Bad rust on 2010 hybrid + Some questions

[gok]

Hi All

Long time reader , first time poster , so i moved over from Lexus and bought the wife and myself a 2010 Auris Hybrid

I bought the car from auction via an Arnold Clark Scotland sale 

Im not sure what to think as i took it to my local mechanic whom showed me underneath the car , whilst mechanically he said it was solid there was a lot of rust on the underside , to me it looked bad and he said its a lot more than usual and the car has come from a seaside town.

The front shocks are quite rusty as well as the connections (not what what they are called) but he did say it has had new brake pipes all round and exhaust is rust free.

My question is 2 fold firstly why is a 9 year old car even if its been at the seaside so rusty ? Secondly should i keep the car ? 

Mechanic said that the shocks are too far gone to save but rest could be helped by a clean and underseal which we agreed he could do in the summer.

I love the car and how it drives whilst im getting 50mpg which i dont know if its good but coming from a lexus ct200 (2nd revision) seems ok

I would welcome any thoughts

can upload pics if needed

thanks in advance 

 

 

[Mooly]

Northern parts of the country often have salt treated roads from pretty much end of October through to April. That could account for much I'm afraid.   

[eygo]

if you live by the sea your car can be in contact with salt water for all of its life

being splashed by waves coming over break waters through standing water on the road

and also from the air .

[furtula]

As someone who tried to battle rust, it's like cancer, it comes back fast. If you are sure the rust is only on the underside, the parts that can be fixed with some more solid metal, i'd consider keeping it. If the rust is showing on the bodywork, get rid of it asap. 

I tried undercoating, it looked to me it just made things worse, i know it's a bit of redneck solution, but some oil sprayed on the underside, and driving on the dirt roads did far better job for me, unless you have a leaky engine, then you dont have to do anything 🙂

 

 

[gok]

thanks for your replies guys

no rust on bodywork thus far , I’m just concerned if structurally the car would be comprised in accident etc as my wife will drive the car mostly 

I’m sure it’s fine but I was just concerned seeing that amount of rust I did 

have booked in to Toyota for next month to have a visual check done and I’ll chat to the tech and see what he says 

just annoying that rust could (hopefully not) kill the car and not other things 

Would a spray of wd40 help for now in terms of protecting against further rust or should I not bother ? 

 

 

[furtula]

Don't bother spraying wd40. The problem withj those undercoats is they often dont last very long, rust comes back, and they partially peal away, in the parts that don't they actually help the rust as they keep in moisture. 

If there was some oil or tar based undercoat, that does not typically dry, i'd go with that. Just my personal opinion.

[eygo]

my advice would be to wait until the weather gets warmer pressure wash

the underside of the car then leave it a week before any treatments are

carried out this will ensure the underside of the car is dry before you do

any sealing as you dont want to seal in any moisture.

[gok]

Excellent I’m gonna wait till summer and hopefully down here in south rust won’t progress , I’ll try clean off as much as I can with a wire brush and hope it’s not too deep

shocks seem toast but I’ll be touch with Arnold Clark in Glasgow (Toyota dealer) saying why wasn’t it replaced under warranty as clearly it’s been like this a while , see what they say but I won’t hold much hope

I may also speak to Toyota HQ and threaten small claims court action as items such as shocks shouldn’t suffer that level of corrosion within 8 years of normal use and low mileage 

[yossarian247]

13 hours ago, gok said:

 

shocks seem toast but I’ll be touch with Arnold Clark in Glasgow (Toyota dealer) saying why wasn’t it replaced under warranty as clearly it’s been like this a while , see what they say but I won’t hold much hope

I may also speak to Toyota HQ and threaten small claims court action as items such as shocks shouldn’t suffer that level of corrosion within 8 years of normal use and low mileage 

You'd be on a hiding to nothing there I'm afraid. You bought the car from auction so have no contract with either Arnold Clark or Toyota. 

With respect, you don't know for certain that the car had 'normal use', it could have been driven down the beach a couple of times a week for 8 years etc. 

[Catlover]

22 hours ago, gok said:

I love the car and how it drives whilst im getting 50mpg which i dont know if its good but coming from a lexus ct200 (2nd revision) seems ok

I would welcome any thoughts

Re mpg, the wife now has what was my 2010 Auris hybrid. During colder winter months does about 52-55mpg whilst in the summer, 62-63mpg is the norm.

[Heidfirst]

On 1/11/2019 at 11:26 PM, gok said:

shocks seem toast but I’ll be touch with Arnold Clark in Glasgow (Toyota dealer) saying why wasn’t it replaced under warranty as clearly it’s been like this a while , see what they say but I won’t hold much hope

Depending exactly when it was registered it may have come with a 3 year warranty (the 5 year came in the middle of 2010). Even if it had the the 5 year warranty the car is now 8+ years old ... AC probably took it as a trade-in, didn't want to retail it themselves so wouldn't put money into it & sent it to auction.

I may also speak to Toyota HQ and threaten small claims court action as items such as shocks shouldn’t suffer that level of corrosion within 8 years of normal use and low mileage 

No chance. Apart from that you have no contract with them you are also outside the time frame  (6 years in England but only 5 in Scotland).

 

[Catlover]

At one time, dont know if its still the case, but buying from an auction, especially older cars, there is no warranty given or implied. IIRC you had some time after the auction to inspect and reject, perhaps 30min but then that was it. The "professionals" who go to the auctions frequent them and get to know what to look for, and who sells regularly ie councils, water/electriccompanies. Unless you are a top mechanic, or taking someone who is, I would not recommend auctions to any normal member of the public - definitely buyer beware.