In the cars section their was a pretty nice 300TD listed, I hope MB realizes all of the customer's their loseing with this crap.

Bump. That's it for me, I've lost all interest in the W210 chassis now... time to go hug my 124...

:rolleyes:

I am pretty much coming to the same conclusion. Lexus is starting to sound pretty good. They don't rust, dump their front suspension, crack their dashes, have expensive sealed for life trans, eat computers, break window regulators. MB what have you become? :(

Nothing is ideal. Lexus also has their share of problems. It depends on how they address them....

Your right their are horrer stories about every make or model ever made.

Jeez Hatty, you've got one of the good models. I've gotta say, Lexus will break window regulators, otherwise I agree. Also, they haven't been around the 25 years needed to find out about the front suspensions. They are, however, great cars. I prefer my Benz, but I'm not at all sure that's logic talking.

Has anyone correlated the perch problem with cars exposed to winter roads or damp conditions?

My car is located in Central Fl, always garaged ( ie no AM dew) never been in winter road conditions. I checked the perches in detail (with a friends ultrasound and mine are fine with no gross stress cracks (that could cause failure) with 105k miles on the car.

Also, I have absolutely no evidence of body rust.

Is it possible that the 210 has less or inadequate rust prevention on the metal than previous models? I noticed some 210's have a lot of rust dots on the painted metal areas around the front heaadlightsl.

This model could not be any worst than a Diesel Peugeot 504 I owned in the 70's. bought it new in White. In two years the rocker panels and wheel wells turned Orange. This was my poor mans MB Diesel. Great rider and dependable, but could not handle winter road treatments.

Allegedly, MB quit dipping the entire body into a galvanic tank, or however they would apply the corriosion prevention on the older cars. I think the W124 might have been the last chassis to get that treatment. The W210 is showing what happens when it's NOT treated properly. Shouldn't be as much of a problem in dry climates though.

As to 'horror stories', there really aren't any on the 124, except maybe the 87 head cracks and the 92-95 wiring harnesses. (?)

:o

I'm wondering if the W210 rust problems are related to the environmentally friendly paint process. On the W124 and W201 that I owned, paint chips and scratches almost never went down to the metal. But on the 210 the paint seems to be quite brittle and almost every chip goes right to the metal, which then starts surface rusting right away. I think if people see rust around the headlights on a W210, it's probably because of all the rock chips that happen there. This body style is particularly vulnerable to that.

I wonder if it'd be worth it to MIG the spring perch as a preventative measure?

Well yeah the SDL is a great car and the W126 in any form is great. But mine is eating a $100 part every week and then some, old cars are great to play with and drive on the weekend. But fixing them all the time gets old.

I don't want to own a 25 year old Lexus. I want one that is 5 years old, and drive it for another 5-7 years before dumping it.

Sure seems like a smart idea to me, even if you're not in the rust belt...

:book2:

Since MB "acquired" Chrysler (and their 1 billion dollar debt) they seem to be fighting hoof nail and claw to bring the honoured Benz backwards into a "more affordable car", and the first cut is to quality. I wouldn't be putting any money into a Chrysler with a star on it.
Pre-1990 Benz's are another matter all together :P

Identical Front Spring Perch Mount Failure Scenario
 

Same thing happened to me in my 1996 E300D with my wife and child onboard. Thank God the failure wasn't at highway speed! MBUSA and my dealer denied EVER hearing about this! Just filed a complaint with the NHTS, and I encourage everyone else who has experienced this failure to do so too!

To reiterate my other post on this...
 

CBS TV in NYC is planning on doing a story about the MB W210 Spring Perch Failures and MB's foot dragging on doing a recall for what is without a doubt a safety related issue. PLEASE, if you have experienced FIRST HAND a failure or near failure (MB replaced parts) of the Spring Perch on any W210 car contact Richard Bamberger at CBS, his email is: rbamberger@cbs.com

Richard is particularly interested in hearing from those owners who live in the NY/NJ/CT area and who can be used in the story directly. It's important to all of us that MB aknowledge this problem exists and step up to take responsibility for getting it fixed on every car that might fail. This is not just an inconvenience if it fails, it can mean loss of control and injury or death!

Thanks in advance for all those who take the time to tell Richard their story.