Should I get this repaired?

[Mach 307]

Hey guys, usually you have good advice for me, so I figured I’d ask here in the other section.

Recently bought this 2008 Yaris off my dad, it was garage kept, but he never washed the damn thing lol. It has been driven year round including in Chicago winters, since he bought it new.

The car is in really, perfect condition. Mechanically, etc. I feel the car also looks great rust wise, except this one area on the quarter panel. Is it worth fixing, and what do you think it’d cost? I don’t give a damn if it’s just primer, I just would want the rust spread stopped.

First picture is my concern area, the rest are the rest of the vehicle.

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[Gen 6 Mach1]

If you have a Body shop you can trust , take it to them they know the different makes models and if the salt damage is local ,or going to be a can of worms and not worth spending the money. It might be a driver until the salt damage takes the car to the recycling yard .

 

[Mach 307]

If you have a Body shop you can trust , take it to them they know the different makes models and if the salt damage is local ,or going to be a can of worms and not worth spending the money. It might be a driver until the salt damage takes the car to the recycling yard .

I will have to see, maybe have it checked out in the spring. Shouldn’t get too much worse between now and then? I should’ve mentioned in my OP car only has 56k miles.

 

[sk47]

Hello; One thing is going to be true. If you cannot do the work yourself then body shop labor will be just as costly for an inexpensive car as it will be for an expensive car.
Another thing is the corrosion you see will be only a fraction of what is there when you start digging.
Do not ask for primer only. Many primers are porous and will not seal. There can & usually will be rust continuing under the primer. There are epoxy primers that do seal, but they can cost a lot more and require more safety to apply.

Is it worth fixing is the question. I think it probably is. Not likely in the sense you can come out ahead money wise if you decide to sell it later. But having a decent running car which gets good MPG's and is reliable counts a lot. I am making an assumption that you got it cheap enough since you bought it off your dad.

Good luck

 

[Mach 307]

Hello; One thing is going to be true. If you cannot do the work yourself then body shop labor will be just as costly for an inexpensive car as it will be for an expensive car.
Another thing is the corrosion you see will be only a fraction of what is there when you start digging.
Do not ask for primer only. Many primers are porous and will not seal. There can & usually will be rust continuing under the primer. There are epoxy primers that do seal, but they can cost a lot more and require more safety to apply.

Is it worth fixing is the question. I think it probably is. Not likely in the sense you can come out ahead money wise if you decide to sell it later. But having a decent running car which gets good MPG's and is reliable counts a lot. I am making an assumption that you got it cheap enough since you bought it off your dad.

Good luck

I should have a quote tomorrow from the place I always have taken my mustangs. To me the car is worth it’s weight in gold, I never plan to sell, truly drive it til the wheels fall off. I think they’ll want to fully redo the area which I’m okay with, since it looks like the rest of the car is holding up very well. I did get it very cheap as my dad moved to Thailand and no longer had a use for it, so he essentially gave it to me. So far for the car, title and registration I’m in under $1,000, so I wouldn’t mind putting another $1,000 or so into the repair. As I don’t know if I’d ever find another daily for that price, mileage, and condition. I feel most would be clapped to hell.

Thank you for the good luck!

 

[VMS Racing]

If you want a quality repair the rust will need to be cut out and a patch welded in, make sure that this is the way that this is done. Some shops will sand the rust down and fill the hole with a myriad of materials, and if not done properly, it will just come back. This is not a difficult repair, but it will be time consuming.

 

[Swtbabybilly]

If it was my car I'd just run it as is stay on top of mechanical services and run it as a daily until the wheels fall off best of luck whatever u decide to do

 

[SnowFox]

you could strip the rust down at home with some sand paper/petrol jelly or whatever you prefer. Rattle can some paint in the area once it's clean then find some basic Amazon black fender "flares" to cover it up.

It's not ideal, but it's cheap and effective without the hassle of paint matching

 

[Mach 307]

Starting to think I’ll just let the wheels fall off and save the money. It’s inevitable anyways until I move from Chicago. As long as it can last me the length of my Mustang payment, I’ll be able to get a rust free daily for the long term is my thought.

 

[sk47]

Starting to think I’ll just let the wheels fall off and save the money. It’s inevitable anyways until I move from Chicago. As long as it can last me the length of my Mustang payment, I’ll be able to get a rust free daily for the long term is my thought.

Hello; Some years ago a friend inherited some money. He bought a new 1991 BMW 3 series. Became obsessive about the BMW. Bought a very used Ford Tarus to drive on first snowy days, Then rainy days. Then dusty days and so on. I wound up helping him work on the Ford.

You are well ahead of the curve with the Yota with the deal. Two ways at least to look at a second car. 1) drive the wheels off as you say. Without taking care of it, such will happen soon enough. Same for a cheap junker as for a nice classic. Had a friend who owns several nice classics. From the mid 1970's to 2010 i worked on his cars. I would get the recently purchased classic lined out and he would sometimes not drive it for years. Just drive it from my place and park it in an unheated basement.
On another he would not let it sit so long but scoffed at regular maintenance. On his 1972 911 T I changed the oil and did some other work. He would park it for weeks or months often. I could not get him to change the oil again for years. He wanted to go by miles.
Point being a daily driver needs a level of attention same as a garage queen.
2) often enough that sacrificial daily driver become your only ride due to unforeseen circumstances. It is not quite the same as with a boat but similar. if you own a boat the most important thing is to keep the trailer in good shape. A broke down boat is a common enough disappointment. A bad trailer is a stranded on the side of the road adventure.
3) A rusty spot once started will corrode in fast time. With a body on frame not a big deal. I see rusted out trucks that are still structurally fine. Not so with a unibody car. Even if you cobble the job as far as looks the rust can be slowed down if not stopped.

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