C and e class - Rusty mercedes | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 16:27

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - tony g

Hi unthrottled,
You're right when you say that mercs from 2000 suffered badly from corrosion.

I was working for mercedes when the frog eye, e class model came out.In about 95 96

I can't remember the model number but I think the previous model was a W123.

I remember being disappointed with the styling and the lightweight build quality. I remember that part of the release details , were that the car used stressed ,rigid panels .instead of the heavy gauge steel that had been used in previous models .

The problem was that this new model didn't really feel like a true merc. I had an e320 auto,old shape in almandine red metallic .a brilliant car ,other than in snow.

We also did a version of the same car that could be specified as gypsy specification.A name not used by mercedes but by the sales staff .

I wonder if forum members can suggest what the car would have been specified with.Nothing to offensive please .

If we get a few suggestions I'll follow up in a couple of days with the real info.

Tony g

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Edited by tony g on 19/12/2011 at 16:30

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 18:34

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - barney100

On me third Merc, all used and the current one 2000 W. I have had one with a bit of surface rust which without a quibble was fixed....This one has no rust (CLK 2000) its left on the drive all night. I can't moan at an 11 year old car thats in excellent condition. I think there is a lot of jumping on the bandwagon regarding Mercedes.

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 18:49

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - Collos25

Very rare to see a rusty Merc in Germany but they do exist I have had four UK reg cars non of which had a spot of rust one being a 2000 e class so not every car had the problem

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 19:02

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - unthrottled

Germany has colder winters and drier summers than the UK. The UK's moist temperate climate is about as conducive to corrosion as meterologically possible.

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 19:15

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - tony g

Hi barney you're certainly right about the clk. I'm not sure where they were made .but they suffer less than the standard c and e class.
Sad to say theirs no jumping on the bandwagon.I've seen dozens of these models with serious corrosion problems , including a 95N e class that i took in px that had more rot than any car I've ever seen .

I sold it for £150 .scrap .two years ago.

Tony g

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 19:24

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - injection doc

"Hi unthrottled, You're right when you say that mercs from 2000 suffered badly from corrosion."

Spot on, as an Ex MOT tester I can assure you some rot like there's no tomorrow and in the strangest of places. inner wings, subframes and front x members seriously rot !

I have seen some shinning examples without a mark on the exterior and gone to do an MOt & found a complete pear !

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Mon 19 Dec 2011 20:40

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - tony g

Wasn't it about this time that mercedes had a tie in with Chrysler ?

I seem to remember that mercedes were sinking money into chrysler.

Didn't it give them serious financial problems ?

Perhaps thats why the quality slipped so badly.in particular I remember the v class .What a dreadful thing that was ,Based on the Vito van and converted in a factory in Spain.
The build quality was awful ,they cost in the region of £25000.The interior seats fitted very badly and the paint had obvious paint runs .

Imagine displaying that along side a superb s class costing £60,000.

Tony g

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Tue 20 Dec 2011 10:50

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - Roly93

Hi unthrottled, You're right when you say that mercs from 2000 suffered badly from corrosion. I was working for mercedes when the frog eye, e class model came out.In about 95 96 I can't remember the model number but I think the previous model was a W123. I remember being disappointed with the styling and the lightweight build quality. I remember that part of the release details , were that the car used stressed ,rigid panels .instead of the heavy gauge steel that had been used in previous models . The problem was that this new model didn't really feel like a true merc. I had an e320 auto,old shape in almandine red metallic .a brilliant car ,other than in snow. We also did a version of the same car that could be specified as gypsy specification.A name not used by mercedes but by the sales staff . I wonder if forum members can suggest what the car would have been specified with.Nothing to offensive please . If we get a few suggestions I'll follow up in a couple of days with the real info. Tony g Reply to this message | Report message as offensive | Link

In my previous company everyone that got Mercs as company cars moaned about problems. As you say after they changed the philosophy to 'build it like a tank' Mercs seemed to get titred relatively quickly for a quality car.

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Tue 20 Dec 2011 10:57

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - madf

Many rhd Mercs were imported from their South African plant in Port Elizabeth.

Rust treatment was not 100%. Blame steel cleaning and primer coats and seam sealant issues.

The E class subframe was mounted too close to the underframe and plastic shield and retained water. The sealing round the welds on suspension uprights cracked, the welds rusted and crack! Bang...

And I see a few 2000-2004 Mercedes C class coupes with rust blisters on front wings...

The MB Owners Club had a beatifully restored E320cdi c 2000 (!) - the rust extended to the inner panels all round the car.. Like a 1970s Ford or Austin or Vauxhall ....

The words "build quality" and Merecedes Benz were mutually exclusive from 1996 toc 2004.

(Carbonned in injectors and glow plugs anyone?)

Edited by madf on 20/12/2011 at 10:58

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Tue 20 Dec 2011 18:52

C and e class - Rusty mercedes - tony g

As well as severe corrosion problems,especially in the e class ,I remember a period when mercedes had problems with the oddly named c class coupe.(Its a hatchback)

I came across several that had drive and gearbox problems.

The problem seemed to involve the electronic controls for the gearbox and drivetrain.

One particular car needed a replacement gearbox when the electronics failed.

It cost a fortune because the gearbox electronics had to be synchronised to the car itself ,so a secondhand replacement wasn't an option.

Is it because they're far to complicated.?

I've owned an old merc 190 for 5 years now 1990 H reg.130,000 miles .
It's pretty much rust free,and passes it's MOT every year with very little to spend.
Mercs as they used to be or should be?

Tony g

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