Rust - to fix or not to fix.. Pics (56K friendly) - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

islandboy57 · 07-19-2007, 12:13 AM

My mom's Camry is starting to rust pretty bad on the roof

. It started with fireworks on New Year's Eve [about 7-10 years ago] landing on the roof chipping paint off as it exploded, then got worse with time since the car wasn't washed/polished regularly. We're trying to figure out whether or not it's worth it to fix it. I'm figuring about $3K for a good paint job, and $1.5K to fix the rust? Not sure about the latter part, but someone we know paid $700 to fix rust that went through his door and it was $700.

The car is only worth a couple thousand, but in reality, it's worth a lot more than that in terms of how many more years of trouble-free service it can potentially provide.

Details:
- 1995 Camry V6 LE
- 79.5K miles
- No mechnical issues whatsoever, still runs as smooth as butter
- Just got the timing belt and water pump replaced, and AT flushed
- The car gets washed/polished regularly now and looks great [see the last picture] except for the rust
- Alarm/deck/reverse parking sensors installed

I'd really hate to see the car go. I drove it through high school and it's an awesome car. Sad to think that this could be another gen 3 fatality! What do you all think? Spend the $4-5K and fix it up like new, or drive it till it rains on your head?

MIC0417 · 07-19-2007, 12:17 AM

Hell no, by that I mean the pics you took make the car look silver, but the last one is a goldish color, just sand it off, prime it and or bondo it then paint it. Honestly how often do you take a good hard look at a car's roof?

Venom_5 · 07-19-2007, 12:18 AM

eh, just give it to me! lol

same year as mine, but i have the 4cyl autotragic ...

but honestly, fix it ... its still good for another 200k miles, anything less than 100k on a car thats 12 years old means you didnt drive it enough!

islandboy57 · 07-19-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIC0417

Hell no, by that I mean the pics you took make the car look silver, but the last one is a goldish color, just sand it off, prime it and or bondo it then paint it. Honestly how often do you take a good hard look at a car's roof?

Yeah, not sure why the pictures came out so silver. Must be the lighting. But actually, that would be perfectly fine with my mom so long as it takes care of the rust. She's not interested in it looking brand new like there was nothing there.

And I know! Only 79.5K miles.. It'd be a lot less if I hadn't driven it through high school. My mom puts on about 200 miles a month! So, I'm changing her oil every 3 months / 600 miles pretty much. Lots of short trips so I still change the oil just to be sure.

Venom_5 · 07-19-2007, 01:05 AM

you change the oil too much ... try every 2k miles

***CharmCityES*** · 07-19-2007, 01:05 AM

id def fix that....theyre small spots and easly repairable
other than that, your g3 is hella clean and def worth the money to fix, esp with that low milage

islandboy57 · 07-19-2007, 01:19 AM

Thanks for the input and compliment

. I was thinking it was going to be a big job, but by the sound of it from you guys, maybe not. Will definitely get some quotes over the next few weeks and ask for advice once I get that done.

Every 2K miles for an oil change? That'd be 10-12 month intervals. I'm going to stick with my routine oil changes. Short city trips + 1MZ sludgemonster = I'd rather change the oil on it too often than not enough.

tavalon · 07-19-2007, 02:32 AM

fix it.

Maim Menu · 07-19-2007, 03:02 AM

I'm fixing up rust spots all over my 98 right now. It's an easy job to do, fix that car man it'll last a life.

islandboy57 · 07-19-2007, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maim Menu

I'm fixing up rust spots all over my 98 right now. It's an easy job to do, fix that car man it'll last a life.

You got a thread somewhere with the steps you've taken, or would you mind starting one? I have no clue how to go about this but wouldn't mind doing it myself if possible. Not because I'm good at it, just because I would like to learn - and my mom doesn't really care how neat the job is so long as the rust is stopped. I'm Googling now for techniques on fixing automotive exterior rust..

That's one thing about her car.. It's the car I learn from. My car is too new so nothing is wrong with it and I don't want to mess with it much since it's still under warranty

midnightmach · 07-19-2007, 05:55 AM

Sand, Prime, Paint not worth getting a new car for...

geoff5093 · 07-19-2007, 07:12 AM

I WOULD NOT pay $4K-$5K to fix that! It's way more then the car is even worth!

Maybe do some quick job and fill it in, but you dont need it to look like new or anything.

Tuner571 · 07-19-2007, 07:22 AM

You should definitely try to repair those spots, your camry is just to clean to give up.

ghettosled · 07-19-2007, 08:03 AM

since they are small spots on the roof and the rest of the car looks cherry, just fix those spots. sand away all of the rust, prime the spots and paint only the spots. this definitely wont look seamless, buts its the roof, will stop it from rusting and is VERY inexpensive to do (less than $100).

grandmaburner · 07-19-2007, 12:09 PM

I suggest taking a dremel and jsut getting that shit outta there. Your car is very nice and im sure it runs smoother than any of ours seeing as it is so well maintained. These spots take away from it. But like everyone else is saying you just need to bondo and sand after you get the rust out. Try going to an autoparts store too for a can of spray paint. One of them will say "toyota tan" my car is the same color and i cant even tell where i sprayed it. Just get more paint then you think you will need and spray it from a distance so it will blend good and no be all orange peelish. Good luck mate i hope you get this goin!