Rust on Later C Class Mercedes

[merc85]

sorry i'm not well up on Latin doh.

 

[KeithJG]

My 2006 C-Class is totally rust free.

Just had the MOT yesterday and asked for a report on the underside of the motor while he did his bit and the result was no sign of rust even right up under the suspension turrets in fact he said for an 06 motor really really clean.

So i am going to keep her.....better the devil you know than the one you don`t.

 

[rf065]

A friend of mine has just retired from 36 years running a bodyshop undertaking all sorts of insurance and private work.

He said that without doubt the Mercedes marque (models manufactured in the last 15 years) suffer more from corrosion than nearly any other marque he can think of. He did clarify that far from all Mercedes vehicles corrode badly, but statistically per capita more suffer from bad corrosion than those of other marques! He also stated he'd seen 2008 and 2009 Mercedes vehicles with corrosion levels you would not expect to see on a 20 year old Ford!

Everytime I pass the bodyshop that did the rust repairs on my car, 75% of the cars worked on or waiting to be worked on are Mercedes, and not very old ones either. In fact, when mine was in, they told me that the Mercedes cars they see have the thinnest paint coat out of any of the other marques they repair.
Added to that, the rust on mine that started at 4.5 years old, was put down to moisture on the panels before they were painted. Paint preporation work appears to be very poor on some MB's, coupled with very thin coats and you are just waiting for rust to start.
Alluding to wether the car is garaged or not, or if it lives near the sea has nothing to do with it, it is how they are prepared & painted that will determine if they will rust prematurely or not.

Russ

Russ

 

[Codger49]

Probably blasphemy to mention it on this forum, but there is a video on Youtube of the manufacturing process of the BMW E46. The interesting part is where the whole bodyshell is dipped in a bath of molten zinc.

 

[KeithJG]

Probably blasphemy to mention it on this forum, but there is a video on Youtube of the manufacturing process of the BMW E46. The interesting part is where the whole bodyshell is dipped in a bath of molten zinc.

Look at the video and you will see also Mercedes go through the same procedure but as rf065 says if the panels are corrupt with anything who knows how long before the rust sets into the panels?


...

 

[markjay]

I believe it is dipped in water... it would be electrogalvanized rather than hot dip galvanizing.

Hot dip galvanizing would indeed survive the elements for many years, but it is much ticker and coarser and won't allow for smooth paint finish.

 

[Bobclive2]

Looking at a very nice RED 2015 slk, what to do, love the colour, if paint is OK now but starts lifting later, won`t a full down to metal respray destroy the exterior galvanisation. Will I need full MB service history or is MB indi acceptable.

 

[190]

My W204 has already had a section of rear brake pipe replaced after an MOT fail. I've seen other reports of the same problem.