New Celica (99-on) Pond For A Boot?

[Big_Sid]

Hi,

I've been wanting to buy a nearly new Celica for a while now, and have just managed to get to the point where I can start actually going out to find one to buy! So, off I went today to a couple of garages where there were a few Celicas to take a look.

At one garage I found two which caught my eye. I got the keys for both and was giving them a good once over. The first one was an 03 VVTi 140bhp. Looked imaculate, but then I opened the boot to have a look about. I lifted up the carpet and the panel that covers the spare and found about 3 inches of water in the depression where the spare fits!

My first thought was that the boot may have been left open when it rained, but the carpet was bone dry and the panel which covers the spare is made of that compressed wood stuff a bit like MDF, so if it had got wet it would have swollen up...but it hadn't. I looked underneath the rear and found two large rubber bungs (one on each side of the bottom of the well where the spare lives). Although they looked like a very snug fit and were not aparently damaged, I came to the conclusion that the water must have gotten in from underneath and not from the top.

I pulled the bung out and got !Removed! soaked as all the water poured out (it all went down my sleeve too ) I popped the bung back in.

I went over to another VVTi which I'd seen, this was a year older, same model etc... Opened the boot...another pond! I couldn't be bothered draining this one so I left.

Later after thinking about this for a while (I didn't ask the salesman to explain at the time...he'd have just made something up anyway) I came to the following conclusions...

It is unlikely to be caused by damage, as I would not have thought both cars would have suffered in the same way.

There was too much water for it to be rain coming in from the top and besides, carpets were dry.

So, only two things remained as possibilities...

1. Manufacturing fault affecting all new Celicas? (Unlikely, I'm sure I'd have read about it)?

2. The garage are using high pressure jet washes under the cars and the water is getting in that way?

Has anyone else ever come across this, or does anyone have any other ideas?

Cheers - Sid

[+Steve]

be carefull ... even though it might be just a seal problem the car might have been in a rear end shunt or some form of accident.

[Big_Sid]

That's what made me look in the boot in the first place, I always check under the carpet for signs of damage (cuz they can never seem to properly repair the ribbed metal of the chassis), but there was no sign of anything. That's what I was saying though...both cars had the same, and I would have thought it strange for both of them to have had rear shunts.

[Uncle Bob]

A common problem is water getting in behind the rear lights, good place to start looking .