Rust!

[aerobod - near CYYC]

From a suspension rust perspective, the powder coat will easily be chipped by stones being thrown up by the tyres, or front-facing suspension surfaces that could receive stones thrown by other vehicles. I would remove the rust on any areas affected, touch up with a suitable black paint, then put PPF film over the exposed areas that have received stone chips.

I put PPF film on the front wishbones on my car in 2013 (about 40,000km ago) and have no stone chips or rust on them.

[Tiddy7]

We don't buy Caterhams because of their great engineering and quality of manufacture, we buy them despite their poor engineering and quality of manufacture and hence why Caterham have produced an non  seven shaped car they have never sold well as there are always better engineered options , and Im afraid that that is likely to happen with the new EV

[Rob Mullan]

13 minutes ago, Tiddy7 said:

We don't buy Caterhams because of their great engineering and quality of manufacture, we buy them despite their poor engineering and quality of manufacture

I suppose this - 'Quality is at the forefront of what we do at Caterham Cars' - makes no assertion as to the level of quality. Personally I'm not drinking the Caterham KoolAid. Harrumph!

[Nigel Blandin]

TBH that back end looks about normal for the mileage- it’s arduous under there! From what I see, nothing structural needs replacing, just stripping and painting/coating properly. Do the bushes and get it set up properly at the same time.

May I suggest you talk to one of the many specialists in Sevens? If you are down that way, I’d recommend PGM, or Ratrace. These “Blokes in sheds” are the true backbone of Caterham ownership, no flash showrooms or service departments, just pragmatic, good value advice and service….Just my thoughts.

[Gridgway]

22 minutes ago, Nigel Blandin said:

 Do the bushes and get it set up properly at the same time

What bushes would you do and why?  The Caterham metallastic bushes are virtually indestructible and are certainly not in need of replacement on a car of this age surely?

[Rob Mullan]

I m going to talk to PT Cars in Maidenhead tomorrow as they’re both recommended and reasonably close to where I live in Reading. I’m totally on board with the treat-the-underside strategy, but I can’t do it myself as I have no facility to lift the car up high enough!

[JP]

20 minutes ago, Rob Mullan said:

I m going to talk to PT Cars in Maidenhead tomorrow as they’re both recommended and reasonably close to where I live in Reading. I’m totally on board with the treat-the-underside strategy, but I can’t do it myself as I have no facility to lift the car up high enough!

I'm going to try to do mine by just getting the car up on ramps.  Hopefully that will be high enough...

[David Brown]

Tidy up then POR15 and ACF 50, then check annually. Used to put black electrical tape on front wishbones and again check or replace every winter. 

[Gridgway]

3 hours ago, JP said:

I'm going to try to do mine by just getting the car up on ramps.  Hopefully that will be high enough...

Ah the most hateful job. Lying on your back on a cold garage floor with the underside of the car 2" from your nose trying to clean off then paint!

[Nigel Blandin]

12 hours ago, Gridgway said:

What bushes would you do and why?  The Caterham metallastic bushes are virtually indestructible and are certainly not in need of replacement on a car of this age surely?

The A frame to chassis, radius arms and damper bottom bushes. If I were to strip it down, I’d do them as a matter of course; they would have to come out for powder coating and, even if just painting, new ones would give me a nice feeling of a job well done ( I know, soft in the head). 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nigel Blandin

[DirtBuddha]

•  

Quote

 

• (Apparently) extensive rust on the suspension (front and rear), as well as the areas already identified;
• The front tyres were bald on the inner edges (after 3,500 miles of road usage);
• The oil catch tank was not properly plumbed;
• The spare tyre gel was allegedly out-of-date (despite me having replaced it only a year ago);
• The exhaust support bobbin had failed (I replaced this about 18 months ago);
• Paint on the wiper arms had flaked off almost entirely;
• Wiper blades showing signs of perishing (these were new from Caterham and had only been on the car just over two months);
• Oil leak at front of engine;
• Missing cam cover bolt;
• Engine rubbers starting to drop;
• Roller barrel throttles dirty and needing a strip and clean;
• Front wing trims falling off and carbon fibre water stained.

The total cost to rectify these faults (including the service) came to almost £6.500

 

 

 

Er... whaaaat??    £6.5k to fix a list of mostly minor issues, plus some suspension rectification?  

If that's a serious quote you need to take it somewhere else. 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by DirtBuddha
typo

[DirtBuddha]

 

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by DirtBuddha
typo

[Rob Mullan]

2 hours ago, DirtBuddha said:

Er... whaaaat??    £6.5k to fix a list of mostly minor issues, plus some suspension rectification?  

Quite.

I originally went to HWM because they seemed to be the continuation of the Caterham service department at Gatwick. I only found out later that a) Caterham Gatwick were not actually Caterham at all and b) HWM are not the continuation of CG and they have none of their service records and only one of their technicians. The press releases put out about the recent changes were misleading, as was the paperwork from CG when they were in operation.

Having said that, I'm not really grumbling about HWM (apart from the alarmist investigation and the cost). The work they did was good and Dan the technician is a knowledgable, enthusiastic guy. On the other hand, if they don't fix the fast idle and supply the MoT paperwork I might have something to say....

Rob

[TomB]

When you bought the car, a special 'selected' used car, did you look underneath it to see if this level of rust was there already? Surely CC wouldn't sell a car with this level of rust, especially a 'selected' one?  

If not, how have you used the car to get it in this state in a such a short time? Have you run it all year road with no rust protection (Waxoil/ACF50 etc), put it away wet after salty runs?   I guess you might have learnt the hard way that 7 are not at all like a modern car in this aspect, and need regular (annual?) check over and if necessary treatment to keep on  top of rust on the space frame/ suspension.   A good clean underneath on axle stands/ ramps will allow you to see where the rust is more easily allowing remedial treatment.  A flapper wheel on a drill or dremel, clean & paint the problem areas then a top coat with Waxoil or similar would be too hard.      

[TomB]

21 hours ago, Tiddy7 said:

We don't buy Caterhams because of their great engineering and quality of manufacture, we buy them despite their poor engineering and quality of manufacture and hence why Caterham have produced an non  seven shaped car they have never sold well as there are always better engineered options , and Im afraid that that is likely to happen with the new EV

Don't agree on your later point - I'm sure I've read that Caterham Cars wont be building Project V in a shed in Dartford -  it will be subcontracted to a vehicle manufacturer, much like many other OEM.     

[Tiddy7]

Don’t get me wrong Tom I hope it’s a great success, and the ev may well be the turning point, but when Caterham’s cost £10k it was accepted that they were built in sheds and needed looking after like a classic car, inspected after every trip etc, but now people pay £75k for a caterham so expect the same dealer/ reliability of a Porsche or merc

[Gridgway]

Caterham Gatwick not caterham at all?

Yes they were!  Weren't they?

[Terry Field]

I just wonder where the previous owner(s) lived - was it somewhere close to the sea, and was it kept outdoors? Certainly doesn’t look like normal useage.

[Rex]

I lived near the sea in Los Angeles where there  was little precipitation and no salt on the roads. All of the chrome bits on my Honda bike were destroyed by rust within a couple of years.

[David JLM]

16 hours ago, Gridgway said:

Caterham Gatwick not caterham at all?

Yes they were!  Weren't they?

I was thinking the same. They were Caterham, I can't see why one would think they weren'tm but I'd happily be enlightened!

[MarkD]

. I asked for a copy of the terms and conditions (I only have a letter that says my car benefits from a '12 months' parts and labour warranty' as a Selected Caterham vehicle), which he has refused to provide. 

Same here, when I bought mine from Caterham Gatwick in 2018 as a Select model I was told the same,  there is no "warranty" booklet/t&c's, they just agree to remedy it. I did need them to replace the windscreen after a wiper flew off and the remaining part scratched an arc on the screen. They replaced it with no quibble but that was just a few days after I bought it.

Edited December 8, 2023 by MarkD

[Gridgway]

Well if they don't provide any terms they can't use them to refuse to fix stuff under warranty!!

[TomB]

T&C wouldn't cover neglect.   I'd wager there's nothing wrong with the car, its just not been looked after.   

Edited December 8, 2023 by TomB

[Gridgway]

I'll have to disagree with that.  The only neglect that comes into car warranties is failure to service.  Not failure to wash.  Not failure to scramble underneath every year and fruitlessly spray anti rust stuff everywhere.

The general acceptance of shockingly poor quality of paints and coatings around caterhams astonishes me.

[TomB]

Fair enough, disagreements are good 👍 I've not bought a new 7 so I don't know whats in the T&C - do they have any body work warranty like an OEM would?  Could a claim be made against excessive corrosion? 

The problem might be the current expectation of what a 'new' car should have (body work warranty, be able to be used all year without dissolving!) versus what the Se7en is - a fundamentally a 1960s car with some modern components.  How long would a 60s car last without any significant corrosion if used all year without any corrosion protection beyond paint?  

Edited December 8, 2023 by TomB