[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by ajmat

...the drain holes were blocked...

That wouldn't cause rust bubbles to appear near the door handles, would it?

[benzbala]

Shocking to see these pictures. I own a 2003 model optra, and touchwood, not seen any places where rusting has started.
Can you pls confirm whether this car is with the original owner?
I've seen many cars with accident damage to the whole shell be worked on and sold again by garage owners who use cheap materials and used materials to complete the job. might be one such car where the relaying of metal used was below the average quality of metal normally used for any car. in that case, its sure to rust to pieces in no matter of time!

[Epic]

Hi guys,

I can totally understand what you guys are talking about and I would like to share my own personal experience. I own a 2005 Swift Vxi and noticed rusting/corrosion/paint bubbling within 3 yrs of ownership. I am sure all cars whether a Maruti or a Mercedes will ultimately rust but the rate at which this process starts depends on the environment in your surrounding area.

In my case, I live in Mumbai and bang opposite the sea. I moved there just 6 years ago. I have cars ranging from a Maruti Alto to a Mercedes in my building. Now, we also have the water supply in our building from a bore well & from the municipality. My car used to be washed with bore well water and this could have definitely been a major cause of rusting as bore well water is hard. At least, that is what the authorized service center of Maruti told me. I then started using municipality water to wash the car. I still had issues with rusting which used to occur again every 6 months after having the affected areas touched up. All work was done through the authorized service center. After bringing it to the notice of higher ups at Maruti Suzuki, they had three entire doors of my car changed.

So after all this, I have come to a conclusion that living near the sea is the main culprit and also cars manufactured by Maruti Suzuki & Hyundai are prone to corrosion. This is backed by the fact that my neighbor who was using Maruti cars like Alto, Baleno, Esteem, etc and he has told me that the cars showed signs of rust within two years of ownership. He has now bought a Corolla which he has been using for almost three years with no issues.

[GTO]

Ouch, that is nasty corrosion. It's not uncommon with some batches of the Optra. You'll see a 2 year old Optra suffering from rust on this thread.

[Puneet.S]

Even i'm facing the same problem of rusting with my 2004 Honda City. Here are a few pictures depicting the issue :-

Left Passenger door (towards upper side)


Left Passenger door (near wheel arch)


Right Passenger door (near wheel arch)


Driver door (bottom corner)


I showed the car to Prime Honda in Ghaziabad (Honda A.S.S.) and they have advised me to get the outer door panels ('skins' - they call them) replaced which would set me back by around 11-12k per door (as per their estimate).

Now i'm wondering if there's any cheaper option (so that i get them repaired immediately) or wait a few months in case i have to get the extensive work done anyway and get a full paintjob for the car?

Any insight would be appreciated.

[PAVAN KADAM]

I see lot of varied reactions.

Why cant a Chevy rust, I can see thats a poor surface treatment. Does not look like a re-painted car catching rust.

I have seen few Aveo's and Optra's at workshops where i get my work done, its not uncommon. I dont have high regards for GM Paint job , since the brand they use is "ppg"

[n.devdath]

I m literally shocked. I thought we were long past the days of Fiat and Amby where the car had to go for a change of the floor pans, door lower panels and window sills.

I m surprised to see modern cars like the City rusting.

[Puneet.S]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I m literally shocked. I thought we were long past the days of Fiat and Amby where the car had to go for a change of the floor pans, door lower panels and window sills.

I m surprised to see modern cars like the City rusting.

Yes i'm also intrigued by this.. Infact, my 15+ years old Maruti 800 (1995 model) doesn't have an iota of rust on it. Whereas, the City has started rusting in the 6th year itself (with original paint) .

[funkykar]

Its a really sad sight. Even my NE looks far better even after two decades.

I guess whatever car we buy these days, we should get the anti-rust treatment done even if its a Honda!

[Puneet.S]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Its a really sad sight. Even my NE looks far better even after two decades.

I guess whatever car we buy these days, we should get the anti-rust treatment done even if its a Honda!

I had got the anti-rust treatment (coating) done for the underbody soon after purchase, but afaik there is no such 'anti-rust' treatment meant for the normal exteriors..

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by Puneet.S

but afaik there is no such 'anti-rust' treatment meant for the normal exteriors..

Anti - Rust coating for doors is done by removing the doors pads and applying the anti rust material on the inside of the door. This is done to my old Fiats and 118 NE.

For many of the NE's, we just pour used engine oil inside the running board (cheap and a trick that works very well) and that increases the longevity.

[Puneet.S]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Anti - Rust coating for doors is done by removing the doors pads and applying the anti rust material on the inside of the door. This is done to my old Fiats and 118 NE.

For many of the NE's, we just pour used engine oil inside the running board (cheap and a trick that works very well) and that increases the longevity.

Ah nice! Thanks for the tip . Will visit another paintshop to get the extent of rust checked up and, if its not widespread, get it treated.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Anti - Rust coating for doors is done by removing the doors pads and applying the anti rust material on the inside of the door. This is done to my old Fiats and 118 NE.

Adding to that, applying a nice thick layer of grease on the door inners also works. But be prepared to get your hands dirty.

[Selective]

Bumping up the old thread, as I have a query on how to fix the rusting on my friends car.

My friend has a 2006 Honda City. And, unfortunately all the four doors have rusted. The outer color has bubbles and now the body colored loose shell is falling off. Honda is suggesting to replace the doors. Is this the right approach? Or just get all the doors repainted? Honda is telling that, other parts attached to the door (example, window slider motor) are rusting because of this. This looks like a shoddy quality job from Honda, but anyways has to get this fixed now.

Any help on this is appreciated.

EDIT: The rusted parts look exactly same, as shared by an owner in another forum. Link:
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...r-repaint.html