Removing minor body rust

[OsoMoore]

I'm shopping for an SC and am looking at one that has some minor rust on the rear body panel, just forward of one of the back tires. The owner reports there is bubbling under the paint, but it hasn't broken through yet. He reports that otherwise the body is in good, and the car's condition overall appears excellent.

Is it possible to address this without a full-car repaint? I can't see the car in-person, but it appears the rust is less than the size of my hand, and I'm hoping that I might be able to repair it without a professionally done repaint of the whole car. Maybe I could clean it with a grinder, some sanding, and prime and repaint that myself. This will be a daily driver, and the rust isn't in a highly visible spot, so as long as it looks OK from 10 feet away and is immune to future rust, I'll be happy. Alternately, perhaps it is possible to have a shop repaint just that area, after I grind out the rust. Or, maybe I should move on to a different car - there are a fair number of good options floating around right now.

[HarryD]

Rust in an SC is a potential sign of a poor panel repair. As an onwer of a non Galvanized car, I can tell you for a fact that if you see some rust, there is plenty more hidden. Personally, I would move on unless the car is so inexpensive and you are 100% sure of the rust extent that you can address it properly.

As far as fixing it, depending on the color, you may be able to do a spot repair your self. How handy are you at body repairs/painting?

[1-ev.com]

rust is bad... but you should ask pro body shop look into it, if it cost you some fee, it will save $$$ later..

You can see some opinions in my thread Por15 vs others to remove RUST

My 2c
-Y.

[OsoMoore]

I've never done body repair before, but I'm pretty handy with paint, and I've done a fair bit of tooling around on VW's, so I'm comfortable crawling around it with tools. I've attached pictures of the sides, I don't have anything higher detail. I'm hoping to get some better pictures of it soon.

The owner has kept very meticulous records, and the car is otherwise in very good shape, so I'm hopeful that really is all the rust. If pursuing the car further seems good, then I'll see if I can bribe a pelican to go check it out.

[OsoMoore]

Yikes, so many fast responses.
Rust is a killer, so perhaps this is another step in my learning experience about buying a used car.
Specifically, there are rust-free cars out there, I don't have to settle for one with that issue. My initial requirements were that it be safe, rust free, and not in imminent need of expensive powerplant work. Perhaps I should file this with Mr. Duct Tape (my wife's name for that car) and be patient.

[docrodg]

Where there is rust there is more rust... If there are better cars available and this isn't one heck of a deal I would walk away.