Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion

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Tue 18 Jul 2017 17:44
Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion - noveltybobble

I'm looking at buying a cheap second-hand car and a 06 Mazda 3 1.6 has caught my eye for around £1500. I'm looking for something reliable that I can basically run into ground over the next few years. There appears to be a lot of a rust / corrosion between the rear wheels of this one, which to my untrained eye looks bad, but I'm not certain. The underside of my Punto of a similar age looks nothing like this, but I wonder if this could be quite superficial. On the other hand, I know these cars don't have a great reputation on the corrosion front.

Here is a photo:

img.pixady.com/2017/07/155210_clipboard02.jpg

The MOT history did have an advisory on some corrosion to the sills. Should I steer well clear of this one?

Cheers

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Tue 18 Jul 2017 18:18
Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion - gordonbennet

If thats the state of a fairly thick cross member and rear suspension arms it's a fair idea of what the much thinner gauge sills and torque box where the sills meet the inner rear wheelarch will be like.

Thats an £800 car tops, if it comes with a full MOT and you hope to scrape it through another one next year without spending too much, anything after those two years i suggest will cost money to get it through.

I wouldn't be paying the asking price, but at sensible money if it runs well then it could be a bangernomics candidate.

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Tue 18 Jul 2017 19:09
Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion - SLO76
Doesn't look that bad from the pics to me. You'll never find an eleven year old car without rust underneath. These do tend to suffer from rot but it's mostly cosmetic and mechanically they're excellent.

I've sold loads of them over the years without a single fault to date or date with the welding gear. The last one was a 54 plate I origionally supplied then took as part ex against an Astra. It had a years Mot, 117k FSH and I sold it for £650 to put it into perspective value wise but even this had never been welded.

Edited by SLO76 on 18/07/2017 at 19:11

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Thu 20 Jul 2017 19:18
Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion - carl233

Treating with some engine oil mixed with black Waxoyl will cosmetically make the area look acceptable. When I purchased my MK2 Mondeo in 2003 it had rust around various suspension items as bad as that picture and in 2017 I am still running that same car. Just inspect the area every 6 months and top up any protection as needed. Another option is to apply a rust converter. That level of underbody or suspension rust would not put me off the car, it would simply prompt me to spend a little money on materials and treat it.

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Tue 25 Jul 2017 08:13
Mazda 3 - Mazda 3 chassis rust / corrosion - noveltybobble

Thanks a lot for all these replies. As it sounds like it's priced a little dear and I'm looking for something with a bit less risk I will pass on it and keep looking for something better. Very interesting to know about treating the rust to prolong the life.

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