Rust on 2004 350Z wheel arches

[Fordie1971]

I noticed rust on the front offside wheel arch of my 2004 350Z about 18 months ago. Nissan agreed to replace the wing as it was deemed inside to out corrosion and covered by the 12 year corrosion warranty being intact with the vehicle having a full Nissan service history. When I got the car back from the bodyshop I check the nearside arch and the rear arches and there was some bubbling on the inside edges of all the remaining wheel arches. I went back to Nissan and they refused to cover these under the warranty. After a long battle which ended up with me going to Motor Codes the Independent Arbitrator who ruled in Nissan's favour as although there is a full Nissan Service History there's a 3 year gap in the service dates due to the previous owner only covering 9,000 miles in the 3 years he owed it and not having it serviced during that time, and also that this rust wasn't deemed inside to out corrosion but caused by stone chips. I had argued that they had set a precident in doing the first wing and couldn't then refuse an identical second claim, but they said the first claim was done as a goodwill gesture.

 

So after finally giving up on pursuing this I took the car to a bodyshop who ground the rust off back to the bare metal, resprayed and waxoiled the inner arches, but a year later there are signs of it starting to come back. They warned this would be the case and a new wing is an option on the front but the rear arches are part of the main bodywork and so it's more complicated and expensive. The bodyshop said even if they cut out a section and welded in new arches on the rear its a tricky shape to get right and the area where they weld it oxidises the metal and this will then rust and I'd be looking at £600 per arch so I'm finding this offputting.

 

I don't want to have to get rid of the car before it loses any resale value it has left. I paid £6000 for it 2 years ago and it's only got 64k on it, GT spec and apart from this rust issue it's in good condition. I'd wanted a 350Z for about 5 years prior to buying it when it finally came into my affordability range and I look around at what I'd get in it's place if I was to sell now and nothing appeals so I want to keep it but I'd be interested to hear any thoughts or advice from any forum members.

 

I'm currently thinking of taking it back to the bodyshop have the rust ground off again and having it treated with POR 15 which I've heard is the only anti rust treatment that works (if any really work). The issue I've heard with POR 15 is that it can't be overpainted afterwords as paint tends to peel off, but it does change the chemical structure of rust and hopefully will stop it spreading and going into a hole. So I was thinking of having the insides of the wheel arch lip coated in this where respraying isn't so much of an issue. The bubbling isn't visable from the outside, you have to look upwards at the inside of the wheel arch or use a mirror to really see it so its fairly early days and it's not spread to the outter part of the lip yet so I want to try and keep on top of it if I can. So I'll probably keep having the rust ground off each year and having it touched up rather than just giving in and just letting it take hold. I can't see my circumstances changing drastically for the better in the next 3-5 years in that I'd be able to afford something desirable from the next price bracket to swap it against so it's looking like a case of keeping it and enjoying it.

 

In the back of my mind I just have a vision of if I keep the car in 3-5 years I'l be driving around in a rusty old scrapper with no resale value that's ready for the knackers yard, which would be a real shame as I only do about 5k a year in it so it would only have 79-84k on it. Call me shallow as a puddle but I like it to look good and it to be a head turner, I don't want people to look at it like a manky old dog that needs putting down.

 

So has anyone had any experience with rust on their 350z in the same places, and if so what did did/are you doing about it?, or if not what would you do about it if in my position? how long does it take to really take hold and look a real mess if left untreated?

would you stay away from products that change the chemical properties of rust and stick to grinding, paint and waxoil?

would you just leave it and save the money for a new front wing and welding new sections on the rear in a few years time?

or any other advice would be appreciated

 

Thanks

Craig

[KyleR]

I had a bit of bubbling on the NSR arch. Had a guy take a wire wheel to it which ripped a 3 inch hole in the arch where it was weakened by the rust. He then cut a further 10mm or so around the hole and welded in a new piece, smoothed it out and painted it. It now looks perfect.

 

I have similar on the other side, but this is more difficult because of the fuel cap etc being there and he wouldn't like to weld around that. So I may get him to just beat it back and fill it.