Do I just leave it or invest money in trying to tackle it?!

Hello again Panda experts,

Just about to get the handbrake on my Panda sorted out. I've enjoyed keeping it in tip-top shape and well serviced since owning it and it's been great fun learning and enjoying driving with it.

One thing hasn't stopped bothering me since the day I discovered it in February however... rust.

- A small, manageable array of under paint bubbles around one wheel arch, confident I can tackle this one. I have had a lot of advice on this but that is not my main concern.

- Under the bonnet, on the two big beams facing out the front toward the bumper, under the engine mount support "chassis neck" is how Fiat referred to it.

It's a very hard to reach spot, especially in terms of welding / access to treat. And a certain part is actually such that when I touch it I can peel it away ever so slightly like onion skin..

I don't know if this is the kind of thing that will need to be a priority of mine, I want to keep the car for maybe up to another 4 years until I'm through university etc and can justify a new car.

Fiat keep trying to talk me into a new one, either a 2012 1.2 Easy or a 2012 1.1 Active (169) both for £3995. As tempting as these are, its an additional monthly payment and I'd feel bad throwing away my so far so good Panda for either frankly.

What would you do? Would you simply forget it, or consider some serious investment now to stop it from being a problem. I say 4 years, but if the car is in good shape in 4 years time, it won't go anywhere! And I'd do the honour of keeping it beyond that time, but again, rust is what worries me.

Check out the Attached Photos please

I'd find a reasonably priced body repair guy, and get your current Panda repaired, as you're wanting to keep it on the road as many years as you can.

How comes those other 2 Pandas were so cheap? I paid £3995 for a 6 year old Grande Punto back in 2014!

puntofan01 said:

I'd find a reasonably priced body repair guy, and get your current Panda repaired, as you're wanting to keep it on the road as many years as you can.

How comes those other 2 Pandas were so cheap? I paid £3995 for a 6 year old Grande Punto back in 2014!

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I think it's because I'm in Northern Ireland. It's very tempting to jump ship onto a newer car such as the two I mentioned over the head of the rust issue, especially a 2012 [169] Panda as that was the last production year.

But I'm interested to hear some of the technical view points of some people on here first, as always, as they've never let me down yet!

Like I say, if you can find someone who can repair yours for a sensible price, I'd do that.

Nice to meet you yesterday!

Having looked around your car yesterday. I'd say to sort the rust near the engine mount first. The other bits and bobs around the wheel arch and the scratches could probably make a little project for yourself at a later date if for nothing more than a bit of practice. I think you could try pushing out the dent on the wheel arch as well. You've got nothing to lose.

Wee Smurf said:

Nice to meet you yesterday!

Having looked around your car yesterday. I'd say to sort the rust near the engine mount first. The other bits and bobs around the wheel arch and the scratches could probably make a little project for yourself at a later date if for nothing more than a bit of practice. I think you could try pushing out the dent on the wheel arch as well. You've got nothing to lose.

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You too, and nice to see your Panda! He is in perfect condition, I wish my bodywork was as good! Love that glass roof. Think my next Fiat will be configured with one!

So you think it's worth sorting? I don't mind spending a few hundred on a structural fix such as the engine mount if I must. Again, will get the arches sorted too to prevent any body rot in years to come.

As for the dent, certainly once these problem are fixed I'd not mind getting it pushed out, but the focus remains on function and fitness before those wee touches!

Some [non forum, non fiat] people are saying just drive the car and "sure in a few years you can afford a new Fiesta or 208" and I'm just like... :bang: . But I love this little car so much!!!

Wee Smurf, any chance if you know anyone in Belfast or NI who you'd say is a good bet could get a quote or some kind of advice as it'd be worth the travel to get some quality service on this structural issue

I'm glad to never have needed any structural repairs done on any car I've owned. The old Polo I had got to 17 with nothing more than a little bit of surface bubbling where they had made a hole to put the badge on at the back of the car.

I'd say the best bet would be to try a body repair shop. They should be able to advise you of what's needed for that bit where the engine mount is. It probably will need a bit of treatment and welding.

I think that the other surface flaws should be tackled by your good self for a bit of practice on this type of work. None of it looks like it would need much more than a bit of a rub down, seal and paint to stop it getting any worse.

This looks like a tiny bit of surface rust to me. Nothing to worry about. Paint it with a bit of kurust and forget about it IMO.

As it's hidden I'd scrape the worst off then wire brush it and spray it with some wax oil

daveofkent said:

This looks like a tiny bit of surface rust to me. Nothing to worry about. Paint it with a bit of kurust and forget about it IMO.

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Thank god, I was thinking because I could chip some off with my finger it was beyond 'surface' rust status.

I will get some Kurust and see if that helps. Hopefully it'll never be an MOT fail or something

Once you've Kurust-ed it, try some Dynax UC wax to seal it. I've used this stuff on various bits of my Panda, including the rear 'beam' / subframe including the suspension pans, which do most definitely rust.

leave it and class it as a rat rod?

Those are easy fixes.. just get in there with some 80 / 120 grade emery paper and a decorators scraper / old chisel (or even a smallish electric drill and wire brush attachment), remove the flaky paint and rust, treat with kurust or something if you want to. Then prime with Zinc182 or red oxide, and finish with silver hammerite or similar (even an aerosol of the car colour).

Worst case you take off the bumper to really get to any problem areas once and for all.

Bare metal rust remover if you want to do the job properly ,if you just want to stop it rusting any further scrape off the paint and rub some oil into the rust.

Was just thinking today..

Are those two bars removable?

The look like the ones holding the bumper housing, maybe they can be removed and replaced to stop spread of rust, solving the problem completely?

At a guess, I'd say that those bars are the crash structure, so possibly not.

Mine is one of the first MJ Pandas which I bought new in March '05 and so far I've had some rust at the bottom of the tailgate which, if not stopped, would have rotted right through. I'm lucky as I have a couple of very good body shops nearby.

They're not particularly cheap, but they are good. I took the Panda to this one and after talking it through, decided to go for a repair. The easiest option would have been to replace the tailgate entirely but that would have been double the cost.

After completing the job he had a couple of observations to make:

1) Like quite a few on here, the supplying dealer ignored the nylon lined sockets inserted at the factory and just drilled new ones, so there were effectively 4 holes in the panel and he was convinced that water had got in that way,

and

2) The rubber-lined drain holes at the base were, in his opinion, keeping more moisture in than they were letting out. His suggestion? Take the rubber inserts out.

Another area to look at are the rear springs and their pans which do tend to rust. There is also some bubbling on the N/S/R sill, although the offside seems ok.

Well, this weekend I'm planning on getting some Kurust and painting it over all rusty areas.

Still not sure what to 'top coat' it with but,

Wax oil spray?

Please let me know if this is a good step guys.

Thanks again for everyone's replies

List of things to buy..

Kurust
Zinc 182 Spray
Waxoyl Spray
Wet dry sandpaper

Seem right?

The Beard said:

Mine is one of the first MJ Pandas which I bought new in March '05 and so far I've had some rust at the bottom of the tailgate which, if not stopped, would have rotted right through. I'm lucky as I have a couple of very good body shops nearby.

They're not particularly cheap, but they are good. I took the Panda to this one and after talking it through, decided to go for a repair. The easiest option would have been to replace the tailgate entirely but that would have been double the cost.

After completing the job he had a couple of observations to make:

1) Like quite a few on here, the supplying dealer ignored the nylon lined sockets inserted at the factory and just drilled new ones, so there were effectively 4 holes in the panel and he was convinced that water had got in that way,

and

2) The rubber-lined drain holes at the base were, in his opinion, keeping more moisture in than they were letting out. His suggestion? Take the rubber inserts out.

Another area to look at are the rear springs and their pans which do tend to rust. There is also some bubbling on the N/S/R sill, although the offside seems ok.

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I'm glad that my dealer used sticky pads to stick my plates on. No damage then.

Although my bodywork was described as good earlier in this post, I have a strange effect going on with the paintwork on my bonnet. It started two years ago when a small section of paint started the flake and seek. It only lifted off a little but the undercoat was fine. Since Easter I've started to notice some cracks starting to appear on the bonnet. I'll be needing to get it rubbed down and repainted. I've no idea of what's going on at all