Noticed this corrosion on a '56 plate vRS I was looking over at a main dealer:

Beneath boot seal - on the main body as opposed to the boot itself.

Driver/passenger doors - bubbling and rust appearing

Back of front offside wheelarch - at the leading edge of the sill

Dealer's comment was that it was nothing major, and it could be sorted out prior to sale... I was surprised it was in such condition - gut feeling says not to touch it with the proverbial bargepole. My 12 year old Felicia went for a good 8 or 9 years before its arches went downhill. When it has set in this young, it surely can't bode well for the future.

What's the general consensus?

That's pretty bad :(

Mine's a 56 plate and no signs of rust, anywhere. I'd stay well clear of that one if I were you.

Poorly maintained by the previous owner (eg. never cleaned) or, badly repaired accident damaged panels. I agree, it would be best to avoid. My 55 plate recently sold octy showed no signs of rust anywhere.

That looks like it's either been badly repaired or it's been driven on a beach for an extended period.

My 1999 Octy had no rust at all showing.

Andy

My 1998 Octy which was not really looked after (rarely polished -about 3 times in total) and not often washed had absolutely no signs of rust anywhere. A very happy new owner bought it yesterday. Surely with the zinc treatment (?) they should not rust ???

Badly or not repaired damage. Otherwise these car wont rust like that.

Not even 10 year old Fiats rust that quickly these days. Leave well alone

Thats shocking!

My octy has got 143k on the clocks with a few little scabs building up under the paint on the lower sides of the sills.

My car same age no rust anywhere. .Panel gaps bad too ,either stored at a salt mine or in the sea <AVOID>

That's dreadful, avoid as already stated, once the metal cancer has a hold it is difficult to cull.

Run away fast. That's very wrong, and the only way to fix that wouls be to cut the rust out. What they will do is grind it back, fill it, and paint it, and it will be back in a year or two.

Run away fast. That's very wrong, and the only way to fix that wouls be to cut the rust out. What they will do is grind it back, fill it, and paint it, and it will be back in a year or two.

Tell me about it - I've done the same on my Felicia and it's bubbling back after almost a year. :S

Thanks all for your input - the hunt continues...

badly repaired i bet

Jesus! Thats what Id expect a 10 or 12 year old car (and one thats not been looked after much!) to look like , not a 56 plate! My Fabia has just passed its 10th birthday and apart from a bubble under the widow rubber of the drivers side back door , is completely rust free. The only cars that look like that around here are the cars of residents of Holy Island (Lindisfarne) who have to drive over a causeway that is often covered in salty water , to get to and from the mainland. Deffo avoid this car.

My car same age no rust anywhere. .Panel gaps bad too ,either stored at a salt mine or in the sea <AVOID>

mine isnt stored at a salt mine but it spends a lot of time there, i imagine in 3yrs my 06 plate will start to show rust !

at the moment nothing but ive only had it 6 months.

what dealer is that for sale at, im surprised a main dealer would sell a car like that they would normally pass it to smaller garage!!!

Skoda's have 6yr anti corrosion warranty (I think), as such the rust and dealers response is disgusting. Avoid the dealer as they shouldn't be selling cars like this. A 56 plate car should have been sorted before it even appears on the forecourt.

On the other hand if the right deal can be struck and you can get these issues sorted under warranty before you buy then it may be worth splashing out on. Just get some clarity fom the dealer and whats covered and whats not.

These spots wont be covered by warranty. The rust comes from spots that have been damaged and havent been properly treated. And the warranty will only cover if the rust comes on spots that arent damaged.

I suppose something is very wrong on this car (probably been in an accident or so).

I wouldn't touch that with yours! My money's on either missing one (or all) of the dip tanks at the factory, or badly repaired accident damage. My '56' plate has only been cleaned twice in 80k, and hasn't got any rust at all.

Add another to the walk away group.

Do so and you'll never have to worry about the cars history.

The damage on the wing and door could just be minor damage that wasn't repaired, but the rust on the

seam below the boot seal is what would really make me walk away..

The dealer will repair it in the cheapest way possible.

My Mk2 has just passed its 5th birthday. 82K and no signs of rust !

The damage on the wing and door could just be minor damage that wasn't repaired, but the rust on the

seam below the boot seal is what would really make me walk away..

My thoughts exactly - couldn't imagine this rusting in a 'protected' area of bodywork was anything near normal.

Car has 35k on the clock. Dealer was putting the foot down after haggling at £9600 (£10,150 being Glass' full valuation), and wasn't willing to shift lower - claimed he didn't have that much margin to play with! Like I believe that one... Unless they somehow messed up and didn't notice the damage on trade in, and that's me giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Needless to say I walked away!

It's just unbelievable. Can you name and shame the dealer please and post the reg. no.

Difficult to believe in this day and age that a dealer would describe that as nothing much - once rust has a hold like that it needs fairly serious treatment including panel respraying (with it's subsequent affect on the value).

And what you can't be sure of is how much else might be unseen

Wouldn't touch the car or the dealer.

I have an 06 Octavia Sport and the paint started flaking off the passenger side sill, above the protection strip which runs the full length of the car, despite having dealer fitted front mud flaps. Sill was re-painted under warranty a year ago, however, 12 months later and the problem has returned on the passenger side leaving "rust patches". The same problem is starting on the drivers side. Have taken car to two paint shops, both saying it is a design fault with the car; paint above protection strip is too exposed and stone chips are causing damage to the paint ultimately leading to the flaking.

Waiting on a call from the dealer to find out if Skoda will pay for a re-spray of both rusty sills. Been told it is highly unlikely as car is now 3.5 years old and car does not have a full dealer service history so I have "no brand loyalty"!

The rear wrap around bumper has the same problem as you cannot fit rear mudflaps.

Has anyone else heard of this problem.

the t reg felicia i've just sold didnt have rust that bad, definitely not been sprayed properly at new or a subsequent repair,

how can a dealer of not noticed it like that, i would not believe that, i'd walk away, and also would like to know who the dealer is as he obviously doesnt care!