W208 CLKs, rust and cabrios

[///ajd]

SImple question.

Any thoughts on whether W208 Cabrio CLKs are less rusty than W208 Coupe CLKs?

There seems little doubt that Coupes all rust round the arches/boot, but just thinking whether as the Cabrio has different panels (and may have been built on a different production line?) it may not have the same rust weaknesses.

Or are they all the same.

Thanks!

 

[LeighW]

I was told by a mate of mine who works at an MB dealership that the cabrios are much better as they were built at Karmann (sp?). I don't know how true that is though, I thought they were painted by MB just the same as the coupes. You're right about the coupes rusting, I know that...

 

[SilverSaloon]

when i was looking for my 208 CLK i saw lots of rusty coupe's - bearing in mind they were only about 4 years old at the time!! and i dont think i saw a rusty cabrio..... the cabrio i got didnt have any rust and still didnt when i sold it about a year later.

no idea whether that means anything but just my experience!!

 

[davidbilyk]

I feel this varies so much from vehicle to vehicle, my 2000 W210 is a proper rust bucket, yet I have seen other cars, same year with no rust at all!! Same with the 208's. I looked at a couple of CLK55's and the same applied there, some rusting and some not. Surely this can't be down to general cleaning as my dad owned the W210 before me and he cleaned it every weekend without fail?

 

[74merc]

I was told by a mate of mine who works at an MB dealership that the cabrios are much better as they were built at Karmann (sp?). I don't know how true that is though, I thought they were painted by MB just the same as the coupes. You're right about the coupes rusting, I know that...

Funny you should say that, recently I read an article in Practical Classics - I think, called the Top Ten Cars that rust. Apparently everything Karmann ever made rusted badly due to moisture traps. Needless to say, the W210 was also listed in the top 10!

 

[///ajd]

Thanks for the replies. I had a vague recollection that it was coachbuilder / Karmann made - and hence potentially made on quite a different production line (and hence metal prep, fabrication and paint shop) from the coupe. Its entirely plausible that this alone could make the cabrios much more resilient to rust just because the process weakness (which could have been something very small/minor) in the coupe prod line was absent in the cabrio prod line.