FrankW

but I don't live near the ocean. it's about 35-40min drive to any beach from where i live. lol

amanonfire

I am going to highlight something for you, please read it:
At the time I brought it in (for the 3rd time) there were 4 S-classes completely stripped the the frame being repainted for rust.

If you search this forum, you'll find out that MB cheaped out on galvanizing cars from 2001-2003. They reused the solution bath for more cars than it was spec'd for. If you're lucky, you got the first few cars bathed and are fine, if you got a that hit the bath last, the metal has much less protection and rusts easily.

Does it say they might not have galvanized your car properly in your manual?

Stick around for while. I see you've only been here since May 2009 with 30 posts.

You'll quickly realize how much more information there is on this forum from "some guys on the internet" than even your Service Manager/Technician knows.

Next time you're in the dealer ask them if your car was galvanized properly at the factory, since its a 2003. Then let me know what kind of odd look they give you when they don't know... meanwhile this guy on the internet does.

SunnyRayToronto

Try reading the Mercedes-Benz C-Class owner's manual,....
For 2003 model, here it is online,...
http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/data/p...003_cclass.pdf

In the Vehicle Care - Cleaning and Care of Vehicle section on page 249 it reads: "Your vehicle has been treated at the factory with a wax-based rustproofing in the body cavities which will last the lifetime of the vehicle. Post-Production treatment is neither necessary nor recommended by Mercedes-Benz because of the possibility of incompatibility between materials used in the production process and other applied later."

Obviously going to Krown for chemical rust-proofing as you said you did every year,... messed up your Mercedes-Benz factory wax-based rustproofing ,... which in turn left your car cavities unprotected ,... and that's why you have needed to get rust work done 3 times already,....

Amanonfire, please, at least read your owner's manual before you try to give advice to others,...

draze

Went to the dealer today and played stupid. Told them I wanted to get rid of the rust, they send me to the body shop that does all their jobs. The guy over there took pictures of all the spots and said he'll see if it's covered by warranty. Supposed to give me call tomorrow, but I forgot to tell him that I'm at work.

If I miss a call, I don't know who called me =( I cheap'ed out on call display.

fixfox

I've noticed a web-like surface (rust under paint) just beside my moon roof.

what would be the best way to treat this ?

GDawgC220

MB resisted fully galvanizing panels for a long time (whereas other car manufacturers have been doing it for a long time already). They finally started to do so in 2004. So '04+ models are not as likely to see corrosion for a long time. I see a lot of w210s, w220s and w163s (earlier models) here in New England with plenty of rust going on. My parents' '01 S500 and '99 ML430 included...rust on the bottom of all 4 doors and the trunk (below the license plate area). These are the common rust spots I see around here with these models. Their '97 A6, not one spot of rust and sits outside 24/7.

MBUSA's corrosion warranty is pretty crappy, 4 years/50k miles. Other car manufacturers are (and have been) 12 year/unlimited mile corrosion warranty.

To the OP, sometimes you may get lucky and get a "good will" repair from Mercedes. Or they may cover say half the bill. Good luck with the repair!

amanonfire

Q2 2003 actually.

Then again, this isn't in the manual, so please don't tell SunnyRayToronto

amanonfire

Please read GDawgC220's post.

I've read the manual. Answer my question: Does it say they might not have galvanized your car properly in your manual?

You're probably one of the suckers that buys the dealer paint and cloth protect for $1000 when its just a coat of wax and scotch guard. Since you have so much faith in this "wax" applied by MB, please find out what it is, how long it lasts, and how successful its been at preventing rust. Better yet, ask your Service Adviser about which cars are rusting out. Or worse, keep believing that manual and pray that you never get rust.

I feel sorry for your stupidity and faith in an MB manual over proven advice online and from Service Managers.

Please don't continue to reply and give bad advice, most people here know about the problems with rust and have started treating their cars accordingly.

and just for giggles, you have a 2003 with a M271. Ask the Service Manager about the TSB for the cam sensor isolation wires. On the TSB it says it only applies to a couple build numbers and if your engine isn't on that list, you're not cover, yet if you search here you'll find it applies to all M271 builds. So again, you can believe a Mercedes official document, the TSB, or you can believe some guys on the internet. Your choice, I hope your cam sensors are leaking and not covered by the TSB, it'll be a good lesson for you to learn.

SunnyRayToronto

Well,... the manual certainly does say that YOU messed up your factory wax-based rustproofing in the body cavities which will last the lifetime of the vehicle by getting your Chemical rust proofing!

Well,... it seems to me you've already learned a good leason. Since you went against Mercedes-Benz advice in the owner's manual,... namely: "In the Vehicle Care - Cleaning and Care of Vehicle section on page 249 it reads: "Your vehicle has been treated at the factory with a wax-based rustproofing in the body cavities which will last the lifetime of the vehicle. Post-Production treatment is neither necessary nor recommended by Mercedes-Benz because of the possibility of incompatibility between materials used in the production process and other applied later. ""

Hello, what part of "Post-Production treatment is neither necessary nor recommended by Mercedes-Benz because of the possibility of incompatibility between materials used in the production process and other applied later. " do you not understand,.... Obviously your yearly application of Krown chemical rust proofing messed up the factory applied "wax-based rustproofing in the body cavities which will last the lifetime of the vehicle",.... and that's why you needed 3 rust work already! Yet, you continue to apply Krown chemical rust proofing each year,... even though it messes up your factory applied wax-based rust proofing,.... and the fact that you alreay had 3 rust work done already shows that your Krown chemical rust proofing does NOT work! Talk about being stupid!

SunnyRayToronto

Amanonfire, for such an expert,.... obviously, you've never done any work on your car,... if you did you would know the insides of the panel is painted! Dude, just lift up any trim and you'll see that the inside part of the panels are painted too,... And now you know (thank to me) that it's waxed too! "wax-based rustproofing in the body cavities which will last the lifetime of the vehicle"

amanonfire

Ah, I hope your car rusts out. Don't say you weren't warned.

Anyone that had read my posts knows I do my own work on my car and have taken virtually the entire car apart.
I'll give you a hint too from chaing out the entire suspension, look inside the rolled upper portion of the rear fender, let me know how much wax and paint is in there. If you find any rust, I'm not surprised.

amanonfire

You didn't answer the question. Please go look it up in your manual.

You'll learn the hard way. Pull your door impact strips and door sills off and take a picture for all of us. It'll take 2 mins, they just pop on/off. I'll bet you there's signs of rust.

As for ruining the wax, I'll give you a little lesson. I believed that stupid manual too for the first 3 years of ownership and didn't get my car sprayed until my drivers front fender rust bubbled. It was on the advice of my Service Manager that I started getting my car sprayed, yet it was too late and its been in twice more and would be worse if I hadn't taken his advice. My friend in Ottawa had both doors fully replaced under warranty cause he believed that stupid manual too and they rotted from the inside out.

So go ahead and keep believing the manual, you've been warned. Here's another warning: MB isn't being so nice about goodwilling rust repairs lately either, so when it rusts out (and it will) you'll be paying out of pocket. Enjoy.

SunnyRayToronto

Don't people in Ottawa wash their cars in the winter,... wash the salt off the car! Seems Ottawa folks need to be smack in the head with a "bever tail" to get that message!

amanonfire

I wash the inside of my doors all the time. Did you lift up your door sills or impact strips yet? Did you check inside the rolled rear fender?

Looking forward to your next problem post with your car, so "some guys on the internet" can tell you to look it up in your manual, cause there's absolutely no information on this form that's not in that manual. Idiot.

Jen_Kenne

The solution is so very simple - why treat the symptoms when you can solve the problem?

SunnyRayToronto

Amanonfire,.... you're funny,... you claim that you have virtually taken your car apart,... but yet every year you take your car in to Krown for chemical rust-proofing. Why?,... because you're too scared to touch those little access points to the inside of the panels? Or is it that you can't find them,... so you can do your own rustproofing,... Or are you afraid of those chemicals in the rust-proofing. Either way, your cars stink with those carcinogenic chemicals for months and you inhale them in constantly. They're terrible for the environment,... yeah, that's right you don't care about the environment. And it's obvious those Krown chemical rust-proofing isn't working for you,... since you already needed 3 rust work. Yet, you continue to waste your time and money on it,... and you're calling me an idiot?

As for my car rusting out,... there isn't a sign of rust anywhere,... because I always wash the salt off my car in the winter!!!! Try it sometimes!

I'm actually looking forward to your next rust work,... and of course, your car WILL rust out very soon! Simply because the chemical rust proofing you used obviously isn't compatible with the factory wax-based rust-proofing Mercedes-Benz uses that should have lasted the life of the car but you ended up messing up the effectiveness of the Mercedes-Benz factory rust-proofing,.... and all that road salt you were too lazy to wash off in previous winters have already gotten into the metal of your car and is just continuously eating away at the metal and weakening it,....

Amanonfire,... that's an interesting user name,... now I know why you call yourself AManOnFire,... you're a man who gets burn!

BTW, the day I would need help from someone like you on the internet,.... keep dreaming,... look through my history of post vs yours,... I'm usually helping others with good advice,... while you're usually begging for help or offering bad advice as you do on this thread!

draze

ummmmmmm......

MHM.

So how do I fix that under warranty? Goodwill? The place where Mercedes sent me to quoted me 15-20000. New hood. front left and right quarter panels, both doors, because they have rust too, and obviously the rear both sides.

GDawgC220

LOL, $15-20k CAD? My guess is the car is worth much less than that. I'd say forget about it at this point and just live with it. If you're planning on keeping it for a while and the spots really bother you then I'd contemplate on getting the worst of the spots fixed (or all, depends on you). If not, cut your loses and get something else before the rust gets worse.

You could try calling MB of Canada and explain to them what the situation is and see if they can goodwill the repair or foot some of the bill. A MY02 should not be rusted out. MB's rust warranty is a joke.

draze

One of the managers at that place took some pictures and he said he'll send it where it needs to go, he said it might go through to MB guy for Ontario and they might fix it. He said he'll let me know. So far nothing.

I just think I have no chance because I'm third owner of a car and I had it only for 1 month. I also look young to own a Mercedes, I'm 19, so they might not take me seriously.

SunnyRayToronto

The previous owner would have stood a better chance at goodwill,... especially if she was the original owner and did all the dealer servicing on time,... even better if she was a loyal Mercedes-Benz customer whose family buys a Mercedes every couple of years.

Anyways,... for the previous owner to neglect getting it fixed when it was first spotted,... just shows how negligent she was in taking care of the car. Rust like from your photo in the first post, comes from the inside of the lip of the wheel well. And at first you'll notice a small bubbling on the outside of the lip,... then more bubbling,... then a bubble breaks and a rust hole forms,.. then the rust hole gets bigger and bigger,... There's actually two distinct rust holes there in that photo!

The previous owner obviously did NOT bother to wash the salt off the car in the winter! Not only that, but once the rust bubbles started forming,... she didn't take care of them them and let them continue. I'm not surprised that a number of other panel were found to have rust on them too. That's what happens when people don't wash the road salt off the car! It's hilarious how some folks spend an arm and leg on mods for their car but are too cheap to wash the car in the winter!

Obviously, the rust spots along the rear wheel well were there when you brought the car used,... question is why would you buy a car with rust? It shows the previous owner didn't take good car of the car! It shows the previous owner didn't bother to wash the road salt off the car in the winter! We're talking a something as simple as washing the car once in a while,.... and if the previous owner can't bother with washing the car once in a while,... what else did the previous owner not bother doing that she should have done? You really got to ask yourself that question. I'm sure there's already some other problems that have surfaced,... and more will follow.

As for the $15,000-20,000 rust work estimate,... I think you'll probably be spending that kind of money fixing all the other problems caused by the previous owner's neglect! Face it,... you brought a lemon,... because the previous owner neglected the car. It's up to you to decide whether you're going to continue spending your money to fix problems caused by someone else's neglect. I doubt this car will last very long,... if you keep it,... keep it as a beater.

If you are serious about getting the rust work done,... find a good autobody place and get a better quote,... I'm sure that place they sent you to already factor in a certain amount for the possibility of goodwill,... even though you're not likely to get it.

All those other panel are already weaken with rust on the inside,.... don't bother using chemical rust-proofing,... on already weaken rusty metal.

amanonfire

Nope, going to Krown is just easier. For $100, its not worth my effort.

I call you an idiot cause you ignore the fact I have repeated many times: my Service Manager recommended rust proofing. That's straight from MB, yet sorry dude, its not in the manual.

Have you taken off the panels I referenced? The OP only noticed rust on the rear fender, yet his doors are rusting out. Remove some panels, you might be surprised.

Or you might be lucky and have a Q2 2003 which was galvanized properly. In which case you're just lucky and talking out your ***.

LOL if you believe that, you are a tard. No wax lasts forever. Did you buy the paint protection package too? which they wax your car once at the dealer, then you never need to wax your car again right? LOL I bet I could sell you magic beans if they were in a manual.

Good, so you have no reason to be here, cause everything is in the manual and your only advice will be page #s. Bye.

You've confirmed your status as an idiot. I have tons of technical posts. 1/2 your posts are ranting about magic beans... I mean wax.

amanonfire

Mercedes is trying to get rid of you. They don't want to fix this, cause they are fixing tons of 2001-2003s. They might goodwill it as they did mine, yet will ask you to pay a percentage, and 25% of $15-20K is not worth it.

One member on Benzworld got offered a percentage and he tried to pursue it further, only to have MB eventually decline all goodwill. So if you get a goodwill deal, take it, or they may rescind it.

My suggestion would be to live with it, or get a shop to fix the obvious problems and sell the car. I hope you got a good deal on the car to begin with.

amanonfire

That does not matter. My friend had his used C-coupe goodwilled at 100% and it was not bought at the dealer. This is a MBCanada goodwill program, the dealer has nothing to do with it.

Yet that's not in your manual.

I thought the manual states the wax would protect the paint for the life of the car? How does the salt penetrate the magical wax? How does washing remove salt particles trapped inside the wax... inside the door?

How do I wash the inside of the door? Since a majority of the rust claims reported on this site involve replacing doors, please tell us, how do you wash the inside of the door? and why did the magical wax not work?

This reply should be good, and unintelligent.

SunnyRayToronto

Wow,... now you're asking how is it possible to wash the inside of your door. Amanonfire, in your post #39,.. you said and this is a direct quote: "I wash the inside of my doors all the time." Thank you,... you just proved you have no idea what you're doing,... and talking out your ***!

Amanonfire,... was that reply good enough for you? I believe we proved who's the unintelligent one is.

SunnyRayToronto

And what does the guy at Krown wears when he's applying that carcinogenic toxic chemical rust-proofing on your car? Full face mask, breathing apparatus and hazardus material suit,... in most places they need to wear all that stuff to protect the employee,... it's the law. Gee, I wonder why they have laws like that,... how bad could those carcinogenic toxic chemical rust-proofing be??? And I'm sure in the winter time with the windows all rolled up,... you're not wearing a haz-mat suit & breathing mask when you drive.

They also recommend washing the road salt off your car,... yet, apparantly you didn't listen to them on that one! If you did, you wouldn't have had your rust problem!

Yeah,... looking through your history of "technical post",... they start with can someone help me with blab, blab, blab,....

Amanonfire,... if you want to debate then debate,... but you're making this too easy for me.