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EP3 Finally got the bad news today

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2,188
Took the EP3 in for its MOT today and it has failed due to rust on the underside.

I had some welding done last year on the passenger side for its mot but it has spread massively on the underside of the car so i now need the driver's side and the floorpan between the front and rear seats. It looks like the tester went at it with Thor's hammer!

I have it booked in at a garage tomorrow to see if it's worth fixing or if i am just delaying the inevitable.

Gutted:(
 
If it can be repaired I recommend that you get it fully undersealed. I see that you're from Scotland. Where abouts in Scotland are you from?
 
If it can be repaired I recommend that you get it fully undersealed. I see that you're from Scotland. Where abouts in Scotland are you from?

I am from Fife mate.

It is at the garage today to see if they can patch it up. The floor is pretty thin at bits tbh now so i am not sure if it's worth the bother undersealing it fully now, i think it may be too far gone . I will see what the garage says after today. If they can patch it for a reasonable price it may last another year.

If it's going to cost too much then i really don't know what to get next. I have owned Hondas for 15 years and they have been very reliable but the new one's do not seem to be in that bracket for reliability. I may just swallow my pride and get a wee Jazz to run about in for now.
 
I meant if you get it repaired and it is fresh metal you should get the full thing undersealed. I was going to recommend Preserve & Protect but it is in Johnstone which is probably an hour and a half away from you so it might be too far. You leave your car with them for 4 days and they completely rust proof and seal the chassis. Here's the link: https://preserveprotect.co.uk/

If you do decide that your EP3 is not worth repairing, why don't you swap the chassis, put any mods onto another car. There is a guy on Facebook from Glasgow called Nicky Lambert who breaks EP3/Honda's who you could possibly get a clean shell from.

Find out how much it will cost first and then make a decision.
 
I meant if you get it repaired and it is fresh metal you should get the full thing undersealed. I was going to recommend Preserve & Protect but it is in Johnstone which is probably an hour and a half away from you so it might be too far. You leave your car with them for 4 days and they completely rust proof and seal the chassis. Here's the link: https://preserveprotect.co.uk/

If you do decide that your EP3 is not worth repairing, why don't you swap the chassis, put any mods onto another car. There is a guy on Facebook from Glasgow called Nicky Lambert who breaks EP3/Honda's who you could possibly get a clean shell from.

Find out how much it will cost first and then make a decision.

This could possibly be the route i go down with regards to finding a cleaner chassis and transferring stuff over from the one i have. I will have to research the costs involved and see if it's worth it in the long run i suppose.

This EP3 has been near faultless in the 10+ years i have owned it and i still love the EP3 model as a whole. I suppose you could say i have become emotionally attached to it over the years and it's hard to let it go.
 
I will have to research the costs involved and see if it's worth it in the long run i suppose.

Financially, it will never be worth it. That sort of effort into a run of the mill EP3 will never be realised in the end value, more so if going to the extent of reshelling as the DVLA may seek to stick their oar in. It's purely whether it's worth it from a sentimental perspective.

Ewaaj's suggestion of finding a cleaner one to swap mods to will be the easiest option.
 
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I'd think that finding a shell won't be very hard or expensive. You could get a quote for repairing your shell and compare it to how much it will be getting a new shell and swapping everything over.
 
Finding a shell won't be a problem, but unless you're doing the swap yourself it gets expensive very quickly.

Then you get into the bureaucracy. DVLA won't allow you to retain the identity of your existing vehicle so the history (real or perceived) is lost. They may want to inspect it before the paperwork gets processed, and getting slapped with a Q-plate at the end of all that would be unfortunate.
 
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Find a shell that's still registered, swap the parts, make it road legal (mot/tax) ? Essentially like buying another car?
 
That's the point, it makes no sense. You might as well just buy another EP3 as a going concern, and transfer over any trick bits from the old car.

The only reason to go through the considerable extra effort and expense of reshelling is sentimentality, which is arguably compromised by the DVLA requirements. The chassis number is different etc etc. If it was a new shell you could restamp it and retain the same identity.
 
So after 2 days of surgery my EP3 passed its MOT today!

The car needs fumigated now as the welding has stunk it out big time. Hopefully it dies down in the next couple of days.

At least i can take my time to find a suitable replacement in the next year and not rush into getting the first thing i see now.
 
Is there anything wrong with the car? I’d be getting it undersealed now that it’s been sorted. Glad you have your car back on the road though.:cool:
 
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