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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 05:22
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Hi all,
I am looking to buy a car. Its a Celica, seems in better than average condition interior and mechanically. I had it professionally inspected by SVC and the inspector said overall its better than average, apart from some panel damage. BUT, the entire underbody/underneith the car has recently been coated in this black shit. The inspector said its pretty thick, and in his experience, is usually done to cover up damage. The car is lowered so probably damage from speed humps or whatever else its scrapped but he said because of it he can't tell where or to what extent there is damage and you'd need to get in there with kero to get atleast a fare portion of it off before you know anything. Probably have to get it done by a pro.
I find this worrying. The car is good inside, good mechanically, but this is disturbing. The owner claims he did it for noise/sound insulation, but the inspector thinks thats not the case and also thinks it was done very recently. ie he knew he'd be selling it when he did it, so you do the math.
What are your thoughts? Its been lowered 2" and inspector says has 18" rims but i thought they were 17's. Anyway... damage wise, say it has scrapped and stuff... whats the worst it could be? I dont know much about cars. It runs fine, inspector found the engine etc in average to good cond.... its this whole underneith thing screwing with my head. I just spent $200 to get it inspected with photos, to find this out now...
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Location:
Canberra
Registered:
September 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 05:43
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Well my Soarer was very low when it came from Japan and i watched the damn truck driver that bought the car from QLD to canberra scrape the hell out of the bottom of the vehicle when taking it off the ramps on the truck.
Story being ive actually sprayed all the underneath of the car with anti rust and then that black 3M wrinkle paint to stop any rust and to seal the underneath of the vehicle.
Im not covering anything up just trying to protect the underside of the vehicle , its noticeable due to the factory toyota sealant being a light beige/brown in which i couldnt match with wrinkle under body sealer.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 06:13
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Ok. Although dont you think its weird? This inspector has 20 odd years experience, he reckons its been done very recently and that by doing it he cant tell what damage there is or what shoddy fixes have been done if that being the case... or anything really. And i know the car has been for sale for atleast a few weeks, so if the inspector is right and it was done very recently, why go to all that effort for some reason that sounds like BS when you know your gonna sell it? Seriously...
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Location:
brisbane
Registered:
December 2004
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Location:
brisbane
Registered:
December 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 07:10
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i doubt it would cause serious damage my floor pan moves under my feet on most speedbumps haha real low suspension but the body is fine handles as usual etc
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 07:16
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if i was bodgy and selling a car with a bent or rusted floorpan, first thing i'd do is give it a thick coat of tar..
lucky i'm not bodgy...... much.... anymore..... 
then again, it is also one of the first things i would do to a car i just bought  (as long as it wasn't rusty or bent)
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 07:41
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it will both deaden noise and it will reduce damage to underside from stones etc.. and theoretically should reduce rust etc...
what he is saying is that he can't check if there is rust underneath, and that is has been done recently, ie the owner thought it would be a good idea to do it before selling it...
so.. it may be bodgy.. but then again, it may not....
are you buying the car for the drivetrain or the body? or both?
maybe knock a few hundred more off price
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 07:50
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I guess both. I just want something cruisy and kinda nice, in my opinion. It has a bit of panel damage which i am well aware of and prepared to get fixed, hence the price is cheaper than most ZR's. But mechanically and interior it is good, and 100,000km so lowish milage.
The only explination the owner gave was noise insulation. Is the stuff hard to get off?
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Location:
Forster NSW
Registered:
September 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 07:51
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As a general rule if the rest of the body is rust free, then it's pretty likely the floorpan will be free of rust too. It would take a lot of rust before it was visible UNDER the car, I would think... was the carpet dry? Usually you can smell it if it's been wet.
If there was any real major damage I don't think the underbody tar would hide it.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 08:35
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It has 18" rims. I thought the Celica came out with 15's... so that makes them illegal on it right? How does that effect insurance? Can be defected? What are the reprocussions?
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Location:
Forster NSW
Registered:
September 2004
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Location:
Burnie, Tasmania
Registered:
July 2005
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 10:02
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Im not sure on the rims but the body deadener wouldn't worry at all. Remember if the inspector says its fine and it turns out its not you can sue him so he has no choice but to say he cant tell even if he is 99% sure it is ok.
Every state is different on rims as are insurance companys, for me it would only increase my insurance.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 10:27
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The report says tyres it has 225/40/ZR18" and they are almost new, i think the rims were on it when he bought it early 2004.
Do they "compensate". I know SFA. Would a pic of rim/tyre help?
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 11:26
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in NSW, 1" larger rim MAX unless engineered..
are the rims cert'd?
if not, then no, they are not technically legal and you can be defected and your insurance will possibly be voided (unless you tell them and they accept with that knowledge)
be careful 
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 22:35
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Are you sure its 1" larger? Ive heard from several people its 2".
So how do i get certified? Is it expensive?
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Location:
Newcastle
Registered:
July 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sat, 19 November 2005 23:14
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1" larger in width. the diameter of the rim dosent matter aslong as the rolling diameter of the wheel and tyre combo is +/- 15mm from the factory sizing.
if its lowered off its guts it probaly has copped a few scrapes underneath but aslong as you cant see any major dings under there its probaly ok and has just been put on there as a cosmetic to hide the scuffs.
just see that there dosent look like its had any damage around the brake or fuel lines.
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Location:
Northern Beaches
Registered:
April 2005
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sun, 20 November 2005 13:50
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| toof wrote on Sun, 20 November 2005 10:14 |
1" larger in width. the diameter of the rim dosent matter aslong as the rolling diameter of the wheel and tyre combo is +/- 15mm from the factory sizing.
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Incorrect. It is +/- 26mm.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
November 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sun, 20 November 2005 21:55
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So can anyone comment of the legality of it based on the info i have provided?
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Location:
Newcastle
Registered:
July 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sun, 20 November 2005 22:07
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| FST513 wrote on Mon, 21 November 2005 00:50 |
| toof wrote on Sun, 20 November 2005 10:14 |
1" larger in width. the diameter of the rim dosent matter aslong as the rolling diameter of the wheel and tyre combo is +/- 15mm from the factory sizing.
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Incorrect. It is +/- 26mm.
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Incorrect...
As quoted direct from the RTA
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Minor changes to wheels
Wheels up to 26mm wider than the largest optional wheel recommended by the vehicle manufacturer for the
vehicle can be fitted without the need to notify the RTA.
The outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination must be no more than 15mm over the largest diameter
wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle and not more than 15mm below the smallest diameter wheel
and tyre combination specified for the vehicle.
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Location:
Kellyville, Sydney
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sun, 20 November 2005 22:36
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i think you can only change rim diameter by 2 inches though
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Location:
Campbelltown
Registered:
November 2003
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Location:
Kellyville, Sydney
Registered:
June 2004
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Sun, 20 November 2005 23:26
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cheers for that, i searched rta but i couldnt find it
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Location:
Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan
Registered:
January 2003
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Mon, 21 November 2005 02:17
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that also contains my favourite quote...
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Where non-original axle or suspension components are fitted, blah blah, 25mm increase in track BASED ON THE VEHICLE THE PARTS CAME FROM
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ok, so it's not a direct quote but it does mean that the track of a car can be increased, AS LONG AS the parts used have close to that track heh heh
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Location:
Canberra
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: Underneith of car coated with black stuff?
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Tue, 22 November 2005 05:50
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If you can get access to the car for another inspection,do so. Get it home, or to a garage, and pull up the carpet, inspect for "cut and shut" weld lines in the floor. I have seen some real dodgus im my years, and the best way to hide the welds underneath, is with the body sound deadener. Just my 2 cents worth.
cheers Chuck.
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