eggo

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forums (although I've been browsing for awhile). I'm hoping to get some insight from people on here about under-body rust. I found a used 2008 Cayman S at a dealership up north (I'm in socal) that I'm very interested in, but during discussions with the dealership it was revealed there is some under-body rust present (see attached). It's a low mileage car in otherwise great condition.

I have been told by the dealership it's mainly surface rust in most areas, obviously a few of the bolts are totally rusted. I don't have time in my schedule to book a flight and go see the car, and even if I could, I don't know much about rust (surface or otherwise) to make an informed decision.

Is any type of rust a deal breaker on an otherwise sound car? (I've seen the inspection sheets and it comes with a warranty).

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

eddielasvegas

Totally rusted is not surface rust.

There are a ton of 987.1's for sale (especially in SoCal based on my daily clist search) so keep looking and keep your compromises to a minimum. This is not a small one IMO.

Good luck,

Eddie

extanker

imo this car spent time in a salt environment and/or the owner spent more time power washing the under neath then driving it. if you really like the car and its a bargain pay to have it check out by another shop.

Wanderer

Looks like the underside of most cars in the north east. It only looks like mild surface rust.

ezdriver

That car has spent time in Winter country. That is more than surface rust. That said, A Car Fax report should provide some insight into the geographic locations in which the car "lived". That and a full, independent PPI are highly recommended. I can't say that you should not buy the car based solely on the limited information that you have provided. No 8 yr old car looks perfect underside unless kept off roads during inclement weather. Was the previous owner a little old lady who only drove it to church on dry, sunny Sundays?

eggo

Thanks guys for the input. I'm leaning more towards no on this one after some more research and your guys' feedback. Much appreciated.

Gary R.

OMG I think my links got messed up and i'm in the concours forum..

Here's a thought, spray rusty parts with Kroil, remove nuts, wire brush studs, replace with new ones. On nut bolt combos replace nut/bolts.

Wanderer

Right. The only rust I see are a few cheap fasteners, the edges of the cross member and the ends of the sway bar.

My car has 88k daily driver in all weather in the north east. It looks worse than that car but its mostly surface rust.

If you get the dealer to think its bad you have a negotiating point. If you buy a pristine car there goes your negotiating point. Remember - these are just cars.

7391420

That looks like normal surface rust to me. The rust on the edges of the crossmember could be treated and coated with POR 15 or similar in about 5 min.

The fasteners are designed that way- they aren't galvanized or alloy. For high temp applications, cheap steel is fine.

eggo

Thank you guys for the feedback- I really appreciate it!