i would not think its that bad beside that rocker i dont see a reason why it would its only 8 year old with 80,000km
+1
Because this unit-body car has no frame, severe rust damageāsuch as thisāto the bodyās structure means that it has lost its original structural integrity. That loss translates to significantly-reduced protection in the event of a collision.
also thats the only place that car has rust. had it checked today and the guy basicly told me, ford focusā¦ standard stuff
Did they put it on a lift . . . ?
If not, then all bets are off, in my opinion
If they did put it on a lift and that one rocker is the only problem, sure, pay to have a new one welded in and have the repaired area repainted. But rust is like cancer, itās hiding and will probably rear its ugly head with a vengeance, maybe in several years, maybe in a few months
Otherwise i sell it for 2-4k and buy a 2012ish lexus is 250 or some honda accord
You might get the lower amount but with all that rust and the fact that you said you donāt wash or wax you list of people who would buy this is small.
I wouldnāt wash it either. Might make it rust away.
That sounds like a cosmetic rather than structural repair to me. I would try the POR thing, but get it inspected annually and when it is deemed unroadworthy dump it.
If I had that problem Iād at least ask a shop for a pro appraisal, specifically is there is enough damage that it might be structurally unsound. If the shop says it is only cosmetic, it might be possible to simply purchase replacement rocker panels. Replacing the rocker panels may require a body shop, as welding may be necessary. Do a little googling to see if they are available as replacement parts. If I just wanted to do the very minimum, and again provided it is not a structural problem, what my dad would do in that situation is use a sheet of metal he cut from a beer can and glue it on using 24 hour epoxy (holding it w/rivets or screws until the glue set). Before gluing he would have removed most of the rust using a wire wheel tool. Then heād remove the screws rivets, bondo, sand, and paint. Me, Iād just remove the rust best I could by wire wheeling, paint it over with a rust stopping paint product, maybe top it off with a rattle can of a matching color and drive on.
To minimize this sort of rust problem in the future, after every snowstorm take your car to a diyāer car wash that has a pressure wand and wash out the wheel wells and along the rocker panels. It is the road salt thatās the main culprit, and washing those areas out after every snowstorm you drive in is pretty effective. And not overly burdensome or time consuming to do.