'96 - 2000 E-classes rusting
 

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=5899

what's the deal? Anyone else heard of this?

In a way, it's good that Mercedes deals with them,

In another way, doesn't sound very promising that they replaced rusting panels "because the service record was kept up to date" - does that include independent garages?


edited because posted wrong link

That doesn't sound right, theres no reason any car built after the early 90's should rust. I live in salty New England and have never seen a W210 with rust or peeling paint, and I see some neglacted W210's. Maybe a bad batch of undercoating got threw? The paint peeling would be owner abuse. Even a Neon given a coat of wax once or twice won't shed its paint that fast.

You must not have read the entire thread - one story after the next of 210 rust problems in the UK. There isn't any reason a car built after the early 90s should rust - unless they cheapened the cars substantially - which apparently they did. One more indication of the "cheapening" of the cars in the mid-90s. It's hard for me to imagine how peeling paint would be a sign of owner abuse.

If you never wax it or wash the car, and leave it outside I bet the paint would peel. Wow I just read the whole thread, these cars are junk! If I had a W210 that was rusting I'd dump it and buy a BMW. I'm surprised a problem like this never surfaced in the US.

When did CHRYSLER aquire Daimler/Benz?

Remember all those rotted out Darts and Valiants..... "MOPAR"... More Old Parts And Rust...."MOPAR":p

My Rusting 97
 

Thought it was only mine....


Not a very good picture, but there is a nice blister around the trunk lock.

I just posted to the UK site mentioned by pentoman. I have a 2001 E320 Wagon that has rust under the door seals at the top of 3 of 4 doors. No abuse or neglect, just rust. Very disappointed in this marque after 25 years of ownership. Mark.

It is more than obvious, or even a little obvious that our later model MB's have become subject to premature age, namely rust, corrosion, or what ever you want to call it!

I have owned some old Mercedes Benz's that have been exposed to a lot of salt air enviroments and also Volvo's, Chevey's Oldsomobiles, and even a two MG midget's, a 1962 Rover automobile, and none have begun to corrode away as soon, or as fast, as the later models of the Mercedes Benz!

This phenomonin is not regenal, but world wide!

So what happened?

Daimler/ Benz was bought out by CHRYSLER CORP. a few years ago, and we are now just beginning to see the "cut-cheap" and profit! senerio????

It was prodicted, back then!



Sooty Tailllight:confused:

I just went to my dealer today and inquired about the rust issue with the tops of the doors on my car. Their reply was since it was outside of the standard 4 year/50Kmile warranty, nothing would be done. Interesting how mileage affects rust (my car is only 3.5 years old but has 62K miles on it). Seems the dealers would have to participate in the cost of any repairs so the answer is "So sorry". If this truly is a universal 210 problem we should get together and go after MBNA. Can't remember the last time I saw any other 10yr. old vehicle rusting. Mark

Funny,

I thought the post 98 cars were covered by the 30 year rust warrentee. That might just be your dealerships first brush-off. Read the UK website... Seems there was someone in California which got some major re-work done under warrentee- I don't think 50,000 miles is the absolute cap. They are still replacing subframes in W107 models- regardless of mileage because the orginals create a severe safety issue.


Michael

[QUOTE=Sooty Taillight]

Daimler/ Benz was bought out by CHRYSLER CORP. a few years ago, and we are now just beginning to see the "cut-cheap" and profit! senerio????

It was prodicted, back then!
QUOTE]

Actually, it's the other way around. Chrysler was bought by Daimler Benz. Most of the top Chrysler guys have ben "retired" and replaced by DB people.

Topics like this are always depressing -- my sincere condolences to US spec W210 owners affected by the rust issue. Perhaps enough consumer complaints to the right federal agency will bring about a recall, or goodwill body work at least.

This is quite correct, the current DCX influence resides in Germany. A common saying in Detroit is that "As goes Stuttgart, so goes the rest of the world".

Footnote: One area not yet controlled by the Germans is manufacturing process in NAFTA. This may represent a concious decision to maintain profitability in North America, rather than intentional compromise. It may represent an expense point that Stuttgart is not willing to cross at this time. Each side of the Atlantic represents fundamentally different views of the world at Daimler-Chrysler.

Stamping and assembly plants in Germany are mechanical works of art, where technical employees monitor automated robots all day long. One plant is capable of producing several models on the same line with minimal plant configuration change. This model suits the traditional Daimler-Benz German engineering mindset (precision, scale, metrics) quite well.

In contrast, NAFTA assembly plants are giant conveyor belts that suck in raw parts from the stamping plants, and the non-technical union employees perform monotonous (single track) tasks during their entire shift. Conversion to a new model year or type requires several days or weeks of downtime to re-configure the entire plant for production. This model suits the Chrysler North American profit ideals (greater margins, higher volume, higher quotas) quite well.

Anyhow, back on topic... ;-)
-DM