Selling my 83 SC - Found Rust - Fix it or Not?
 

Hi Folks - I am selling my 83SC (see ad in For Sale section). When taking some pics, I noticed some paint bubbles on the passenger side rocker next to the rubber sill plate, and peeled it up to reveal this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1261521480.jpg

There is NO evidence of rust anywhere else on the car, and as far as I know has never seen salt. I think it is a result of water getting trapped under the rubber and getting under the paint.

So, my question is this - should I have it repaired prior to selling it, or is it better to leave it as is? I am asking because I think this may scare off prospective buyers. It is otherwise a very solid, well sorted car. If it were me buying, I would want it as is so that I know what I am getting and can have it properly repaired. But am I limiting the audience by trying to sell it as is? I know that I would not recover the cost of repair in the selling price. Thoughts?

It is not that unusual to see rust there for exactly the reason you state. If you are selling the car as a rough-around the edges project at a dirt-cheap price, then yes, I would leave it and just disclose outright.

However, it sounds like this is a nice car otherwise and I assume you will want to sell it for a price similar to other, equally nice cars. In that case, you are competing against cars that are essentially turn-key. If I were looking to buy something like that, I would be tempted to pass simply for the reason that I will have an issue to attend to straight off the bat.

I would do a quality repair, take lots of pictures and disclose it very matter of fact: Moisture was trapped under the sill rubber, caused some localized corrosion, new metal welded in and properly painted. End of story.

As a buyer I would want to see pictures after the rust was cut away confirming the the inner sills were rust free. If I saw that, and documentation supporting that it was a quality repair, then I would be very happy to consider the car.

Fix the rust and drive the snot out of it.

Seriously, I had some rust on that same spot. A Saturday afternoon spent with a fellow pelican(thanks wcc!!) and it was corrected. Just be sure you get all of the corrosion out.

A competent body shop could whip that out in a day or so.

You should check the driver's side for the same problem, though.

If not repaired, declare it to any prospective buyer.

Thanks. I'm inclined to fix it. Either way, it will be fully disclosed.

I vote to fix. It's a hard sell to say "everthing is fine except...this little rust through." It lays the seed of doubt about the rest of the car. It's like kitchen counter tops, it will pay for itself.

x2 It's worth fixing...

You will not recoup the money you spend fixing it when you sell it.

Disclose it and negotiate accordingly, and let the new owner fix it.

Brian,

I have to say I would not fix it. In my experience any car that has that rust, has more. Even in the photos it looks like there may be some filler higher up on the lock post (they could just be chips in the paint too). My bet though is that if you dig hard you'll find more rust. Likely in the front and rear windshield underneath the seal, on the driver side in the same place, etc. The problem is that with that rust will seriously impact the price your car will bring to an educated buyer. My guess is a smart buyer would be willing to pay at best 8500 for the car. Compare that with what you would sell it for get some estimates and see what makes sense.

If you are going to fix it though for top dollar you shoudl fix the dash, the ding in the door, and have the seats redone.

Well that is my opinion, and like belly buttons everyones got one.

Very discouraged. It really gives the car a black eye. I know that it is an isolated issue, but convincing people otherwise will be tough. I know that the paint in the door jambs is original - when the car was painted years ago, the jambs were masked - you can just barely make out the tape line. And I have had that rocker cover off, and the rocker itself shows no rust - just that area under the rubber sill. In fact, the rocker covers were not removed for the repaint - original paint on the rockers themselves. So, once I have some clear weather days, I am going to have it looked at and probably fix that area, the door ding, and maybe have the front bumper and headlight rings painted. With that said, if someone wants it in the meantime as is, I would let it go for a fair price. I hate selling a car with known issues.

I have a very minor bit of rust in the same location.

I pulled out the dremel and took it down to bare metal. Then used POR to fill and smooth. Then primed and painted with touch up. Turned out great.

You may be able to do the same thing.

How does the moisture penetrate....
 

the galvanized coating? Is it inside the rocker penetration through improper manufacturing/coating, or wear through the sill on top under the rubber that rubs the protective coating away?

I've got to run out an check my '82! Sometimes I hate the discussions that pop up on this forum.....

I had the same thing. Water gets trapped under there; the tiniest amount of grit will wear away the paint and galvanizing, and there you have it. This hardly "guarantees" that there will be anything elsewhere. $500 to cut, weld, paint for you or the buyer. These are 20-30 year old cars; something's going to not be 100%.

I was looking at a very nice Targa this fall, and was very turned off when I saw rust there, but only because it was undisclosed. Honesty is the best policy, because after I saw that, I wondered what else was lurking.

My cars are always better when I sell them than when I bought them, but I don't ever really look to make money either.

Agree. The last thing I want is for a buyer to have remorse over the purchase. Every car I have sold has been in a better state than when I found it, and this SC is no exception. This car was full of surprises when I bought it, and I have spent the past 5 years sorting all things mechanical, and made some improvements cosmetically. I always disclose all I know, but there is always the chance of something getting past me. I have a detailed spreadsheet outlining all I have done to the car, and tried to post some representative pictures in the photobucket link in my ad. However, this rust caught me off guard, as I had never peeled up the rubber sill plate until I was taking some pics and noticed some bubbles appearing right next to the rubber.

No chance of making money on this one - that went out the window the day I drove it home! I never intended to sell it, but a 928 followed me home a few weeks ago. :eek:

At this point, it is probably best that I have it repaired and document it with pictures.

Thanks all for the input!

Hi,

I had the same issue on my Carrera. Just one isolated spot, and I have no idea why. I just fixed it, and the painter checked all of the car without finding anything else. So I vote for fix it, since it is a very simple fix. I repainted the whole car, and that rust fix was like $75 extra....

Thanks,

Johan

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/426404-rust-repairs-sit-down-before-you-read.html

I have some experience with this sort of situation....

It is worth fixing, otherwise you will be a DPO, passing on problems for someone else to worry about.