Talk to me about rust!

[BE57 TOY]

I have just jet washed my 6.5 year old Audi A3 and found rust in the front wheel arches and on the sills at the front.

Forgive my ignorance as I have never had rust on a car before due to driving newer stuff....

It looks to me like the results of stone chips, but my question is whether if I leave it will it get worse? If I have a body shop sort it, will it come back? Am I better off just selling the car and buying a new one?

Pics below :-





ETA: just wondering how serious or not serious this is? If it's going to cause me major issues going forward I would sooner get rid now and get something a bit newer!

Edited by BE57 TOY on Thursday 15th May 18:25

[kambites]

If you leave it, yes it will get worse, although probably very slowly.

If you get it fixed properly it wont come back unless the paint gets chipped off, exposing the bare metal again.

[anonymous-user]

Well the picture is st but to me looks like stone chips. Ford sell small touch up pens for stuff like that which come with a tiny wire brush to get the worst of it off. I'm sure Audi would do something similar.

[deltashad]

It doesn't look like anything serious. May be an idea to have it cleaned and wax-oiled for piece of mind.

My Lancia has rust. But proper rust. The stuff you worry about, ignore, worry some more, then when it gets fixed you poo your pants at the bill.

The next time it goes in for an MOT ask the garage to have a good look over it and make sure theres no nasty areas. If there are then I'd say sell it on. If its just a bit of surface rust from wear and tear then no worries.

[Stokie86]

I had an 06 audi a4 that rusted on both front wings on the inner lip. Modern audis hey

[Mr GrimNasty]

Probably been bent and had rods welded on to pull it out at some point, and the residue is what's rusting.

Is it galvanized? I've had a nasty scrape to metal on my cill for 8+ years, doesn't rust other than surface powder.

[mywifeshusband]

www.rust.co.uk for all you need to know.

[DKS]

Strewth man, that's not rust!

Rub it down with some fine grit sandpaper and touch it up with a repair kit from Halfords, you can get all you need from there. Do it during the dry warmer weather for best results. Do it soon and you can forget about it.

[C. Grimsley]

Has it had a replacement wing? Some parts fitted afterwards can rust as they don't have the factory protection?

Carl

[BE57 TOY]

It was a used purchase so I don't know if it's had previous repairs, but as the rust is identical on both sides it looks likely to be due to stone chips.

Is it better to get it properly sand blasted down, filled, primed and resprayed rather than doing it myself?

[Benbay001]

I hate rust.
My car had rusty sills when i bought it.
I hate them cut and new metal welded in.
The bottom of my drivers side door is starting to go.
I hate rust.

[Who me ?]

DKS said:

Strewth man, that's not rust!

Rub it down with some fine grit sandpaper and touch it up with a repair kit from Halfords, you can get all you need from there. Do it during the dry warmer weather for best results. Do it soon and you can forget about it.

You could go to Hafwits,(and get done and guess at the colour) but I'd find a little panel replacement /paint shop that will read the paint code of the car ( it'll be on a label somewhere)and colour match for a lot less . If it's the same as other VAG models of that colour,it'll possibly have a lacquer coat on top. Not expensive .i got a can to protect our door numbers ( had to clean them up after East European external wall splattered the door with render) and it was less than a fiver from local car parts place.

[Bungleaio]

As a classic mini owner I wish my car only had that much rust.

Doesn't the modern stuff have some sort of anti corrosion warranty?

[BE57 TOY]

Bungleaio said:

As a classic mini owner I wish my car only had that much rust.

Doesn't the modern stuff have some sort of anti corrosion warranty?

I think it's only for 5 or 6 years. The car is a December 2007.

[motorhole]

Benbay001 said:

I hate rust.
My car had rusty sills when i bought it.
I hate them cut and new metal welded in.
The bottom of my drivers side door is starting to go.
I hate rust.

This really made me laugh. Reads like a sh*te poem.

[BE57 TOY]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Only had the car since October last year, but never to answer your question.....

[diddles]

Once fixed, fitting some mudguards will limit future stone chipping to the affected areas.

[oldaudi]

BE57 TOY said:

I have just jet washed my 6.5 year old Audi A3 and found rust in the front wheel arches and on the sills at the front.

Forgive my ignorance as I have never had rust on a car before due to driving newer stuff....

It looks to me like the results of stone chips, but my question is whether if I leave it will it get worse? If I have a body shop sort it, will it come back? Am I better off just selling the car and buying a new one?

Pics below :-





ETA: just wondering how serious or not serious this is? If it's going to cause me major issues going forward I would sooner get rid now and get something a bit newer!

Edited by BE57 TOY on Thursday 15th May 18:25

Thats pretty much standard for modern Audis.

[Triumph Man]

BE57 TOY said:

Bungleaio said:

As a classic mini owner I wish my car only had that much rust.

Doesn't the modern stuff have some sort of anti corrosion warranty?

I think it's only for 5 or 6 years. The car is a December 2007.

IIRC from my VW, corrosion which has "perforated" carries a 10 year guarantee. OP you have 3 years to let it rust through

[Silverbullet767]

Rust? That's stage 1 weight reduction.