W210 fighting rust advice

[will9871]

Hi, I dont post much on here and I am aware that w210 and rust is like the sky and blue but I could use some advice due to the layout of cash to try and keep the orangy red menace at bay.

Basically on my latest service my local mechanic has said that I had better start doing something about the rust on the car, it is particularly bad on the drivers side (LHD car) rear door and the wheel arch panel behind, other areas have a little here and there that is more under control.

Thing is he wants to replace the door and soon the tailgate and has said that if I dont do it nowish then in 3 years time the car will be rotten beyond repair. I have had the car for 3 years and in that time it has gone from mildish to minimal to the situation I have now. I just wonder about the cost of replacing and spraying the doors and the liklihood that the interior of the door wont match.

Is it worth spending the money on changing doors or panels? I plan to keep the car for as long as possible and the engine is in fine form. I would always like the option of selling it if I ever had to and feel that if it has mismatching doors then I could forget about ever selling it, mind I guess that with the rust that is the case anyway.

Im not making a lot of sense sorry, I just wonder what anyone else has done in their crusade against the rust and is it worth spending the money? Will the car really be scrapheap material in 3 years? Are there any altrenative fixes if I'm not overly bothered about cosmetics?

 

[rossyl]

This is a question that crops up again and again on here and it is an extremely difficult question to answer.

The two views usually expressed are:

1. If you like the car do the work.
If you like the car, you don't want to buy a different car, your car is running well and has few niggles then keep it. If you buy a new car it might have problems that require fixing. Worse, you might buy a new car that is a complete lemon. Merc engines are built to last and if you keep the bodywork tip-top the engine won't fail you.

2. Just enjoy the car and buy a new one when neccessary.
There is little point spending 70% or more of the car's value on bodywork. You would be better saving that money and in two years time when the rust is getting bad using the money you would've spent on paintwork/rust on a new car. The money you spend on rust/paintwork you won't get back even if you sell the car.
There is no such thing as a fault free car. Your current car at any time could develop an expensive repair or a very expensive repair. Imagine if such a fault showed up just after you've had the body work re-done. Also, despite what anyone says you can never fully prevent rust, you might stop it in its current area and it might crop up elsewhere. Or, the fix you have done might not rid the rust entirely, instead after a couple of years it needs re-doing. A W210 is a rust prone car.


In my personal opinion I would not spend the money on a W210. If you had something that was potentially going to be a "classic" car then it might be worth it. I would instead save the money and in time re-invest in a post 2004 (or newer) car that is likely to have much less rust issues.

But only you can decide.

 

[will9871]

you talk a lot of sense. I probably couldnt afford anything newer and am partial to the 'bigger' old style Mercs, a friend gave me a spin in his w211 and it wasn't really to my taste, if anything I'd go for a w124. The used car market is a joke in Hungary and you pay a fortune for a heap, I think it kind of handicaps me into keeping the car and labour is affordable when repairs are needed.

 

[johnsco]

Rust chasing on a 210 is rather like pouring money down a black hole.
Certainly you can extend its life by carrying on spending money.
But - Few 210s are ever going to be considered great classics.

My E300TD is going to fall apart in a heap of rust long before I'm likely to wear the engine out.
The E430 is not a lot better.

These are good cars ... Enjoy them.
BUT
Never get sentimental over old cars.
It's the road to madness.

 

[LESTAYLOR]

Hi, I dont post much on here and I am aware that w210 and rust is like the sky and blue but I could use some advice due to the layout of cash to try and keep the orangy red menace at bay.

Basically on my latest service my local mechanic has said that I had better start doing something about the rust on the car, it is particularly bad on the drivers side (LHD car) rear door and the wheel arch panel behind, other areas have a little here and there that is more under control.

Thing is he wants to replace the door and soon the tailgate and has said that if I dont do it nowish then in 3 years time the car will be rotten beyond repair. I have had the car for 3 years and in that time it has gone from mildish to minimal to the situation I have now. I just wonder about the cost of replacing and spraying the doors and the liklihood that the interior of the door wont match.

Is it worth spending the money on changing doors or panels? I plan to keep the car for as long as possible and the engine is in fine form. I would always like the option of selling it if I ever had to and feel that if it has mismatching doors then I could forget about ever selling it, mind I guess that with the rust that is the case anyway.

Im not making a lot of sense sorry, I just wonder what anyone else has done in their crusade against the rust and is it worth spending the money? Will the car really be scrapheap material in 3 years? Are there any altrenative fixes if I'm not overly bothered about cosmetics?

I have the same dilema. The rust on mine is not serious at the moment just popping up in a few places. I did have a quote to have it done, However the guy would not garantee the work for more than a year before it looked untidy again. I still love the car and am attached to it, i too do not know what to do.

 

[d w124]

Any good Les? http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...063MBA&usg=AFQjCNHr4tSRDCEipddiFgvtT8K2i0RAXg

 

[Automac29]

Beware cars from the period 1998 (post Chrysler merge) and late 2004. Body panel rust protection went to hell...

 

[paultredgett]

...ooooh.....

Mine is the same, I have rust mostly on the driverside wing towards the a post and opposite wing but not as bad, someone in the past has done some work but it not a good finish....it is ok and not really noticeable but not like new!
enjoy it for a bit and pass it on!
if you are ok with bodywork then get on it now and deal with what you have.

deffo not worth chucking loads of money at! all the rust will come back unless it is stopped properly!

 

[paultredgett]

....I intend sorting my wings out with fiberglass and copious amounts of waxoil to the rear of them.
...Then sparaying the whole car in camouflage!

lol...really

 

[MB-BTurbo]

I have a couple of spots on my tailgate.

I cut into the paint with a knife, chissled it away with a screwdriver, used some arcol rust converter my brother in law had and painted over it with a touch up pen.

It cost nothing for me as I had those things anyway. The touch up paint is better than when it had rust bubbles and stand further than 1 meter away and you would never notice it. I intend to keep doing this until it either;
gets so bad that I need to get it done properly or buy a newer tailgate,
or sell the car anyway.

Either way it is by far the best solution for the here and know.

 

[Nasco12]

In Britain second-hand Mercs are cheap and rust repairs expensive. But that might not be the case in Hungary. If so, it might very sensible to keep patching up the car.

The problem comes in knowing how could the repair is. Visually, there is little to tell between a good repair and a bad one. But a bad one will not have totally eradicated the rust and properly sealed the metal from the atmosphere. And the rust will come back.

 

[coalville126]

In Britain second-hand Mercs are cheap and rust repairs expensive. But that might not be the case in Hungary. If so, it might very sensible to keep patching up the car.

Similarly in many southeast asian countries where W210 and W220 are still luxury cars and cost a lot more, up to ten times the price. Rust is never seen or considered an issue, not just because of the unsalted roads. You'd be surprised how the tropical climate with extremely high humidity takes its toll. Rust just appears in different places, but get's fixed as soon as it appears. The price of bodywork repairs is a small expense in the overall ownership cost of a luxury car.

 

[mike.peacock]

I've been treating rusty mercs (first a 202 c-class and now a 210 e-class) for the last 5 years with Rust Buster products Rustbuster

I particularly recommend the fe-123 rust converter, which you can just brush onto the rust bubble as it appears on the paint. Once the rust has been converted, it turns black and can be painted over with any surface finish, or just brushed over with waxoyl. It's a 10 minute job and I've never known the rust to reappear. The treated spot is visible, but on my old dark blue c200 not too bad and certainly a lot better than rust holes.

My e240 is a silver/gold colour so fe-123 is a bit too visible. On this car, I rub the rust spot (including both front wheel arches) back to bare metal, then paint on Rust Buster's Epoxy Mastic 121, which dries a light cream colour and is visually acceptable. I may one day rub the mastic smooth with wet-and-dry, then paint over it with proper touch-up paint. The important thing is that for a few pounds the rust is treated and will not get worse.

This way, I can buy a 2001 E240 Elegance (great car, beautiful engine)with full MBSH and 81k miles but with visible rust spots that allow me to beat the price down to £1,500, knowing I can spend a Saturday morning treating all the rust for less than £30.

 

[Dichtung]

Whilst on holiday, I got chatting to an ex MB owner. He`d driven an S class for 20 years (full MBSH), but had defected recently to BM.

He claimed that his main dealer contact told him that MB`s rust problems started after MB had agreed to use recycled steel from scrapped ships being beached and broken up in Asia.

An interesting story, but in theory, could sea salt survive the melting/Bessemer process and contaminate the newly rolled sheet steel?

I`ve been in the steel industry all my life, and don`t think so, but?

Any metallurgists out there?

 

[Dieselman]

...LOL..

Nearly all steel is recycled.

 

[Dichtung]

...LOL..

Nearly all steel is recycled.

Agreed,

But could swapping from, say scrap machinery/vehicles etc to scrap ships be significant?

 

[Dieselman]

Agreed,

But could swapping from, say scrap machinery/vehicles etc to scrap ships be significant?

I can't see it for two reasons.
1. the lighter impurities would float off as slag
2. the steel doesn't rust from the inside, it's just not painted properly or with primer that resists water ingress.

 

[Dichtung]

Yes, I would have thought so too.

I`ve heard stories about - wrong spec. steel; - "pre stretched" steel etc.

I guess this is just more baloney.

 

[Johncooper]

Hi guys has anybody got any advice on the rust problem on a W211 i have a W210 and i was thinking of up grading to W211 some people tell me that model is ok cheers john

 

[paultredgett]

lol......

Recycled steel is graded from selection to remelt,slag is given off as mainly sub smelted metal impurities but not ultra low carbon impurities such as salt, these impurities are burned off due to the smelting process and cannot exist in a controlled process at end result, sulphurs(oxides)/slag etc is removed at top and bottom of a melt and samples are taken to ensure integrity of the melt.

Car panels are treated to surface preparation where panels are treated with anti rust prep's including zinc etc using electric to make a bond to the metal....basically passing a current through the steel to polarize it making a zinc coating stick better (no air trapped!).
No steel is rust proof, contrary to belief neither is stainless steel......all steel oxidizes with age, the higher the nickle content the less oxide but this brings higher cost and other problems!

No.....salt water ships steel would not at all make any difference to a motor car panel after recycling,it is the preperation of the steel used that makes the difference.