Glad I'm still here to tell the tale!!

[surebet]

Yesterday when driving out of my street, I just turned a corner at low speed and the back end of the car made a clunking noise and it felt as if I had a puncture. I stopped the car, all tyres OK however the back end seemed low. As I was only about 100 yards from my house, I gingerly drove the car back to my driveway. When I jacked the car up at the back end it became very apparent what had happened. The lower rear suspension arm ( I think that is what it is called ) had corroded so bad under the plastic shield it buckled causing the plastic shield down and rub againt the inner wall of the tyre. I took the plastic shield off so no damage would be caused to the tyre. The OSR wheel is now sitting about 5-10 degrees off true. I'm now frightened to move the car at all in case the arm breaks completely and the wheel falls off causing even more damage.

Bad start to my Saturday, however I'm so grateful it happened at low speed and not when I was on the motorway.

My car is a 52 plate W203 with 47k on the clock, which I have had since brand new. The car goes great(until yesterday !!) and I have kept it in good condition.

My question to all the knowledgeable members on the forum, is :

1. How much do you think this repair should cost?
2. Should I now think of getting a new car due to rust issue?
3. Are plastic shields a good idea or are they just covering up problems which could have been spotted and rectified earlier?
4. Am I correct in my thoughts about moving the car may cause the wheel to buckle and collapse completely?

I have attached a picture of the corroded arm and I would be interested to here any of your thoughts to my questions.

Thanks in advance.

Alan

 

[Dieselman]

The repair is pretty cheap as it just needs a new lower arm fitting, but I would be checking the other one as well and letting Mercedes and VOSA know about this problem as that looks terrible for a 12 year old, low mileage car.

Let VOSA know before the repair is carried out, if there are other reports they may issue a recall as that is definitely safety related.

 

[surebet]

The repair is pretty cheap as it just needs a new lower arm fitting, but I would be checking the other one as well and letting Mercedes and VOSA know about this problem as that looks terrible for a 12 year old, low mileage car.

Let VOSA know before the repair is carried out, if there are other reports they may issue a recall as that is definitely safety related.

Thanks for the quick reply however like a lot of other Merc owners, highlighting rust issues to Mercedes is like banging your head off a brick wall especially when the car is a certain age. I have never thought about VOSA, I will have to look into this. I will certainly get both sides done for piece of mind. Have you any idea of approximate cost of parts and labour, will not be going to mercedes.

Would you advise me to get rid of car after repair done.

 

[Dieselman]

Unless there is other structural rust, i wouldn't be looking to change the car because of this issue, it's pretty minor.

I'm not sure about the cost, but the parts are probably about £50 each and an hour should see both done.

 

[Dieselman]

VOSA

https://forms.vosa.gov.uk/Vsdr/create

Email: [email protected] | Phone: 0300 123 9000

 

[Druk]

When was the car last MOT'd? Something as bad as that should have been noticed even if it was partly enclosed by a plastic shield. That level of rust damage doesn't just happen inside a year.

 

[surebet]

Last MOT'd on 07/09/13 with a recorded mileage of 45201 , mileage now just passed 47000 miles last week. I'm now paranoid about the safety of the car. I don't now what to do after it is repaired. I love the car to drive and I know if I get rid of it I won't be going back to mercedes due to the major historical rust issues. Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[ioweddie]

Blimy! do you have the car serviced at a main dealer, if so I would get in touch with them and get it reported to Mercedes themselves, that should not happen to a car of that age with that mileage. Keep us posted with the out come.

 

[surebet]

Blimy! do you have the car serviced at a main dealer, if so I would get in touch with them and get it reported to Mercedes themselves, that should not happen to a car of that age with that mileage. Keep us posted with the out come.

Car was always serviced at main dealer up until 2 years ago when I decided to take it to my local garage, cost of mercedes main dealer was too much for a car only doing approx 2000 miles a year now.Thanks for taking an interest.

 

[Grey Area]

Seriously, like ioweddie says, you really should let mercedes know about that. There's no way that should corrode that badly. And talk to your garage, how they failed to spot that level of rust damage at any point is beyond me.

 

[Stratman]

How on earth did it pass its last MOT?

 

[Dieselman]

You can't see the rust with the plastic cover fitted as the top edge remains pretty good, but the base of the spring seat corrodes badly.

Early Nissan Bluebirds had a similar problem due to the design and lack of adequate paint protection...just the same as here.

The rest of the car is sound, it's just an isolated issue with suspension parts only being painted in a thin black paint and not being either galvanised or rust-proofed.

 

[Grey Area]

SHOULD I CHECK MINE!!!!

...but seriously...

 

[merc85]

Blimey think I will be checking mine don't know if the 211 is a similar set up

 

[Rory]

That does look scary.

I wonder if the plastic shield retains water and holds it against the arm so the arm rots away?


Had a broken front spring on my car at its last sevice. I know that's common these days, but I found it disconcerting that there's absolutely no indication it's happened.

 

[surebet]

Dieselman is spot on, there is no way you can see the arm with the plastic shield in place and due the small bolts that hold it in place being rusted, there is no easy way to remove the shield, I literally had to tear it away from the rusty securing bolts. I have attached a picture of the arm with the shield removed. My main concern now is whether the repair people will be able to get it on and off the trailer without the whole lot collapsing causing even more damage or am I worrying for no reason. If as dieselman states" the old Datsun Bluebird had the same design and the same issues" whether Mercedes are really at the forefront when it come to design and technology. If would appreciate any ideas on how to get it on and off trailer without any more damage. Look forward to any and all suggestions. I have already emailed Mercedes customer services however I really don't expect much joy from them.

 

[GordonTarling]

Best way to move it is to jack it up and put a dolly underneath. If you tell the recovery company that the suspension has collapsed, they should be able to arrange this.

 

[moonloops]

If as dieselman states" the old Datsun Bluebird had the same design and the same issues" whether Mercedes are really at the forefront when it come to design and technology.

That will be a no then Likewise many consider the a sub-prestige brand now.

 

[boxbrownie]

Thats shocking on such a relatively young car, does the plastic shield have a drain hole or does it form a "bath" for water and salt to stew in?

 

[surebet]

I think it does however will have to check, one things for sure I'll have a hole in my wallet after this fiasco is over!!