Alero body/paint issues

[Nas Escobar]

Originally Posted by negolien

In all fairness sometimes honesty is brutal. At 82k miles with the vehicle in questionable shape whoever gave you an honest answer should be congratulated. They could have always just bilked you for whatever they could squeeze out of you.

One of the bad things about living in snow country is salt. Probably worst than living in a southern state to be honest. Not sure which one you are in or the car was in. Chances are if there's rust there there's rust elsewhere. Lift the carpet in the trunk and pull the back seat and look under the mat. You're talking about cutting sheet metal and tack welding another piece on then grinding, primer and paint.

Some people on here have oodles of money to spend on the vehicles they have. Average Joe's like me and it sounds like you don't. Hell I been saving the part I can spend out of two paychecks just to have a small part of my audio system done at a time. Don't go overboard if there's rust what's the condition of the engine, brakes, coolant system yadda yadda yadda. Prioritize my friend I think that's the best advice someone could give you.

82K miles is fairly low mileage for a 2002 car. Yes, it's 12 years old, but I'm pretty sure a 2008 car with 82k miles isn't going to cost any less than $7,000. I've already tried this angle and the fact of the matter is that cars are holding their value a lot better nowadays.

The average mileage driven on a car is usually 12,000. If the car is a 2002, in 2014 a car should be around 144,000 miles. To me, that's the point you shouldn't be worried about rust and more worried about timing chains, transmissions, fluid flushes, and other enigne components. 82k, that's fairly low. My 1994 Cutlass had 90k when I bought it in 2013. That means, on average my Cutlass was driven 4,000 miles a year. The gaskets were shot, but after fixing it the car feels just as new as a 2014 Toyota Crapola and looks a lot better than one too.

With that being said... you have a valid point. IF there's rust somewhere, there's rust in more places. My Camaro is bubbling by the fuel door and sure enough, I need to fix the inside of my quarter panel. Everything else is solid, I just wish the previous owner didnt' drive it in the Maryland snow. SMH but whatever, all I can do is make sure it doesn't get wet and get it fixed asap. At least with that car it's still worth fixing considering that it's a 2002 (last year for Camaro and F body), and my car would be worth $4000 or so if it was in mint condition. Besides the rust, all it needs is the LIM gaskets, which I plan on doing. It's supposed to be my fuel sipper (because it has a 3800 and it gets 22-25 mpg) so little increments is all that can be done.

With that said, the fact that it's an Olds he should do the same. Prevent as much as he can and save up for the repair.

Originally Posted by Papa Rad17

i agree entirely. so few people other then us semi few and far between car guys get that. to may people its just a car unfortunately, and they dont really give a crap.

Many people don't appreciate anything at all. It's the same with houses. To a lot of people, a house from 1900 is just an outdated dilapidated house, but to someone else it carries history. DC and Baltimore have that problem. Many people see the houses as old and should be condemned not realizing that it is an architectural design that is long gone. Baltimore is known for their row homes... imagine all of them condemed with cookie cutter townhomes in their place. Imagine DC without its mix of architectural designs and everything being the same old cookie cutter vinyl sided building. It would take away from the flair of the city and make it look like a boring suburb.

Cars is the same. Anyone can have a mass produced car but it takes someone with taste to keep a design on the road 25 years after production ended; whether or not the brand itself still exists. My Cutlass Supreme convertible keeps interest in Oldsmobile alive becuase no one really knew that car existed. Most people thought they stopped making convertibles in the 70's. I get a lot of bone head questions about the car, but I also get a lot of people intrigued (no pun intended) as to what car it is and etc. A lot of people think it's worth more than what it really is since it's a rare car.

[negolien]

I agree mostly but there's a missed point it's not that the car has 82,000 miles it's it has 82,000 miles and has rust. Mine has 91k but My body is like new same with the interior. I think anyone that came across a 2002 with rust would wonder what's hidden in the rest of the car. If he had oddles of cash sure plug away at restoration. The fact he can barely afford tires make me think he should start an emergency fund in case something gives motor wise or tranny wise which at 85k miles and under less than perfect care it seems is highly likely. Just offering a constructive opinion not dogging on the car.

[03glgold]

who says he gives it less than perfect care...I will say there can be extenuating circumstances with anything...Though I go back and forth as to whether I should fix it, mine will probably never be fixed as it is almost to 180k miles, has about 2k in body damage before rust, which it is starting to get (will sand and fix what I can this summer), and while the car was paid of, it was originally bought under loan through nuvell credit corp who is known for having issues sending titles, having been paid of about 5 years ago and never sending the title (they lost the letter, go figure, don't know if I would believe it was paid of if I wasn't there when the letter came in the mail), they claim to have lost record of the car so to this point my uncle can't get the title to give me...That means while I love the car and the fact that it has already given me almost 45k miles of service with a to date cost of $1500, she just doesn't have much going for her...this is sad to me as while that was about 8k miles ago I was offered 1k trade-in in the condition she is in, but I guess the only option I really have with her is to run her tell she gives out and eventually get another to build

[negolien]

LOL don't be putting words in my mouth I never said "He" gave it less than perfect care. We don't know how long the car has been under his care. We also know that it takes more than "a couple of months" to develop that issue. Thus the constructive advice. I could just say yeah hell do it pour a thousand dollars into it but I don't think I would be comfortable giving him that advice. Doesn't mean I' am dogging him or the car. Sometimes looking out for someone means saying something might not be a good idea. It's always nice to have differing options to chose from so a person can make an informed decision.

I personally keep 1k in the bank at any given time for "general emergencies." I' am not mister money bags so I find it helpful to keep a rainy day fund. I used it recently as a matter of fact. Remember I just had front brakes, rotors and calipers, 4 tires and the 100,000 mile service done. That completely drained my rainy day fund. Yet I still keeping plugging along on my audio work. It's all about priorities without a car I can't work without work I lose the roof over my head. I love doing stuff to my car but I ain't gonna saw the branch I' am standing on off either lol.

[03glgold]

Not saying some of your points aren't valid, but on either side it takes a lot of assumptions...I know my car was poorly maintained for the 134k before i got it, it has been ran hard its entire life, but it still runs rather well at 179500, with only parts replaced being timing and balance assemblies (balance was fine but spending an extra 1-200 while it was apart was worth it to me), and a temp sensor...I have seen perfectly maintained vehicles with a lot lower mileage and easier use that operate way worse...there is a certain point where it just comes down to luck, there are those people who can religiously maintain a car, and never run it hard to have it die by 100k miles, and those who beat the crap out of their vehicles never doing maintenance (this is not me, I make sure to keep up with oil, etc.) and have it run 200k plus...I heard a story a little bit back about someone who's sister bought a ford festiva new and took it in at almost 100k miles because it wasn't running right, it's problem was it had never had an oil change, they changed the oil and kept up with it and she drove it to over 200k miles before she sold it with it still running fine...All you can do is your best trying to keep it on the road, and whatever happens happens, there is no one hundred percent controlling what happens

EDIT: ( there is a possibility that my car has around 10k more miles than the odometer reads, at one point he told me that a rodent chewed the wiring harness disabling the odometer for a bit until the harness was replaced, I have asked him about it since then and he has denied it, so who really knows)

[negolien]

LOL you lucky sod...I' am forever paranoid about my car having issues. I religiously do the routine maintenance on it usually a tad earlier than required. I did my 100,000 miler at 91,000 just because I had all the cash to do it and was doing brakes and tires about the same time. Tax money well spent I think. That's why I was so pissed when the dealer jacked up my engine doing the injector throttle body maintenance. Still interested to know what the 2k in damage looks like on your ride though

We'll have to wait and see what he get's quoted for the repairs. I' am thinking at least 1k but I guess well have to wait and see.

[bdyman]

Ya know i could sit here in my lazy boy and type out a long ass how to
But
I shall not, since yur asking how to fix rust and how to do bodywork i suggest you takecit to a decent shop. And have it fixed correctly
As a tech trying to explain my trade in a paragraph or two will not help you at all. Since bodywork is not able to be taught online. I cant give you anhow to
Bodyand paint work is a hands on trade
So take it to a shop
If you fix it your self the cost will double or triple since you want to play bodyman
Goodluck

[Redog]

Where my Alero hasn't showed any rust in that spot, I'm sure it's there. You have to ask yourself if it's worth fixing. Any shop that is going to flat out say "It's going to cost more than it's worth" is really saying one of 2 things.

1. We don't feel like fixing it
2. We don't feel confindant enough to fix it

Being that he said "It will come back" I'm leaning towards number 2.

Ask fellow car guys in work. Do you go to church, supermarket, The Y, etc where they might have a paper or a corkboard with flyers and so on?

Shop around, you don't have to take the first offer.

I took my Delta to only 2 shops before I picked one. The first shop told me they would sand and paint, the second shop sent the car to a soda blasting shop first, taking the car down to bare metal, then bodywork and paint for only a $500 more.