Removing rusts before selling?

rust_nightmare

Hi,

I'm going to sell my Nissan Versa 2012 soon.

I was naive that I believed the rust on my car (passenger side, rear quarter panel) would be gone so easily.

When I visited local auto body shop today, I came across the brutal truth -- the rust removal is only temporary and it will return in 2-3 months!!!
The cost will be $500 +

If it is only a temporary fix, I'm not sure if it's worth. I'd have to warn buyers that the rust will come back.
But I'm afraid the buyers walk away before even considering it.

What would you be doing if you were to sell a car with mild rust on the rear quarter panel?
Any comment / advice will be appreciated.

Thank you!

rickdon

Sand it down to bare metal. Apply primer and paint.

PF_Flyer

Hmmm... I've never heard a body shop guy say that the rust would reappear that fast. The whole idea of a rust repair like that is to get down to the bare metal, remove any rusted material, fill what needs to be filled, prime and paint. I'd agree the rust will come back that fast if you just cover it up (also known as not doing a proper repair), but that's a whole different aspect of this

Guess it comes down to whether you think you'll increase the price of the car by the $500 if you do the fix. Since you think you'd warn the buyer that the rust was going to come back anyway, maybe sell it as is. Let the buyer see what they're getting. They may see it as a chance to get a car at a price and being that it's not a major repair, they can spend a little and fix it up.

We've had a couple of Versas in our household, including my 2011 and my daughter's 2012 and we haven't had a rust issue (yet). I'm guessing that you're in a snow state, and maybe even an oceanside state with salt air, as we're in PA with winter road salt, etc. and (knock on wood) no rust issues to date

Mr_Shiftright

I would just treat the areas with a rust inhibitor, then sand the areas very carefully so as not to damage the paint surrounding them, and then use a touch-up brush. The rust doesn't look very serious, so you might just point to the touch-up when selling the car.

It also depends on where you live. In some parts of the country, buyers are more tolerant of a little surface rust than say in the SW or California, where rust is rare on a new-ish car.