Hi guys I am considering purchasing a fairly low milage 308 GTS from 79 with a good service history in the UK. However, the car has rust bubbles in the following places: A) Bottom of both doors B) Sill below the doors C) Lower body in front of rear wheel D) Rear corner, just above rear fibre glass valance Questions: 1) How bad does this sound - or would it be normal? 2) Would the rust likely to have spread to the floor plan and tubular frame 3) Could this be fixed without replacement of pannels / major body restoration? 4) How much would it cost? 5) Any ideas of what companies in south east UK to contact to complete work? Any other ideas / advice?
The cost of repairs can vary greatly depending on the quality of the job? I would definately go with a personal reccomendation on cost/quality of work ratio. You are unlikely to get a good job done cheaply, but it's easy to pay top dollar for a mediocre job.
Depends on the extent of the problem. My 208 has some rust bubbles (no perforations) on the bottom of 1 door, and on one of the front wings. The tubular chassis is absolutely fine though. If it is just the beginnings of the problem then <£2k would be reasonable. However if it turns out to be the tip of an iceberg then you're probably looking at >£6k for a full body fix?
Thanks for the insights. Sort of what I expected - any ideas of who might be best to talk to about sorting it?
I'm planning on taking mine to a company called Bodycare based in Shoreham. I have been canvassing members at the Brighton & Hove Motor Club, and they seem to come out on top. Also, a friend on mine had a bit of work done on his bike by them and it was reasonably priced and of good quality. I've also had work done by Vyes in Portslade, which stood the test of time, though they weren't cheap. Not sure how local these would be for you?
on the plus side, you are looking at a car that has not been 'covered up' by a possible suspiscious repair .... the sites you quote are the norm for a 308. it is constantly repeated on here - get an independant specialist to check it out, and also confirm the existing paint finish is original. cheers, d
Thanks F308 MAN The paint has been changed previously from yellow to red - is this an issue? There is actually a letter from the spray painter indicating that "no rust was found on the body" - not sure if I should be suspicious of this? Anyone had there F-car sorted with a cosmetic-type restoration - and where / how much? Thanks for the ongoing advice
Personally I think if you are considering 2-6k to repair you may be better adding it on to your budget and looking at some more expensive cars. You might find one for a bit more that does not have the colour change and rust issues, as it sounds like you are keen to have things just right. Either way it's probably a good idea to have a professional inspect it, rust is seldom less serious than it looks.
I'm not sure where you are but I found Rardley Motors (they have a website)in Grayshott, Surrey very helpful in doing some fairly extensive refurbishing on my once tatty GT4.
Thanks, I had a look at their web-site and they seem to do very thorough restorations. I will talk to them tomorrow.
click on "User Controls" on the blue task bar above .... click on Edit Profile .... the rest is easy. d
Done - pleased to meet you! What do you think about the value of the car (did you see the other thread) and what do you think this might cost to sort? I see you also have 308 - any other tips?
i I happen to be a management consultant, so there is no spare time for anything other than sleep - but a pay rise would help ii being a bad snowboarder, sometime I don't have much say of how much and what snow I eat
If you want a Company to do the work then you have a few options as already posted. If you want a quality job at a good price then I have a guy in Sussex (who also owns a GT4) who has rebuilt my mondial and done other stuff, PM if you want his details. good luck!
When I bought my first 308 from Verdi, they had to attend to a number of bubbling parts. This was part of the deal (ie, it can't have cost much) and the resultant repainted sections never bubbled through, and were as smooth as a kashmir codpiece. After 18 months of ownership, a few other spots had bubbled up (different to the places of the original repairs) so I suspect it's a perennial problem on earlier bodywork (mine was a 1981 car). Could be woth giving Verdi a call.....
