2009 CashCow - My friends wife's new qashqai

[Dobloseven]

Now you know it's there, it'll be bothering you.With all the trim back,how likely is it that the MOT tester will see it,or if it'll matter if he does? I've got all the gear for welding,so I'd probably be tempted to shape some metal sheet and weld it from  inside the boot.But sticking it or fibreglass would have a similar visual effect.Then clean up the outside as best you can and try to make it look as "factory" as possible.Do it well before the MOT and get it shit up again. Could you treat yourself to a welder?Then you've got it and you're not dependent on the goodwill of others,which sometimes evaporates when actually put to the test.I've welded many cars for myself and immediate family but I'd never do it for anyone else, even if they did all the preparation work.

[beko1987]

This is the 2nd time in my life I've ever had a car with (known)rust 😂 The first was my Ford puma, and tadts. It was replacing thst with a 1997 zx that got me into this place 😂

I've not got space for a welder, nor really the space to use it, nor really the time to properly learn in order to sort it. Im going to have to get some goodwill or a bill on this one! I've had one friend I know offer some pigeon shit welding, and I have a close by friend who does weld, and welds well but refuses to work on cars. That's fine, but with the bumper off I'm going to get his opinion on it all and ask if he knows someone etc.

 

[tapir]

Sorry to read of the issues, maybe dont give up on it yet, the welding might not be as bad/cost as much as you think

[Bren]

Welding is the only way to deal with it properly. To be fair it doesn't look that bad - filling it with fibreglass isn’t the answer. I would get some quotes.

In it's defence it is sixteen years old. Buying a similar aged example will no doubt have issues.

[beko1987]

I'm going to get some costs for doing it properly, don't worry! I've got £4/500 max in my head which hopefully will be enough, it should help that it doesn't need to be a pretty repair, it's all hidden.

My vague plan is to have the bumper off at the weekend and take some proper photos then see if there any local mobile people who could quote. I might also ask if they can charge me first for going over the car incase I've missed anything else... If it's just these 2 mud traps then bad luck but hopefully thats it, if they find more that my uneducated self has found then that changes things.

[Dobloseven]

For £4/500,you could kit yourself out with a welder,angle grinder etc.Then you're in control of the job and still got the kit at the end of it to use again or move on.

[MrGTI6]

5 hours ago, Bren said:

In it's defence it is sixteen years old. Buying a similar aged example will no doubt have issues.

It's easy to forget that cars like this aren't actually new anymore.

The Qashqai was launched 18 years ago in 2007.

An 18-year-old mid-sized Nissan in 2007 would have been an 89/G Bluebird.

Quite scary when you think of it like that!

[GrumpiusMaximus]

12 minutes ago, MrGTI6 said:

It's easy to forget that cars like this aren't actually new anymore.

The Qashqai was launched 18 years ago in 2007.

An 18-year-old mid-sized Nissan in 2007 would have been an 89/G Bluebird.

Quite scary when you think of it like that!

We have been genuinely spoiled since the late 90s when it comes to rust.  I remember Metros and the like being scabby for their first MOT.  My car is 20 years old and whilst it does have some surface rust in a couple of isolated areas (mainly where there's some bodywork damage), the steel being galvanised has done a lot of work.  If I said to somebody twenty years ago that I had a 1985 VW Golf that barely got washed and lived outside all year with no serious rust then it would have been considered a minor miracle.  Nowadays, we mostly expect it.  Which is why the rust on the Qashqai is a surprise...

[GrumpiusMaximus]

OK this is from 'Clockers Anonymous' but these weren't isolated examples by any means:

 

[artdjones]

10 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

If I said to somebody twenty years ago that I had a 1985 VW Golf that barely got washed and lived outside all year with no serious rust then it would have been considered a minor miracle.

Strangely enough, 1985 Golfs were pretty rust resistant, like all Mk 2s, and 80-83 Mk1s. But a 70s MK1, oh dear. They were atrocious. 

Afterwards, VW let standards slip with the MK3, then pushed them right back with the MK4.

[beko1987]

From what I'd read the body of the qq is pretty decent, it's all the suspension bits that bolt onto it that are known trouble points!

These two holes aside it's far less blebby in general than the xsara was. The xsara still has many years left but if you looked closely you saw rust under the paint here and there. Bar these I've not found any body rust at all, even the broken paint on the dented bootlid is fine. All the chassis mounting points are good from the smashing about I've given them too 🤞

I blame modern cars and mud traps in general. My mum got into a flap the other day when she found out and I explained that every time I wash their car I peel the arch liners back as much as I can and blast behind and flush no end of shit out. If we never did that then it would probably do the same. How do you know it's not already starting mother? We can't take the wheel and arch liners out to check... She started to agree with me then 😂

Every similar age qq I see now I ponder to myself if it's got the same. If/once it's repaired I want to tiger seal some plastic or similar infront of it all, but behind the arch liners so the worst of the shit from the wheels hits that instead of filling the hole back up

[warch]

I am surprised. My 2007 Qashqai had absolutely no rust on the body at all (the subframes and rear suspension arms looked ropey but were sound at its last MoT). Bear in mind my car was, like most of my cars not regularly cleaned and frequently used in unsympathetic conditions like road salt, actually off road and deep water so should've been pretty bad. 

But yes sorry to hear that bearing in mind I was also one of those singing their praises. 

[Scruffy Bodger]

20 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I'm going to get some costs for doing it properly, don't worry! I've got £4/500 max in my head which hopefully will be enough, it should help that it doesn't need to be a pretty repair, it's all hidden.

My vague plan is to have the bumper off at the weekend and take some proper photos then see if there any local mobile people who could quote. I might also ask if they can charge me first for going over the car incase I've missed anything else... If it's just these 2 mud traps then bad luck but hopefully thats it, if they find more that my uneducated self has found then that changes things.

To get the price down make it as easy for them as possible. Remove all the trim yourself and put back, take enough off to give them good access. If it's fairly obvious to where the metal is good you could even go as far as cut some Cardboard Aided Design templates ready for them. If they are happy with them after a quick look, chop, chop, buzz buzz, walk away.

[beko1987]

25 minutes ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

To get the price down make it as easy for them as possible. Remove all the trim yourself and put back, take enough off to give them good access. If it's fairly obvious to where the metal is good you could even go as far as cut some Cardboard Aided Design templates ready for them. If they are happy with them after a quick look, chop, chop, buzz buzz, walk away.

Yes I'd aim to strip the interior right out, how far I don't know, I assume just to the back seats, move all the back wiring out the way and they'd lay flame preventing sheets across the bulk?

Would the fuel tank pose any big issues? It's not close but not far either. I'd just ask whoever comes to give his honest opinion I guess. 

[sierraman]

Devils advocate here, how long are you expecting it to last as a car? Probably with care 2 years, maybe 3 if you are lucky. A proper welded repair is the right thing to do if it was 5 years old or something but realistically a bit of plate wobbed on or whatever will plenty outlast it before something like the DMF, injectors or the fuel pump see it off. Keep the £400 for that eventuality. 

[beko1987]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Devils advocate here, how long are you expecting it to last as a car? Probably with care 2 years, maybe 3 if you are lucky. A proper welded repair is the right thing to do if it was 5 years old or something but realistically a bit of plate wobbed on or whatever will plenty outlast it before something like the DMF, injectors or the fuel pump see it off. Keep the £400 for that eventuality. 

I've got a 2 or 3 year plan in my head. Plates wobbed on/in is exactly what I'm hoping can happen tbh, then I can say I improved it and the boot will stay dry 😂👌Doesn't have to be pretty or the same shape as long as the bumper lines back up and there's alot of adjustment to be had in the 2 lower bumper brackets as their just 2 bars coming down

 

[sierraman]

It’s difficult to tell until it’s ground back but you could arguably get away with the plate having some holes drilled on the flat bits then just a several plug welds holding it to the flange. Then paste it with seam sealer. A spot weld is pretty simple, a bit of guidance on the settings on the welder and you could do that yourself if someone will lend you a welder for an hour.

[Dobloseven]

Sorry to keep going on about it,but if you can afford to pay someone to do it,you can afford a welder and the basic kit to do simple patch repairs.That way you're the boss and not dependent on someone not turning up to help because his goldfish has died.Or something.Nobody is born able to weld.But that is something that won't be visible when everything is back in place and as sierraman says ,can be slathered in seam sealer or whatever.An ideal job to cut your teeth on really.Being able to stick metal together with fire gives you a magical ,strange, primeval feeling of power!

[beko1987]

53 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Sorry to keep going on about it,but if you can afford to pay someone to do it,you can afford a welder and the basic kit to do simple patch repairs.That way you're the boss and not dependent on someone not turning up to help because his goldfish has died.Or something.Nobody is born able to weld.But that is something that won't be visible when everything is back in place and as sierraman says ,can be slathered in seam sealer or whatever.An ideal job to cut your teeth on really.Being able to stick metal together with fire gives you a magical ,strange, primeval feeling of power!

I'd love to, but I rent a small 2 bedroom house with no garage, I couldn't store a welding setup even if I tried 😂 

I'm working away at vacuum cleaners to start saving up for the work. I do as much as I can myself, but I'm not going to beat myself up about what I can't do.

Equally if I get quotes of £800+ back then I did watch some video of a temu electric welder the other week 🤔 I can forsee myself causing way more problems than I'd solve though.

[jonathan_dyane]

A tin of P40 is about £6, get it wobbed up

[loserone]

I reckon a welder is approximately three vacuum cleaners by volume 👀

[sierraman]

16 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I'd love to, but I rent a small 2 bedroom house with no garage, I couldn't store a welding setup even if I tried 😂 

I'm working away at vacuum cleaners to start saving up for the work. I do as much as I can myself, but I'm not going to beat myself up about what I can't do.

Equally if I get quotes of £800+ back then I did watch some video of a temu electric welder the other week 🤔 I can forsee myself causing way more problems than I'd solve though.

I’ll get royally slagged off by the usual folks, but Lidl do an Inverter MIG, gasless so no need for fucking about with bottles etc, it’s about size of a shoebox and weighs fuck all. About £70. Then flog it after and you’d get all your money back. No, I’d not weld an e-type bonnet with it but for purpose of doing what you are doing it’ll do fine. It’d cost you perhaps a fiver in some zintec plate, tenner for some gloves and £30 for a helmet you can see what they fuck you are doing through. Or you could just rivet it over. £20 for a half decent riveter. 

[Dobloseven]

21 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

I'd love to, but I rent a small 2 bedroom house with no garage, I couldn't store a welding setup even if I tried 😂 

I'm working away at vacuum cleaners to start saving up for the work. I do as much as I can myself, but I'm not going to beat myself up about what I can't do.

Equally if I get quotes of £800+ back then I did watch some video of a temu electric welder the other week 🤔 I can forsee myself causing way more problems than I'd solve though.

Don't get hung up on a big gas bottle for a MIG.For small repairs like that,a couple of disposable ones would do the job and be readily available and storable.If you run out on a Sunday afternoon,just pop to Halfords.Modern MIG welder are smaller and lighter and probably cheaper than the 36 year old one I use.

[beko1987]

46 minutes ago, loserone said:

I reckon a welder is approximately three vacuum cleaners by volume 👀

I already have depression states where I imagine I get my notice to fuck off and I'm screwed 😂 Its motivating me to get rid of shit left and right so im not moving 80+ vacuums.

If the quote is massive then maybe, I won't say never. But my hope is some mobile Facebook matey says "yea I can do that" and it's not too much. Will start getting quotes when I've got some decent photos to send about to people.

 

[beko1987]

50 minutes ago, jonathan_dyane said:

A tin of P40 is about £6, get it wobbed up

If it turns out it's really bad/not worth it then that is a plan! I could mix soil and pva glue and fill the holes back in as they were before I poked it all out to cover it up 😂 

Thats when I'd look to save back up and just run the car into the ground until then. I'd probably chance a test as is too, its either had 'friendly' tests before or it is so well hidden it'll hide again (I'd want to be sure it wasn't structural before I play that game though)

[Dobloseven]

Welding a motor car is very much like making love to a beautiful woman.You strip her down to gain access to her nether parts.Get your equipment primed and ready.Grind away steadily,increasing your pace as you gain confidence..........!

!

 

 

[JJ0063]

10 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Welding a motor car is very much like making love to a beautiful woman.You strip her down to gain access to her nether parts.Get your equipment primed and ready.Grind away steadily,increasing your pace as you gain confidence..........!

!

 

 

And if you go too fast it’ll be over in seconds and you’ll get splatter everywhere

[Dobloseven]

9 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

And if you go too fast it’ll be over in seconds and you’ll get splatter everywhere

And end up with a big gaping hole.

[sierraman]

47 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Welding a motor car is very much like making love to a beautiful woman.You strip her down to gain access to her nether parts.Get your equipment primed and ready.Grind away steadily,increasing your pace as you gain confidence..........!

!

 

 

Maintain a good hold on the trigger as well. 

[Dobloseven]

54 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Maintain a good hold on the trigger as well. 

Now sadly I'm old enough to remember when you could buy cheap MIG welders with permanently live torches.I bet they were fun to use!