) with a little jar of POR15) ... hmmm ... guess which option I took ...

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

BodhiBenz1987,
Are you still up in State College, PA? I grew up there, in fact lived there all my live until last year. I know the winters there are harsh on vehicles. I still have a car and a truck from PA. The truck had some bubbled paint around the bottom, and yesterday when I was discovering the rust on the Benz, I decided to see what was underneath the bubbled paint. Well, I started pushing with my finger, and literally 6 inches of rust fell apart, I think the paint was the only thing holding it together! My wife's car is now doing the same thing, but it's got little bubbles all over the place. I am assuming the salt water gets in behind the body panels and works it's way outward. I think from now on I will be researching vehicle history before making a purchase, and only buy cars that have been down south all their life. But there seems to be a tradeoff, because the metal likes the heat, but the interiors don't.

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

It does not look that bad to me. I am a welder, and I would cut out the rust and
patch it. I did a friends 300D that was a lot worse then that. It has been about
3 years since I did it, and it is still holding up. He is not easy on the old girl
eather. I did it for him for about 300 Bucks. It took about 4 hours and a few
pices of 1/8 plate. If the welding shops are asking too much, I have another
way. Go to job bank or local paper and place a add " Look For Welders". You
should get a call from a few out of work guys. They will work for a lot less
then a guy with a full time job. You can also go hang out at a welding school
and offer a student a few bucks to patch up a few holes. Eather way it will
not be the best welding ever, but you will feel a little safer knowing that it
is welded up solid. Not ready to let go. I will take a few pics of the patch I
did for my buddy, and post them later. Jay

81 300 SD 138 Miles " Black "
81 300 SD 134 Miles " Diamond Blue Metallic "
81 300 SD 237 Miles " Diamond Blue Metallic "
83 300 SD 166 Miles " Cream "