rust under wheel arch lip - is this bad?

[Dudey52]

Hi all, so I've owned my Z for just over 2 months, Theres no visible rust on the car but when cleaning I found some rust under the rear wheel arches, mostly on the passenger side.

 

Heres some pics of it : http://imgur.com/a/lQby8

 

Its a 2008 with 54000 miles on it.

 

I've done alot of searching and found people get the rust cut out and replaced with new metal. But is this actually bad enough to do this? Its just a few small rust bubbles as you can see in the pics. Don't really want to spend over £1000 to get it fixed. I even took it to a trusted bodyshop I've used in the past and he said "its not bad enough yet, save your money for the time being"

 

What do you guys think?

 

Do all these cars have a bit of wheel arch rust on them now as they are aging a bit?

 

I always hose out inside the wheel arch to get the crud that builds up under there out.

 

When I bought the car there was thick mud/dirt under there.

 

Thanks

[Sargara]

All of us (unless already sorted, or owned since new and kept ontop of it) will have the same problem eventually. Just wait for it to show through on the outer surface under the paint and then deal with it basically

[Dudey52]

Ok so its not worth dealing with until it becomes visible?

 

Its a shame because the car looks in excellent condition all round apart from this!

[leonk]

The problem is caused by moisture getting into the seam where it is spot welded. It is the joint between the outer and inner wheel arch.

You could spray a really good penetrative cavity wax in if you remove the boot trim to gain access.

Something from Dinitrol, Dynax or 3m with rust prevention properties. This will help stop moisture getting at it. Condensation is the enemy, especially given the humidity is in the high 80s at the moment.

 

All the best sorting it.

[Science_GT]

Seems to happen to all of them