" Its a Pierced Paint Ruster"
Those are the words ( or similar) that could usefully be at the top of all `road tests` by journalists if a simple prick of the paintwork reveals no galvanising and a good old fashioned rust spot starting.
Surprised some of the consumer motoring groups don`t do that. What a tame accepting society we have become as manufacturers still slip well known rusters into the hands of unsuspecting punters.
Edited by oilrag on 28/04/2008 at 11:23
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My sister has a 10 year old Mercedes-Benz SLK. This has rust on a grand scale, extending to serious rust under the non-adherant PVC "underseal", various incredibly rusty nuts and bolts, water traps caused by various plastic covers and shields and dangerously rusty hydraulic brake lines, one of which quite rightly resulted in an MOT test failure.
The piece de resistance is that the original style wheel bolts have an extended hexagon to bring them flush with the (now corroding) alloy wheels and a necked-down section to the taper which secures the wheel. Guess where they snap off when you try to undo one which has been to a tyre shop 2 years previously.
Absolute pile of rubbish.
659.
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"..pile of rubbish"
How have the mighty fallen! No excuse, I realise, but I assume it was made outside Germany (S.Africa?) with lower grade materials...
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You rarely see a rusty 205,I've noticed, and 405s seem very immune to the tin worm, too.
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I can't remember the last time I saw a rusty Peugeot of any description.
I owned a 106 which was 10 years old when sold and it didn't have a spot of it anywhere, even underneath.
Cheers
DP
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"rusty Peugeot"
Our 305 estate had a rusty tailgate after 18 years...
I do remember seeing a few rusty 505's, but this is some time ago (all pre-galvanising).
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 28/04/2008 at 12:07
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On my 2002 406 I can only find two examples of rust, on the screws on the Air Filter casing and the stupid little clips that hold the screws on the undertray, a common problem I believe as I see many 406s with the undertray hanging down.
Other the little things like that I thought bodywork rust was a thing of the past, certainly 10 years plus, for 2k you should have no problems rust wise.
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Mk 3 Golfs may look shiny, but they rust underneath, partic. the estates.
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106s/Saxos do rust. Box sections at front under floor - passenger /driver feet position. There is a large plastic washer heat selaed into place and covered in PVC underseal. After about 8 years it all flakes and rusts: an MOT testers favourite. And rear channels under spare wheel. After 4 106s owned and looking at around 15 recently, trust me!:-)
Fords rust everywhere at random... the paintwork/underseal application is haphazard.
Under sills and boot of Fiestas pre 2002 = often very rusty. Kas as mentioned before are abysmal. Ditto Pumas: rear wheel arch lip rusts through from collected mud.
If you want to know what does not rust, look in scrapyards. Xantias are galvanised and very good... everything else fails first!
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Mercedes W210 E-class (1996-2002), a rampant ruster if there ever was one.
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OP's son should be looking to spend not a penny more than £500. He will buy the same level of reliability as if he spends £2,000 and he will not have the same level of risk in the event of an expensive failure.
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Datsuns used to rust but, in my experience, Nissans don't.
My wife's D prefix Micra was solid when we sold it in 2002.
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Totally agree, MM. IMHO there are only two amounts to spend on a car - £500, or £5,000. Your £500 gets you a car as good as a £2,000 if you buy sensibly, and your £5,000 is enough to get something new enough, well understood by the trade, and worth keeping for some time. Anything more will not get you much more comfort, but will hit your wallet with depreciation.
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I can see the logic behind that opinion, but I'm not sure it always applies.
The most reliable, cost effective and financially shrewd automotive purchase I ever made cost me a whisker over £2,000.
Piled 50k on it in just under 3 yrs with near perfect reliability. Sold it on for £650. And although still a perfectly functioning motor car, at £650 it was nowhere near the car it was when I paid £2000 for it.
I think the key point is buying sensibly, whatever amount you are spending.
Cheers
DP
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Is there a gentleman`s agreement with the manufacturers in magazine road tests, so that no one `pricks the paint` to check for galvanising?
It seems like the film `Educating Rita` where the professor allegedly said "you can do anything you like as long as you don`t `burden` the burser"
Perhaps it needs an anonymous mole.... but then.. who cares cos they are disposable and a lot of the public no doubt associate more with salt in a packet of crisps, than on the road.
Edited by oilrag on 28/04/2008 at 15:09
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I think some motorists may think of a galvanised bodied car as having the whole shell immersed in moltern zinc, where as in reality thin steel plate with a microscopic coating is guillotined , pressed and then resistance welded leaving untreated areas for the tin worm to breed. Spray a micron or two of paint on it and the bits you can see will be rust free.
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The whole point of galvanising is that it provides anodic protection for the steel beneath. Unlike paint, which can only be effective where it adheres to the metal (MB please note) the zinc will even protect the exposed edges of the cut steel sheet by corroding slowly but preferentially to the steel.
Hot dip galvanising is nowadays more the province of your dustbin.
659.
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For £2000 you can buy an immaculate Peugeot 106 with under 20k miles, full service history, 1 or 2 owners that will last another 80k miles. Older son has just bought one which I sourced.
Or for £500 a scruffy 100k miles one with little rust but no s/h and oil all over the engine as gaskets go with age. (stops the rust I guess).
A no brainer which to buy if you want to drive for the next 5 years with clean hands:-)
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Seem to have noticed a few crusty Nissan Micras/Almeras/Primeras around recently - all the shape before what we have now so who knows if the newer ones will follow suit.
I was in a breakers yard last week and an 02 Suzuli Ignis was on the stack above the car I was getting bits off and had very little sills left underneath on both sides which I was surprised to see.
I was looking for a Focus for my Sister at the weekend and her budget stretched to nothing newer than a Y plate really and the number of rusty door bottoms and bottom of wheel arches was a bit concerning so we are now looking for an Astra/306
My 12 year old Rover 200 is practically rust free as is my 5 year old Audi, although you would expect that and both lead hard lives in the winter.
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I saw an X reg Merc Vito on site today. Most of the front 'valance' underneath the lights was rust. Arches and all the usuals had suffered. Rubbish.
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Reading between the lines of the OP, perhaps oilfitter's son actually wants a rusty car to restore. We should be thinking of otherwise good classics let down by rust in some major but repairable component.
Lancia Beta or Gamma or even a Fulvia (they rusted horribly but the 1600HF was an all-time classic and the 1300 a very nice sporting tourer)?
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Reading between the lines of the OP perhaps oilfitter's son actually wants a rusty car to restore. We should be thinking of otherwise good classics let down by rust in some major but repairable component. Lancia Beta or Gamma or even a Fulvia (they rusted horribly but the 1600HF was an all-time classic and the 1300 a very nice sporting tourer)?
No , my son is not interested in welding his own car , he just need it to get to work, his day is long enough without the need to work on a car. He is an artist and a gate maker but not very mechanical minded.
The reason he is looking for something durable is due to us living right by the beach facing the Irish Sea. We own a Rover 45 diesel and this stands outside now for 8 years battered by salt and sand but completely rust free.
So to narrow down the selection:
French examples tend not to harbour the tin worm but do tend to fall apart.
Some Vauxhalls are galvanised so should be sound (Vectra anyone?)
Rovers are good as long as you get an L lump and not a K.
Nissans from the 90?s starting to fall prey to the worm so no thanks
Anything else?
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No my son is not interested in welding his own car. He is an artist and a gate maker but not very mechanical minded.
Sorry oilfilter. That's the trouble with reading between the lines.
Never had a car that didn't rust.
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I wouldn't be so quick to believe Vauxhall are all that.
SHMBO has a Vauxhall Corsa which needed a whole new sill at 5 years old in order to pass an MOT. And I wouldn't be surprised if it needs the other one in a year or two.
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The reason he is looking for something durable is due to us living right by the beach facing the Irish Sea. We own a Rover 45 diesel and this stands outside now for 8 years battered by salt and sand but completely rust free.
Maybe you've just answered your own question??
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Most rust on cars under 10 years old (unless they are badly neglected or live by the sea) seems to be the result of minor damage not being attended to or poor rust proofing of replacement panels. With welding skills to hand he has a vast choice of interesting cars. Might we worth checking the classic magazines.
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that is disgraceful!!! {I couldn't agree more. Posting a long link like that when there is a tinyurl toolbar at the top of the page that you could have used to shorten the link with!}
tinyurl.com/5medfb
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/04/2008 at 21:46
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^^ that one looks quite good compared to some!
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My Suzuki van rusts at the first opportunity when the paint gets chipped, no protection at all butw ill attend to it in summer.
The Subaru however, despite several chips down to the metal refuses to rust anywhere and I havent seen a rusty Subaru since the L-Series and even they werent too bad.
How about a mid 90-s Impreza 1600. Real solid cars they are.
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How about a mid 90-s Impreza 1600. Real solid cars they are.
Do you mean something like this?: xrl.in/42c
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My girlfriend's '55' reg Corsa has a small rust spot on the o/s rear passenger door edge, the paint has bubbled up, about the size of a drawing pin. Didn't think modern cars went rusty, I still have bad memories of endless sessions with my Fiat 127 battling the tinworms!
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"excellent car" (stated in ad)
Apart from the rust (and that's what you can see). I noticed there was some in the corner of the rear NS door, too, and yet there are 16 bids on it, all because of that badge...
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