As a new owner of a 1997 E300TD I was horrified to read of the corrosion problems with E class spring perches. I have only owned my car for a week, it is in absolute mint condition and I am extremely pleased with it.
I was'nt aware of the rust problem before I bought the car but have checked the perches since, there was no outward sign of corrosion but I have stripped the seam sealent from the joints and have found some surface rust that I have treated and re sealed. MBZ should be truly ashamed with the standard of engineering of the perch, even without corrosion they seem very weak. My question is, do any members know if there are replacement perches available, either in the UK or the US, failing that, could any UK members recommend a repair shop, preferably in the Midlands area that I could trust with repairing or replacing the perches as I feel that it is only a matter of time before they will need attention.
They are strong enough. The problem is how they're welded to the body and sealed. If your sealing is fine, you probably don't have anything to worry about. Unfortunately, you can't see the rust where it matters.
Note that making the perch stiffer won't necessarily make it more reliable. Something is going to flex no matter what you do, and it's better for the perch to flex than the body where it attaches.
My 96 320E was repaired under a recall or TSB in Canada 2 years ago. They also paid back the money I paid to have the one that failed [lucky I was only pulling into my driveway] repaired. The reason I inquired at Mercedes was that the body-shop guy said it looked cheap, only 3 spot welds holding it on.
Not sure if my car will be covered by the MBZ warranty because although I have a fully stamped up service record most services were carried out by independents and not MBZ agents. Might be worth a phone call though.
On my 97 E320 my spring perches were both replaced by Herb Chambers Mercedes in Boston free of any charge to me.
The front drivers side perch failed on the road (horrifying) and I called them after reading all about this problem on the forums and raised hell talking about poor quality and filing reports with the NTSB.... Their response to me was a very calm, nonchalant, "tow it in and we'll have a look".
Dropped it off in the morning, got a call about an hour later saying that they will repair for free, picked it up 2 days later. It was the single pleasant experience I've ever had at the dealer. And I did not even buy this car at this dealer.
I recently traded in my E240 to help me fund a CL, but when I did I kept the salesman hanging on as he was constantly trying to get me to accept a lower price for my W210 due to potential of rust. In polite terms - he was told "no price meeting my expectation - no deal."
I think in some cases its down to luck (and extreme bad life threatening luck if this affects you) - while we all hate the thought of manufacturing defects with our cars, there's no doubt MB made some fundamental errors with the W210.
Personally I never had a single issue with my W210 and due to constant cleaning, both underside and paintwork, never had any rust issues (and believe me we get a lot of salt on the roads in Scotland, seemingly regardless of the weather). But I've read this forum since I both owned and sold my W210, and no amount of cleaning can compensate for shoddy workmanship - so as I say - either lucky or unlucky. My car was a 2000 make from Germany.
But it doesn't matter where it's made or by whom - a car manufactured by a quality marque should NOT fail even under extreme duress in a way that threatens drivers or passengers, whether of that car or another.
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Current metal:
2002 (C215) CL500 (Batmobile), Obsidian Black, 54k miles
1997 (C140) CL500 (Bismarck), Emerald Black, 134k miles
1991 (W201) 190E 2.6 Sportline (Blake), Almandine Red, 133k miles
1990 (C126) 420 SEC (Bruce), Astral Silver, 111k miles
1978 (R107) 350 SL (Boabby), Signal Red w/ silver hardtop, 115k miles
Has anyone had Mercedes help with repair cost after 150K in America? I am currently in the prcess of working with Mercedes Benz of Nashville TN on this exact issue on my Boss' 97 E320 with 155K. To be quite honest they have been some of the rudest people I have ever dealt with. They sold a product with a known safety defect and they did not even want to try to help. I have openes a complaint whith the NHTSA and I have no idea if that will go anywhere, but it is worth a shot. Any input is appreciated.
repair after 150K 
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