MOT welding help

[Shetland123]

Thinking of buying a mk3 fiesta 999cc as my first car this is what it failed its last mot on I know it will need to be welded. I’m struggling to understand what needs welding and is it a big job or would I be able to do it on my drive way with a small MIG welder and some sheet metal

•”near side outer suspension mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded centre part of outer sill corroded”

•”offside rear suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded inner sill corroded inner sill corroded”


Not sure if I posted this in the right place

[paintman]

Impossible to say without seeing at the very least good quality photos of the areas in question & even then it really needs 'hands on' to assess.

Invariably corrosion will have spread further & you won't find the full extent until you start cutting away the affected metal.

Are you a competent welder with your own mig kit?

These are common cars & you would be better finding one with a current long MOT.

[Mave]

paintman said:

These are common cars & you would be better finding one with a current long MOT.

Yep.

[10126 Torino]

I would disagree on these being common , they were in the 90s but with the youngest MK3 being about 27 years old ,not many about now due to the rust .

Find something better OP , this car is scrap fodder .

[sunbeam alpine]

I would seriously advise against this - the rust will always be worse once you start on the job.

[Lincsls1]

Anything is fixable, but stuff like this needs to be done by a professional with lots of experience. That way it stands half a chance of lasting a decent while.
But as others have said, probably best to buy a better car unless this Fiesta is special to you for some reason.

[E-bmw]

Mave said:

paintman said:

These are common cars & you would be better finding one with a current long MOT.

Yep.

+1 vote here.

Suspension mountings being rusted enough to need welding would seriously worry me & I have been welding for years.

As others have said without seeing it, it is hard to say.

As others have said when you start cutting away rusted metal, you inevitably find more.

On top of the above if it is in the area of a structural suspension support any repair would need to be millimetre perfect for the suspension to be right afterwards.

Leave well alone, there are 100,000s of them out there.

[InitialDave]

You can almost certainly fix it as a driveway DIY job. But depends on your experience/ability.

You need to actually look at it and see how bad it is, allowing for the usual rule that what you can see is only a fraction of the actual rust there.

And then the big question is whether it's even worth it over trying to find another one with less rust.

The mk4/5 which is basically the same shell, but with the 1.25 Zetec S engine, would be where I'd be looking if you want an older Fiesta for a first car.

[PhilF329]

It sounds like it needs inner and outer sills and some tidying up round the suspension mountings. Reasonable fit repair panels are available and its certainly do-able for a competent DIYer, but as others have said, I'm not sure its worth the hassle unless your attached to it or want to use it to learn / improve your welding and fabrication skills

[Evoluzione]

I think the OP has run away.

[Krikkit]

Sounds like it

E-bmw said:

Suspension mountings being rusted enough to need welding would seriously worry me & I have been welding for years.

Just a quick one - not always going to be suspension mounting itself, just within the prescribed zone for the MOT which is, I think, 30cm? On a small hatchback with a rear beam that can be anywhere from the back of the driver's seat to the rear bumper really!