Originally Posted by strupgolf
Wow. As a new owner, I can't believe the rust that appears on these new cars. Its a bit scary. My Porsche was 21 years old and not a hint of rust anywhere. I know it lived in Ill. Ohio, and Fla., so many chances of rain/snow etc. I bought this Crossfire for the looks. I'm just wondering if DM screwed all of us with a "soon to be lemon" in this area. I'm already concerned about the no spare tire issue. I'm going to look under everything tomorrow and check it out, because I will not put up with any rust, period. There are way too many cars on the market which won't have bad rust problems. They might cost more, but hey, it could be worth it in the long run. I have visions of keeping this car for a very long time, and it should last a very long time the way I keep and tend to my cars. But if I suspect anything else, I'm out of here faster then a bullet.
Strupgolf, I feel your pain, I really do. But I honestly think this is one isolated design defect that has been overlooked by Mercedes, and subsequently Daimler/Chrysler ever since the first SLK came off the assembly line. Of course it shouldn't be there, especially after all these years. But it's simply a problem that Mercedes chose to ignore (probably for cost reasons) and we have the dubious honor of winding up with.
Remember, no car is perfect, no matter what the price.
At least the problem area on our cars is easy to get to, and not that hard to prevent, or repair, as long as it's addressed in a timely matter.
We've all been privy to some seldom seen photo's of a Crossfire "skinless" thanks to Andrew's posts of his car while it was in the body shop. Even though his car had the beginnings of the dreaded door gutter rust, the rest of his car looked remarkably clean. So I don't think we really have to worry very much about any other serious "problem" areas of corrosion. Well, probably no more than any other car.
I do wonder what the underside of the doors on the new SLK350's look like.