General £150-£200 of welding needs doing!!

[corky]

Went to 4/5 garages yesterday to see how much about the welding on my car would cost, basically the sills on both sides and all the jacking points are bad.. real bad, and every quote was like £150 and one garage said worse case scenario it may come to £200, my friends dad is a welder and said he would charge me about £100 but hes really busy all the time, MOT in April and i am just trying to do all the odd jobs before it comes. It is on both sides all the way across and in places you can put all your fingers sideways up through the holes and the jacking points are rotted, they all said it should be right once its done and treated i said it wont completely stop it, you cant stop it all they can do is treat it once its done so... need to get myself £150 and head to the garage and leave it with them for the day a full days work!!

 

[DaveMcT]

If you take out the carpets and put them back that will save some money and you will get a much better look at the internal damage.

You will have to take out the seats & put back the drivers to get the car to the garage.

 

[corky]

Well this is the thing at one garage he said:

''We take your seats out and pull the carpet back, its the worst i have seen in a while, its going to be a full days work so i would want around £200''

then at the garage i am going to end up going to cause it is local its an MOT test station and they are well known for there welding, said they would not have to take the seats or carpet out and they said £150.

So whats that all about?

 

[Ziggy122]

i'd dremel the Sills to better metal - and let them then weld the plates that suitabily fit in

Once its welded up nicely - i'd be getting some waxoyl stuff - masking the side of the car up - and spraying several coats on it

Ziggy

 

[Brendan W]

Would you buy the car today if the seller told you the welding would be done by a good welder and the rest of it would be professionally "treated" ? imho extensive corrosion is the tip of an iceberg. Time to pull back for an overview.

 

[corky]

Well i am getting a new car next year, but i wouldn't sell a car what i know isn't right, but at the back of my mind if i know its been done and passed its MOT i will aware the buyer of the things i have done and i have done loads to the car since i have bought it to be honest..

New discs and pads
New exhaust (complete)
New cam cover and rubber sealer
Oil service x2
New timing belt & tensioner
New 15'' sporting wheels
New original suspension (complete)
New brake shoes
New angel headlights
New focus induction kit
New battery
New spark plugs & ht leads
Tracking & balancing
New CV boots
x2 New wishbones

And to be honest there will be more lol so there is no point giving up on the last hurdle is there... most of that list i did myself apart from the garage jobs but it is an excellent car i must say its just got some rust what can be sorted.. its 11 years old lol so i think once its done and IF it passes the MOT i know it has all been done

 

[Brendan W]

And to be honest there will be more lol so there is no point giving up on the last hurdle is there...

Thing about extensive corrosion is that the hurdle can be the first of a series rather than the last.Localised corrosion tends to be more sucessfully repaired because the cause of the corrosion is generally local impact/damage whereas extensive corrosion is generally environmental or manufacturing defect and is probably present over much greater areas than you realise at first.
Without seeing the problem it's impossible to judge fairly but when in doubt I run a mile.
Given the time and effort already in the car it's justifiable to want to finish it out. Watch out for a money pit opening and keep asking yourself what could I realistically sell it for now or after repairs and how much is it worth as it stands for parts.

 

[corky]

yeah well i always have that in mind... to be honest, i could not sell it as it is i could not live with myself , and to be honest its the main frame of the car. Once its all done and its got MOT it will be an awesome little car it already is and when its in for the welding i will see what he says about the corrosion and get a professional point of view if you get me, but yesterday he just said its not that bad to be fully honest its mostly the sills. Im going to upload a few pictures of the worst bits...

 

[Brendan W]

. to be honest, i could not sell it as it is i could not live with myself ...

What goes around comes around - luck will follow you as they say.
Welding works , just be brutally honest when it gets opened up.

 

[m20b25]

You could always get another mk2 and make a good one out of the 2... Catch the rust in time and it wont be too difficult to repair Are the sills scars from the carpark and kerbs by a previous owner or an idiot with a jack and no common sense?

 

[DaveMcT]

Well this is the thing at one garage he said:

''We take your seats out and pull the carpet back, its the worst i have seen in a while, its going to be a full days work so i would want around £200''

then at the garage i am going to end up going to cause it is local its an MOT test station and they are well known for there welding, said they would not have to take the seats or carpet out and they said £150.

So whats that all about?

Its less labour to just pull the carpets back but you (and the welder) cant see the extent of the problems. It will be a awkward around the gear lever area, but if you take out your own seats and remove the carpet (1) you can put it back neatly and (2) you can see all the welding and painting they have done. Just put the driver's seat back in to get the car down to the garage.

Also look at the bottom edges of the rear wheel arches and boot floor. If its really bad you may decide not to have it done. Better to know now than be for ever chasing problems.

If the job is done right the outer sills will have to be replaced with new panels. Grinding out and patching is potentially weak & wont pass the MOT. . The floor and inner sills will probably have to be made up by the garage as special repair panels for those are unlikely to exist.

 

[corky]

Well this is what im doing in about 10 mins im going down to the garage were i have my MOT and see how much they would charge and then when it comes to the MOT then they cant say ''oh it needs welding'' can they? and yeah it must of been caused from a prev owner bloody idiots!!

 

[corky]

WELL that was reassuring took the car to the big MOT test center and basically explained to the guy he got it up in the air we both had a look and what he said made me smile:

''Whoever said this is bad needs a torch cause they are trying to have you over, he said it needs doing but they have seen A LOT worse''

He went further on saying they will have to take all the carpet up and take the seats out and it will take a whole day, then i was thinking oh ekk hes going to say about £250-£300 lmao!! but the guy's okay he did my MOT last year on my Corsa he said £120 thats including all the sills, jacking points well the whole thing basically then put all the treatment on when they have done so its booked in for monday!

 

[Steven]

Result. Before and after photos?

 

[fingers99]

Both prices are OK. Usually if te rear jacking oints have gone the rear front seat mounts will be iffy as well, so the zseats have to come out. It's a pig of a job and AFAIK there are no part panels available.

 

[corky]

Well its booked in for monday morning £120!! yeah he said all the seats and carpets have to come out and they may have to keep it overnight if they dont finish it in a day, he said it will definately take a whole day so... and the guy who is welding it is apparently the best around he said it will be a bitch of a job but thats what we are here for good to hear that stuff

 

[fingers99]

That's very cheap. Give the guy a good tip -- he won't be making any money on it!

 

[corky]

Cars in the garage, took it in this morning for the welding job il get some pics of the job,