Rusty parts on newly bought Dacia Duster (incl. Exhaust)

[Clintpistol17]

Hi

(Sorry, wasn't sure where best to post this so if someone wouldn't mind moving it if it shouldn't be here, that would be great.)

I've just bought a 2022 Duster with 18k miles, from a Renault/Dacia dealership. For various reasons, I stupidly didn't have a good look underneath until I got home. Now that I have, I can see that the exhaust is quite rusty. There's also some rust on one of the parts where the back wheel connect (sorry, don't know the name).

Now, I do have a tendency to over think and over worry, but don't know if that's the case here or not. Would anyone mind taking a look at the photos and letting me know whether it looks ok or whether I should be going back to the dealer to say I'm not happy...?

Many thanks

Edited by Clintpistol17 on Saturday 22 March 18:44

[Trevor555]

That doesn't look so bad to me.

Here's a pic of a very nearly new Transporter van.

[Cliodci12235]

Do people not realise your brand new car may have been sat at a dockyard for a year before purchase?

[cliffords]

Cliodci12235 said:

Do people not realise your brand new car may have been sat at a dockyard for a year before purchase?

It's not a new car it's 2 or 3 years old as the post says .

[mcdjl]

I'd be more worried about the steering arm the transporter

[sam.rog]

Thats fine. There were pictures of gr yaris undersides on here the other week. Looked like they had been pulled out the sea after 3 years.

[Cliodci12235]

cliffords said:

Cliodci12235 said:

Do people not realise your brand new car may have been sat at a dockyard for a year before purchase?

It's not a new car it's 2 or 3 years old as the post says .

Sorry, my bad I misread the title.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Its absolutely normal for salty wet uk roads, nothing to worry about and you will get nowhere complaining about it. The exhaust looks a bit crap for its age, but it is a very cheap car, they have to cut costs somewhere.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Saturday 22 March 20:02

[Smint]

Suspension parts and subframes often rust like that on most mass produced vehicles, have delivered brand new cars that were worse.
The exhaust is rusty, if you can get underneath safely rubbing it down and painting it with zinc paint would help it last.

[Acuity30]

Bargain basement car rusting? I'm shocked, shocked

[Rough101]

Standard, nothing to worry about

[Wacky Racer]

Nothing to worry about, look under most 20,000 mile cars you will see similar or worse.

Worst case scenario, a new exhaust for a Duster won't cost that much, but it's probably good for 2/3 years yet.

Just enjoy, they are decent cars, I had a new 2021 model for two years....I liked it.

[Lincsls1]

Nothing of concern there. Nothing at all.
However, if you are considering keeping the car for many years, a professional rust proofing treatment would be a good idea.

[rambo19]

Have it washed and lanoguarded.

[blueST]

Wait until you need to replace the exhaust. Insanely expensive from Dacia and nearly impossible to find on the aftermarket. Plenty of tales of wo on the forums.

[Smint]

blueST said:

Wait until you need to replace the exhaust. Insanely expensive from Dacia and nearly impossible to find on the aftermarket. Plenty of tales of wo on the forums.

Sounds like a visit to MIJ Walsall for a lifetime warranty stainless system when the time comes, worked out cheaper than even mild steel aftermarket exhausts on two of our Subarus.

[DavidJJ]

You sound like a pain in the ass tbh, assume you're trying to wrangle some more money back?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[carinaman]

mcdjl said:

I'd be more worried about the steering arm the transporter

[Decky_Q]

rambo19 said:

Have it washed and lanoguarded.

Yes do this. Probably driven on salty wet roads and not washed underneath at all for first few years on a lease, get it power washed and sprayed with anti corrosion treatment. Lanoguard, waxoyl etc are used by many, now would be a good time to do it as it's pointless once rust really starts.

[Clintpistol17]

Huge thanks for all of the very helpful and useful replies (aside from @DavidJJ – more on that below).

It’s re-assuring to know that this is normal and to be expected. Also, very handy to know there are options to have it treated / rust-proofed. Where would I go to have something like that done? A regular garage, or exhaust specialist, or somewhere else? Didn't even really know it was something you can have done, so it's all news to me. No idea what kind of price it would be either...

@Smint – Thanks for the heads up on getting a lifetime warranty stainless steel job when the time comes to replace. Walsall would be a bit of a trek, but hopefully they’d be somewhere more local that does it. I like the idea of paying more once to get it done properly, and then not worrying about it again. Especially as we hope to keep it for a lot of years.

@blueST – I wasn’t aware of that and hadn’t come across it. Thanks for pointing it out, that’s helpful – albeit annoying – to know.

@DavidJJ – seeing as you’re up for name calling, I guess I could do the same… But your ignorance is self evident so there’s no need. If I wanted money off, I’d be going back to the dealer and asking for it. But instead, I posted on the forum as I don’t know much about cars and so had no idea what to make of the rust. I made that clear in the first post. I came here to ask more knowledgeable people so I could use that info to decide what to do next. As is the case, people have said it is normal and to be expected and so I will leave it there. Isn’t that one of the things forums like these are for? I’m also not sure why you would consider the issue with the wheels the same? We agreed a price before the car was washed. They washed it and paint came off the wheels. What would you have done? Not said anything and ignored it? More fool you if so, as in the end the dealer agreed it wasn’t great for a 3 year old car and was happy to knock off the money. Perhaps you have total faith in dealers and used car salesmen and so would never question anything they tell you or sell you, and are happy to pay whatever price they ask for? Try watching Life of Brian, there's a section about haggling you might find useful.