What do you think of this rust?

maxxfish

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
165
Reaction score
3
Just got some pictures of a car I inquired about purchasing. Should I run? BTW, I'm looking for a driver-quality car, but would want to at least stop/fix the rust. I also asked him to get some shots of the rockers.


Copy2ofP2020015-1.jpg
CopyofP2020018.jpg
P2020013-1.jpg
P2020014-1.jpg
 

dang

Administrator
Site Donor
Messages
4,260
Reaction score
3,281
Location
Rocklin, CA
To me it looks like a recent (within the last five years) paint job over a chassis that wasn't all that solid. Either way, the rust isn't confined to one or two problem areas but spread out. Not good in my opinion.

Dan
 

abe3.0CSi

Well-Known Member
Messages
268
Reaction score
0
Location
Thousand Oaks, CA
I bought a rust free car from dan the "coupeguy" . Take a look at the
"COUPEKING" site under projects 555 and see what kind a car you get when its "rust free". Bottom line, thats the tip of the iceberg and I would not touch that car unless you get a ppi by someone who knows what they are doing.
abe
 

Stefan

Well-Known Member
Messages
529
Reaction score
8
Location
Sweden
If the seller allows you, try to run a sharp knife into the crack. As Dang wrote, it’s really looks like a poor antirust treatment before painting......

Could be a short term upgrading. Speak with the owner before the seller if possible. He/she normally don't make any money in hiding any secrets.
 

bmwmadman

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Messages
541
Reaction score
10
Location
Escondido, CA (near San Diego)
As someone has already mentioned, it looks like a recent paint job that was applied to the car. This makes me think of 2 questions. 1) How is the vehicle in RUST prone areas? Anything structurally wrong? 2) was the paint applied to a poorly prepared surface? It could be the second issue which I think would be better than having structural issues. But regardless time and money will be needed.. :(
 

jmackro

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,463
Reaction score
728
Location
San Juan Capistrano, Ca.
maxxfish said:
Just got some pictures of a car I inquired about purchasing. ..... I also asked him to get some shots of the rockers.

Maxxfish: Note that CS coupes have a sheetmetal cover over the rockers, so photos won't show you much. You need to remove those covers to see what the structural elements look like underneath them.

As others have written, given that rust is showing in multiple places on a car that appears newly painted, this one seems suspicious. All coupes have some rust - you will never find one truly rust-free, so at some point you have to take some risk. You never know how much rust a car has until you get the paint off - of course, by then you own what ever problems you discover.

In my opinion, unless this car is really inexpensive, it doesn't look like a great candidate.
 

maxxfish

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
165
Reaction score
3
Wow, thanks for all of the prompt and detailed replies. Case closed, moving on! That's what I figured. I'm betting those A-pillars are shot. Since I can't afford a fully resored car (and there's no guarantee that they're rust-free anyway!) I think I'll go with an unrestored example. Even if it has to be repainted, at least I'll know what the body looks like. Plus, I'll get to paint it whatever coler I like! Inca? Turkis? Fjord? Hmmmm. 8)
 
Top