'96 Ls400 - Repaint Or Touch-up?

[Iamnotno6]

i am purchasing a '96 from my mechanic (was his dad's)

it has a couple of rust bubbles around 2 of the wheel wells & a small crease on the front fender near the headlight

i want to keep this car for the next 5-8 yrs and don't want the rust to become an issue

it wasn't winter driven, but i will be driving it in the winter

should i get it totally repainted, or just get the spots fixed?

mark

[1990LS400]

From my experience, once rust has started it is next to impossible to stop it without replacing body panels.

I know a body shop owner who may still be cursing the day he gave me a written nontransferable warranty that rust would not reappear on a Mercedes he removed the rust from and totally repainted. I think I could see him cringe each time I bought the car back for him to fix the exact same rust spots he had fixed before. Poor Fred -- I'll bet he celebrated when I finally sold that car ... which had rusted through still again.

Honestly? If I fixed rust at all, I'd fix only the individual spots, spend as little as possible and hope for the best. This is an almost 14 year old car you are considering -- doubt if it is realistic to expect it to be anywhere close to rust free at the 19-22 year mark. At least LS400's seem to rust at a fairly slow rate -- nothing like the rust bucket ES250's I've seen.

I'd say ... if you buy the car, just drive it with the rust and save your money. Or apply the money you would have spent on rust repair and paint and buy a newer car.