Are small rust spots a huge red flag?
 

Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe 2 Door | eBay

The actual car is sold, but I thought there may be something to learn from this car. 3 photos show small rust spots in various locations. If you were inspecting a car for sale, and saw something like this, what would you do? Does this mean there is a ton more rust lurking? What would it cost to rectify these 3 rust areas? Would you walk away?

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1989-Porsche-...SpPgS/$_12.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1989-Porsche-...FSpPgU/$_3.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1989-Porsche-...NSpPgX/$_3.JPG

Remember, rust never sleeps! As these cars have been galvanized from 1976 on, rust is always much worse than first seen.

Too many nice cars out there to deal with rust.

Sure signs in the typical areas that there is major rust, what is seen is just the tip of the ice berg.

I'd buy one burning oil ,rattling and running on 5 cylinders . But I wouldn't buy a rusty car

So far, 3 for 3 would pass on this car.
Any other comments?

So, what is the eventual fate of a car like this? Obviously, it's far from being a basket case, and has plenty of driving life left.
Lots of cars on the road have much worse rust this this. So, who buys this car? That someone who doesn't care about looks and is willing to drive a 911 with a few dents and rust holes?

Probably the engine is just as worn...it's a restoration project for the DIY person. Imo.

Speaking from experience, those rust spots are really just the tip of the iceberg. What happens is water will leak through the window rubber, likely unnoticed, and puddle under the dash panel or the rear parcel shelf. It's real ugly when you remove the winsheild and dash or the parcel cover.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1314202252.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1314202284.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/445103-r-outlaw-project.html
Lots of examples on this forum.

Sold for $16,600? The rust around the windshield indicates a bad seal and rusting from the inside out. This also means water inside the car, A daily driver in Flushing, NY has seen a LOT of road salt. You could buy a truly rust-free one for low-mid 20's.

Glad you did not buy this one.

Visible rust is a deal killer for me unless I'm already planning a complete body off resto. I would wager some hard cash that you are only seeing a small percentage of the rust on that unibody and that is much more than surface/flash rust.
If you have the cutting/welding skills and some donor cars standing by, a place to store/work a long time project then it may be for you.
If you require paid help you'll be upside down so quickly you won't know up.

That's an 89 and it is showing that rust. No thanks, run away!

Here is what you might expect under that rocker panel at the rear of the door

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1316177905.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1316178598.jpg

Those rust spots are BAD signs. Those guys posting pictures are NOT exaggerating.

Run Forest RUN!

Yea, that is a deal killer. It is a parts car, nothing more.

I pity the fool who paid $16,600 for that!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1389732468.jpg

Those aren't even small rust spots. They look pretty big IMO. I wouldn't touch that car with ten foot pole, unless there was a bag of $ in it...and a pretty big bag at that.

On that car the windshield spots are not a scary as the door/sill rust, That area involves much deeper digging to get to the rusted area and is coming from the inside out. The windshield area is "usually" and easier fix and might not have gone that deep. All of it can be very scary tho.

As a New Yorker I find this statement troubling:

The car cannot be registered in NY until June 2014 due to an insurance lapse. Long story, but nothing to do with the car.

Never ever heard of this before......

In a nut shell ,in NY ,if you have say a 30 day insurance lapse ,you turn in your tags and can get them back after 30 days pass and you provide proof of new insurance. I once went 108 days and had to buy a beater car for 108 days use. You also can't let anyone else register it in another name. It is the car that can't be registered. Bad situation to find yourself in.