Expert: William Forster - 4/12/2008

Question
My Altima 2000 is rusting on the bottom of the doors, the inside of the trunk and little spots here and there.
It has 197,000 km on it. I have had it for 8 years and never had mechanical problems with it. It's a free ride, paid for completely.I don't care about fashion or new cars.
I just want to keep it as long as I can and not have car payments as long as I can !
Should I paint it ( repair rust everywhere) or should I let it go and ride with rust until it goes ? My mechanic said that I should paint it because the engine will outlast the body for sure and I could get another 5 years out of it with a new paint job (repairs etc). It's around 3000.$ to do the job. I could buy a 2000 Altima for about 3500.00$ :) What to do ?


Answer
Just have the rust spots that bother you most fixed. I don't think the car is worth a paint job, and it's going to start breaking down more often, so why keep piling money into it? When do you stop? In 5 years when it has 275,000 KM are you going to ask yourself if you should put a motor in it because you painted it 5 years ago? Save your money, just keep it looking presentable, and laugh all the way to the bank. It's an older car that's paid for. Bill