shite that doesn't rust.... (much)

[ShiteRider]

I've a 15 y/o Lupo sat on the drive without a speck of rust on it anywhere, especially impressive as it's not moved in 5 years.

Bizarre though as i spent 10 years working in a VAG bodyshop and regularly did rust repairs under warranty eg; golf mk4 front wings, mk5 wings door skins sill+ seized front bottom hinges, jetta bonnets (inside edge due to shit sealer), touran sills, wings, tailgates (around the handle).

My ten year old vectra is rust free as well despite leaking water like the titanic and not having a straight panel on it.

Some fords have faired quite well these days, only some mind, seems half of fords product are made from steel and half from dunked rusks.

[Skizzer]

My Audi 80 B3 is freakishly unrusty, unlike Dermist's (formerly my) equally galvanised Dedra.

 

My mk1 Golf convertible is holding up very well too, astonishingly so given it lives outdoors and the hood leaks.

 

The ex-AngryDicky Vauxhall Victor is rust free, in defiance of all the Victor cliches. I'd put that down to having been garaged most of its life, but the carpets are a bit sun-faded so it must have been outdoors a fair bit.

 

The GRP bits of my Rancho have hardly any rust, which is something I suppose.

[xtriple]

I had a Xantia and a Safrane at the same time, they were both knocking on a bit and totally mint rust wise, also, the Scenic thing I had with 160000 miles was rustfree so I'm going to say French stuff is good.

 

I always thought Jap stuff was good for lack of rust, but I am a flaming idiot as old Jap stuff rusts for Japan and even modern Mazdas are terrible for it. Hondas seem good though?

 

I had loads of elderly BMW and VW cars in the 90s and they were always pretty rust free and an Audi 100 that didn't know what the stuff was.

[Junkman]

  On 12/10/2016 at 18:21, Parky said:

Renaults. Rarely see a rusty one...

 

Yep, they have all been swept up with broom and dustpan a long time ago.

Almost every Renault 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 30.

And by all things holy (gettit?) did they love to react with oxygen.

[vulgalour]

It's not the rust you can see that's the problem, it's the stuff you can't.  While a lot of 90s French stuff is pretty good at resisting rot for the most part, Saxos like to crumble away unseen where floors meet body edges even on cars that look pristine in every other place.

 

The only shite that comes to mind as being really rust resistant is the venerable Volvo 740.  You hardly ever see one now and I can only imagine it's the fuel consumption that's killed them off or they've all migrated to Scotland and live in a sheltered community on one of the islands.

[Shep Shepherd]

  On 12/10/2016 at 16:16, davidfowler2000 said:

Belgian built Volvo 700s seem pretty bomb proof. Rust isn't unheard of but it's usually quite restrained.

I'm impressed by how The [belgian-made] Volvo is holding up bodywise, considering that it's now 26.5 years old and has spent all of its life outside. Sure, during the time I've owned it (13 years in December!) I have periodically treated what I perceive to be 'at risk' areas of the body with Waxoyl and other such elixirs of old car life, but even if I hadn't, I'm sure that the car would be far from terminally rusty.

 

The men and women at Ghent certainly knew how to build a good car back in the day

[fatharris]

I've seen a video on Facebook of a Peugeot 307CC that had the worst rot I've seen on a comparaitavely new car. It was only 12.5 years old (6 months past the anti-corrosion warranty!) and the floor was coming off in sheets!

 

I'm going to beat "the" drum again and say that Herman has held up impressively, with only a teeny bit of grot under the boot seal lip from trapped moisture, and a bit of surface rust under the battery tray. Aside from that, there are three stone chips that have started to go, so I'll be touching them up and kurusting them. Wings, arches, underside and the fuel tank are totally pristine. Not bad for a car made in April 1998.

[dieselnutjob]

I had rust problems with 305s and 504s.

Any 06 series (306,406,806 etc) appear to be very resistive to rust.

[rml2345]

The Xantia is holding up pretty well in its 20th year but I'm putting that down to it being a south of England car it's whole life and expect galloping automotive gangrene by spring. Must get it rust proofed soon.

On the Volvo front my last 740 put cars half its age (25 years at the time) to shame and even when it got shunted had very little rust of any sort. 740s were part galvanised from '88 onwards which does help but Belgian Volvos seem better at resisting tinworm than Swedish ones.

Top tip; Buy a Ghent 740, regularly rust proof it and enjoy 25mpg until the end of time.

[scdan4]

no rust that i've found on the v70 - that seems to be par for the course.

 

None on the camry, and i've never seen a rusty one. So yet another thing it excels at. 

[Rocket88]

Subaru...................seem pretty resilient.

[derskine]

Peugeot 205s/309s but I think 309s might have more issues with rust on the boot floor.

[Honey Badger]

The US built Hondas seem pretty good, as do most UK ones apart from 6th gen (98-02?) which rot out along the seam of the bulkhead and floorpan.

 

Seen plenty of rusty HR-Vs though.

 

My coupe is in really good nick underneath, just a little bit of surface rust in a few places.

[themildbunch]

  On 13/10/2016 at 12:22, rml2345 said:

The Xantia is holding up pretty well in its 20th year but I'm putting that down to it being a south of England car it's whole life and expect galloping automotive gangrene by spring. Must get it rust proofed soon.

On the Volvo front my last 740 put cars half its age (25 years at the time) to shame and even when it got shunted had very little rust of any sort. 740s were part galvanised from '88 onwards which does help but Belgian Volvos seem better at resisting tinworm than Swedish ones.

Top tip; Buy a Ghent 740, regularly rust proof it and enjoy 25mpg until the end of time.

How can you tell if you've got a Ghent built Volvo?

[Eddie Honda]

The start of the VIN.

[nisfan]

As said above 205/309s seem to survive better, i heard the metal was mixed with wine,cheese, baguettes and arrogance hence its resistance to rust.

Ive heard renault when making stuff like 18s put extra carbon in the metal to make it easier to fold, it also made it easier to rust.

The last of the bluebirds seem pretty resistant, anything before or after these isnt.

[themildbunch]

  On 12/10/2016 at 19:13, UltraWomble said:

You have got to be shitting me? 20 years and 5 of the feckers the only one that wasnt rusted to buggery was the one without a sun roof.

 

Ha - yes I have seem some shockingly rusty BX's sometimes the most shiny and ouwardly perfect.. I seem to remember a grey 16v that looked great until you had a look underneath..

 

Still I have an E, H and J and only the E now needs what I'd say is more major welding to the sills and new pipes.. The J has needed a little bit of inner wing work and the hinge on the A post rebuilt but not much else..  The H reg BX I have which has a shagged auto and HGF seems to be really solid -

[Richard]

  On 13/10/2016 at 15:50, themildbunch said:

How can you tell if you've got a Ghent built Volvo?

 

Mine says Made in Belgium on the VIN plate.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

I was disappointed when I discovered just after I bought it that The Volvo wasn't made in Sweden, but I was pleased to find out from various sources not long afterwards that Ghent Volvos are the best made Volvos ^^

[Ben_O]

  On 12/10/2016 at 18:21, Parky said:

Renaults. Rarely see a rusty one unless it's a 16 that's been left in a field for three decades

This ^^

 

My 14 YO Scenic has quite a few dents that have creased badly enough to cause the paint to crack exposing bare primed metal. I have left it as is and in 2 years of my ownership, the dull grey primer that was exposed is still the same with no signs of any rust starting.

It was like it when i bought it so god knows how long it was like it

[New POD]

We have a Sept 2001 Bini Cooper, which has no rust at all.

 

(Apart from on the brake discs)

[alf892]

  On 13/10/2016 at 18:47, New POD said:

We have a Sept 2001 Bini Cooper, which has no rust at all.

 

(Apart from on the brake discs)

Yeah.....really fucked up with those didn't they......nothing like the original

[HMC]

  On 13/10/2016 at 17:41, Shep Shepherd said:

^

I was disappointed when I discovered just after I bought it that The Volvo wasn't made in Sweden, but I was pleased to find out from various sources not long afterwards that Ghent Volvos are the best made Volvos ^^

My Ghent built 740 also seems mega rot resistant. It's had a hard life ( the odometer stopped working 10 years ago at 204,000.....) but the bodyshell is rot free.

I took it up to the local scrap dump earlier in the week to weigh in some batteries and alloys and there were cars half the age and mileage with more rust, being bridged at the time.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I don't want to tempt fate, but W211 e-classes ( 2003-2009) seem to be the first Mercs since the Ponton that the paint doesn't fall off within 5 years. I've certainly never seen a scabby one.

[sierraman]

Made in South Africa?

[matty879]

  On 14/10/2016 at 08:08, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I don't want to tempt fate, but W211 e-classes ( 2003-2009) seem to be the first Mercs since the Ponton that the paint doesn't fall off within 5 years. I've certainly never seen a scabby one.

funny you should mention the e class,just the other day i was speaking to a chap with a 2003 e320 and it was absolutley pristine,i pointed out how good his wings were,he said on that model they were galv,or alloy,ive seen a lot of c class and s class that were just rust.

best shite ive owned for lack of rust,rover 200 bubble,ive owned 4 with no issues whatsoever,though i may have been lucky as ive seen a few with merc wing syndrome.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

  On 14/10/2016 at 09:49, sierraman said:

Made in South Africa?

Don't know, just going outside to check the vin plate on mine!

[oldcars]

  On 12/10/2016 at 19:45, Mally said:

Body's passable, but I once jacked mine up, bottle jack went through the chassis, fell on its side and smashed the brake master cylinder off.

Nightmare, i thought all Rialto's were galvanised? The chassis on mine is mint.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

"Ich bin ein Stuttgarter"

 

(Assuming that's not some sort of cake)

[r.welfare]

Good to hear they don't rust, they're a handsome car. I suspect the SBC might finish a lot off when they drop more to bangernomics level.