Bought my car two week ago off private dealer hpi check was all okay. Ex mobility only done 13500 miles 2011 I noticed when polishing that offside panel between door over wheel arch front passenger side could possibly been replaced as slightly different spacing and slight colour diff on hot magenta colouring. But thought could of had bit of scuff and ford repaired when took this ex mobility vehicle back so can live with that. Today my nephew was looking at boot where spare goes and was some water in bottom. Oh oh!!! And door to boot has slightly differencing gaps when closed . He said dry it out and see if it gets wet again. My question is behind the back panel and boot floor is what looks like some kind filler beige colour all around it's all solid and is that normal ? I would of thought it would be same colour as vehicle? At the base where spare would go and where it meets body. All paperwork chassis etc is fine no write off on hpi?

Never looked inside boot only to check kit and was dry then. (Yeah he may have dried it) disappointed yeah but nothing I can do now? ? Paintwork all fine on boot doors etc! But definitely different gap between one side and the other side. Rubbers all intact locks etc. my nephew said if gets wet he could drill hole in base? Dee

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In the boot you're probably seeing sealer - this is sometimes applied before the car is painted but also afterwards in some cases. Basically where the bodypanels are spot welded together this does not give a waterproof seal so they apply sealer once the car has been through paint processes. If still in doubt just have a look in another Fiesta to compare.

Body panel gaps aren't always correct from the factory so it can be difficult to tell if this is due to a repair of some sort or not.

There obviously is a water leak of some sort there but for god's sake don't let your nephew go drilling holes in the car to get rid of the water :o that will definitely lead to the body rusting where the hole is, possibly letting water in from underneath and very possible that nice sharp drill also goes straight through a fuel or brake pipe that is underneath the panel.

Waterleak can be the boot not fitting correct to the seal, leaking through where the tail lights fit, wiring grommets and so on.

The beige stuff is normal, its a kind of sealant. The wer boot floor is a common problem and can be a nightmare to locate. I had a swimming pool where my spare wheel went... And it all stemmed from a pin hole under one of the rubber roof gutters !!! But others report the same from round the hinge that holds the tailgate on.

Thanks guys I won't let him near it with his drill !!!!!!

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If it will make you feel any better, I will try to get photos of my soon-to-be stepdad's Focus, that car is more bent than Barrymore. It has been shunted hard at some point and been put back together by a blind chimp with stage 5 leprosy. If it looks like that, then it is a lemon.

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Well the sealant is perfectly normal, ( all cars have that badge cream style seal in the booth).

The water problem my simply be rust making its way to the inner part of the booth, so check for that. Although it is hard for rust to go through so much, in which case, you have a slight problem with that too (you will need to cut the rust before it consumes you). Check for any color change or dents or welding (hard metal) in the back bumper chassis.

For the front you may also want to check for any signs of hard metal, cause it's fairly easy for the car to be an accident and have its chassis bent. Something which is recoverable but not so pretty.

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