Lude Generation

Hi All,

Looking at getting a 4th gen with as little rust as possible. I have found one where the arches are pretty clean but there is rust on the roof (not sunroof) and a-pillar. I have owned a couple of 4th gens and I have not witnessed rust in those areas before. Should I steer clear? Or is rust in these areas common and an easy fix?

Thanks
Mike

Only common if it has had the front or rear screen replaced by a numpty.

I've seen 4th gens with the original screens that have still got rust on the A pillars. However, it's normally not as bad as it looks (rarely has it gone under the glass).

Don't know of rusting on roofs though??? Or do you mean along the roof line round the front screen? If it's gone there, then yes mec is probably right - screen replacement that wasn't done very well.

Have you got any pics?

Here are some pics of it. Any thoughts? I like the car except for this.

Perfectly fixable, though I suspect that the screen will need removing and refitting to sort it properly.

Vtecmec wrote:Perfectly fixable, though I suspect that the screen will need removing and refitting to sort it properly.

This.
Window out job.

It's a pain as I was going to go for that car until he sent me a picture of that rust, glad he did though otherwise I would have traveled a long way only to be disappointed. This is the car - http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 96/3032516, I think he is asking too much money bearing in mind the rust and the fact the cambelt is overdue, there is a little bit of rust around the rear arches but not much at all.

What's it really worth?

Looks like it has had the rear arches repaired sometime in the past given the paint finish, and if the rust is starting to show through again, who knows how deep it goes.......

Vtecmec wrote:Looks like it has had the rear arches repaired sometime in the past given the paint finish, and if the rust is starting to show through again, who knows how deep it goes.......

Maybe I need to forget going back to a 4th gen for the 3rd time, I don't want to buy a money pit. I think pretty much all of them are going to have had the arches repaired by now. It's a shame as I think they are such cool cars and I always feel at home sat behind the wheel, and I absolutely love the dash.

The owner of this one has had it 6 years and he claims the arches were repaired under the ownership of the previous owner which would mean it has taken a long while for the rust to come back through. You just don't know though.

I think that looks like a good 4th gen.
I also think the screen would not have to come out to sort that particular rust because it hasn't actually run very far at all. I think trim off and you'd find it's very localised and not spread to the edge of the glass at all.
They're both from stone chips, not out from under the trim. For the roof one, you can see it's spread across sideways from the gutter trim.

As for the arches, odds on the insides weren't rust proof injected after the repair and the rear sunroof drains are blocked. If you get in there straight away, clear the drains, make sure you get the arches properly dry and then give them a thorough spray with Dinitrol or Dynax, you'll stop that rust getting any worse for a good few years. My 2.3 looked the same as that when I got it and I did just that and 2 years later when I sold it, the rust hadn't got any worse at all.

If you want one, buy it. But yep as with any 20 year old car, if you want to keep it you will have to spend some money on the body at some point. My green 4th gen reached the point where I either got a lot of bodywork done, or it would need to be binned. I spent the money and 3 years later every single day, I'm still glad that I did! Absolutely love the car.