How bad are these rust spots?

[coryg57]

Hey. I'm going to check out this 2002 and was wondering what you guys thought about these rust spots. Are they too bad?

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.schlackman/2002#

[TobyB]

Pretty car.

No, THOSE spots aren't too bad.

It's the ones they're not showing that would worry me...

and given what's showing, I'd look carefully for more.

t

[nbristow01]

Man get it up on a lift and have a very very detailed look.

[pjo33us]

Just curious...what would a car in this condition go for? Assuming the floor and sub frame are not a disaster? What is this guy asking?

[ought2]

Those areas look pretty typical and are not necessarily a sign of major neglect. But do take a careful look at the frame rails and shock towers, as that would be a much more ambitious undertaking to repair, and a deal breaker for many.

[coryg57]

Just curious...what would a car in this condition go for? Assuming the floor and sub frame are not a disaster? What is this guy asking?

Hes asking $3800 for it. But i'm going to shoot for less if thats the only rust on it.

[Delia]

Just off the top of my head, I see the front fenders appear to have been replaced. Assuming that was the most obvious (and easiest to remedy) cosmetic flaw, there are many additional structural and well-known places to look for rust on an 02.

One of the biggest challenges is seeing through whatever rust repair has been already performed. On a car such as this one, I suspect the rear quarters have rusted behind the wheel arches -- that means the quarters as well as the outer wheel houses may need replacing.

The rocker panels just forward of the rear wheel arches are suspect as well. Underneath the sheet metal skin are several critical reinforcement panels that tend to rot away, making the car a "flexible flier." The semi-trailing arm suspension points are also attached near this rocker section.

Be careful on this one.

D

[pjo33us]

Gotcha...

I am in Colorado and thinking about a winter project. Probably a gutted street/track car of some sort depending on how good the interior is. I am really looking for a mostly rust free car that needs a paint job and just wondering what I should expect to pay. Something not running is fine too as I want to teach my son a little about engines.

So far 2 suitable cars have come up on craigslist/ebay. They both sold for about $1500 BUt were automatics (which is why I did not bite). I believe an auto conversion to a 5 speed is more involved than a 4 to 5 speed

[ArdenK]

+1 to what everyone said.

The rust you see is the tip of the ice berg. Look carefully, you'll find more.

[gastephens]

I think you can do a lot better than that for the money. Rust repair can get very expensive very fast and once the tinworm bites it never lets go.

2002s are still pretty common. Look a little longer and buy a better one. You will be happy that you did.

[allbim]

I'll bet if you poke a srewdriver into that rust you'll go right through.

When you see blisters, it usually means rust-through.

[c.d.iesel]

........

. . . . . . . . = $ 1,000 max

it 'looks' like a nice starter ?

and only buy a car that runs and drives -

yours is a romantic notion

[pjo33us]

Wait...does this car run? With that kind of rust, and again, I would like to see the frame rails/floor/shock towers/inner rockers etc first, if the car is not running I would pay no more than the value of the parts you can salvage...

If it runs well =$1000 to $1200

Not running = maybe $500 if there is something you can actually do with it yourself.

Keep in mind there is nothing particullarly special about this car, it is not worth paying someone $5000 to fix the rust and repaint it... Were it a tii that might be a different story.

If you expect to learn how to weld and grind and paint then go for it.