Which models are the worst/best for rust?

[kusanku]

I'm going to change cars soon. My current car is a W210 series E-class, which is rusting badly at 7 years of age, and my previous car was a W202 series C-class, which was already rusting at three and a half years. I really do not want this problem again.
Amongst others, I had thought about the last generation of S-class. However, Honest John's website, whilst describing them as possibly the best car in the world at the time, also says they are highly prone to rust. I have considered the W203 C-class, and found that some of these also have a rust problem.

Is there a certain date after which Mercs become safe bets again, or is it simply that the newer ones have not rusted yet?

 

[andy27168]

2004 I think the date is when the panels on Mercedes were galvanised.
Have you tried claiming under the paintwork warranty on your car?

 

[Matt45]

As I understand it, some cars [C class and sport coupe] are made in places like South Aftrica and South America where the steel used is of a lower quality. They also started using water based paints at about the same time which can trap moisture against the steel and cause problems. I think they've almost sorted this problem out now but it did take some time. Older cars built in Germany with oil based paints can last forever without rust, but the best ones are the aluminium ones for obvious reasons.

 

[crockers]

As I understand it, some cars [C class and sport coupe] are made in places like South Aftrica and South America where the steel used is of a lower quality. They also started using water based paints at about the same time which can trap moisture against the steel and cause problems. I think they've almost sorted this problem out now but it did take some time. Older cars built in Germany with oil based paints can last forever without rust, but the best ones are the aluminium ones for obvious reasons.

Which models are aluminium ?

 

[Matt45]

Most of my SL is aluminium.

 

[kusanku]

I have heard that the South African built cars have poorer build quality, and are more prone to rust. However, my C-class was an estate, which I believe was made in Germany. Apart from the rust, the overall build quality was awful. Someone else I knew also had a C-class estate, same model and year as mine. His was just as bad, and was rusting in all the same places. We both traded them in after a matter of months.

 

[Matt45]

I'm sorry to hear that, and my earlier comment wasn't meant to sound clever. I think a new car will be better now with better galvanizing techniques etc. and you should expect a premier car to not rust for say 30 years along with their warranty. I guess a good coat of polish and maybe some waxoil wiped inside the wheel arches will help but you shouldn't expect rust in 2008 - on any car. Matt

 

[verytalldave]

Post 2004 facelift C class saloons are fine. All galvanised body. Mine has a few stone chips as most do after 50K miles yet not a spot of rust anywhere.
Worth paying the extra if your pocket can bear it.
Thats apart from the facelift improvements like better dash and headlamps etc.....

To name a model worse for rust would be pointless. ANYTHING pre-1992 is prone. Earlier is worse still.............

 

[Mark300SL]

My 93 SL has been used as a daily driver even in winter, And that had absolutely no rust at all until a drunk bent the rear panel and I had to beat it straight

Now with no bent panels and decent paint I expect it to last another 14 years without rusting

 

[Roger Jones]

As I understand it, some cars [C class and sport coupe] are made in places like South Aftrica and South America where the steel used is of a lower quality. They also started using water based paints at about the same time which can trap moisture against the steel and cause problems. I think they've almost sorted this problem out now but it did take some time. Older cars built in Germany with oil based paints can last forever without rust, but the best ones are the aluminium ones for obvious reasons.

I think the water-based paints were introduced at all MB plants from August 1995 onwards.

The boss of the bodyshop I use is not convinced that water-based paint = more rust, although it is clear that more time is needed between coats. Metal quality may have something to do with it (there were quite substantial rumours about Russian steel in relation to the W210 problem); presumably priming and the number of coats, plus the quality of the top coat, may also figure. There is also the finishing of the panel edges and fold-overs.

The corrosion problem certainly accelerated from 1996, but there are plenty of W124, W126 and earlier models that are not immune to the tin worm, usually in predictable places on the bodywork. I have corrosion around the radio-antenna aperture on my early 1996 W124 Coupé; repaired once, it has come back within four years. Such a shame on such good cars; my old Audi 100 had one pin-hole of rust after ten years from new.

 

[BTB 500]

Yup AFAIK rust is pretty much unheard of on the R129.

my old Audi 100 had one pin-hole of rust after ten years from new.

We have a well (ab)used 12 year old A4 estate that doesn't have one speck of rust (but it needed a new gearbox this year and the climate control has died )

 

[W210 Fan]

I dont know if you can say Audis do/dont rust, I have a `97 A4 with 1/2" bobble on a wheel arch, I sold a `91 V8 Quattro without a spot of rust on it, my mate loves his series 1 coupe quattros, he has a turbo rotting in his garden, I got in through the hole in the boot floor!!

I also had a W126, that was rotton, but at that age I would accept it, I found 1 of my old Fords the other day, spoke to the guy, no rust and still going strong at 170K on a 1.6 early Zetec, I think sometimes its luck, can you vouch that on the day your car was made everybody was working how they should and the guy at the steel mill that made the roll of sheet steel your car came from used all the right alloying elements, the quality guy checked everything ok, the previous owners have looked after it in the way you would have liked, there are so many factors that can affect the rust on a vehicle, short of making your own its luck, Although we do all have mercs hoping they are better than other marques

 

[kusanku]

This is all really useful information. The clear message seems to be 2004 onwards. The two S-classes I had my eye on were 2001 and 2002 respectively, so probably best left alone. I think that restricts me to a C-class or an A-Class on my current budget. I was looking to spend around £10k, plus whatever mine is worth in part-ex. I've had offers from £2750 (main dealer) to £4500 (indie).

 

[W210 Fan]

E55, its the best fun you can have, they are around 5k to buy which gives you 5K plus the cost of yours in fuel to play with, add about £200 to keep on top of the rust if you cant be bothered to get merc to do it...

 

[Roger Jones]

"Yup AFAIK rust is pretty much unheard of on the R129."

I have that impression too, but a quick Google reveals a few reports:

* ". . . serious structural rust in the rear section . . ."

* [Not in response to the above] "Hey, that is the weak point on the R129. They have window seals that dont quite seal correctly, so the water leaks down thew door and collect at the low point. Thus leading to rust and some other problems."

Which is not to exaggerate the problems, but they do exist. I wonder how much of the apparent immunity is down to careful owners with dry garages and a tendency to use the cars only on dry days.

 

[BTB 500]

Which is not to exaggerate the problems, but they do exist. I wonder how much of the apparent immunity is down to careful owners with dry garages and a tendency to use the cars only on dry days.

Possibly that comes into it, but the youngest R129 is 7? years old now and there are probably plenty of much older examples in the hands of less than careful owners ... yet reports of rust are rare compared to other M-Bs of the same era. I suspect damage is often a likely cause (and I would put incorrectly set up windows into that category - they don't leak as a matter of course).

 

[Dieselman]

Metal quality may have something to do with it (there were quite substantial rumours about Russian steel in relation to the W210 problem); presumably priming and the number of coats, plus the quality of the top coat, may also figure. There is also the finishing of the panel edges and fold-overs.

It's not the quality of the steel, if that could indeed cause rust anyway. It's lack of coverage of sharp edges, you can see it even on fairly new cars. Some areas have no coverage at all and some only a very thin slightly broken cover and no wax protection.
It's bound to rust.

 

[Mark300SL]

I wonder how much of the apparent immunity is down to careful owners with dry garages and a tendency to use the cars only on dry days.

As much as I hate to admit it - mine hasnt seen a garage in 6 years and until it was hit never had a speck of rust on it.
The underside is immaculate and there are absolutely no signs of any corrosion at all. This is a car that was used as a daily driver in all weathers including snow for 4 years and a weekend toy for the last 2 years, but always parked on the street (hence it got clouted!)

From what I have read to date my car didnt rust in those 6 years, but a new one 6 years old can have serious problems

All that said the 129 has such a solid feel about it, and along with the W140's seem to be the last of the seriously overengineered MB's, but the 140's do seem to suffer more with rust from stone chips ????
I got a drivers door skin for mine, and it seemed as heavy as a honda door

 

[Dieselman]

I got a drivers door skin for mine, and it seemed as heavy as a honda door

50 milk bottle tops and six Coke cans don't weigh a lot, do they.?

 

[BTB 500]

I had a Micra once and the panels were so thin that they momentarily flexed outwards with the air pressure when you shut a door or the tailgate!