I would drive it as is until a better car could be found. If you can buy one in excellent condition for $5,000 that would be a bargain compared to repairing this car. You could also buy a much newer car for that amount.
If you attempt to replace the floors and rocker panels on this car you will likely be beginning a project that will never be finished, you may never get to drive this car.
If OP is asking if the rust problem can be fixed, yes it almost definitely can be fixed. Not to the same integrity as when it was new, but at least to a safe & drive-able condition. I’m not recommending this course, the economics may be tough, just saying that it is possible. You’d have to ask a restore-shop to take a look and give you an idea what needs to be done. From what I can see the best method might be the auto-rotisserie route. They bolt your car to a gadget that rotates like a chicken on a spit, then they get easy access to cut out the bad sections & weld in repair sections as required to fix the rusted parts. I’d guess you’d be looking at somewhere from $3500 to $15,000 in work, depending what needs to be done. No need to guess tho. Take it to an auto restore shop.
@kealantdog
GTI 's are fun! That said, any car I have ever had to get rid of was because of rust, never engine or transmission problems, etcetera. If you live in a state that uses road salt then plan on your car being destroyed by it.
Where I live there are 2 seasons… salted & plain. I have to own several cars at a time. Some I park during salt season (no rust underneath) and some I feed to the salt (slowly dissolving).
This reminds me. I have to move. The sooner, the better.
CSA
Just don’t move too close to the salt water.
"Florida’s calling, @common_sense_answer."
JT, You know it! It’s actually more than a call. It’s pulling at me! I have friends and relatives there, too. I’m still working on getting there.
CSA
Not a great buy if you plan to fix it up and sell it. Should have brought someone with you to evaluate the cost in fixing it. Cutting out and welding in new sections for floor panels, structural members, replacing gas tank straps and possibly brake and fuel lines are all going to add up unless you do quite a bit of the work yourself with some professional guidance. Not sure of your skillset, but you’ll need to do quite a bit not lose on selling it for $5K.
For those of use who speak American English
“The car restored is been sold for 5 grand now in perfect nic”
means
“The car restored is been sold for 5000 pounds now in mint condition”
Ed B.
That is still a bit confusing.
Do you think that the OP meant to tell us that a restored version of this car has been sold for 5k pounds…?
“Is been sold” is…not something that I have ever seen in print, in all of my 60+ years.
I have a feeling that the OP has left the building because no one said what a great plan to throw away as much money this would require.
I suspect that you are correct, but hopefully he is taking some time to educate himself about unitized construction, and learning why his idea is simply not practical with a 25 year old car that has negligible book value.
