Having been in the used car market recently, I couldn't help noticing the number of six or seven year old cars that were showing signs of Tin Rot. Rare to see a Ka of that age without any, but it seemed to be across the board with tailgates and bonnets being the main problem areas.
Was I just unlucky in what I looked at, or have manufacturers got complacent, or perhaps they did for a short time? Last time I was looking six years ago it seemed that the problem had been eradicated as it was rare to see anything even ten years old with any.
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My wife's six year old Ka was remarkably rust free until she rolled it and the Fire Service cut it up. We went to visit its remains at the breakers yard to recover her stuff and apart from its lack of roof it was in very good order......
:-)
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Everybody crashes these days.
EDIT: Whoops, hit return and it submitted
Repair damaged panels? I had my eyes opened in Poland with the amount of cars with collision damage, but then i started paying attention here. While we're not in the same league, there are just so many crashes (mostly minor thankfully!) but we tend to be good at getting them repaired.
Better insurance terms i guess.
Last edited by: CraigP on Thu 2 Sep 10 at 18:23
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I have a Skoda Felicia estate, 2000 vintage, for winter use. It has serious rust on every panel - and I do mean every panel. I know it's not the most modern of vehicles, but both rear arches have completely gone, all the doors have holes in them, the roof has rusted through where the aerial mounts, the bonnet lip has rotted, and it has rusted right through on the rear quarters from the boot. On lifting the tailgate, you can where one of the hinge mounts is nearly all the way through. When I removed the windscreen to see if I could cure the leak, I found that half the top edge of the scuttle panel that the screen sits on had disappeared. But surprisingly, the sills and main structure are all sound and filled with wax.
Due to the lenght of the winter and the amount of salt used, not to mention the gravel roads that ensure and leading edges and the sills get a good shot blasting regularly, we have some of the rustiest cars I've ever seen. Cars that I've normally regarded as fairly rust free, like early golfs, passats, A4's, early mercs, transporters etc, are regularly seen with holes in them. Surprisingly, there's quite a few rust free escorts and fiestas knocking around, which leads me to believe they had some extra rustproofing on delivery.
A friend has a 93 grand cherokee, which usually rust pretty well, that he drives all year and never really looks after, and it's like new. But then he did have it Dinitroled when new.
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The only obvious panel rust on my 2000 Xantia is on the drivers door. This is also the only bit that's not original having been replaced after mr nobody dinged on on MK's station car park.
There is however an increasing amount of corrosion underneath. Few years yet before it gets critical but I suspect that, unless an uneconomic engine or electrical fault gets there first, structural rust in the subframes or suspension will get it.
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Often it's pure neglect, regular underbody washes during the winter, really good underbody clean when the last of the salt has gone helps no end.
Waxoyl, Dinitrol, POR or whatever it's called, grease, even oil....applied properly (preferably professionally or at least as the pro's would do it) should help if you catch the motor early enough, unfortunately those that can afford new cars don't usually keep them long term and can't even be bothered to dig the salt filled mud out of the rear wheel arches, ironically smothering the paintwork with bucketfuls of best wax polish every week, never understood them.
Not much can be done with Dave's example though, and just proves how wrong those are who seem convinced rust is a thing of the past.
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>> Cars that
>> I've normally regarded as fairly rust free, like early golfs, passats, A4's, early mercs, transporters
A4's Dave? I thought they were galvanised. The Audi 80's from the late 80's certainly were.
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Our 2002 Golf has no visible body rust at all. The 1999 one has the beginnings of bubbling on one rear arch, but otherwise nothing. The usual suspects (sills, door bottoms) are still unmarked, and I've been under both while up on the ramps and they are in very good nick underneath.
The most consistently visibly rust free older cars on the road all seem to be French to me. It's not uncommon to see 15-20 year old Peugeots and Citroens with scratches, dinks and other signs of a hard life all over them, but no visible rust at all
The most stand-out example of premature rot I've seen recently was a 2002 E Class Mercedes I parked next to in the supermarket a few weeks ago. A very clean, apparently well cared for silver E320 petrol, the rear arches were so far gone they were at the point where they'd need cutting out and replacing, and there were ugly brown bubbles on the lead edges of the front wings, where they meet the headlamps.
Last edited by: DP on Thu 2 Sep 10 at 22:31
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>> I have a Skoda Felicia estate, 2000 vintage
Around about 2000 is when waterbased paint was brought out.
coincidently this is around the time many cars where built, that are now rot boxes (MB's seen to be amongst the worst )
Hopefully this coincidence is at an end........
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'98 Clio and 02 Mondeo, no rust, it is said that late '90s Renaults and Fiats had the best quality steel at the time as they tried to recover from a previously poor reputation, the junk steel was sold to Mercedes perhaps ;-) Polos of that era seem to rust.
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>> Around about 2000 is when waterbased paint was brought out.
MB started using water based paint in 1994 with the facelift W124. The well publicized rust problem suffered (mainly) by the W210 was due to MB trying to save on galvanising and using a different (cheaper) process for rustproofing box sections. They also had quality problems with the factory in South Africa which supplies RHD markets.
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>>the bonnet lip has rotted
What's that going to do to any poor pedestrian that gets in its way?
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A4s are largely galvanised but those with rubber strips on door bottoms seem to corrode there..BMWs largely are rust free.
Kas had minimal rust protection.
Mots Toyotas have rust free bodies but the body fisings underneath need to be rustproofed if you want to keep them..
Modern flat floors and wheel arch liners make a significant difference..
Last edited by: madf on Fri 3 Sep 10 at 09:19
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Had to have the sill welded on our 7 year old Picasso this year rusted from the inside out. As noted above I suspect that the change to soft water based paint around 2000 is responsible for increased stone chips and hence rust in exposed areas.
Not much sign of rust in my 2001 Xantia, apart from the first hint that the rear quater panel seams are going to go in the rear door shuts - a common failure point on the Xantia (it gets a liberal spraying from the wheel arch behind - a bit of a design fault).
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<< The most consistently visibly rust free older cars on the road all seem to be French to me. << It's not uncommon to see 15-20 year old Peugeots and Citroens with scratches, dinks and << other signs of a hard life all over them, but no visible rust at all.
I'll go along with that. Our 1997 Pug 306 with the obligatory dinks and scratches has stone chips on the bonnet which haven't rusted. All panels, edges, arches door bottoms and the underside don't show any rust except for light film on some suspension components and exhaust hangers. I forgot the battery tray - it needed a coat of Hammerite to sort the rust from H2SO4 corrosion.
I reckon it'll last forever.
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>>>> I have a Skoda Felicia estate, 2000 vintage
>> Around about 2000 is when waterbased paint was brought out.
We had a 1998 Vintage Felicia estate, it was chronic for rust everywhere when we got rid about 18 months ago.
This with lacquered metallic paint.
I'm hoping the Fabia will fare better.
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I've recently treated some rust around the numberplate lamps on the bootlid of my 01X MX5. It's a common rust area on these cars despite the bootlid being galvanised.
I gather Mazda would undertake a repair or replacement bootlid when these cars were within their six year anti-perforation warranty.
I must admit to being both surprised and disappointed to be having to deal with rust on a modern car.
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<< The most consistently visibly rust free older cars on the road all seem to be French to me. << It's not uncommon to see 15-20 year old Peugeots and Citroens with scratches, dinks and << other signs of a hard life all over them, but no visible rust at all.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. The major body sections running north - south are usually corroded and require welding .
I speak from experience of a 106 .
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From my limited observations, it seems that a high proportion of Skoda Felicias have rust problems.
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My Escort's rear arches are not the best I've seen, but not the worst either. It had a plate welded on the passenger sill under the "B" pillar for its MoT, where condensation drips off the end of the seat belt mounting bolt inside the sill. During its wash on Bank Holiday Monday I put my finger through the same spot on the driver's side... No other rust to speak of. Stone chips on the bonnet stay chipped, although I've touched most of them in.
A 52 plate MINI near me has fist-sized rust patches all along the leading edge of the clamshell bonnet...
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...From my limited observations...
And from mine I would add MX-5s and Merc Sprinter vans.
My 52-reg Focus was rust free when I sold it, but it seems Kas of the same age did rust, so it was model-specific in Ford's case.
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where condensation drips off the end of the seat belt mounting bolt inside the sill.
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>>>>>
you will find a sponge in here if you take the belt out,all fords have it,its so the garage can set fire to your car when they weld the patch on,or more usually set the seat belt on fire (ps a fiesta seat belt wont go in place of a ka one)
the same type sponge goes round ka filler caps so your panel rusts out in 4 years if you wash up there often
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The return of rust? - Runfer D'Hills
