Bought a 2001 Felicia a few months ago (on the basis of its low 40k miles)

Seriously hacked off that its failed its MOT (excessively worn front discs, so new discs and pads, that'll be £150 quid then)

There are a few bits of panel rust (that i'm going to scrub back, fill paint and lacquer sometime now the dry - ish - weather is here) .. but another thing ive noticed is that there's this brown gloop escaping out of various places on the boot lid (out of the bottom edge where it meets the rear bumper when closed, the fixing points for the boot cover hangers)

What (pardon my french) the hell is that? Is water getting into the boot lid and fizzling away from the inside?

Bit worried about the whole rust thing generally. advice on the mot fail cert says there is some rust on the nearside rear, offside rear shock absorber casings, brake hoses have slight corrosion to ferrules.

They say the parking brake only just met requirements as well.

tbh i'm pretty disappointed with it, and i can feel in my bones ive bought a lemon. i'm tempted to try to get rid of it and take a hit on it, but there you go.

Doesn't sound good to be honest.

I never saw any brown gloopy stuff on my bootlid. rust tends to be a common point there and the wheelarches (which mine were rusted)

Check the seals/doorshuts as the gloop/water must be collecting the rust from somewhere before running off.

I bought my Felicia cause i needed a nice cheap car and bought it from bidding without looking on ebay. When I saw the rust on the arches i was a little hmmmm what have i done but that was put to rest when I drove it.

Apart from the wheelarches the rest of the car was sound and I racked up 38000 miles from Mar 2006 to Dec 2008 before the headgasket went. Was a lovely little car though, definately not a lemon on what was an impulse buy!

My front discs and pads were changed within months of owning (cost £106 back in 2006)

Also had the master cyl done later that year.

Brake hoses, might be the brake pipes, my Felly and my sisters Micra had corrosion on them but copper grease kept it at bay (but rolls of copper pipe are only a few quid at Partco)

Parking brake - could be a stretched cable or you might even need new brake shoes and wheel cylinders.

My current Favorit was a kind of impulse buy although i did get a look at it before buying and had a good feeling about it. All its needed so far in my ownership is the clutch cable, steering and CV boot gaitors servicing and a fuel pump so far in about 7 months.

I'd say if you're not happy with the car then sell it as you'll just be wondering what else can go wrong with it if you just keeop chucking money at it then you'll not enjoy the car.

If you soldier on, do some bits and bats you might come to like it.

So the choice is yours.........

The gloop is probably a cavity wax and the warm weather has softened it or it was done recently. Probably a good thing as the tailgates can rust above the centre trim where there's a panel overlap.

If the rust is shock absorber casings then it's not the structure of the car so should be sorted with a change of shocks. Sounds like the mount points are ok if they didn't mention that too.

The parking brake may just need a bit of bedding in if the car wasn't used for a while before you bought it or maybe the adjuster is sticking.

Doesn't sound too bad so fingers crossed it's not a lemon.

The gloop is probably a cavity wax and the warm weather has softened it or it was done recently.

that sounds plausible ... the gloop is very gloopy, waxy, sticky stuff, and it did appear when we had that warm spell.

Doesn't sound too bad so fingers crossed it's not a lemon.

Hmm. just seen another with 50k on the clock, similar price, with 12 months MOT from the dealer. Grrrrr.

MOT has another 3 weeks to run. I'm torn between getting the brakes done and seeing how it goes, keeping an eye on it, maybe a service in the autumn, if that flags up more, get rid.

Or flogging it to some student now / taking a hit on it and getting rid whatever way.

TBH fellys are not bad when it comes to rusting. i have one tiny bit about to show on a wing and mine is S reg.

as for the brakes, its a DIY job that wont cost much at all. new discs and pads up front, and just remove the rear drum and clean it all out (may need the pads ajusting out a little.

TBH fellys are not bad when it comes to rusting. i have one tiny bit about to show on a wing and mine is S reg.

as for the brakes, its a DIY job that wont cost much at all. new discs and pads up front, and just remove the rear drum and clean it all out (may need the pads ajusting out a little.

I once had a puncture and couldn't even get the wheel off. Even if i did manage it, it'd take me a day, and a day of sweat, tears and probably blood isn't worth an hour of a mechanics time at £50.

Brown gloop, if its a very dark brown, could be window sealant if the rear window was ever replaced? AFAIK some kinds don't ever dry up entirely

try jorrily for pads and discs havent tried them myself i got mine from an autoshop in paisley for £56 discs and £18 pads.i thought that was well cheap and maybe they would be crap but everything has been a ok after 12 months.so what i'm saying is shop around:thumbup:

well, that's £150 for discs and pads from the garage i usually go to

(the other garage i went to for the MOT ... which i only went to because its nearer / near my g/f's wanted £250. yes, £250.)

Now needs to go back there for its MOT re-test. not that im happy giving them another penny.

These things seem to hold their value pretty well under £1000. i might see how it runs for 6 months, anything else looms on the horizon and i might sell it.