JD101b

I have a 2010 G550 with approximately 60k on the clock. I baby this car, it has rarely (if ever) been driven in snow, sits in a climate (and humidity) controlled garage, and is obsessively cleaned when even a slight bit dirty. It now exhibits several areas of rust.

This problem first came up last September when I noticed several areas of bubbling paint on the front and rear passenger doorsills. I brought this to the attention of Mercedes, and after some time they took the vehicle and repaired the damage. Now, six months and 1,000 miles later, there is oxidation forming next to the rear door hinge.

Needless to say, I’m very upset. It appears that I am far from the only person who has had to deal with this. I talked to an “executive representative” at Mercedes who said that because Mercedes already fixed some rust issues, there is nothing more they could do for me. This is a systemic issue that is due to poor metallurgy or paint application. There is no excuse for this.

I don’t know what to do at this point. The way I see it, the car needs to be repainted, but if the underlying metal is the problem, then new paint won’t do too much for me. I love the G and want to keep it forever, even if I end up buying a new one in the next year or so, but given the rust problems I’ve had with this one, AND MY PREVIOUS 2002 G500, and all the posts I’ve found online on the same problem, it seems like it may be a lost cause. How the hell did Mercedes get it this wrong? Any ideas on what I should do?

fabbrisd1

If you have a one owner 60K mile 2010 G550 - GREAT TIME to sell.. for a well cared for G like yours - private sale prices have never been higher ..

places

Very interesting. I wonder how this happened, would love to hear from someone in the know on this. Also, is this common with other G's?

haa

This car was designed in 1979 and pretty much built on the same chassis with the same materials since then. Rust is a well known issue and you should budget for a paint job every 10 years to keep this problem in check if you plan to own this car forever. The side window rail guides inside the doors also tend to rust and usually have to be replaced too. Also make sure to touch up any paint chips from road debris immediately

places

So should we all expect this to occur if we keep out G's 10 years? I have a 2018 that I baby, garage, regular car wash, etc.. I can't imagine this to be that common. Must be random?

JD101b

I had a 2002 G500 that experienced rust in the same places by +/- 70k miles.

If you do a Google search, you'll find that rust on relatively new G's is fairly common.

JD101b

Which is fine, but they shouldn't charge $100k + for a new model.

And there is no reason why Mercedes couldn't have used a better galvanization process, improved metallurgy or better paint on the truck. They didn't need to redesign the vehicle for that (at least for galvanization and paint)

JD101b

I had a 2002 G500 that experienced rust in the same places by +/- 70k miles.

If you do a Google search, you'll find that rust on relatively new G's is fairly common.

places

That's all too bad. I guess will have to wait and see. I would think that the later models would have dealt with it but it's too early to tell.

JD101b

You’d think. I was told the same thing when I raised concerns about by 2002 model. I was reassured that the paint formula had changed. That seemingly didn’t take place.

carforhire

I wonder if this is a common occurrence on newer G's 2013 and up? Good luck, hope things work out.

JD101b

My guess is it is or will be. There were very few changes made from 2010 to 2013, and I don't think any of them had to do with galvanization, paint or metallurgy.