Technical Needs a new subframe to pass MOT

[Andell]

Hi
I have 2007 Fiat Punto and it failed it's MOT today because it needs a new subframe.

I am a novice when dealing with cars and i generally trust the local garage i use, i have been using it for 15 years, just got a shock when i was quoted the price for a new subframe for the car.
It is £650 new, plus labour and VAT which comes to around £950.
Does this price sound about right ?

 

[PuntoHowTo]

2007 punto would likely be a grande, I have a 2004 punto and a 2006 grande and neither have rotted to the degree suggested by the mot fail, they do rust but to see an mot fail is usually on a 2000 - 2001 car.

The price of the subframe quoted would be new from fiat plus fitting so that's why the cost is so high

 

[puntofan01]

Hi
I have 2007 Fiat Punto and it failed it's MOT today because it needs a new subframe.

I am a novice when dealing with cars and i generally trust the local garage i use, i have been using it for 15 years, just got a shock when i was quoted the price for a new subframe for the car.
It is £650 new, plus labour and VAT which comes to around £950.
Does this price sound about right ?

What's happened to the current subframe?

 

[Andell]

My car is a standard punto registered in 2007, i fancied a grande but it was just out of my price range at the time.
And it is a new subframe from Fiat that is being ordered, but i am glad the price seems reasonable, as they have been a good garage, just never had a mot cost so much.

I was told the subframe has a hole in three places and needs to be replaced.
I had replaced the drivers side front wheel coil/spring last week because it broke when i was driving the car, and i now have to replace the pasenger side front wheel coil/spring for the mot, so there must have been a lot of corrosion going on under the car.

The car has low mileage, it had around 21000 miles when i got it two years ago, and i have done 9000 miles since then, i think the person before me only used it now and then and the car sat in the road a lot, if that makes a difference to how it might rust.

 

[puntofan01]

My car is a standard punto registered in 2007, i fancied a grande but it was just out of my price range at the time.
And it is a new subframe from Fiat that is being ordered, but i am glad the price seems reasonable, as they have been a good garage, just never had a mot cost so much.

I was told the subframe has a hole in three places and needs to be replaced.
I had replaced the drivers side front wheel coil/spring last week because it broke when i was driving the car, and i now have to replace the pasenger side front wheel coil/spring for the mot, so there must have been a lot of corrosion going on under the car.

The car has low mileage, it had around 21000 miles when i got it two years ago, and i have done 9000 miles since then, i think the person before me only used it now and then and the car sat in the road a lot, if that makes a difference to how it might rust.

Is this in the uk?

 

[maggers]

Sounds a bit steep, they don't take that long to change. I'd get a 2nd hand one to keep the price down, I've never had to fail one on a Punto. A couple of Stilos', yes, but not a Punto.

 

[Ziggy122]

a 2007 needing a new subframe
I dont want to believe it tbh

I see 2000 cars with subframes looking good!
Let alone a 2007 which has failed with one

ziggy

 

[flisko]

a 2007 needing a new subframe
I dont want to believe it tbh

I see 2000 cars with subframes looking good!
Let alone a 2007 which has failed with one

ziggy

true dat, i got 2 mk1 and 1 mk2 and all of them got good enough subframes to pass mot, there is some surface rust but thats all

 

[Ziggy122]

true dat, i got 2 mk1 and 1 mk2 and all of them got good enough subframes to pass mot, there is some surface rust but thats all

only time i've heard people failing is when they've lowered and have scraped it all off....

Ziggy

 

[PuntoHowTo]

A 2007 mk2b? With only 30,000 miles on the clock and now with a subframe corroded to the point of being an MOT fail begs the question of where this car came from? Very very late registered and rotting, before you get too carried away on all these repairs dig a little deeper and maybe invest in an HPI Check if it's never had one? And check the rest of the car for rust, spending £1000 on a subframe is madness if it's going to need further work and welding in the near future because of some inherent problem.

Prior to registration cars can sit in storage for a long time, during this time it's quite possible they can be subject to flooding, something cars really don't like, and causes them to rust very quickly, one theory was this car was flooded, then subject to an insurance claim which tied it up for a period of time finally sold on and then registered very late well after the rest of the mk2 puntos were sold and replaced with the grande.

As mentioned get the car carefully checked before paying out all that money for a repair as you can buy a perfectly good mk2b 8v 1.2 active with low miles and without the rust for around £1000 these days

 

[Andell]

Sorry, i just noticed my car is actually an 06 plate, the V5 document has it registered on 28/04/2006.

I also did a hpi check and everything is fine with the documentation.

I am going to get the car fixed and it will hopefully run for a few years without any more rust corroding things as the engine has been great so far, apart from a new battery.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ziggy122]

Sorry, i just noticed my car is actually an 06 plate, the V5 document has it registered on 28/04/2006.

I also did a hpi check and everything is fine with the documentation.

I am going to get the car fixed and it will hopefully run for a few years without any more rust corroding things as the engine has been great so far, apart from a new battery.

Thanks for the help.

If its not to late
Id look at a 2nd
A wire brush and paint and enjoy!!

2006 is certainly mk2b the last reg of its run

Ziggy

 

[atom0007]

Sorry, i just noticed my car is actually an 06 plate, the V5 document has it registered on 28/04/2006.

I also did a hpi check and everything is fine with the documentation.

I am going to get the car fixed and it will hopefully run for a few years without any more rust corroding things as the engine has been great so far, apart from a new battery.

Thanks for the help.

I'd still have a poke around underneath, in my experience the floor pan etc. will rust to dust long before the subframe.


I would honestly spend longer talking to the garage to understand what the problem is. It's a lot to spend on a punto.

 

[Brendan W]

Something odd about this. Subframe rotted, spring cracked........... I'm with the rest. The car needs a thorough honest assessment of the extent of corrosion before throwing the price of a car at repairs. If you are going ahead there are plenty of good subframes of that age in scrappys.