I once bought a rusty Mercedes from Ohio, and my sister bought a rusty Mercedes from Ohio. NEVER again. Other than the rust the cars were good cars for the time we owned them, but trying to repair something like that would break the bank. As others here have said, there are just too many good rust-free cars around trading at ridiculously low prices.
And rturtle don't worry that you spent too much $$$$ on that rustbucket, I paid too much for my first Mercedes.