MB rust

[zak]

It always surprised me that given the quality of the cars MB was producing over the years all their models  rusted like crazy and especially is coastal damp areas.
It was almost like MB was not concerned about it.  As a kid I had 115s , 123,s 113s bought used for cheap and they had holes in the floors, rocker panels swiss cheese.
My two 210 diesels did the same thing and that was up to 1998.

I recall Porsche started galvanizing their body parts after 1974, but not MB.
Take the big price classic G wagons . You often see rusting windshield frames and floors and under body.

Was the steel that poor quality back then ? The engineering certainly wasn't.
Just some thoughts.
jz

 
 

[Jack the Knife]

Regarding the G, every vehicle I've ever seen with a similar sort of construction (Jeeps, new Bronco, etc.) has rusted similarly. Surprisingly, mine has never rusted around the windscreen, despite the coastal climate. The rear door hinge, however, is pretty bad on all of them I've ever seen, including mine. I've also heard/seen on the W463a that the rust has really gotten no better, with some really disastrous rust still around the sunroof in some instances. And I'm talking about the recent cars, forget about the W460 cars. Paint also cracks wherever body panels were welded together.

I have heard some things about the switch to water-based paint twenty-five years ago or so and how it may have been bungled, but I do not know if that is true or not.

A late friend of mine who was an automotive designer of some renown always felt the rubber in European cars generally (especially in the 60s, 70s, etc.) was inferior.

[mdsalemi]

When people discuss this, they are usually talking about a small data set from their own experience in ownership.

Having once owned a car wash for six years in Michigan, with very harsh winters and copious amounts of salt used on the roads, I would see on regular occasions, the same cars of the same vintage come in to get washed. Some of them looked like they drove out of the showroom. Others not far from the crusher.

The difference was in how people cared for them. Those who garaged their cars and washed them frequently, had cars that looked pristine. The ones that rarely wash their cars and parked outside were the ones most affected by rust.

The busiest days at the car wash were usually in February and March. They were days after a big snow when most of the snow had been cleared, the roads were clear and dry, and now people came in and got all the salt and crud off their cars.

[waltklatt]

Driven hard and put away wet.

Extreme case as in pictures.

Walter
1967 220SL diesel
1969 280SE
2003 Beetle TDI
2005 Honda Element