The W202 rusts in known places, the front wings and water-traps worst of all. Grade each location at the car, read the verdict, then print the sheet (or save as PDF) for your negotiation file.
The W202 signature. Pop the plastic liner; the wing bottoms and the seam behind the headlight bubble from the inside out on the water-based-paint cars.
All four corners. Thumb-press the tubes; fresh underseal only at the jacking points is a tell that something was hidden.
On a lift. Probe the box sections around the rear carrier mounts; structural rot here is a walk-away on a standard car.
From below, never through the carpet. Blocked sunroof and bulkhead drains soak the front footwells and rot the pans.
Thumb under each lip and push at the quarter seam. Lip rot is cosmetic, seam rot is structural.
Carpet and spare out. Check the well seams and the valance below the bumper for perforation.
Are the drain holes clear? Bubbling along the lower skin edge points to blocked drains.
Trim edges, A-pillar bases, scuttle corners. Trapped leaves rot the screen channel.
Acid corrosion is local and repairable, but check it has not crept into the bulkhead seam.
Slow cosmetic spot around the filler neck. Note for negotiation, not alarm.
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