I bought my 92 400E from Toronto this summer, this 10 year old Mercedes spent all her live in Toronto, and has been winter driven, she has over 200K km on it, amazingly there is no rust anywhere on the body, I don't know what previous owner did to it to keep it rust free.

It finally started to snow here, I drive it through salt water everyday now, when my tires rolled over the salt pellets that they sprayed on the road, the chirps broke my heart.

What makes thing worse is that I park the car in a heated indoor garage, this really speed up the formation of rust, there are several MBs in that Garage, their owners just put hoods on them and let them hibernate.

For those of you who have owned MBs for a long time, how does winter driving effect the longevity of MBs? I have another car, wife is driving it, is it necessary for me to buy another cheap car to drive, and park Mercedes for the whole winter?

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99 BMW 540i 6-speed 110K Km
03 SAAB 9-5 wagon 80K Km
92 400E (Sold) 245K km
Still missing the days with the Benz, it kept me busy.

If anything, I'd drive my MB in the winter, and find something else for the summer!! These cars are GREAT for winter use.

The RWD and near 50/50 blalnce make them agile, and some top-notch snow tires takes car of any potential traction problems.

As to wear and tear, make sure that you don't cold start your engine and then abuse it. And don't shut it off cold.

MB's have about the best rustproofing around. We drive through terrible amounts of salt, and MB's don't seem to care. Wash it weekly, and I DON'T heat my garage. Heated garages might be comfy, but your car is always wet.

The only complaint I have is the large number of rock chips. We used to sand the roads, but in the last 10 years, they seem to be using gravel. This means a real beating for your hood, leading edge of the roof, and rocker panels. I have 3M tape on the hood and front spoiler, and it makes a huge difference. Expect smashed headlamps too.

If I had to park indoors (as I used to at work) I just stepped up my wand-wash schedule to twice a week, and that seemed to work just fine.

Wash the wheel-wells, and the undercarriage. Get all the nooks and crannies around the suspension points.

Enjoy winter driving in your MB! Remember, Germany gets winter too...

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

In Kingston, a mere snow flake has the trucks out burying the streets with an avalanche of salt; my car was winter driven here for 13 years and there is only a bit of surface rust underneath.

before getgting the '88 300e, i looked at a '95 cadilac; i looked underneath, and rust from arseh*le to appetite; then looked at the 300e, underneath, and what a difference

i asked the local mb tech about putting a block heater in, and he said a change to a lighter oil viscosity would suffice (5w30). however, the manual quite clearly states to install one where cold climate.

agree with above - cold start and drive with tlc. wash it regular like; deal with surface rust when it appears; some of the body parts collect crud, prevent water/ice from leaving and start to bubble up the area.

Wash it often, ideally with fresh water, as recirculated automatic car wash water in winter has more brine than the ocean. You may want to have the undercarriage steam cleaned and explore the possibility of an application of aftermarket rustproofing, although many will claim that it is unnecessary or even counter-productive. Although commercial self-wash systems also recirculate some water, I still use them in winter to flush out the wheel wells, especially along the inside of the flange located around the wheel openings. Make an effort to direct water anywhere the body design traps ice, dirt, etc.. Keep the body drain holes open.

You are right about a garage accelerating rust formation. I found this one out the hard way.

Starting with the W126, Mercedes became serious about the use of materials and design techniques to combat rust formation. I live in NE Pennsylvania, where terrain and temperatures mandate road salt use. I can tell you that I've never encountered a W124 of any age with overt rust damage. On the other hand, I remember a lot of 5-year-old W108's with rust bubbles around the rear wheel openings.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience.

The weight distribution of my 400E is not as good as I-6 W124s, I already put on Michelin Arctic Alpines on it, it still has tendency to slide rear tires in turns, luckily it has a very tall gear, 1:2.24 differential makes me feel I always start in 2nd gear, so it doesn't break traction easily.

I was truly amazed by the condition of this Mercedes when I bought this 400E, my other car is a 96 Ford explorer, it has rust all over the places underneath, I can see rust peeling from the frame, also the door panels show some serious rust from the edge.

I am going to move my Mercedes out of the heated garage and park it outdoor.

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99 BMW 540i 6-speed 110K Km
03 SAAB 9-5 wagon 80K Km
92 400E (Sold) 245K km
Still missing the days with the Benz, it kept me busy.

Drive it and enjoy it!

I use my 400E 365 days a year from -15 to 105 F. These cars are NOT meant to be treated like museum pieces, and I think that putting them away for months at a time is more harmful than using them.

If your Arctic Alpins are brand spankin' new, expect them to get better with a few miles on them. Winter tires are not at their best when brand new. I'm happy with mine, and they're on their 3rd season.

Make sure your tire pressure is OK, and put a couple sand bags over the rear axle.

Oh, by the way, if you haven't already done so, switch to Mobil 1, either 0W-40 or 15W-50, and I also switched to Mobil 1 ATF. Both make you and your car happy when you start it when it's been sitting out in the bitter cold.

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Steve
'93 400E

My car has been driven in the winter (94 E320) since the day it was bought. From 94-2001 it was garaged during the winter (meaning after driving it was put in a garage overnight) but since the time I have gotten it it has had to sit outside.

I have only one 2 possible rust spots. One along the trunk and on the outside of the driver door along the bottom edge. Both bubbles are like 1mm in length. Other than that...nothing.

With good snow tires I've had no problems.

Ren

My w126 has been driven in the winter many times now and has not rusted at all. Remember to get a rustproofing job dine and then just wash it right away after a snowstorm or whenever it gets dirty with salt and dirt. The car will be fine.

PS: My car was parked in a heated garage for 10 years and nothing happened, but I always washed it. Now I live in a house with a garage that is not heated.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Hi Y'all.

I hail from North Texas! Winters here are sunny and 55-60 degrees F!

But I lived in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, and Minnesota...so I do know a bit about coping with winter weather.

It was hard to find good used vehicles without rust back then, but those were in the days when factory rustproofing technology was non-existent and tar undercoating was the norm.

You could look at a car and tell what was used to treat the roads. Sand and gravel roads would yield rust-free but heavily chipped vehicles, while salted roads got the rusted-through body panels.

After 15 years of winters in Illinois (the sodium chloride state), my Dad's '71 280SE needed a new panel welded in behind the rear driver's side tire. Surface rust was concentrated to the rear fender lips. Other than that, it held up well. My Bug lasted through the same period, but when I started restoring it, I needed all new fenders and rocker panels...and I kept my car meticulous!

Our 72 Fiat was the worst (apparently, Italians don't worry about snow)! One winter was all it took to develop huge gaping holes in the body panels!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Absolutely! Heck, with the higher incidence of motor vehicle accidents in the wintertime, wouldn't you rather be hit in a Benz? Heck, safety was perhaps the primary reason I bought Benzes to begin with (that's the story I used to get my 500E, and I'm sticking to it)

I run snow tires on each of my W124s, and I've never been stranded. Had to deal with one small rust issue on my 300TE last year, but it was tiny and dealt with immediately.

Enough said.

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"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Yes and no. The good '80 300SD, '87 300SDL and '70 300SEL6.3 never go out of the garage in the winter. But I have a '79 300SD that has been used in the salt all its life. The difference is fantastic. The ones that are in the garage all winter don't have a spec of rust. The one used in the salt will be junked in a few more years because it is rusting to where it is beyond repair.

If you want to keep a car for a long time like I do, it must be kept out of the salt. I'd like to pound the salt up the asses of the people who put it on the road. They should be made to pay for all the damage it does to our cars and then they would not put salt on the roads. Sand is sufficient and in not corrosive.

P E H

Most MB cars made after about 1982 don't seem to suffer any ill effects from the road salt.

Our road-crews use copious amounts of salt, and I have yet to see anything other than an obviously abused MB from W126 on with rust.

Wash it often, and if you do need body work make sure you use Mercedes factory parts, as jobber parts will rust in about five minutes, salt or no salt.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

For those of you who park their cars in non-heated garages, do you experience any acceleration of rust formation in the winter?

It is a tradeoff for me. If the car is parked inside, starting the car is easier on the engine and drivetrain since the temps are above-zero (single-digit). And warmup is faster. And no need to clear the glass of snow and ice. And it is more convenient to unload stuff like groceries.

my guess about these cars' resistance to rust is that aside from their comprehensive rustproofing, they use galvanized steel in critical parts.

We have very cold winters. I park our cars in a non-heated garage, which keeps snow and frost off them, but doesn't allow them to get wet.

Then, I use the block heaters. An MB blockheater is super! Upon start-up, my coolant temp is right at about 50C. I have heat backing out of the garage at -25!!

This makes it easier on the engine during start up, and combined with Mobil 1, really makes cold weather starts less taxing than I ever imagined.

I worry more about the ill effects of extreme cold weather starts than I do about rust. After 800,000 kilometers of Canadian MB driving, I still have yet to have any rust on one of our MB cars. Keep in mind all the ones I talking about were made post 1987. (ignore the 1973 300SEL, as I've owned it for a couple weeks...)

MB body parts are double galvanized. Don't know if this works? Porsche cars were rust prone until they began double galvanizing. When they started back in the 1970's, they took an unpainted 911 body and put it outside. 25 some odd years later, there's no rust.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

It's either I drive my Mercedes, or I drive the Harley.

In Michigan winters, I choose the Mercedes. Mechanically superior and safe.

My '75 300D had MAJOR body cancer. There's not a bit of it on the '89. Although I did buy the '89 in Atlanta. I will not ever buy a used car that has seen northern winters. I know they make them much more corrosion resistant than in the past, but if I have the choice, I don't want one that has had a head start in the race to rust.

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)