Dumb question. How far is too far when "restoring" a P5?

M

MrsZR7

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2003 Mazda Protege5
Let's face it.... I love my car, and it's paid for. But there's some things that need fixing (mostly cosmetic) such as a few spots of rust I've noticed, and huge dents in difficult to fix places (previous owner was a mountain biker, had a roof rack, and well.....the rest you could guess I'm sure)
Although I do love the car and don't want to sell it, how much would be reasonable to look at repairing to give it another couple hundred thousand miles or so of love and making improvements along the way? I'd like to improve the suspension, install a short throw shifter and exhaust, as well as fixing ALL of the rust and a good paint job.


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First off, you are best posting pictures.

Furthermore, price depends on what you want to do with the suspension. Short shifter can be had for as little as $50. Exhaust system can be $100-$1000+ really depends what you want to do.

Rust repair is probably going to cost you the most though. Depends on if you can do it or if you have to take it to the body shop and how much that will estimate the work, if they decided to do it at all...
 
I'd love to try most of the rust repair on my own. I'd like to start on it now, on the spots that are on flat surfaces, like the hood.


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If the rust is minimal and you catch it early enough you will save some money. Have you checked all of the other known places, ie: strut tower on PS of engine bay, lower area of inner doors, badges on hatch, quarter panels and rockers? I inquired with my body guy last year about replacing both qtr panel with pre-cut panels which cost around $55ea IIRC. He said to cut out the old, weld in the new, then prep and paint I'd be looking at $800-$1000 per side and that is without any treatment to what we can't see until he cuts the old panels out.
 
There is some rust on the passenger side in the engine bay, right in front of the wheel well I think. There's some on the inside of the doors, one tiny spot on the hood right above the drivers side headlight (seems to be a common trouble spot for this era of protege??) a few rock pecks on the hood, and the area that is slightly puckered right above the doors on both sides. I'll take pictures and attempt to post in just a few.


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Hard to tell without pictures of the condition, but if I really enjoy the car, I would consider finding a better example that doesn't need all of the repairs yours does... then resell yours.

However I sense that you like the idea of keeping your current one going until it is junked. If that is the case, I would examine the current "Trade-In" blue book of the car at its current condition, which is the most that an insurance company will repay if someone hits you and car is totaled.

For this following example I am using KBB.com, a 2003 Protege5 Automatic with 130k miles...

Say it is worth $1800.00 trade in, in a fair condition.

Now look at the maximum value after repairs, and car is restored to a "very good" condition, and traded in... $2900.00 is the value.

So at a minimum, there is an $1100.00 difference to be gained from improving the condition of your car. It would not be a wise financial decision to exceed this $1100 difference in making repairs and restoring...
 
If you have never done a rust repair and don't have tools, prepare to be surprised... The only reason I say this is that it's not easy to fix rust and if you think that sanding, and painting is all it takes, then I dont recommend you touch it because when you see it's too much for you, you will regret you ever touched it. If it's more than just bubbling in the paint, you will have holes that paint won't cover.

Done like to discourage people, but there is a reason why even body shops refuse to do this kind of work. Its depressing to watch your car rot, but it is the reality, the longer you wait after it starts, the more it will cost you.

Oh and for the future, all it takes is regularly washing the car to prevent rust from appearing.
 
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That's what I'm talking about right above the doors. When I bought the car it had a mountain biker vinyl sticker on the back, that I'm guessing the dealership didn't notice. That would be why I said there was a roof rack on the car at one time.


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Those spots on the roof will likely not cause any holes. You caught those at a good time. The problem will be when you try to paint it, will be hard to match that area without it being evident.

Any pictures of the rear quarter panels? under the car?
 
This is all I've noticed. Of course, the inside of the door I'm showing is on the driver's side and I'm sure there's about the same on the other three doors. Nothing around any emblems or anything like that as far as I can tell.
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And please excuse the dirt. I don't usually let my car get that nasty, but the weather here has been sucking pretty bad lately.


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So the rust on the hood and in the engine bay is going to result in holes if you want to get rid of all the rust. But your car is in much better shape than mine.
 
Thank you! I've always babied my vehicles - extremely clean inside and out, and regular maintenance done.
I just worry about this rust issue, since I want to keep the car as long as I can. It's fun to drive, and never given me a bit of trouble that I wasn't just general wear and tear stuff and I wasn't able to fix myself or have done without too much cost.
Like I said before, I don't want to pour too much money into it, in the rust repair and upgrades. Bottom line is, if it (God forbid) got totaled, the insurance won't give me what I spend in fixing everything.

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I wouldn't call a car with rust "babied" at all. If I were you I would take into consideration the value of the car now and how much time and $ if would cost to bring it back to decent/good condition. Looking at the pictures I think you have a lot of little areas that need attention, this really can add up. My babied rust-free P5 was totaled and the settlement amount is something I don't think anyone else on this forum will get for a variety of reasons, but primarily condition and location. If you can turn around and buy your same vehicle with less miles in similar or better condition for about what you would put into this vehicle fixing it, you're better off saving your time and money. Whatever a private party may pay you for the vehicle is not even near the low offer an insurance company would give you if it was totaled. Sometimes it's better just to get your use out of something and move onto to better things when it no longer works.
 
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MrsZR7 said:
Thank you! I've always babied my vehicles - extremely clean inside and out, and regular maintenance done.
I just worry about this rust issue, since I want to keep the car as long as I can. It's fun to drive, and never given me a bit of trouble that I wasn't just general wear and tear stuff and I wasn't able to fix myself or have done without too much cost.
Like I said before, I don't want to pour too much money into it, in the rust repair and upgrades. Bottom line is, if it (God forbid) got totaled, the insurance won't give me what I spend in fixing everything.

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Click to expand...

If you really wanna reapair it, I would just get a clean hood from the scrap yard, plenty of these cars out there and a hood won't cost too much. The hoods on these cars aren't as common of a rust problem compared to other area. If you want to get another 3 years out of the car, you will without doing anything to the car to be honest, but it won't look pretty. The engine bay rust is going to be a massive hole in a not so workable area... I don't know if I would touch that, just spray some rust inhibitor once in a while and your car will probably live longer than you will want to keep it ;)

ReginaldWagon said:
I wouldn't call a car with rust "babied" at all. If I were you I would take into considerate the value of the car now and how much time and $ if would cost to bring it back to decent/good condition. Looking at the pictures I think you have a lot of little areas that need attention, this really can add up. My babied rust-free P5 was totaled and the settlement amount is something I don't think anyone else on this forum will get for a variety of reasons, but primarily condition and location. If you can turn around and buy your same vehicle with less miles in similar or better condition for about what you would put into this vehicle fixing it, you're better off saving your time and money. Whatever a private party may pay you for the vehicle is not even near the low offer an insurance company would give you if it was totaled. Sometimes it's better just to get your use out of something and move onto to better things when it no longer works.
Click to expand...

Every person has their own definition of "babied". My friend for instance, doesn't even drive his car in the wet.

I guess the ultimate question is, do you want to keep the car for sentimental value or just make it last a couple more years?
 
The_big_dill said:
Every person has their own definition of "babied". My friend for instance, doesn't even drive his car in the wet.

I guess the ultimate question is, do you want to keep the car for sentimental value or just make it last a couple more years?
Click to expand...


Whether something is "babied" can be subjective, but it literally means pampered. A babied car has been indulged with attention, maintenance (cosmetic or mechanical) hasn't been deferred. As a buyer I would not consider a vehicle in fair cosmetic condition, despite being in good mechanical condition, to be "babied". It's understandable when people have sentimental attachments to their cars that they think they're worth more than they actually are. The OP needs to take into the consideration the value of her vehicle based on the actual condition, not her attachment to it, if money is a concern of hers. If money is no object, restore away.
 
I call it babied because I typically keep it very clean. Regular washing (usually by hand) and interior is kept spotless, and I don't even eat in the car. Lately I've been very busy since I recently got married and I'm in the process of moving and selling a house so it's a little dirty. I used to wash it every week and gave it a pretty good detailing about once a month.
I really want to keep the car for several reasons:
1.) It's a good car and hasn't given me a moment of trouble to speak of.
2.) It's paid for, and my husband and I have a lot of other expenses to worry about rather than to have a car payment on top of it all.
3.) It's fun to drive, sporty, easy enough to work on (me and my girly self, and I actually enjoy doing my own work) and most car insurances classify it as a wagon.


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MrsZR7 said:
I call it babied because I typically keep it very clean. Regular washing (usually by hand) and interior is kept spotless, and I don't even eat in the car. Lately I've been very busy since I recently got married and I'm in the process of moving and selling a house so it's a little dirty. I used to wash it every week and gave it a pretty good detailing about once a month.
I really want to keep the car for several reasons:
1.) It's a good car and hasn't given me a moment of trouble to speak of.
2.) It's paid for, and my husband and I have a lot of other expenses to worry about rather than to have a car payment on top of it all.
3.) It's fun to drive, sporty, easy enough to work on (me and my girly self, and I actually enjoy doing my own work) and most car insurances classify it as a wagon.


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Click to expand...


Well, your best bet is to just keep washing it considering your situation. Even if you fix the roof and door rust, your engine bay rust will be the first thing to fail you. Just get a rust inhibitor and spray it on all the rust areas. This way you can keep the car for a long time and not put any money into it.

My mom's Dodge caravan had holes in the rockers when we bought it 7 years ago with 194000km. We are at 314000km now and although the rust is an issue in many places, it is not worth the money to invest into the rust repair, but it does hurt to watch it rot.
 
If you take the car to a body shop for a free estimate the software they use to generate cost for parts and labor also generates a base $ figure for the vehicle value that's pretty accurate in comparison to kbb.com If you want an idea of what your vehicle value is (and what an insurance would pay you) and the amount of time it would take to address the rust that'd be a good place to start before spending money on the stuff you really want.
 
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