unrealistic expectations of the used car market???

[Squirrelofwoe]

The101 said:

This.

Most people with lives/families don't fastidiously clean their cars under the arches unless it's very special or particularly old.

There's no way you should be put off by a well looked after honda, the 2.4's aren't that common and it's hard enough finding a car with a decent history these days.

Indeed, I was after a manual 2.0 or 2.4 at around £2k and I was checking the usual classifieds daily with email alerts- it still took nearly 6 weeks before a sensible looking one came up. At one point there were only 10 cars in that spec (manual tourer, 2.0/2.4, Exec, black interior) listed for sale on Autotrader in the country.

Finally found a 2004 2.4 Exec Tourer with 96,000 miles, full dealer service history, everything working, and 4 new tyres at a dealer for £2,150. Drove up to see it the day the advert went live and left a deposit. Managed to haggle £100 off but they refused to go any lower on the basis they would have no problem selling it at that price- and annoyingly I knew they were right.

Whether the rusty arches would have put me off I'm not sure, as you say there are hardly loads of examples of those about at that price, but on the other hand even my 1999 Accord Type R doesn't have rusty arches, neither did my 1997 Integra. I think a 2003 car with rust would probably get overlooked on the basis I spent years dealing with it on my old Escort's, E30 BMW, and Starion- I would expect to be free of it on a car 15 years younger!

If you can get the arches done for a few hundred £ it's probably still not too bad a deal though.

[MissChief]

Reading the links posted above it seems to be a common issue on these cars. Something about a seam weld right on the arch.

[muppets_mate]

As a half way house between a costly full body shop treatment and doing nothing, noting that with the coming winter and salt on the roads the rust *will* get worse, I would be tempted to take the wheels off and give the arches a good clean with a jet wash then liberally spray them with ACF-50.

Cheap and easy to do and should keep the worst of the rust progress at bay. I'd also regularly hose or jet wash the arch/lip clean throughout the winter and re-apply ACF-50 as necessary.

I've done similar with an BMW E36, which rusted for fun, with some success. Just a thought.

ACF-50 info

[danlightbulb]

muppets_mate said:

As a half way house between a costly full body shop treatment and doing nothing, noting that with the coming winter and salt on the roads the rust *will* get worse, I would be tempted to take the wheels off and give the arches a good clean with a jet wash then liberally spray them with ACF-50.

Cheap and easy to do and should keep the worst of the rust progress at bay. I'd also regularly hose or jet wash the arch/lip clean throughout the winter and re-apply ACF-50 as necessary.

I've done similar with an BMW E36, which rusted for fun, with some success. Just a thought.

ACF-50 info

Thanks. I can spray that under the arch linings to try keep the inside rust at bay. Can i spray it over the outside on the bubbling paint also?

[rovermorris999]

danlightbulb said:

Thanks. I can spray that under the arch linings to try keep the inside rust at bay. Can i spray it over the outside on the bubbling paint also?

See if you can get the interior trim off so you can spray inside the double skin.

[Super Slo Mo]

danlightbulb said:

Thanks. I can spray that under the arch linings to try keep the inside rust at bay. Can i spray it over the outside on the bubbling paint also?

I'll refer you back to the amendment I made to my previous post. Those scabs are so tiny as to be hardly worth the effort of getting them fixed. If it was a 1985 car made out of thin, cheap steel, like the one I have in my garage, then yes, in a couple of years it'd be time to get the welder out, but your Honda will be fine for 5 years I reckon.

Just to give you an example, the car I'm on about is an old BMW, it sat outside unused for 4 years with arches in much worse condition than yours. The front arches just need the rust grinding off and a bit of filler applied, the rears need welding as there are holes in them. However, there were holes in them from the beginning, it hasn't got that much worse in 4 years. The steel is like cigarette paper too, my welder blows straight through it even on the lowest setting, it's quite tricky to repair.

ACF50 is a good shout though, it penetrates quite well, although whether it'll get though the paint is debatable. However, I'd not be too inclined to break the bubbles to let the ACF50 in just yet. A quick spray after each wash will be adequate, inside the arches might need doing more frequently as road spray will wash it off quite quickly.

In all seriousness though, don't worry about it too much, my view is that you won't need to do anything to it for the life of the car.

[Devil2575]

Super Slo Mo said:

I'll refer you back to the amendment I made to my previous post. Those scabs are so tiny as to be hardly worth the effort of getting them fixed. If it was a 1985 car made out of thin, cheap steel, like the one I have in my garage, then yes, in a couple of years it'd be time to get the welder out, but your Honda will be fine for 5 years I reckon.

This.

[danlightbulb]

Ill post a couple close up photos later as on way to collect today. The offside rear arch did crumble a bit underneath where it bends under the wheel arch. Its only spotting on the nearside rear.

[CorvetteConvert]

Looks like a good buy, overall.

[muppets_mate]

danlightbulb said:

muppets_mate said:

As a half way house between a costly full body shop treatment and doing nothing, noting that with the coming winter and salt on the roads the rust *will* get worse, I would be tempted to take the wheels off and give the arches a good clean with a jet wash then liberally spray them with ACF-50.

Cheap and easy to do and should keep the worst of the rust progress at bay. I'd also regularly hose or jet wash the arch/lip clean throughout the winter and re-apply ACF-50 as necessary.

I've done similar with an BMW E36, which rusted for fun, with some success. Just a thought.

ACF-50 info

Thanks. I can spray that under the arch linings to try keep the inside rust at bay. Can i spray it over the outside on the bubbling paint also?

I wouldn't. If the paint is still intact the ACF-50 won't be able to penetrate and expell water. Also, it can be slightly sticky and retain dirt so I would not use it on unbroken paintwork.