Hey all,

I've just posted a short message to say hello in the newbies, and I'm really excited to be part of the club!

I'm in the process of buying my first ftype from Inchcape Derby, and have some pics of the underneath of the car. They say no work in the subframe and bracing has been done and, as this is an old code, there's no need for them to take action.

I guess my first question is how accurate that is? The threads I've seen don't show any form of time line..
Secondly, how does the below look to you? This is what they sent me and it doesn't seem too awful, and they've also agreed to "tidy it up" too.

I'd really appreciate the thoughts and expertise of the community, and here's hoping I'm joining you in ownership soon too!

 

The brace in the center of the frame appears bent...

 

Looks very rusty, but normal. That rear cross-brace has an odd shape to it, but that is how it was designed. Good idea to pull those off and rust-proof them.

DC

 

@Therock88 - that's a clean undercarriage! Your car?
@Benji17 - congrats on the (potential) new ride! I'm new here too and need to avoid playing F-type know-it-all! Still leaning...

 

Thanks. Yes, that one is mine. Addressed it while I was doing the Cats/Downpipe install.

Take care,
DC

 

Wow. That's quite the beauty. At least I know what I'll be aiming for! Post-purchase I think I'll go into the forums to understand how much can be done "at home" and how much requires a nice specialist closer to where I live. Thanks for the great advice!

I jumped straight to Google for a bit to search for braces, as it does look quite strange! No harm done, we're all learning

 

He's looking at a New England car. That's actually not too bad, unfortunately, if it's driven year-round.

 

He's actually looking at an old England car.

 

Yep...True...Mine is a Mid-West (Illinois) car also. Lots of salt. I drive it except on bad snowy days...I just clean it and spray it off a lot.

DC

 

I was kind of hoping for an inappropriate post.

 

This is not very rusty, it just how any car driven year round in 4 season climate would look like.

This is how very rusty underbody would look like (not my car):

 

It seemed like a bad idea on my first ever post. I can definitely try harder when a perma-ban is less likely!

That makes me want to run a country mile. I'm glad to hear my lower half (hur hur) is less rusty than it could be. I think I'll take the sound advice of other forum members when it comes to sorting out this niggle themselves. It'll be interesting what the dealership rustles up during the prep time, so I'll gladly share when I get those photos.

 

Just went under the car to see how my just acquired CA car compares. As expected looks like the above. Maybe been in the rain once or twice.

 

Refinishing those underbody braces was one of the first maintenance items I did after purchasing our car in 2018.

Ours are holding up well 2.5 years later after a coating of POR-15.

 

I was sitting here mortified in California. We don't even get storms anymore. Just ash raining down on us. Good times. Ceramic coating or bust.

 

My car came from San Diego and is in AZ now. I think it might a have seen a wet road once or twice Max.

 

And here in NorCal, the occasional hailstorm that dumps 10 minutes of heavy hail 3 times in a single day. Was literally looking like snow a couple weeks ago. Next few days, no hint. Glad my F-Type was cozy in the garage and I took the beater out that day instead

 

That kind of snow + an F-type sounds like a serious accident waiting to happen. Good choice on the beater.