Alero body/paint issues
 

Greetings my fellow Alero lovers,I'm new to this forum. My 02 Oldsmobile Alero is starting to show its age(below the doors) :( . I have included some photos. I've had the issue for a few months, it seems to be getting worse. I really can't afford a big repair bill, I just got some new tires today that I desperately needed as well. Also, judging from the pics, anyone have any idea what that would cost to repair? Don't want to get ripped off. Any suggestions or DIY methods out there? Any suggestion will be helpful.This is the first V6 I've ever driven, love the sound and how it feels, I want to keep it alive :drive:

Common issue with these cars in that spot. Only real fix is cut out all the bad metal. And weld in new/paint.

Theres no half assing rust. You cant stop it unless you get rid of it.

Id also suggest some POR15 if you have it redone. Its a rust prevention so it doesnt happen again.

I was hoping it wouldn't come to cutting out any metal, but I guess I have no choice. Seems I have to make do and splash some cash. Thanks for the tip on the POR15.

while you don't want to wait to long, you could use color match paint to hide temporarily until you can get the money to fix it...(wouldn't wait too long, or it will just get more expensive)

Thanks, not a bad suggestion. I thought about that, but I didn't want to do that and prolong the issue. I'm sorta having some financial difficulties right now, but it seems I have no choice but to do that. Would definitely would like to have this done ASAP tho. Just out of curiosity, would I be able to obtain the color a GM dealership?

you can get spray can color match at the auto parts store...though i have a can, i need to get one or two more to be sure, they seem to be discontinuing some of the colors...you should be able to get something at the dealer as well

Thanks, I will look into that. I'll check with the auto parts stores in my area and try to get that color.

get it fixed early for sure, whatever it takes have it done right if you want to keep the car for a long time

I really want to get it taken care of. I definitely plan on doing it the right way. I like the looks and body of the car, and I love the sound and feel of a V6. It's got 82K on it right now, and a very comfortable ride. I want to keep it for a bit longer. My dash has some stains on it too close by the Windshield vents, that's my next issue.I plan on using some touch up interior paint on it. But I'm gonna focus on the bigger issue at hand first.

Apparently I'm being told it's "NOT" worth fixing...And the repairs would cost more than the vehicle is worth, and the rust will come back eventually. Seriously???

doesn't come back if you do a good job, go to a better place

yeah it's going to cost more than the vehicle is "worth"

i put a lot more money into my car than any regular joe on the street would do. it's worth it to me.

Spot on mate. I will try and have it fixed and make sure its done right. I'm in no hurry to get into another vehicle payment. I really like my ride, and I definitely think its worth fixing.

Keep looking for a body shop that's reputable and doesn't have incompetent workers. Yes, any body work will be worth more than the car, but at this point older cars are worth keeping instead of buying a new car, especially considering that Olds isn't made anymore and that most current designs are too cookie cutter.

Whatever it takes to fix it, that's what matters. Also, once you have the rust fixed, it would be a good idea to have the bottom checked for rust as well and painted with POR15. That way if it does come back, it won't be as bad as right now.

Meh I'd shake that guys hand
 

In all fairness sometimes honesty is brutal. At 82k miles with the vehicle in questionable shape whoever gave you an honest answer should be congratulated. They could have always just bilked you for whatever they could squeeze out of you.

One of the bad things about living in snow country is salt. Probably worst than living in a southern state to be honest. Not sure which one you are in or the car was in. Chances are if there's rust there there's rust elsewhere. Lift the carpet in the trunk and pull the back seat and look under the mat. You're talking about cutting sheet metal and tack welding another piece on then grinding, primer and paint.

Some people on here have oodles of money to spend on the vehicles they have. Average Joe's like me and it sounds like you don't. Hell I been saving the part I can spend out of two paychecks just to have a small part of my audio system done at a time. Don't go overboard if there's rust what's the condition of the engine, brakes, coolant system yadda yadda yadda. Prioritize my friend I think that's the best advice someone could give you.

Sounds like you're saying just fack it and live with it. There is no rust under the mat. The coolant system, brakes and the engine is fine. No issues there. I appreciate the advice though.

Honestly your is kinda bad. But if you want you can sand/grind the rust away, primer and repaint. If you use some por15 or some rust perventers yearly and keep up on car wash's you can keep it from coming back. But check under the side skirt and see if its rusted through first. If so your in trouble.

Great advice if:
A) it wasnt a brand that is no longer made so every car saved is good being as they are part of the history of the company
B) assuming no attachment to the vehicle
C) assuming it is a unsafe death trap that barely runs

Considering it is the opposite of all those it is a candidate for repair...by your standards nobody should ever restore a car because it will rarely ever be worth the same...while with most cars this age we dont think this way, there should be an exception for ones that serve a major part of some sort of automotive history

i agree entirely. so few people other then us semi few and far between car guys get that. to may people its just a car unfortunately, and they dont really give a crap. :(

I'm considering that option. I will check under the side skirts and see how it is. I will keep you folks posted.

I did some rust repair on my alero a few years ago. I had to get around the fender wells in a few spots and the bottom of the rear doors inside and out (not THROUGH the door). I got several quotes and they were all 1k-6 or even 7 thousand. I got the drill sanding attachments, bunch of sand paper, primer, paint, clear coat and went to town. It was the first real body work I had done, just do some research and its really not that bad. my garage fix kept it all away for the year I still had the car, only a very small amount ever start to poke back through on a spot on the fender. of course it depends on the severity, you must get down to clean metal before you can start any repair, if its all the way through it will be a huge job with some mesh screen maybe, just a mess. if you can get down to clean metal and its not all the way through you might have to build it up again with some bondo. then just sand smooth, prime, light fine grit sand, paint, clearcoat.
other than your bottom picture (doesnt loot to hot there) mine looked pretty similar to that on top anyway, garage fix turned out alright.

82K miles is fairly low mileage for a 2002 car. Yes, it's 12 years old, but I'm pretty sure a 2008 car with 82k miles isn't going to cost any less than $7,000. I've already tried this angle and the fact of the matter is that cars are holding their value a lot better nowadays.

The average mileage driven on a car is usually 12,000. If the car is a 2002, in 2014 a car should be around 144,000 miles. To me, that's the point you shouldn't be worried about rust and more worried about timing chains, transmissions, fluid flushes, and other enigne components. 82k, that's fairly low. My 1994 Cutlass had 90k when I bought it in 2013. That means, on average my Cutlass was driven 4,000 miles a year. The gaskets were shot, but after fixing it the car feels just as new as a 2014 Toyota Crapola and looks a lot better than one too.

With that being said... you have a valid point. IF there's rust somewhere, there's rust in more places. My Camaro is bubbling by the fuel door and sure enough, I need to fix the inside of my quarter panel. Everything else is solid, I just wish the previous owner didnt' drive it in the Maryland snow. SMH but whatever, all I can do is make sure it doesn't get wet and get it fixed asap. At least with that car it's still worth fixing considering that it's a 2002 (last year for Camaro and F body), and my car would be worth $4000 or so if it was in mint condition. Besides the rust, all it needs is the LIM gaskets, which I plan on doing. It's supposed to be my fuel sipper (because it has a 3800 and it gets 22-25 mpg) so little increments is all that can be done.

With that said, the fact that it's an Olds he should do the same. Prevent as much as he can and save up for the repair.


Many people don't appreciate anything at all. It's the same with houses. To a lot of people, a house from 1900 is just an outdated dilapidated house, but to someone else it carries history. DC and Baltimore have that problem. Many people see the houses as old and should be condemned not realizing that it is an architectural design that is long gone. Baltimore is known for their row homes... imagine all of them condemed with cookie cutter townhomes in their place. Imagine DC without its mix of architectural designs and everything being the same old cookie cutter vinyl sided building. It would take away from the flair of the city and make it look like a boring suburb.

Cars is the same. Anyone can have a mass produced car but it takes someone with taste to keep a design on the road 25 years after production ended; whether or not the brand itself still exists. My Cutlass Supreme convertible keeps interest in Oldsmobile alive becuase no one really knew that car existed. Most people thought they stopped making convertibles in the 70's. I get a lot of bone head questions about the car, but I also get a lot of people intrigued (no pun intended) as to what car it is and etc. A lot of people think it's worth more than what it really is since it's a rare car.

I agree mostly but there's a missed point it's not that the car has 82,000 miles it's it has 82,000 miles and has rust. Mine has 91k but My body is like new same with the interior. I think anyone that came across a 2002 with rust would wonder what's hidden in the rest of the car. If he had oddles of cash sure plug away at restoration. The fact he can barely afford tires make me think he should start an emergency fund in case something gives motor wise or tranny wise which at 85k miles and under less than perfect care it seems is highly likely. Just offering a constructive opinion not dogging on the car.

who says he gives it less than perfect care...I will say there can be extenuating circumstances with anything...Though I go back and forth as to whether I should fix it, mine will probably never be fixed as it is almost to 180k miles, has about 2k in body damage before rust, which it is starting to get (will sand and fix what I can this summer), and while the car was paid of, it was originally bought under loan through nuvell credit corp who is known for having issues sending titles, having been paid of about 5 years ago and never sending the title (they lost the letter, go figure, don't know if I would believe it was paid of if I wasn't there when the letter came in the mail), they claim to have lost record of the car so to this point my uncle can't get the title to give me...That means while I love the car and the fact that it has already given me almost 45k miles of service with a to date cost of $1500, she just doesn't have much going for her...this is sad to me as while that was about 8k miles ago I was offered 1k trade-in in the condition she is in, but I guess the only option I really have with her is to run her tell she gives out and eventually get another to build

DOHH!!!! No you DIDN'T
 

LOL don't be putting words in my mouth I never said "He" gave it less than perfect care. We don't know how long the car has been under his care. We also know that it takes more than "a couple of months" to develop that issue. Thus the constructive advice. I could just say yeah hell do it pour a thousand dollars into it but I don't think I would be comfortable giving him that advice. Doesn't mean I' am dogging him or the car. Sometimes looking out for someone means saying something might not be a good idea. It's always nice to have differing options to chose from so a person can make an informed decision.

I personally keep 1k in the bank at any given time for "general emergencies." I' am not mister money bags so I find it helpful to keep a rainy day fund. I used it recently as a matter of fact. Remember I just had front brakes, rotors and calipers, 4 tires and the 100,000 mile service done. That completely drained my rainy day fund. Yet I still keeping plugging along on my audio work. It's all about priorities without a car I can't work without work I lose the roof over my head. I love doing stuff to my car but I ain't gonna saw the branch I' am standing on off either lol.

Not saying some of your points aren't valid, but on either side it takes a lot of assumptions...I know my car was poorly maintained for the 134k before i got it, it has been ran hard its entire life, but it still runs rather well at 179500, with only parts replaced being timing and balance assemblies (balance was fine but spending an extra 1-200 while it was apart was worth it to me), and a temp sensor...I have seen perfectly maintained vehicles with a lot lower mileage and easier use that operate way worse...there is a certain point where it just comes down to luck, there are those people who can religiously maintain a car, and never run it hard to have it die by 100k miles, and those who beat the crap out of their vehicles never doing maintenance (this is not me, I make sure to keep up with oil, etc.) and have it run 200k plus...I heard a story a little bit back about someone who's sister bought a ford festiva new and took it in at almost 100k miles because it wasn't running right, it's problem was it had never had an oil change, they changed the oil and kept up with it and she drove it to over 200k miles before she sold it with it still running fine...All you can do is your best trying to keep it on the road, and whatever happens happens, there is no one hundred percent controlling what happens

EDIT: ( there is a possibility that my car has around 10k more miles than the odometer reads, at one point he told me that a rodent chewed the wiring harness disabling the odometer for a bit until the harness was replaced, I have asked him about it since then and he has denied it, so who really knows)

LOL you lucky sod...I' am forever paranoid about my car having issues. I religiously do the routine maintenance on it usually a tad earlier than required. I did my 100,000 miler at 91,000 just because I had all the cash to do it and was doing brakes and tires about the same time. Tax money well spent I think. That's why I was so pissed when the dealer jacked up my engine doing the injector throttle body maintenance. Still interested to know what the 2k in damage looks like on your ride though :(

We'll have to wait and see what he get's quoted for the repairs. I' am thinking at least 1k but I guess well have to wait and see.

Ya know i could sit here in my lazy boy and type out a long ass how to
But
I shall not, since yur asking how to fix rust and how to do bodywork i suggest you takecit to a decent shop. And have it fixed correctly
As a tech trying to explain my trade in a paragraph or two will not help you at all. Since bodywork is not able to be taught online. I cant give you anhow to
Bodyand paint work is a hands on trade
So take it to a shop
If you fix it your self the cost will double or triple since you want to play bodyman
Goodluck

Where my Alero hasn't showed any rust in that spot, I'm sure it's there. You have to ask yourself if it's worth fixing. Any shop that is going to flat out say "It's going to cost more than it's worth" is really saying one of 2 things.

1. We don't feel like fixing it
2. We don't feel confindant enough to fix it

Being that he said "It will come back" I'm leaning towards number 2.

Ask fellow car guys in work. Do you go to church, supermarket, The Y, etc where they might have a paper or a corkboard with flyers and so on?

Shop around, you don't have to take the first offer.

I took my Delta to only 2 shops before I picked one. The first shop told me they would sand and paint, the second shop sent the car to a soda blasting shop first, taking the car down to bare metal, then bodywork and paint for only a $500 more. :awesome: