It's a 2005 ford five hundred. No pics unfortunately. There's also a little rust on the inside of the trunk lid.
Typical northern car. Fly down to Florida or out west and pick one up. But in all seriousness there's no way around cars oxidising up there, not unless they park them in the garage in the winter. Take a look under the car and look at the front end, break lines and just overall rustiness of the car.
Aluminum doesn't 'rust'. You can oxidize aluminum, but it's very difficult, and requires a VERY high tempurature and a bunch of additional oxygen. Thermite is this reaction. Very very dangerous, but also very cool.
If you're sure the hood aluminum, it's possible
1.)the paint is breaking down, UV light breaks down polymers (which is why you put clear coat on it)
2.) the paint was applied poorly, say, after repair work, and never bonded properly with the hood
3.) It's not actually an aluminum hood, and it's rusting.
Regardless, it's fixable by taking the paint off, sanding, and putting on a new coat.
However, if you're concerned with rust, you should check the body of the car, particularly the exhaust, suspension, and subframe for other signs of rust. Remember, rust begets rust. If there's a little, it will spread.
EDIT: Ford 500s have steel OEM hoods. Sounds like rust.
I work at an exhaust shop and one thing i can tell you for a fact is the exhaust is stainless steel from the manifolds to the begining of the catylatic converter/s. Eventually you'll need a cat back system put on it.
This is completely off topic, but I friggin love your name.
Is it underneath the hood or on top? Only reason I ask is Fords have issues at the seam on a lot of there vehicles. Google it. Ford also has a rust warranty for 5 years, but there has to be a hole. From what I found sometimes people are getting them fixed without a hole, but most times they don't. Going through the same process except mine is on the rear fender. Got an estimate of 400-800 bucks to get it fixed, but I got a good deal on the car. Its a Ford Edge.
Bubbling sounds like to hood was repainted. Pay for the Carfax and see if the car has been in any accidents. If you are worried about rust you may want to especially avoid a car that has had the front end smashed up and has been repainted.
The report shows no accidents. Apparently, Ford messed up and made the aluminum hood come into contact with steel inserts when it closes, causing a reaction between the metals? How much would this affect the value of a car?
I know little about the mechanical/automotive aspect, but from my chemistry background I think that steel inserts coming into contact with the aluminum hood would likely cause a galvanic reaction (an electrochemical reaction that would cause corrosion) unless they are insulated from eachother.
It would. My old mustang had an iron block, an aluminum alternator body, and a steel bolt holding them tomgether when I bought it. The bolt basically was welded on to the alternator body. Had to saw it off.
My understanding is Carfax is not an infallible source. I've seen reports of a totalled car coming back with a clean Carfax.
Dissimilar metal corrosion can occur where any two different metals are in contact with each other. Also called galvanic corrosion, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion
it? The car is 7-8 years old and it is just starting to rust so it's not really a big deal. It will be a few more years before it starts getting ugly, even then you can buy a used hood from a junkyard or a store like partsright for about 100 bucks. This is not really a question for a mechanic though..rust is not a sign of engine wear or damage... rust is only a sign of more rust
This is not a problem for a "mechanic". Mechanics fix the mechanical parts of a car. This is either a question for an auto body specialist, a professional painter or a metalurgist.
This bubbling was part of a recall and a well known major paint defect. You'll probably want to negotiate the cost of a trip to maaco to have it stripped and repainted into the purchase price, or the cost of ordering an aftermakret hood without this problem.
It has nothing to do with the hood aluminum. Just the paint. You may find that the rear quarter panels bubble up with rust near the front of the wheel wells, however.
turns out i forgot their team name. incidentally, technicians is a pretty good team name, but there really should be a detroit high school that competes as the mechanics, no?
For a quality shop to shoot that hood, with sanding, priming, and all, over $1000.00. I had a hood shot for a caravan, aftermarket, already primed and payed $650.00.
Yeah it's been said several times already, but I'll reiterate..........there's no way it's an aluminum hood. Car companies can't afford that. If anything it's a fiberglass hood, but I doubt it. It's steel and there's rust. Fairly normal for a car around here.
Ford uses alluminum for the top of there hoods and the underneath is steel. Thats where the problem lies.
Should a 7 year old car be rusting, especially in those locations and with modern anti-corrosive paints/sealers? That's what I would be concerned about. I had a '97 Ford stored almost exclusively outside and it didn't start getting rust on the body until it was about 10-11 years old. Yes this is anecdotal, but it should be something to consider when negotiating for this car.