mk3 golf vr6

[J_alexander_W 0]

just about to buy a golf vr6 with no mot or tax. previous owner has said that the vehicle hasnt had either since november 2011 but has started it and ran it often since.

he has said the when he took it for its last service before taking it off the road the garage told him that there was a lot of rusting underneath, but didnt specify where from. so he didnt bother putting it throught the mot.

i was just wondering if anything else has had similiar situations with rust, and if so how much it cost to put right?

[Lukey. 381]

Yes, and you need to look at what needs doing before you'd know how much work it would entail, common places are;

The sills, anywhere on them but usually starts at the bottom seams, look all the way under as it can start from under too.

The arches front and back, especially if it is wearing plastic extensions, there's a good chance that it can be total rust under them, but you can get very lucky too and there be none.

The bottom edge of the wings that goes under the skirts if it has them.

The fuel filler area can get bad rust too.

The metal underneath the door seal rubbers can have water sit on it and rust through, hidden under the rubber.

All of the floor bungs can be problem areas, its not uncommon that they need cutting out completely and plates need welding in, the rust can spread and you find that there is no integrity for an area the size of a grapefruit and its just being held together by the underseal, the bonus of doing this though is that there are no longer any holes in the floor.

You can get water blisters anywhere on the under floor in the underseal too, which will cause rust eventually but you'll only find these by looking carefully.

Mine had rear arches, some of the floor bungs and inner and outer sills done but I did a fair amount of the work and don't know how much it would cost to give it to a garage to do, there's a fair bit of work involved to do it though.

Makes you want a Mk5 GTI or newer with their much better protected bodies doesn't it lol

[J_alexander_W 0]

if i was to put it in for an mot, would they pick up on all these areas and be able to give a price as to how much it will cost to sort?

[Lukey. 381]

If there are bad enough corrosion problems they will either fail it or advisory, as far as doing the work and costing that would all depend on the garage so you'll have to play that one by ear, any body shop will give you a quote as you'll probably need paintwork after the repairs too.