Wheel arch rust repair cost?

[abtekk]

Hi there,

My 2002 C200 has some surface rust on the front wheel arches. Does anyone know a rough cost to have them repaired/resprayed? It had some bits that needed doing when I bought it, just looking to get it polished up and give it some TLC.

Thanks,
Lewis

 

[wu56Shoozz]

Photos may help us.. as cost could be anywhere from £50 quid to 000's

Secondly it all depends what kind of job you want.. remember the motto "You pays for what you get.."

 

[abtekk]

Photos may help us.. as cost could be anywhere from £50 quid to 000's

Secondly it all depends what kind of job you want.. remember the motto "You pays for what you get.."

So this is the only picture I have, but is the worse of the 2. The other one is no where near as bad.

All I'm really after is for the rust to go and it to be repainted in that area. Doesn't need to be a full respray on those panels unless it definitely needs it.

 

[grober]

Rust usually starts on the external wheel arch surface because an accumulation of mud behind the wheel arch lip holds water and road salt This attacks the paint behind the arch and this then migrates under the paint to the front of the arch. To achieve an effective long term solution the rear of the wheel arch lip has to be cleaned and treated at the same time as the front otherwise the rust will return fairly quickly- say in 9-12 months time. Of course a quick cosmetic job can be done on the wheel arch exterior but it probably won't last too long! . I notice also your car paint is metallic silver-- this is notoriously difficult to match accurately and best left to a pro such as a good mobile dent repair/touch up paint guy imho. I am telling you this because I have been down this road before!

 

[abtekk]

Rust usually starts on the external wheel arch surface because an accumulation of mud behind the wheel arch lip holds water and road salt This attacks the paint behind the arch and this then migrates under the paint to the front of the arch. To achieve an effective long term solution the rear of the wheel arch lip has to be cleaned and treated at the same time as the front otherwise the rust will return fairly quickly- say in 9-12 months time. Of course a quick cosmetic job can be done on the wheel arch exterior but it probably won't last too long! . I notice also your car paint is metallic silver-- this is notoriously difficult to match accurately and best left to a pro such as a good mobile dent repair/touch up paint guy imho. I am telling you this because I have been down this road before!

Thanks Grober. If I go for the full repair/treatment, how much am I looking at?

Thanks,
Lewis

 

[grober]

I'm not up on todays prices sorry so all I can suggest is to shop around for quotes. Word of mouth recommendations are often the best guide. If you post up your rough location in London perhaps someone on the forum could suggest a bodyshop close to you. Remember to ask anyone bidding for repair of your car to outline exactly what they will do for the money. There are several factors to consider here on costs. Longevity of repair and cost of repair in relation to the overall value /state of the car. If the car is low mileage and in good condition otherwise it might be worth considering a couple of new pattern wings as the wing looks as if its been filled repaired before. The paintwork of these early W203 C class cars built in South Africa wasn't of the best.

 

[daveenty]

My 2002 C200 has some surface rust on the front wheel arches.

This was the original post mentioning front arches. Normally I'd just suggest replacing the wings as the way to go.
However, we then got this picture: -

So this is the only picture I have, but is the worse of the 2. The other one is no where near as bad.

Which, unless my eyes are worse than I thought, is a rear arch? The correct way of repairing that would be to cut the old arch out, then attack any old rusty metal underneath it, replacing with new. Finally refit a complete new wheel arch. Not a cheap process but one which should last the life of the car, at least if done properly. The alternative method would be to grind it all out, fill and repair where necessary and hope for the best but it looks like that way has already been tried on it.

Doesn't need to be a full respray on those panels unless it definitely needs it.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it will need a lot of paint. As for cost I wouldn't like to hazard a guess but it won't be cheap if done the right way.

 

[abtekk]

This was the original post mentioning front arches. Normally I'd just suggest replacing the wings as the way to go.
However, we then got this picture: -



Which, unless my eyes are worse than I thought, is a rear arch? The correct way of repairing that would be to cut the old arch out, then attack any old rusty metal underneath it, replacing with new. Finally refit a complete new wheel arch. Not a cheap process but one which should last the life of the car, at least if done properly. The alternative method would be to grind it all out, fill and repair where necessary and hope for the best but it looks like that way has already been tried on it.



I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it will need a lot of paint. As for cost I wouldn't like to hazard a guess but it won't be cheap if done the right way.

Ha. Don't worry, you're not blind. Yes the picture is a rear arch, it's the other one that's a front. My mistake.
Thanks for the response though, I'll have to weigh up how long I'm really expecting to keep the car. 2-3 years at most?

One last question, are we on the way to an MOT failure?

 

[horatio]

If they get sharp edges they can fail an MOT but gaffer tape fixes that!

Looks like someone has had a go and it's caked with filler. They will need chopping out and new sections welded in. Whether you are bothered about the paint looking a different shade will affect the quote a lot - someone fussy might end up painting the sides to blend it in.

It will be an uneconomical repair... but say for example it's had a bunch of other work done and it's otherwise in good nick you might be tempted to do it anyway rather than chance another car. Would check everywhere underneath for more rust before committing. Somewhere that does a lot of classic car/resto work will have the most experience dealing with this sort of thing.

 

[Scott_F]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it will need a lot of paint. As for cost I wouldn't like to hazard a guess but it won't be cheap if done the right way.

It will be an uneconomical repair... but say for example it's had a bunch of other work done and it's otherwise in good nick you might be tempted to do it anyway rather than chance another car. Would check everywhere underneath for more rust before committing. Somewhere that does a lot of classic car/resto work will have the most experience dealing with this sort of thing.

I don't wish to seem rude but, to echo the posts above, proper repairs are unlikely to make economic sense. A 16 year-old C200 with very visible rust issues (and probably a lot of less visible ones too) is not worth a lot and the cost of fitting new metal and having it painted to a good standard will almost certainly to come to more than the car is worth.

If you can live with the car in the condition that it is in then you may be better off just running it for as long as possible and avoiding any major outlay.

 

[abtekk]

I don't wish to seem rude but, to echo the posts above, proper repairs are unlikely to make economic sense. A 16 year-old C200 with very visible rust issues (and probably a lot of less visible ones too) is not worth a lot and the cost of fitting new metal and having it painted to a good standard will almost certainly to come to more than the car is worth.

If you can live with the car in the condition that it is in then you may be better off just running it for as long as possible and avoiding any major outlay.

Not rude at all. Completely understand your points. I've had a quote for £300 per arch, to repair and respray (but not blend). I guess if there's no structural integrity risk then it was more to make me feel better. It's my first good car (my last one, which was also my first car, was a 2000 Suzuki Swift!).

 

[Joderest]

Looking at that photo, the rust has travelled up under the paint, making things look ten times worse. I would have a body shop grind it all back to see how bad the rust really is, if it has not eaten into the metal too far, a grind off, rust treat, repair and respray might well last quite some time.
Of course, you could save some money by agreeing to grind of the rust yourself, leaving the repair and respray to the body shop.
And i have to agree with above, you get what you pay for.

 

[clk320x]

Not rude at all. Completely understand your points. I've had a quote for £300 per arch, to repair and respray (but not blend). I guess if there's no structural integrity risk then it was more to make me feel better. It's my first good car (my last one, which was also my first car, was a 2000 Suzuki Swift!).

That seems less than fair price, I payed £200 for my Arch to be done IIRC... and that included spraying upto the rear quarter and blending.. and sealing the arch with a silicone sealant to prevent it reoccuring

 

[wu56Shoozz]

Okay less of the care mongering and more what the best solution..

You have to decide two factors really..

How long you intend to keep the car, and what kind of person are you a/done proper won't return OR b/ bodge job like the one you have at present, but when it comes to sell could be difficult..depreciation will have an effect..

Many years ago I had a 7 Series with that problem - I got new wings and went to town building them up with rust treatment etc finishing in 3 coats of wax.. 7 Years later (Yes you saw correct..7!!!) and the edges of the wing were mint so much so you could cut your hand on them.. and they were perfect!!
Preparation is key to this exercise.. the longer you take the better it will turn out..

If it was me I'd get quotes, shop around.. keep your eye on the rear wings in case you could get a good un that can be reused..or new off ebay etc.. and save up a bit and go for it!!

Two new front wings, a boot lid and touch in on a door cost me £600 notes - but that was a dealer shop a few years ago, but was a perfect match in silver too...

Your da Boss mate - you make the call...

P.S My Mate is a Classic Car buff - massively into Cortinas (He has 10 the last time I counted!!) So, he has a rather special Crayford Cortina MK3 of which there are only 2 official vehicle in the UK.. So, he's built this one in Daytona Yellow.. all was well until the tin worm appeared on the rear arches.. now, he's well respected in the "build" industry.. so he gets a couple of repair arches off Ebay.. genuine ones, nothing but the best.. and takes it to another mate who's superb at the welding game.. so the deed was done and the panels were cut out and repair panels installed and what a job, seriously the best ever and I'm an engineer no distortion nada... The car is completed and painted once more...until a mate arrives and says that the rear tail light is down 1mm on the left .. we all got in on this "Aye that's right its definitely down..." Was it Feck .. just winding him up..next we knew the car was wheeled into the garage and all that perfect welding was cut off in favour of two rear panels from OZ that were genuine replacements... what a tw4t!! Never laughed so hard..

 

[Joderest]

All above is very good advice, best thing to do if you are not handy yourself is take it round a few body shops.

 

[Deleted member 131833]

A tip I was given by a licensed aircraft engineer was never to return unused rust treatment liquid back into the bottle, decant some into another container, use, discard unused and do not put the brush you use into the fresh material

The reason given was that you transfer rust into the unused liquid which continues to react with the rust and degrades the effect next time you use it.

I have used them and had good results

 

[Petrol Pete]

A few years back I bought a pre painted (dark green) front wing for an old Opel Astra. It bolted straight on and was a cheap (ish) convenient fix.

Ironically the rusty wing I had to replace was one that had been repaired after a minor 'ding some years previous. The rest of the 100000 mile 16 year old car was rust free !

Not sure if they do them for MB, shop around online. can't for the life of me remember where i got it from. Good luck.