I don't know. My MB shop Service Advisor said they only have seen one case in many many years. Maybe I will have to talk to the techs and see if he is lying or not.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I have read at least a dozen posts on the shopforum from people claiming to have suffered failure or having needed repairs discovered by inspection prior to failure of spring perches in the 210 bodies. It would seem that based upon the relatively small number of 210 owners that follow these boards that, statisitically, there must be thousands of cases in the field. It seems the diesel and heavier E4XX models are more likely to suffer from a problem. I'm sure the vibration of the diesel doesn't help any so it could compound it by causing a fatigue problem on top of a corrosion problem.

My dealer who is clueless on just about everything and even if not clueless seems to deny anything ever goes wrong with these cars frequently even acknowledged knowing about the issue. That was enough to send a chill down my spine and have the car inspected even though mine is a car which spent most of its life in the south. My inspection appointment is next Wednesday...I'll post the results after it is done.

I just found it unconscienable that MB won't just accept that there is a problem and fix it, they are still in the "denial" stage - haven't made it to acceptance yet.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

what years are affected with this? I know a couple people who have cars about that vintage - I would want to warn them but not alarm them unnecessarily. Surely they have strengthened this in the cars selling today, no?

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

The W210 body started in 1996 if I am not mistaken and although it underwent some minor mods I believe it was in production virtually unchanged for 6-7 years? I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong about the years. It is basically the E class body which is probably the majority of all of the cars they sold in those years.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

thanks!

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Gee I didn't know this problem was so widespread. As I stated in another thread I just bought a 96 E300D and it's being shipped to me. I probably would have bought it anyway even if I had read this thread first, but now I'll be much more wary. One of the first things I'll do when I get the car is inspect those perches and maybe even remove that insulation that allegedly hides the rust. Can there be rust under the insulation even if the insulation appears to be in perfect shape? The seller told me there's no visible rust in the "strut area", so I'm hopeful it'll be fine.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

The W210 was made from 1996-02 or 03.

The early W210's with the bigger engines seem to be the most prone to this problem.

Also Gilly has said the AWD cars have a stronger spring perch. So far 4 Matics do not seem to suffer this problem. I have also never heard of a later 2000+ model dropping a perch. 96-97 models seem to be the worst.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Don't forget that time is its enemy...the reason the early ones are failing recently is because they had seen 5, 6, 7 and 8+ years worth of corrosion. The '96 and '97 cars didn't fail in 2000, they started failing a couple of years ago. It may be too soon to know if the problem continues until the 2000+ models get a year or two older. I have seen numerous recent posts from owners of '98 and '99 cars with failures.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Yep good point.

MB probably will not do anything until someone dies.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

YES! It is my understanding that the rust is generally not visible unless the protective layer is removed. MB apparently has their inspection procedure for this as my dealer seems to know what to do...we shall see. If your car came from an area with lots of snow and salt it is more probable to develop problems, but even some southern cars have reportedly failed.

I still love my '98 and won't give it up even if this is a problem, I'll just have it fixed one way or another. It's just a shame to have to deal with such an issue on a relatively young car. I've owned many MBs, older than 7 years and never had a structural failure in any of them.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

here in california we have never seen this issue, is it related to the areas back east only? is there anyone in my area who has seen this issue?

For those that are trying to determine if their w210 has this problem, what have ya'll done?

Contact local dealer, MB or take it to your local indy and fix it out of pocket?

Anyone recomend an indy in the central Connecticut area?

I wanna install my E55 springs but will not do anything till I get this taken care of and am sure that my perches are safe..

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#dieselFLEET
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'97 E300
'99 E300

I have yet to see this insulation, but my logic tells me if the insulation is not cracked and there are no gaps for water to get through, there shouldn't be any rust underneath. I agree with you that it's a shame that we have to worry about major safety issues like this, but like you I'm determined to do whatever is necessary to take care of this problem, as the W210's surely are beautiful cars.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

My dealer was familiar enough to know there is an inspection procedure for it and I have made an appointment for next week to get it done. The service advisor's words were "MB will not pay for the inspection because this is not a recall item" to which I quipped "yet" and he smiled. I will pay for the half-hour tech time to perform the inspection for peace-of-mind. I figure if they are willing to say it is fine then they accept a lot of liability so it had better be fine. I suspect if there is any sign of rust on the parts they will play it safe and recommend repairs, which they say MB is paying for on a "case by case" basis.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Hi

The bit that really annoys me is that the last time my car was at the dealers for an alignment check they said it was suject to a recall and preceeded to wax the top of the doors that had been replaced due to rust 6 months beforehand. No mention was made of spring perch failure or waxing in that area which could be potentially lethal.
I dont think a rusty door top would be classed as lethal, MB are more concerned with future rust claims on their doors than our safety.

McCool300TD

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1988 190E Sold
1996 C230K Sport Sold
His: 98 E300TD Estate, 7 seater, Avantgarde, Silver, Black cloth, parameter steering, dipping rvm, folding mirrors, rain sensing wipers, pentagon tints, 17" Elegance wheels. 298K
Hers: 93 300TD, 7 seater, Grey MB Tex pearl blue metallic, 15" 8 hole alloys, OTG, Cruise, not much else 220K