[spartacus]

Hi,
I have an old 2007 Mk2 Ford Focus I use for train station car Parks and tip runs etc etc. Although the car is mechanically very good for its age, has only done 60k miles, mint on the inside, all electrics work including the A/C etc, it does have some corrosion on the bottom of the front outer wings.

The one side isn’t too bad just some bubbling on the paint at the bottom which for now I’ve sanded and treated with rust converter and painted over. The problem is the drivers side which when I went to sand crumbled and pushed through leaving a hole at the bottom of the front outer wing approx 4 inches across and 1.5 inches high. For now I’ve covered it with gaffer tape (the hole) and quickly painted over with touch up paint so its not really noticeable just walking past the car.

The car is due it’s MOT soon and I’m not sure if this is a pass or a fail with a hole covered with gaffer tape at the bottom of the outer front wing? I don’t believe it’s part of the cars main structure since it’s a removable outer panel? and there’s no sharp edges now I’ve taped over it. Also when I looked through the hole in the wing the metal structure I could see behind the bottom of the front wing didn’t look corroded/rust coloured from what I could see.

I do intend to replace the front wings as soon as I can find some in the right colour (they’re quite cheap on eBay) but might not get this done before the MOT comes up soon.

Any expert advice?

[castrolrob]

seen it a few times and its generally an advise dependant on extent/area,ideally most of us would need to assess it in the flesh so to speak.i would say if the wings are rotted then hopes aint high that the suspension/subframes etc underneath aint going crispy,seems to come as a box set in my experience.

[spartacus]

Thanks for the reply. I purchased the car last year and the MOT history shows no mention of any corrosion or anything so I’m hopeful that any corrosion underneath in the more important places is only at an advisory level at the moment.

I want to try and get another couple of years out of it if possible with minimum repair costs as it’s only a second local run about car for me.

Shall I just put in for the MOT with the gaffer tape on the bottom of the outer wing and hope for the best? I still intend to look out for replacement wings in the correct colour, they seem to be only around £30 or so on eBay.

[castrolrob]

the only way to find out what its like is to get it looked at unfortunately which generally means getting it tested,given you bought the car with no advises last year i have a sense of foreboding(hopefully unjustified)so get it tested,get a list and go from there.all we can do elsewise is just guesswork.

[spartacus]

[spartacus]

It actually failed last year on its MOT (A few months before I purchased it) but it failed on the front suspension arm, pin or bush which were then replaced for a pass. No mention of any corrosion though.

It’s been over 16 months though since the last MOT was done due to the covid-19 6 month extension on it.

Looks like going who dares wins and hoping for the best. You’ve answered the main question for me though, that a taped over hole at the bottom of the outer wing is not necessarily an automatic failure on these.

Cheers

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