Author Topic: Rusty new car  (Read 15054 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Grenache

  • TS2 Class
  • ***
  • Posts: 75
  • Colour: Sparkling Silver (24E) Metallic
  • Engine: 2.2L
  • Fuel: Diesel
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: TS
  • Year: 2012
Rusty new car
« on: May 28, 2012, 02:38:40 pm »
Hello,

My car is now 2 weeks old, and I had a good look underneath at the rear section as I'm planning to fit a towbar.

I was shocked to see that some of rear subframe members are showing signs of surface rust, on the welds and edges mainly.  It's worse than the 4-year-old model I traded in.

Also, the undersealing seems to be patchy.  Only some of the panel joins and the spare wheel well are coated with rubber undersealant.  Some of the panels and box sections are not, just showing painted metal.

Is this normal?

Thanks

G

Offline jbconno

  • Takara Class
  • *****
  • Posts: 281
  • Gender: Male
  • Colour: Black Mica (16W) Metallic
  • Engine: 2.2L
  • Fuel: Diesel
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: Sport
  • Year: 2013
Re: Rusty new car
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2012, 02:55:25 pm »
Take it back to the dealers and get them to look at it.

Offline Grenache

  • TS2 Class
  • ***
  • Posts: 75
  • Colour: Sparkling Silver (24E) Metallic
  • Engine: 2.2L
  • Fuel: Diesel
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: TS
  • Year: 2012
Re: Rusty new car
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2012, 03:49:04 pm »
They've already agreed to that, I just need to find a suitable date as the nearest dealer is not local.  But I just wondered what I should insist upon: should the car be fully undersealed or is Mazda cutting pennies off the manufacturing cost?

Offline jbconno

  • Takara Class
  • *****
  • Posts: 281
  • Gender: Male
  • Colour: Black Mica (16W) Metallic
  • Engine: 2.2L
  • Fuel: Diesel
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: Sport
  • Year: 2013
Re: Rusty new car
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2012, 04:37:06 pm »
If they have another new one on the ramps then compare the two. I suspect it may not be just your car and that all cars will have some surface rust.

Offline Wombat

  • S Class
  • *
  • Posts: 23
  • Engine: 2.0L
  • Fuel: Petrol
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: TS2
  • Year: 2007
Re: Rusty new car
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2012, 09:06:04 pm »
Would love to hear how you got on with this.
I have a theory that the plastic sill extensions on the 2008> cars were fitted for at least two reasons:
1. To enhance the appearance of the car.
2. To stop the sills (underneath the extensions) from getting wet, and then rusting.
That way, Mazda don't have to modify their paint processes for cars in salty/wet environments.

Offline Grenache

  • TS2 Class
  • ***
  • Posts: 75
  • Colour: Sparkling Silver (24E) Metallic
  • Engine: 2.2L
  • Fuel: Diesel
  • Transmission: Manual
  • Trim: TS
  • Year: 2012
Re: Rusty new car
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2013, 01:58:23 pm »
Well, it's been a long time, but it's also a long story.  Here's an update.

The dealer inspected the car and noted that it seemed to be rather more rusty than expected.  They put me on to Mazda customer services.

Mazda said that the anti-corrosion warranty covers perforation of the body panels from the inside outwards, and does not cover chassis/subframe parts.

I countered that I would not expect to find ANY rust on a new car.  OK, it's not completely new - it's manufactured at the other side of the world, transported for weeks by sea, sat in a compound for a time, then transported halfway across the UK to the dealer.

However, Mazda refused to do anything about it.

So, my next port of call was back to the dealership.  I got the same response from them.  I then stated that I would not expect to find any rusty bits if I had bought a beemer or similar upmarket executive car.  Mazda isn't exactly at the bottom end of the market.  My expectation was that a new car should have no minor imperfections, unless they had been pointed out to me at the time of sale.  Sale of Goods Act and so on.   Reluctantly the Service Manager agreed and went to speak with his managing director.

After some time, they agreed to treat the rear subframe parts.

So, in November the car went in for a couple of days.  (It was now 6 months old).

I lead a busy life, so didn't check immediately, so it was February when I was hosing the salt off the underside that I checked again.  It looked like it had not been done.  Phoned up the dealer again.

They read out the work sheet - remove engine undertray ....  But the problem was at the rear.  They'd done the wrong end of the car.

Back in again for a couple of days.

Six weeks later, I had another look underneath.  They'd sprayed the subframe with a rubberised coating, but the spot-welds were still rusty.

So, I've just got it back a third time, and it looks ok - for now...   Hopefully that's the end of this saga!