Bodywork opinions

[Ddboner]

Hi all, looking for some opinions, I've asked around but hoping to get some more informed decisions. Sorry for bookish post I'm bored at work.

Backstory:

I bought a 2005 V6 Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani Edition from my Dad. Please, I do not need opinions on if it's a nice/shit ride etc.

To get it out of the way:

The reasons I bought it are as follows: my fiancee is a supply teacher and we really needed 2 cars to allow her to take every call. My Dad barely drove it, it has 48,000 kms on it (30,000 miles) only (my other car has more and its a 2009). The engine and interior are in great condition, it was top of the line model when purchased so it has all the bells and whistles possible on a Hyundai. My Dad only asked for the buyout price, which was very good for a car in awesome condition, and I know the exact daily history of it. The lease was up right when I needed a second car so the timing couldn't have been better.

Problem I have is there are some smallish rust spots forming on the body. Although I did say my Dad maintained it very well, the caveat to that is he did not maintain the paint/body, nor did he have oil spray or rustproofing. Living in Canada with salt on the roads 9 months a year, it's almost a given your car will rust unless your mad diligent with car washes and oil spray, which he was not.

To begin with Hyundai doesn't make their body (the whole car in general prolly) that well it seems (ex: the body is rolled under, around the fenders, which basically forms a salt trap.) This leads me to believe I would be fighting an uphill battle with rust anyhow. I'm more of an A to B type car guy I could care less if it looks like a beater to be honest.

But alot of people I know are telling me its a shame to let the body rust to shit, when the rest of the car is in A1 condition.

So question:

Is it worth it to fix these stupid rust spots or am I wasting my time and money. I'm hoping to get a decent number of years out of the car still, maybe 5-10 (10 - is pushing it but never know, 5 - I wouldn't be terribly disappointed) I don't really want to be driving a rust bucket, but on the other hand getting bodywork and oil sprays every year for a meh car doesn't really appeal to me either...

Anyone here have experiences to share, is it worth it to stop the bleeding now, or just let it go to shit and drive the rust bucket and laugh about it.

Thanks

[jmc]

It's all preference on it really.

It really would be a damn shame for a truck with say 50k miles on the engine be undriveable because of rusted out exterior.

At the same time, look into your area laws for inspection. Here in MA a newer car can fail inspection due to excessive amounts of rust.