TF Sill And Wheelarch Rust

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a tidy TF. I absolutely love driving it, however one thing I didn't spot until washing it was some corrosion on all four corners (front sills rear sills and wheelarch area).

I'm in a bit of a dilemma as I paid fairly strong money (£5k) thinking I was picking up a near perfect TF, only to discover the issue. The rust feels like surface rust, and there are many other good things about the car.

Does anyone have an estimate of how much this sort of thing would cost to fix? Whilst I really like the car, would it be more economical to move it on, take it on the chin, and conduct my search again? Or should I have been expecting at least some issues on such an age of car? I'm not sure what's right and wrong!

It's annoying as I've saved for a few years for the car. On a happier note, it's utterly brilliant to drive. It feels so much faster than it actually is, and never has 40mph been so much fun.

Many thanks
GC.

£5k is quite strong money for a TF and for that you should reasonably expect something without any bodywork problems. Did you buy this from a car dealer ? Have you taken advice on making them take it back ?

You have certainly landed in the right place for advice on repairing the car by the way though if you take that route

Rust in the corners of the Sill is very common on these cars, especially at the front as mud and dirt gets stuck in the channel between the wheel arch and the bulkhead. They need to be regularly emptied to stop wet mud rotting out the sill.

If it’s just surface rust and there is no other damage then a good body shop should be able to fix it easily and at a low expense. You can do a lot of the prep work yourself too to save money.

If you are not happy with the car, and you just bought it from a dealer, then you have the option of returning it and asking for a refund. I would point out the issue to them and ask them to make good on the deal. £5000 is top end for a TF and should be showroom fresh. The dealer won’t want to loose a £5000 sale over something they can fix cheaply.

keiran1983 wrote:

Rust in the corners of the Sill is very common on these cars, especially at the front as mud and dirt gets stuck in the channel between the wheel arch and the bulkhead. They need to be regularly emptied to stop wet mud rotting out the sill.

If it’s just surface rust and there is no other damage then a good body shop should be able to fix it easily and at a low expense. You can do a lot of the prep work yourself too to save money.

If you are not happy with the car, and you just bought it from a dealer, then you have the option of returning it and asking for a refund. I would point out the issue to them and ask them to make good on the deal. £5000 is top end for a TF and should be showroom fresh. The dealer won’t want to loose a £5000 sale over something they can fix cheaply.

I would agree with the comment above and Notanumber's contribution.
However, if you decide to try a repair DIY BEWARE that you may have difficulty getting a good match of colour and (if metallic) "sheen" or glitteriness O.K. That is not a word, but I suspect you know what I mean.

I only had one sill showing any rust:


I removed all signs of rust with a rotary wire brush, treated with a phosphoric acid-based rust "cure", then applied coats of primer & Starlight Silver paint, then lacquer. It is still good over 2 years later & looks much better, but when everything is clean, in a good light, it does NOT quite match.


If you get no joy from the dealer, do let us know their name!

GC
If you have no success with the supplying dealer then IMHO then you have to bite the bullet and carry out the repairs, my reasoning is this, you have paid top of the market price to a dealer but as a private seller in the winter you will never recoup much more than half that. Ellisojo has shown how easily it is to do an excellent DIY repair (metallic silvers are notoriously difficult to match) and if your rust is similar or not too much worse then now is a good time to learn "how too". If the rust is more extensive on the sills then these panels are your saviour; https://www.mikesatur.co.uk/MGTF/Body-Repair-Panels/
I have repaired the rear sills on my TF with them, I cut the rusted metal out and had a someone weld the new patches in. With Nightfire red you can barely see any miss matched colour even with a Halfords aerosol. I can't think that the problem is that great otherwise you would have noticed it pre purchase although a dealer can oftem make it look better than it is. If you post photos then you will receive better advice.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. It's been helpful to hear what people think.

I will weigh up my options, including what the bodyshop says (£)

I hope to keep the car, but I think it's sensible assess it again before throwing any money at it.

Mechanically it seems to be in good order, and it's a pleasure to drive.

Many thanks
GC

What year TF do you have ? Does the V5 give the designation as 115, 120 Stepspeed, 135 or 160 ?

Did you aquire it from a dealer or was it a private sale ?

In referring to rust can you clarify whether you mean surface rust, bubling under the paintwork or actual perforation ?