21st century rotters

[warren t claim]

We all know that the Ford KA can rust like a '70s Lancia but let's turn our attention to the other cars that really should of been galvanised.

 

May I nominate the Peugeot 206?

 

 

Check out the sills on this 03 plated beauty.

[dieselassist]

_{ford transit connects - a few round here not even broken the 6 years mark with bubbling n rashed sills here, n we've only in recent years started saltin the roads in winter - because- its a ford}

[Ghosty]

Mk1 Focus?

Merc Sprinter.

[nisfan]

Any mazda, ever.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Mazda 3

Mazda 6

 

Edited to add: it seems I've been trumped.

[Bren]

Almera

[twosmoke300]

I've always found the connect to be quite rot free compared to full size transits .

Pug 307s and focus's seem the worst new stuff here . Oh and transits and Vito for commercials

[cort16]

Those Mazda 6's seem to be right rot boxes. Did they store them all in a lake or something pre-delivery?

[colino]

Jaguar X and S Types.  There's a reason for those plastic sill trims.

[Richard]

I think 21st century cars in general aren't as solidly built as 90s cars . They don't need to be because it's become standard practice to frag cars long before they wear out.

[fairkens]

fords deffo

 

mondeo, puma and mk1 focus

[Vin]

I didn't think anybody actually galvanised the undersides of anything anyway... Why bother galvanising floorpans and sills when Joe Public is only interested in the stuff that is painted and polished...

[bub2006]

My mate was telling me of his other half's sisters motor the other week. 56 plate ford fiesta. Looks clean and tidy and is always tried to be kept that way but the bonnet leading edge has rusted,front suspension top mounts look to be very shaky and he reckons it will need a tickle underneath within next two mot. Fair enough it's a 9 year old car but you don't expect it in this day and age. Our vectra still looks like new underneath and that's 11 years old,xsara has a few small flakes on brackets etc but it's 16 year old and the floor and sills are solid.

[cort16]

The Ford Puma much have been engineered to rust. There are massive mud traps everywhere on it and the arch liners are made out of something very similiar 100 denier tights, which not only let mud and water through but keep it pressed up again the metal. It also stops you blasting it out with a high pressure hose.

 

The classic front wing rot on Mercs is a similiar issue there's a big sound deadening sponge thing glued to the front of the wing, which rots them out. 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Modern (ish) Alfas still rot.. surprise surprise.  My 2003 156 was going on the sills and had holes in the rear floorpan.  Best turnaround in my opinion is Fiat.  They really sorted their rot problems in the 90s/ 2000s.

[cort16]

Puntos are the same. They rot out at the floor bungs on the rear floor pan. Difficult to see unless you get right under it.

[oldcars]

Ford Focus, there is an 11 plate one near me with rusted wings and one sill is looking iffy too.

[MarvinsMom]

merc W210 e-classes, complete rot boxes.

 

cheap thin shitty metal, cheap thin shitty paint, WCPGW....

[PiperCub]

Modern (ish) Alfas still rot.. surprise surprise.  My 2003 156 was going on the sills and had holes in the rear floorpan.  Best turnaround in my opinion is Fiat.  They really sorted their rot problems in the 90s/ 2000s.

Likewise my 2000 156 V6 that I had a few years back, rust in the very rear of the boot floor/ spare wheel well and I had to weld a plate into the n/s rear of the sill. No big deal but expected more of a 11/12 year old car.

 

In contrast, my two 1991 cars, a 205 & MX5 are totally rust free (yes, I have rustproofed them anyway). Go figure - maybe the makers don't think it's worth rustproofing extensively anymore as the car will probably be scrapped before it becomes an issue due to the electronics failing or the overcomplex engine dying (stand up c/rail diesels) expensively rendering the thing uneconomical.

[sierraman]

A lot of the cars that don't rot eg Renaults, Citroens etc just end up suffering done catastrophic failure of some other crucial part of the car.

 

I don't know what we are complaining about, in the 1980's it wouldn't be unknown for you to have a welding bill at 4 years old or an engine overhaul at 100k...

[Richard]

In the 70s it would be unusual not to.

[colino]

That reminds me, in 1979 I bought a four year old Simca 1100 that failed the MOT because it needed new sills for the grand sum of £25.  New sills, araldite (at 16 I couldn't afford a welder) and several tins of Re-Paint led to too much profit for a boy to ignore.

[Ghosty]

Astra E is another. I've seen them with 2" holes in the bonnets.

95-01 Civics - rear arches and back of sills. Possibly the Rover 45 by extension.

Mercedes Vaneo.

Some early B4 Passats.

Merc Vito.

[Largactil]

BMW E39's - Wings / boot lid seem prone to issues - E36 like to rot too.

[sierraman]

Astra E prone to water trap on strut tips a la Escort.

 

I always thought Peugeots pretty rust resistant but they seem to rot merrily away under the thick Shultz on the sills.

[Honey Badger]

Honda Accords in the front footwells

[Lukas]

Audi A6 F4 under the door-trims and under the roof-trim, almost all newer VAGs on the front wings and the tailgate. 

 

BMW 5-series E60 on the doors and rear wheelarches.

 

VW Golf 5/6/7 at the sills under the stone-chipping. 

 

Let´s face it. There isnt one car that does not rust. Some start to rust earlier, some later. 

[DodgyBastard]

These are quite bad for rust...

 

2004 Proton Jumbuck GL by Alan Gold, on Flickr

[brickwall]

In the 70s it would be unusual not to.

 

 

It would've been rude not too

[HH-R]

Micra/Almera/late 90s Primera like to rust underneath.

206s seem like cockroaches, can't remember seeing a rusty one,

A mate's Astra H has rust where the tailgate shuts above the lights - do they all go there?

My Rio has the odd spot on the sill and some starting on the driver's door.

My cousin weighed in a 2003 Mazda 323 a couple of years ago because it failed an MOT spectacularly on rot. It looked rotten too.

My friend with a 1999 Corsa B used to like to laugh at my Rovers but hers had rusty wings (and probably elsewhere) by about 2008, whereas my cars had none.