I have a rust problem on my ’01, C320, w/ 65K miles.
Car was purchased in ’04 as a CPO vehicle w/ 32 K miles.
All four doors are rusting on the bottom edges – on the inside and outside.
Car was never in an accident (while in my hands), was not repainted or body repaired.
Does anybody here experience similar problem w/ 2001 C class?
What is the Mercedes Benz “Rust thru” policy?
How should I deal w/ the dealer to get the problem repaired?
(The repair will most likely include placing sheet metal patches if not replacing all doors).
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

perhaps the previous owner opened the doors and scratched them against the curb. take it to the dealer and ask them what's their policy

 

I'm not sure if MB does have a corrosion policy, but if they did, I'd have to imagine that your 2001 is out of it, since your car's now over 7 years old.

No harm in showing it to them, though. They'd be able to check your car's records to see if there was a problem when the car came in to port and it needed to be resprayed where it's now rusting. Otherwise, you're probably hosed. If you have no success at the dealership, you'd do much better with taking it to an independent shop that specializes in European cars, since your dealership would most probably farm out the bodywork anyway. Good luck.

 

If I recall correctly, at least for BMW the rust guarantee was 10 years/100,000 miles, but only on the underbody in particular. Definitely check with the dealership on this one.

 

well, you are in Chicago. If the previous owner has used it during snow season I wouldn't be surprised there are rust. it is probably because of the salt they use on the road to keep ice forming?

I'm with others, check with your dealer first.

 

I think its 100k miles on MB too.

My 01 has 133k on it and zero rust. If I ever drive it in the snow I wash the under body and get the salt off. Hope they can repair it for you.

 

See my thread... I have a 2001 C320. 2 out of warranty corrosion works and MB Canada goodwilled both.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w203/194435-corrosion-doors.html

 

For those of you who don't know this:

(Taken from benzworld)

C CLASS -203 series- saloon and estates: -

All steel panels were galvanised from Quarter 2 2003 production onwards.
During the previous six months (Q4 2002 + Q1 2003) the process was
gradually introduced on the production line and therefore some vehicles
were galvanised during this lead-up period, but not all.

If you have a pre-2003 vehicle, you can pretty much expect rust.

 

That is true... though luckily MB goodwilled both repairs.

 

It took until 2003 until MB figured out how to galvanize steel panels!?

In some ways MB is so far ahead technologically, yet in other ways they're like 10 years behind. I mean, who else sells cars with tape decks this millennium? Crazy.

 

where should i look for rust spots?
i havent noticed any on my car.

 

Taking the car to the dealer tomorrow.
I will let you guys know.
Thanks for all your replies.

 

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On a coupe they will start to blister @ the leading edge of the fender where the front bumper and the fender meet by the headlamp and they will also start from behind the impact strip down the side ( doors,fender,quarter)
and @ the bottom of the doors from behind the rubber strip that runs along the base of the door.

A really bad spot on both sedans and coupes is the rear wheelwell lip where the quarter panel is rolled over.

The sedans are the same but they will also rust like crazy from inbehind the license plate plastic panel from somebody using screws that were to long to hold the plate on and hit the top coat of the paint under the panel, also for some reason they rot like crazy from around the 3rd brake ligkt in the trunk lid.

Anyways this is where i've seen them rust up here in canada but i wouldnt imagine that most of you that live in a nice warm climate would see most of these rust areas. ( damn road salt )

 

So far so good.
The body shop (at the dealer) inspected the car and wrote the report.
The regional rep is supposed to contact me in about a week and authorize the repair (whatever it means).
Will keep you posted on progress.
Thanks for all your help

 

I was washing my 2007 C230 today and also noticed some rust building up by the door handles. Odd =/

 

Seriously?!!?! Are you sure it isn't dirt or something? That would be pretty crazy, maybe your car has a defect in the paint and / or galvanized layer. I'd like to see a pic.

 

That's pretty much what happened to my car, except I am good on the license plate and 3rd brake light. A good summary.
Yeh, I live in Canada too.

 

Thanx for the compliment.

Isnt living in canada for the winters just frikin great

 

post some pics. anyways the previous owner prolly didnt take care of the car well and brought the car to a autowash where they recycle the salty water over and over again.... and he prolly never waxed the car

 

California outlawed winter, so our cars don't rust, they just die of boredom.

If you want to see snow in Beverly Hills, you have to open the freezer.

 

My car is parked in New York City. The only place where there may be rust on my 2001 C240 is two spots on the bottom front passenger side door panel. It appears to be paint blistering. I tried to scratch it but the paint above seems to be still good. I will have to get that cheked by the dealer on my next A service due in June this year.

I am very surprised and disappointed this and the lack of galvanizing can happen to any Mercedes of any year. I had a 1981 Buick Regal that started to rust in the same area after it was 15 years old. It had plenty of rust in 2001 when I traded it after 20 years of service for my present Mercedes.My 1990 Toyota Celica ST still has no rust at all.

 

 

I swear merecedes are like magnets when it comes to rust, as least it seems that way for 99-01

every little nick on my 00 s500 rusted, the car is in the shop now to get everything fixed...never had a car's surface rust so easy

 

Which dealership in Chicago are you working with? Do you have pictures that show the extent of the rust?

 

Last year my car was only under major components warranty and the dealer said rust wasnt covered but after complaining i got a free trunk! The lip of the trunk where the rubber meets the metal was bubbling under the paint and they replaced the trunk lid at no cost - although they did a really ****ty job of repainting it.