W210...when did they sort the rust problem out?

[Mikeyboy]

Hello, I have a '99 W210 E300TD and it is a really good car but the bottoms of the doors and the wheel arches are rusting.

I have seen good things written about the face lift E320CDi and they seem to have come down in price.


My question is what year did MB sort out the corrosion problem so I can then look for anything after that year.

I really like the car but hate the way it looks!

Thanks.

 

[momomo]

I think it was from around 2003 onwards that they started galvanising. So it will mean a 211 if your wanting a rust free MB, as the 210's were never galvanised.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Sort answer: They never fixed the rust on the W210.

 

[Spin_bowler]

It's true. My friend has a very, very late 210 on an '03 plate and it looks like a brown doily around the rear arches

 

[Sonny Burnett]

you jsut have to bite the bullet and get the rust sorted its not expensive..

 

[andy_k]

you jsut have to bite the bullet and get the rust sorted its not expensive..

Surface rust is easy to deal with but it does seem to have a habit of coming back. I wonder how much rust some of these cars are hiding in the places where owners don't think to look. Front cross members, suspension mounts etc.

Amazingly, there is one just down the road from us that has spent all it's life on the south coast and doesn't have a spot of visible rust anywhere. It has never had any remedial work done - it's a car the guy has owned from new, he hardly ever washes it and I don't believe it's seen any wax for the past ten years.

Maybe that's the trick - let the dirt seal the paintwork for you

 

[noogieman]

only solution if you bought the car new!
Dinitrol rustprotection!
and never drive the car during winter!
let it hybernate in your garage.
this is merely a summertime car I guess!

 

[Mikeyboy]

Thanks, it would be the structural rust that would scare me.


I have driven an '07 E220 (W211?) and thought it was quite good, not as solid feeling as mine but at least it cornered!!

It just seems that buying a late W210 is a great way of getting the 320CDi engine as I have heard some good things about them.

Many thanks for the replies.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

Surface rust is easy to deal with but it does seem to have a habit of coming back. I wonder how much rust some of these cars are hiding in the places where owners don't think to look. Front cross members, suspension mounts etc.

Amazingly, there is one just down the road from us that has spent all it's life on the south coast and doesn't have a spot of visible rust anywhere. It has never had any remedial work done - it's a car the guy has owned from new, he hardly ever washes it and I don't believe it's seen any wax for the past ten years.

Maybe that's the trick - let the dirt seal the paintwork for you

i have had it all done with new MB parts. and sealed correctly all suspension changed over. and evey other area inspected. my 210 is basicly one of the only rust free 210s done propperly by hilton. even have new top halfs on all 4 doors.. if your gonna do something do it propperly

 

[andy_k]

if your gona do something do it propperly

Absolutely, but you must reach the point where you stop and think how much you are spending on a car and why.

If the car is a keeper that you intend to hang on to for a long time then it's justified but if you intend to sell it on you will never recoup your money. To you, it's special, to somebody else, it's just another (albeit very clean) old W210

I also worry about how many of the replacement panels are made from the same grade of steel as the original ones which have a horrible habit of disintegrating. Hopefully, they made the repacements better than the originals

 

[Sonny Burnett]

Absolutely, but you must reach the point where you stop and think how much you are spending on a car and why.

If the car is a keeper that you intend to hang on to for a long time then it's justified but if you intend to sell it on you will never recoup your money. To you, it's special, to somebody else, it's just another (albeit very clean) old W210

I also worry about how many of the replacement panels are made from the same grade of steel as the original ones which have a horrible habit of disintegrating. Hopefully, they made the repacements better than the originals

they are better but it requires someone to seal the panels properly. whats the point on selling the car to get back 2-3k ima keep the 210 till the 200k mark mabey more untill it really claps out thats why i baught a mercedes becasue it can do these miles. when you go to a show and see the r230s and 209s 207s its great and real exciting but theres something special about a older Mint car.. thats been cared for.

 

[Fizzer]

Exactly my thoughts. If you can keep even a mundane, everyday car, in good nick (not that a Merc will ever be that, lol)it becomes more exclusive and "cooler" with every year. I probably will never again afford the calibre of car I have now but my intention when buying it was that I would never have to. I intend to make full use of the 30 year warranty, a bit more expensive to keep up but imagine how satisfying it will be in 29 years time to take it in and say "could you fix.. ?????.. it IS under warranty" :bannana::bannana::bannana:

 

[andy_k]

again, I'm not su sure that paying for a full service history for thirty years will ever make sound economic sense - but each to their own.

Part of the joy of running 30 year old cars (for me anyway) is the satisfaction in keeping them running and fixing them when they break.

I'm not sure that modern cars will ever reach the level that classic cars have now - most of them are just too complicated

Good luck with the thirty year warranty - I hope your gamble pays off

 

[Sp!ke]

if your gonna do something do it propperly

Do you apply this philosophy to your spelling too?

 

[Sonny Burnett]

Do you apply this philosophy to your spelling too?

i dont care about my spelling mrs grammer queen

@ fizzer. thats my thaughts as well. i dont keep choping and changing cars rather keep one and have it looking as if it where new.. i get down when my cars looking grubby lol

 

[jefrs]

S210 1998 E320 - what rust problem ?

I've got stone chips on bonnet and wheel arches, hardly a problem that a dab of Jenolite and a blob of paint won't solve.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

S210 1998 E320 - what rust problem ?

I've got stone chips on bonnet and wheel arches, hardly a problem that a dab of Jenolite and a blob of paint won't solve.

+1
people panic and even sell the car. because of rust

 

[219]

my 210 is basicly one of the only rust free 210s done propperly by hilton

Conrad or Paris ?