GALVANISING of MERCEDES CARS

[ddentrec]

Hello hawk20,

Good points, well presented.

By the way no other car maker gives a 30 year rust warranty.

MB have ensured that 99.99% of their MobiloLie-covered cars will not be eligible for a corrosion repair after 8 years of ownership: these cars will be serviced outside the MB network by this time and may not be eligible. A more-customerfocussed approach would be a corrosion inspection every 2 years @ 1 hour's labour.

Now I don't know for what proportion of your car's life you have owned it.

Bought new from MB Nottingham. Full MB history. No accidents or repairs. Never been near salt water.

If he is wrong in your opinion you should go either to another MB dealer (as others have done and sometimes succeeded) or you should go to an approved MB bodyshop and get a second opinion.

The rust issues with my 2003 C-Class have originated on the inner wing: it is an area that is usually protected from stones etc by the wheel arch liner and is hidden from general view: it was quite by accident that I found what was going on behind the liner.

MobiloLife is genuine marketing guff in my view: If a customer presents to the dealer a valid corrosion issue caused purely by substandard corrosion treatment, and that claim is subsequently rejected, and that customer refuses to buy another new MB as a result then surely you are not suggesting that the customer is doing something wrong? Sure, I could go to another dealer by why should I have to? Is MBUK unable to manage its dealers properly?

 

[hawk20]

MB have ensured that 99.99% of their MobiloLie-covered cars will not be eligible for a corrosion repair after 8 years of ownership:

MobiloLife is genuine marketing guff in my view: If a customer presents to the dealer a valid corrosion issue caused purely by substandard corrosion treatment, and that claim is subsequently rejected, and that customer refuses to buy another new MB as a result then surely you are not suggesting that the customer is doing something wrong? Sure, I could go to another dealer by why should I have to? Is MBUK unable to manage its dealers properly?

Well we may have to agree to disagree. But if you do a search and check the many threads on this topic you will find that MB have been very good both at dealing with people who do have Full MBSH and -as I pointed out before- there are numerous cases where they have treated rust even when the service history has been somewhat patchy.

You say why should you have to go to another dealer? Well, of course, you don't have to. I was suggesting it might pay you to do so. Either a second opinion might agree with your diagnosis or it just might convince you that the first dealer was right.

But if you don't want to visit another dealer, or an approved MB bodyshop, then I suggest you write to MB Customer Service and ask them to help.

 

[television]

This rust issue and MB has been going on for years,in fact 8 years now. Many car makers have no problems regarding rust. It can be done and rust has cost MB a huge amount of money, plus X amount of customers who will not buy one again through the same reason.

 

[hawk20]

This rust issue and MB has been going on for years,in fact 8 years now. Many car makers have no problems regarding rust. It can be done and rust has cost MB a huge amount of money, plus X amount of customers who will not buy one again through the same reason.

Yes but in fairness many others have had rust problems too. Various threads have shown BMW having similar problems at around the same time due to the switch to water-based paints. And other threads suggest BMW went over to full galvanising around 2004 just after Mercedes did in 2002/3

 

[Birdman]

ddentrec, I don't blame your stance given the unhelpful response you've had from the dealer. I had the opposite experience in that within days MB had agreed to replace FOC all the affected areas (wheel arches and a door frame). The dealer collected my car and it is now in their excellent bodyshop in Norwich. The service has been impeccable throughout and I know from experience their workmanship is also of a high order.

Have you thought about changing your dealer?

 

[sweeper]

Now your sounding like me. One member of this forum assures me the body-shop they used has the capability of applying this paint correctly, according to the manufacturers specifications.

I know of a case in America where the owner of a newish E-class that was involved in a road accident, insisted that the car be resprayed with this latest paint. It couldn't be done and the insurance company treated the vehicle as a write-off. No doubt it was resprayed with ordinary Mercedes-Benz paint without this top-coat.

I have been questioned about this nano clear coat on a number of occasions but I genuinely don't believe that some folks realise what effects this temperature would have on their cars IF it were to be applied?

Regards
John

There is nothing new about refinishing cars differently to the original applications of paint, it is a matter of fact that once repaired it is never the same and normally of inferior quality and durability, but Mercedes will have recommended procedures for repair, and most bodyshops won't adhear to it, synic maybe, but have never had a bodyshop repair that i am 100% (or even 90%) happy with, colour, finish, panel fit, detail, overspray durability (had a lovely repair to my tailgate under warranty, new tailgate went rusty after 18months)

 

[bigshineybike]

My contribution. almost seems off topic this far down, but hey.
I previously has a 1985 230TE it had the usual rusty front wings, I once needed to weld patches in to the top of the rear wings to satisfy the MOT 'corrosion in proximity to seat belt anchorages.' underneath it was all soild.
My 'new' car a 1995 E300d estate which I have now had for ten years is suffering rust every year now. The underseal is fantastic!Really thick and tough. But it has become perforated and hides serious patches of rust. inside under the super quality 50mm thick carpet assembly there is a layer of mastic stuff maybe 3 mm thick that must be a sound dead'ner as well as water barrier. its now gone hard and separated from the thin paint layer.
in total ive now welded; a new floor under the rear seats where the door lock compressor is snuggled in its foam block ( causing a damaging moisture trap.) three of the clamps that hold the hydraulic and fuel lines have become musty little damp places where rust caused them to fall off. an easy patch to apply once you remove the carpets trim and seats! this month its the front footwells driver and passenger side where the chassis rail meats the floor theres a place for damp to settle. with the carpets and undertray removed it looks like an easy fix again once you get a welder set up, some sheet metal and a dry day without rain.
I started googling for alternative cars, it feels rather like without spending thousands there are no real alternatives once you are used to these very special old cars.
I seemed to remember reading that post 1989 all W124 cars were galvanised. I cannot find any reference to that now. it certainly appears like there is no silvery zinc under the paint of my 1995 car.
In searching for a new W124 estate can anyone suggest which years were Galvanised

 

[E55BOF]

I'm glad to hear that galvanising started so long ago, but I had a 2008 W211 on 90K miles with rusty rear wheel arches nevertheless, galvanised or not.

 

[grober]

Post 1992-ish mercedes primers and paint became water based [ for manufacturing plant emissions environmental reasons] rather than solvent based. The technology was in its infancy then meaning that cars pre the changeover had far better paint than afterwards for several years. I suspect that cavity wax injection and underseal coatings may have deteriorated/been reduced at around the same time. There was very little galvanising at that time and that remained the case for quite a few years till around 2003

 

[rf065]

I'm glad to hear that galvanising started so long ago, but I had a 2008 W211 on 90K miles with rusty rear wheel arches nevertheless, galvanised or not.

Mine too, Dec 2005 & fully galvanised started to rust at 4 years old. Was repaired twice at MB cost, but galvanising cannot hide either poor paint prep or cheap metal. Galvanising is not the "holy grail" for choosing a Mercedes.

Russ

 

[markjay]

My old 2006 W203 was made in South Africa, and was fully galvanised.

I sold in last year when it was 11 years old, without a spec of rust to be seen anywhere.

It has always been parked in the street, which I am told is better than having the car garaged? (Unless the garage is humidity controlled).

And I have never taken it out in the snow (it only ever had summer tyres) so it was not exposed to salt.

Was I just lucky?

 

[horatio]

The lips on the rear arches should have been painted with an extra coat of something - crap from the road chips the paint and off it goes. It's not catastrophic a la w210. My W211 had this - sanded it back, POR15 & top colour. Never came back.

 

[E55BOF]

I now also have a W211, 2009 on 138K miles, and a 2003 on 90K miles, and on both the rear wheel arches are like new. Go figure...

 

[Joderest]

what about the M class ?, not mentioned on thread as far as i can see. the W163 seems to be downed by rust, but i have never read that an owner has a rotten chassis.
when were then protected from ?

 

[grober]

The W163 is perhaps unique in being manufactured in the USA and having a body on frame construction rather than monocoque construction. Galvanising details are sketchy for that reason but I expect they were in line with other MB models policy at the time= they weren't. The very early models had an issue with frame stress cracks but this was not corrosion related irrc. Here's a video on its development, keep an eye out for a very young Dieter Zetsche 2mins 25secs in!

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[Petrol Pete]

I see no evidence of galvanising on earlier mercs, a properly galvanised car will go 20yrs+ without rust, has anyone seen a rust free 20yr old Merc?

I agree, if the OP's facts are correct Mercedes Benz must have 'forgotten' to Galvanise a fair few of their cars during the time period stated, mine (W203 C class 2006) included !

 

[Petrol Pete]

What about replacement parts?

Just received a new bonnet under warranty for my year 2000 W210 Estate due to sever rusting beyond repair. Will this replacement bonnet be a galvanised part?

Wow , you got a whole new bonnet on warranty for an 18 year old car. well done Was this on MobiloLife with a full 18 year main dealer service history ?

 

[sturgeon]

It was only 8 years old, the post was from Feb 2008.

 

[rf065]

I agree, if the OP's facts are correct Mercedes Benz must have 'forgotten' to Galvanise a fair few of their cars during the time period stated, mine (W203 C class 2006) included !

Again, forget about the galvanising aspect. Galvanising cannot make up for poor quality metal or poor paint prep.
If I'm correct, the panels are galvanised only on the inside to ensure the car does not rust from inside to out, which would be covered under the 30 year warranty.
On mine at least, the rust started on the outside, most likely due to moisture being present on the surface when the car was painted. I've also heard the metal used during a certain period had very little copper content which helps resist rust forming. Galvanising is a complete red herring where Mercedes & rust are concerned.

Russ

 

[sturgeon]

This is publicity material regarding the W164 in 2007;

The new M-Class also boasts exceptional long-term quality – another Mercedes hallmark. The fully galvanised body is given extra protection from corrosion by means of an organic coating at specific points. Structural areas subjected to high stresses are cavity-sealed, and folds are seam-sealed. Large plastic underbody panels eliminate the necessity for conventional PVC undersealing.


Part of the standard specification for the Off-Roader is a new type of paint finish employing nano-technology, which made its series-production debut in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Offering significantly improved scratch resistance compared to conventional non-metallic or metallic paint finishes, nano-particle clearcoat provides a noticeably enhanced sheen.


Like all Mercedes passenger cars, the M-Class also comes with the 30-year MobiloLife mobility and value-retention warranty.

(This thread started in 2007 but the original post doesn't mention the M class)