I'm in a crisis......

Some rust has developed on the driver side rear wheel well, and our record winter here in Cincinnati didn't help. I've had it quoted by a couple body shops and it's between $750-1,000.

My question is, is it worth it? I know you can't get rid of rust 100%, but i've heard it can come back within a year; you're just never sure how it will play out. So has anyone dealt with rust issues on their G or any car?

I'm trying to figure out if it's even worth it or start car shopping. Just don't want to plump down 1K and the problem be there in 1-2yrs

Thanks,

 

On my old dodge we took a metal bristle brush and scraped off all of the old rust material, cleaned the area, and then spray painted it black. This kept the rust out for years to come.

I think a good option would be attack it, as long as it doesn't break the metal..., and then protect it from future rusting. Cincinnati winters bring tons of salt truck so don't expect the issues to magically disappear :/.

 

how bad is the rust? pics? that seems like a lot atm

 

I used to live in Michigan and over the 25 years I dealt with cars while there I never found a worthwhile rust fix. You can chop it out and install fresh steel. You can treat it. You can grind the crap out of it. After awhile I just learned to live with it. At the 25 year mark I finally wised up. I moved south where cars don't rust and now I only buy cars from Nashville or further south.

If I were you I'd keep my money in my pocket and live with it until I couldn't stand it anymore.

 

Rust gets worse with time, so yes.

 

At the fams house so ill post pics later. It's pretty bad, it covers probably a foot in length inside the lip and there is a small hole at one part. If the repair will last through two winters ill do it.

If I buy a car the taxes on it are going to be the same as the cost of repair, its just the fact that rust can come back whenever that makes me worried. This was a Baltimore car at one point so that didn't help, definitely sticking to southern cars next time around.

 

When you get that southern car, don't drive it back north. Stay. Be a damned yankee. No more worries about rust.

More seriously, DON'T spend your money to repair that. It sounds like something that will come back to haunt you quickly. Most times, unless there is an accident, cars rust from the inside out. So just like an iceberg, what you see is only 90% of what's there.

 

No joke, definitely thinking of moving to the south within 5 years...I like winter only a couple times a year. And those are the days I'm snowboarding so....

The main thing that's getting me is when I try to sell the car, they're going to take the rust and run with it for a MUCH lower price, probably thousands. So spend a grand and hope it lasts a couple winters? That's what I'm debating.

 

If you're thinking of moving within 5 years then really DO NOT spend the money. Drive it until it turns into a pile of iron ore around you. You'll never recoup the cost of repairs when you try to sell it.

Seriously, the value of these cars (I'm speaking purely financial, not emotional) os decreasing quite a lot. I paid a ridiculously low price for my clean TX car and there would be NO wiggle room in the price for $1000-1500 worth of repair. While some car shoppers are clueless as to what to look for, many will bring small magnets and look for small changes in paint coloration to see if body work has been done, especially around wheel wells.

I know you WANT to take care of your car, but unless driving a car that isn't beautiful impacts your earnings (as in outside sales), maintain it, drive it and enjoy it. If you do stay in the north, keep the rusty G for winter and buy a summer car. If you do move south, don't ty to sell your car down here, no body will buy it. Our cars have no undercoating of any kind and the undercarriage paint is almost always in great shape. I have two white work trucks that are 22 and 27 years old and still have complete white undersides.

One last point. Just because they quoted $1000 doesn't mean that they can fix it for $1000. They won't know the extent of the damage until it's opened up. Once opened, no matter what is found, you need to get it fixed whether you want or can afford to or not. Once opened, it's not just ugly, it's fresh meat for the cancer called rust. Believe me, I've been there and done that. Both in my own garage and having a shop do it. The rust you see is just a small amount of what is there. You just don't know it until you start picking at it.