MOT advisory of corrosion to subframe

I remembered this post from @JonRGV250 as I had one of these cars but cant remember if it was the front or rear subframe that was replaced but it shows what one looks like when it fails.

Biennial MOT tests

This was a family members effort, to top it off they also never bother with a seatbelt - Date tested 22 July 2024 FAIL Mileage 130,047 miles Test location MOT test number 3174 3408 0314 Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects): Nearside Front Tyre has ply or cords exposed (5.2.3 (d)...
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Just wire brush it, chemical treat the rust and paint it.

But after 15 years the bushes probably need redoing anyway. If you cat about the car undo it. Get it sand blasted and power coated.
 
Hopefully just an overly cautious tester especially if you’ve not had rust/corrosion issues elsewhere !

I had advisories on my 170k miles mk6 tdi for the rear arms and the tester said I should give them a coating of something to make them last a few more years.

Being lazy and with it being a banger car I was just using for work I stupidly left it till not long before the next MOT and went under it with a wire brush. In my non expert opinion i decided they looked horrific (orange flaky mess) so bought some new arms because they were dirt cheap at the time .

Life got in the way and I ended up taking it to the next MOT with the new arms in the boot and an agreement for him to fit them ‍. Anyway he said they still wherent a fail and since I had the replacements we smashed the crap out of them with some pointy stuff and found they where still totally solid and non holey

Fitted the new arms and 6 months later the turbo blew :p
 
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I have had corrosion on front and rear subframe advisory for past 4-5 MOTs. Haven't had the monies to get it sorted as I spent elsewhere on the Clutch, DMF, Timing belt etc. The garage say the subframe is still good and just has surface rust. It's a 15 year old car so I am not bothering much. Phoned a garage to get a quote, and got the offer £1.5k to redo both subframes.

I would rather put that money aside and use it as a deposit for a newer used car.
 
My E92 has had rear subframe corrosion mentioned on the last few MOTs. I knew about it before I bought it and had a look under the car when I went to view it. Obviously, it isn't ideal, but from looking at it before buying and looking at it more in depth since owning it I wouldn't say it is at the point of crumbling any time soon. Just before the MOT in November I went over the rear subframe and suspension arms with wire brushes and other tools to remove the surface rust, then applied two coats of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80, and then two coats of Bilt Hamber Dynax UB. Doing this didn't make a difference to the MOT advisory, but I'm happier knowing it has been done and that the subframe will be fairly well protected for 12-24 months. I guess it is what you get for buying a car that spent part of its life on the coast in Hampshire, followed by part of its life on the coast in the north east, but the rest of the car is really quite clean. I don't plan on keeping the car for 10+ years like my E46, so I'm not looking for a permanent solution.

Interestingly, the E46, which is known to be much more of a rust magnet than the E9x, has a cleaner rear subframe despite having double the mileage on it. I can't say the same about one of the rear wheel arches though...
 
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