Technical Mot

[skeogh]

So car was in for its MOT today

Failed on a number of things which are all corrosion related. It seems the previous owner didn't look after the car all that well.

Mainly seat belt anchors, and rust holes here and there.

Other fail was front coil spring has fractured, all in all its going to cost 250 quid for welding and fitting new spring.

One advisory, corroded fuel line. How easy is it to fit in new fuel line?

8 patches of welding needed, unfortunately in my current circumstances I don't have a choice but to get it sorted and through the MOT, I work from 3am onwards and have a tight budget, cant afford to buy another car with unknown problems which could potentially cost me even more money, too many lemons out there.

Don't even know how easy it's going to be to sell a car that's had 8 patches of welding done, eventually I'm going to need to upgrade to a bigger car as my son gets older.

 

[maggers]

Punto's rot, sooner or later, end of story. That said, the '02 one my lad has is rock solid even in the wheel arch by the petrol filler so despite looking a bit tatty this ones a keeper and will have a good jetwash underneath and a waxoil as soon as we get chance. As for the fuel line, ask the tester if it needs doing or just wire brushing and a coat of grease.

 

[skeogh]

Yeah, it's a shame because the engines are amazing in them (not got much power to speak of) but they are bloody reliable.

That's it, ya know it's a keeper when the car is rock solid, especially for their ages.

Just grudging the amount of money I'm going to have to spend lol

 

[614cooker]

So car was in for its MOT today

Failed on a number of things which are all corrosion related. It seems the previous owner didn't look after the car all that well.

Mainly seat belt anchors, and rust holes here and there.

Other fail was front coil spring has fractured, all in all its going to cost 250 quid for welding and fitting new spring.

One advisory, corroded fuel line. How easy is it to fit in new fuel line?

8 patches of welding needed, unfortunately in my current circumstances I don't have a choice but to get it sorted and through the MOT, I work from 3am onwards and have a tight budget, cant afford to buy another car with unknown problems which could potentially cost me even more money, too many lemons out there.

Don't even know how easy it's going to be to sell a car that's had 8 patches of welding done, eventually I'm going to need to upgrade to a bigger car as my son gets older.

What year is it mate as my 51 plate is in tip top condition no rust at all apart from the shocks needing done and pads.

 

[skeogh]

Mine is a 2000 mate

I would normally be interested, but I literally only have 300 to spend, 250 of which is to get it through its MOT :/

Me and the Mrs are pretty skint til these bloody tax credits are sorted

 

[Ziggy122]

Punto's rot on the rear floor pans first usually

Once rots in - rots there to stay

Get it welded up - get it MOT'd

But tbh i'd be incline to tighten belts and braces and prepare saving for a new motor possibly

When it comes to MOT again, send it in early (1month) which you can without affecting your date of next MOT

if it fails for rot - Scrap or dismantle

But if the welding is good and solid - and all the rot is 100% removed and recovered (stone chipped + waxy'd) Then keep it going

I agree the engine are solid lumps - they need care, like all!

Ziggy

 

[skeogh]

I just done timing belt a few days ago there, tensioner is good and solid.

For the time being the car is good for getting me from a to b, my son is 8 weeks old just now so car is perfect, but looking to upgrade in the next 6 months to a more spacious car.

Looking to do what I can and at least scrape back the costs so I'm not losing money (too much anyway)

I only paid 340 for the car so I really can't complain.

If I don't sell, then it will be well looked after and a good first car for the Mrs when she eventually passes her test.

Was up on the ramp having a look at the corrosion after the MOT, and surprisingly the sump is still in amazing condition, I expected that to be chipping away.

Planning on debadging front and rear then fiberglass with filler once I get through this MOT and get the scrape and surface rust sorted on passenger side.

Plenty to keep me busy!

 

[Ziggy122]

Dont bother debadging if money is tight

Get the rust sorted on that door

The rear is just glue'd on badge which apprently heat and a credit card will do!
never tried it personally tho

Ziggy

 

[skeogh]

I've already got the fiberglass, filler primer and paint so not gonna be spending a penny on the debadging side of things, got loads of the stuff leftover from when I had my corsa.

Just a question about the dent and scrape, how would I go about sorting the dent out? It's left a sort of "ridge" at the top of the dent, looks as if the previous owner took a corner too tight and came into contact with a bollard. Pull it or tap it out?

Yeah I was reading up on a few threads about the rear one, hair drier should do the trick with that one.

 

[atom0007]

I agree with ziggy, I think you should start saving.

Forget the dent for the moment, and paint / seal the weld repairs. On a tight budget, whatever hammerite you've got lying round then waxoyl will see you good. Pay particular attention to rear seat belt anchors, especially when there's a precious 8 year old involved.

 

[fingers99]

If the welding is done properly (not a scrape it through the MOT bang a plate on top of the rust job) it'll be as good as the rest of the car was when new.

 

[skeogh]

I agree with ziggy, I think you should start saving.

Forget the dent for the moment, and paint / seal the weld repairs. On a tight budget, whatever hammerite you've got lying round then waxoyl will see you good. Pay particular attention to rear seat belt anchors, especially when there's a precious 8 year old involved.

8 week old son lol

Yeah welding is the most important to improve the cars structural integrity, and I will be undersealing the crap out of the car when it's done

I have a corroded fuel line Aswell, anyone know how easy they are to fit? I had a look online for a rough price on them, but couldn't find any :S

Cheers guys!

 

[fingers99]

Shouldn't be a big deal. Never done it -- tank may well need to come off. Worth ringing Big Mick at eurocarcare.net (or Skype him) VIN to hand for prices.

 

[skeogh]

Thanks mate will give him a bell at some point.

Dropping the tank shouldn't be too much of a problem, will be more awkward than anything else I think.

 

[s and b]

post 2 answers the fuel line issue
ive yet to change a fuel pipe on a mk2 punto and i think maggers is an mot tester? so you really want to take his advice if not mine
with regards welding a plate and then whacking lots of underseal on then unless you want to pay for lots of stripping cutting welding and protection then its how we have done mot repairs since the mot began
the solution is not to need welding in the first place and this is where long term care attention and lots of waxoyl always pays dividends to your wallet comes in and if buying someone elses trouble nip any issues in the bud
of course this car was cheap so a £250 test repair bill to me is low so i reckon the holes are small or the welders been overcome by long term fumes and cant quote realistically so snap his arm off (after hes done your welding of course)

 

[fingers99]

with regards welding a plate and then whacking lots of underseal on then unless you want to pay for lots of stripping cutting welding and protection then its how we have done mot repairs since the mot began

If anyone did that to any of my cars I'd cut their gonads off with an acetylene torch just to make sure they couldn't produce offspring as dumb and lazy as them!

£250 quid must represent 2 days work to your average garagista. Or it'll buy a perfectly adequate MIG welder and a cheap angle grinder.

 

[skeogh]

Well initially my guy wanted £350, but after a bit of negotiating got the welding down to 250, bearing in mind there is the possibility of stripping out the seats. All I will do is strip carpets out to save time on Labour and maybe bring cost down a bit.

In regards to the care of the car, I got the car for 300 odd so I took a big risk, and apart from the rust holes that need plated the car runs very well, not had any issues mechanically (touch wood)

I got a few quotes, and everywhere else were quoting 450 plus. Like I said previously, if it wasn't for needing the car for travelling to and from work 6 days a week well before the birds start chirping, it would be into scrappies and then another car, but I don't have that option unfortunately.

As soon as I bought my car, I done the sensible thing and serviced it, fixed all the oil leaks and apart from pas failing on me and having to fix that, I haven't had any issues.

I had a look at some guides (not on this forum) and it seems the only issue with the fuel line replacement is the tunnel next to the wheel arch which could be tricky.

 

[oldhammer]

£250 quid must represent 2 days work to your average garagista. Or it'll buy a perfectly adequate MIG welder and a cheap angle grinder.

Aye true ..thats what id do anyway hire/buy a mig welder.

 

[skeogh]

Aye true ..thats what id do anyway hire/buy a mig welder.

I've never done a single bit of welding in my life, and my MOT expires on Tuesday so unfortunately no time at all to teach myself.

 

[s and b]

If anyone did that to any of my cars I'd cut their gonads off with an acetylene torch just to make sure they couldn't produce offspring as dumb and lazy as them!

£250 quid must represent 2 days work to your average garagista. Or it'll buy a perfectly adequate MIG welder and a cheap angle grinder.

have you see how much oxy acetiline is these days?
have you tried telling your insurer you have it on your premises
ask the fire brigade their opinions of it next time they come for their inspection
thats why every garage and his dog uses mig or farms it out
i guess you dont do much patch welding for custmoners?
i dont, but used to make a living from it 20 years ago
nothing changes
apart from the fumes that change colour due to galv

my gonads are safe
even a patch these days ive seen quoted £70 to £100 so 7 patches must be penny sized holes

skeogh has done well to beat them down