Technical Rear Sub-frame corroded but not seriouslyweakened

[morgandovex]

Hi !

I had my MOT yesterday and this was one of my advisories, I got advised to sell the car as it would be likely to pass again and would most likely written off on the spot, obviously I don’t want that to happen. It is a 2010 plate and has 57k miles on. Has anyone had this pop up as an advisory ? Was it repairable and how much did it cost ? I’ve added some pictures of what I believe the issue is for however I don’t know too much about cars physically.

Can someone please help me !!

 

[Cornish Ian]

Subframes etc will be a sizeable chunk of money. I had a similar warning but mine didn’t look as bad as yours and also it was a newer car so the rust was just starting. Bit of a heads up from the mot tester really. I rustproofed all the metal I could reach and spray and hopefully that will have stopped it.
Depends a bit just how bad it is but as an alternative to selling you could give it a good going over with a wire brush and then coat it well with waxoyl or something similar. You might catch it in time and stop the rot as it were. Be warned that any buyer who knows anything about cars will stick their head under the car and have a look and spot the rust. If it’s traded in they might not bother but you would get next to nothing for it anyway.

 

[ben]

What model is this? I can move it to the relevant section where other's might have an idea...

 

[morgandovex]

Hi ! This is a 2010 pur02, the pink edition…

What model is this? I can move it to the relevant section where other's might have an idea.

 

[John202020]

I think what they're saying is the rear AXLE is the item it may fail on, has been heard of at this age, I had to replace the entire axle on ours as part of it had literally cracked in two !
The good news is a brand new one is £150 or so https://www.imaxle.co.uk/new-fiat-500-axle
The bad news is unless you can DIY it swapping it over could be costly, however its better to fix the car if its otherwise in good condition rather than scrap it? A guess is £500 all in to fix not a lot of money for say at least 3 more years of driving, to some one who may not know much about cars its easy to suggest its not worth fixing.
When we bought our car at 7 years old I spent £1500 on parts alone replacing those parts that might fail in the future, its been money very well spent so far now its 13 years old.
Just a simple example of costs front brake discs and pads to replace assuming you can change them yourself £30 for a garage to do the job for you £250( often using the very same parts ) the 500 parts are mostly cheap, the fitting can be an issue.
Fix it don't scrap it, it would cost far more to replace

 

[morgandovex]

I think what they're saying is the rear AXLE is the item it may fail on, has been heard of at this age, I had to replace the entire axle on ours as part of it had literally cracked in two !
The good news is a brand new one is £150 or so https://www.imaxle.co.uk/new-fiat-500-axle
The bad news is unless you can DIY it swapping it over could be costly, however its better to fix the car if its otherwise in good condition rather than scrap it? A guess is £500 all in to fix not a lot of money for say at least 3 more years of driving, to some one who may not know much about cars its easy to suggest its not worth fixing.
When we bought our car at 7 years old I spent £1500 on parts alone replacing those parts that might fail in the future, its been money very well spent so far now its 13 years old.
Just a simple example of costs front brake discs and pads to replace assuming you can change them yourself £30 for a garage to do the job for you £250( often using the very same parts ) the 500 parts are mostly cheap, the fitting can be an issue.
Fix it don't scrap it, it would cost far more to replace

Thank you so much ! I’m hopeful I can fix it as I have the pink addition and I’d never be able to get another, I definitely don’t mind spending some money as it will definitely be worth it in the long run for me… thank you for giving me hope and some helpful information !! Cute kitty too >^•^<

 

[morgandovex]

Subframes etc will be a sizeable chunk of money. I had a similar warning but mine didn’t look as bad as yours and also it was a newer car so the rust was just starting. Bit of a heads up from the mot tester really. I rustproofed all the metal I could reach and spray and hopefully that will have stopped it.
Depends a bit just how bad it is but as an alternative to selling you could give it a good going over with a wire brush and then coat it well with waxoyl or something similar. You might catch it in time and stop the rot as it were. Be warned that any buyer who knows anything about cars will stick their head under the car and have a look and spot the rust. If it’s traded in they might not bother but you would get next to nothing for it anyway.

Thank you ! I am going to try and give it a good clean to properly show what I’m working with and get a quote from the garage, fingers crossed she will be saved, I have no plans to sell and plan to drive her till she falls apart on me… I am just trying to prolong that for as long as possible

 

[John202020]

Also there is only a front sub frame, no rear, the axle attaches directly to the car via two bolts only at the front and by the spring/shock absorber at the rear, depending on if your car has disc brakes on the rear or drums could make it easier or simpler/cheaper, in a nut shell you take the new axle, swap the part the wheel/brakes attaches to to the new one and refit. Its not quite that easy in practice though, there are some that buy a secondhand axle and swap it without removing the wheel bit, but in our case it would already be 7 years old to be compatible, so buy a new part

 

[morgandovex]

Also there is only a front sub frame, no rear, the axle attaches directly to the car via two bolts only at the front and by the spring/shock absorber at the rear, depending on if your car has disc brakes on the rear or drums could make it easier or simpler/cheaper, in a nut shell you take the new axle, swap the part the wheel/brakes attaches to to the new one and refit. Its not quite that easy in practice though, there are some that buy a secondhand axle and swap it without removing the wheel bit, but in our case it would already be 7 years old to be compatible, so buy a new part

I have disks, I don’t think I’d buy one that potentially could be already aged and could look similar to mine in a just few years… I think it would work better in my favour to get everything sorted properly in one go to save anything else similar happening further down the line and having to pay for the labour again ! You’ve been so much help I’m so grateful !

 

[John202020]

The disc version is £20 more but you'll still need to swap over the stub axles plus some new pipes for the brakes

 

[koalar]

How bad is it ?

I can’t tell from the photos, crack and flaking look very similar in photos

Looks like it’s been covered in oil ?

Of cause I could be missing something obvious in the photos

But I have seen advisories for this go on for at least another 5 years

The paint can peel and it can look a lot worse than it is

It’s so much easier to inspect on a ramp. I might be tempted to ask A garage to put it up and inspect it with them. They might offer to clean and protect. Or at least give you some quotes


Anyhow a subframe, crossmember, axle, frame or whatever we want to call it isn’t a death nail as long as the rest of the car is okay

Depending how bad it is, your equipment and space along with your skill level will dictate your next move