Rust, rust, rust!

[Danzors]

So I have this deal for a '89 240sx hatchback with 140k miles and we went to the mechanic's just to get a check up and maybe discover some more problems with it.

Pretty much, aside from the broken passenger window that he already told me about, there was rust under the spoiler, some rust on the overall exhaust system with the one immediately behind the muffler being a bit critical.

No holes sofar except the left side of the spoiler is detached. We also found out that he pretty much had no brake pads and the rotors will need replacing as well. What was most interesting of all was a patch of rust about the size of a hand on the left front wheel well.

I was wondering how bad the condition of the car is. I'm especially worried about that rust on the wheel well. Can anyone tell me if it's critical to the car's integrity or if a bodyshop can fix it up for cheap?

The guy asked for 800 initially but I'm definitely bringing him down on this. Sofar I'm looking at 500 dollars in repairs already just for the brakes and rotors.

[180fan]

the wheel wells shouldn't be too hard to get fixed. Dunno about cheap though. Expect to get what you pay for as a general rule of thumb. The brakes and rotors for 500 is too much. You can find a set of pads for under 100 then you can find the rotors for 100-300 depending on how fancy you want to get. The rust on the exhaust, you might want to look at a new exhaust from BRM or something instead of wasting cash on some cheapo muffler that's gonna rust out on you again.

True story: The previous owner of my car bought a $20 muffler (that was installed and welded etc, the biggest pos ever which I later nicknamed "pisscan") and a couple months later it rusted out. Needless to say, one of my first mods was a catback...

The rust under the spoiler is a common thing. Depends on how bad it is. You can expect to find a new hatch for 100-200 if you can find one without the dreaded sponge spoiler. Or do what some of us have done and go cough up a hefty sum for a carbon hatch. Makes a world of difference with a lexan window over stock.

[Danzors]

Well the price for rotors was 58 each for the front and 32 each for the rear. Then the brakebads was 119 for front and 129 for rear (yes, they're charging a ****load for labor). Personally I don't really know how to change brake bads and its really just to please the rents.

Could anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much that rust on the wheel well will cost me and if its really a major problem or if its affected the chassis?

[180fan]

the welding depends on how hard the body shop wants to do you. Brakes are very easy to do. You should have been able to search for how to do brake pads and do them yourself. You'll need a 12mm and either a 14 or 17mm socket to get the calipers off, pliers, some brake cleaner, and a clamp optional: some anti seize and a rubber mallet.

[Danzors]

well i suppose then i'll try that and get a quote from a local body shop, thanks for the info!

[ricebike]

Well the price for rotors was 58 each for the front and 32 each for the rear. Then the brakebads was 119 for front and 129 for rear (yes, they're charging a ****load for labor). Personally I don't really know how to change brake bads and its really just to please the rents.

holy crap , are those rotors and pads just OEM replacements or some high-end stuff? you coulda gone w/ aftermarket replacement from autozone or advance autoparts... for da cheap, but streetable performance (i have a daily driver/NICOtot-hauler w/ no problems whatsoever)

plus, if u were in the area, I woulda done it for a case of soda & given it some extra TLC procedures like sanding/wire brushing the hubs, dabbing a small amount of grease between hub-rotors, cleaning out the caliper sliding pins w/ some break-kleen, then relubing them w/ synthetic brake grease...

but i was enjoying the day w/ the NICOtots n didn't came upon your thread until now

PS find another mech; he ripped u off big time