https://youtu.be/0jEtIqRdRaM?si=NAHv-HdsAQzq28eb

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

This reminds me of the good old days when I would shop for an older car, probably made in the late-Sixtie's - early-Seventie's, and would open the trunk, look down, and see the ground. Ford Mustang's and mid-size Mopars were especially prone to this feature...

I recently read that there are many Ford trucks with substantial rust problems due to the fact that Ford doesn't use any anti-corrosion coating on the under carriage. I imagine this is the case for many cars, trucks and SUVs.

That is how the Ziebart anti-corrosion company began and apparently are still going. Then you have Delorean.....

I figure most of the cars, trucks and SUVs the big three manufactured were never made with longevity in mind. They want you to trade in your ride every three to five years and buy a new set of payments.


https://www.ziebart.com/auto-care-services/undercoating/undercoating-services

I love these and can waste an hour or two watching, it amazes me how poorly some vehicles are rust wise yet are still driven .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

source?

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Several members of my family had their new cars go through the Ziebart treatment for awhile. Ziebart is at its best when you conscientiously go back annually for their recommended touch ups. If you do not, and the coating cracks or abrades, the openings wind up trapping moisture between the coatings and the vehicle metal, which has obvious undesirable effects. We once had a 2003 Jeep Liberty in our family, delivered new in October 2002. Never had any rust treatments. We finally gave it up in 2020 after we noticed that the rockers were getting a bit bubbly. For years, I would make a point of rinsing the underside of the Jeep at least twice a year, and periodically made sure that all body panel drains were not blocked, which I think was helpful in slowing down rust development.

I've heard of guys who buy 15 or so year old pick ups and drive them to the rust belt and sell them for a tidy profit. Not sure if that would be viable. If it was, it seems there would be used car dealers on the East Coast scouring the sunshine zone for bargains and loading the vehicles onto trains.

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

"... customer said she was going to just purchase a frame repair kit online ..."

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

.....Se meant some sheet metal and a pop rivet gun .

My middle sister lives in Richmond, Virginia, a very nice place IMO .

She's a horse enthusiast and bought a nice Chevrolet 3/4 ton Diesel to tow her two axle trailer .

Eventually the mechanic when doing routine hot LOF told her it needed new brake lines because of rust . (!? seriously ?!) ~ she called me and I did some research, it turns out GM pinched pennies and used cheapo steel brake pipes, a whole truck kit was under $200 plus of course, vexatious labor .

The two had low miles, ran perfectly and nary a dent, she doesn't smoke so near perfect interior .

She junked it .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Wow. Sounds like the kind of rig you wish you could've found before it went to the boneyard.

I took my first BMW 325i, an '87 E30 from 214k at purchase to about 450k before an electronic gremlin finally defeated me. Admittedly, the previous owner was a stickler for preventative maintenance, had a thick sheath of maintenance records from a top garage.

Nonetheless, I did have to do a couple of big repairs that would've been expensive were I'm not doing the work myself. During the oh ohs The boneyards had plenty of E30s to pick over. Some of them looked pretty nice. I was always curious what problem had brought them to the boneyard. I can only imagine that some of them might have been savable.

__________________
Te futueo et caballum tuum

1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Yep ;

All I had to do was go entirely across the U.S.A. and get it, fix the brakes then drive it home to Los Angeles .

Oops .

The sad truth about luxury cars is : after ten years they're essentially worthless unless like an old W123 Diesel they'll keep running .

If you saw the amount of rust free undented nice vehicles in the So. Cal. junkyard your head would spin .

I've been here 55 years and I still can't get over it .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

A word on rust treatments and floor pan rust out as was mentioned above.....

I have gone through a lot of early 70 Mercedes. Everything from a 220d to a 6.3. I began to notice a pattern.........

Those with rusted floor pans were always undercoated. Now I remember shopping for a Mercedes in the early 70s and undercoating was a dealer add on. It was pitched as a way to make the car quitter. And it did.

But years later it could crack, catch water, and rust out the floors. But then, who would expect a car to last fifty years? And still be a daily*driver.

I have not seen this on a early 70s Mercedes in a long time. I guess they all just rusted out.

By the way..... Porsche's also suffered from this same problem. I think in 1980 Porsche went to hardcore rust proofing due to a bad reputation in this area.

And texass, in all it's infinite knowledge, has said that vehicle inspections are no longer needed.

https://eu.statesman.com/story/news/state/2025/01/06/texas-ends-mandatory-vehicle-inspection-rules-2025-fee-costs-emissions-testing/77434595007/#:~:text=House%20Bill%203297%20went%20into,renew%20their%20registration%20in%202025.


Chyt hole state.

__________________
Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

This is a real thing although many don't think so .

The same with powder coating ~ yes it's hard as a rock -but- one little chip the water gets in when you're washing or driving in inclement weather, travels to the lowest spot and rusts away .

Honda discovered this when they powder coated the frames on their otherwise excellent Motocycles some years back ~ three year old Motos collapsing the frames whilst underway .

I learned this lesson the hard way in the 1970's with my 1946 Chevy shop truck's rubber floor mats ~ I loved keeping that rig clean so after a year I was gobsmacked when I lifted the one piece floor mat and discovered the floors I'd so carefully de rusted and repainted were all rusty ~ and this in the California Desert .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I've done that hot tub thing, the one you liked to is pretty small but does indeed look nice .

Because it co$t$ so much to move them the selling price is usually about $100 regardless of initial cost .

Good luck with it, I had a lifetime invitation to use that one I helped move & install in the late 1970's we had to take down the fence and dig a big hole but afterwards it really was nice behind a 10" redwood fence.....

Add some decent sound and a gas BBQ, you'll be in Hog Heaven .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better