1977 240D, Manual Transmission, w/ rust

My wife drove me to a local, well regarded, independent shop to pick up my car and we asked the shop owner about buying a commuter car for her brother in law who recently relocated to the US and is not yet settled in. We were shown a rusty, 1997 240D with manual transmission and cold A/C. The shop owner had put a new motor in the car about 10,000 miles and 10 years earlier. Upon the customer's death, the owner bought the car and now uses it as a winter daily driver. He represents that it is mechanically sound, other than a frozen door lock and brakes that pulse due to rotor rust that formed while the car was sitting for about 9 years. The asking price is $800. Other than saggy seats, the interior looks reasonable.

I love it as an inexpensive commuter that could be run into the ground. My wife suggests buying lots of replacement panels from Mill Supply Inc. (front fenders, rocker panels, rear valence, rear quarter- lower half) and trying to upgrade the appearance. The doors are not as rusty, so there is a little more time there.

Any comments? Has anyone gone down the replacement panel path?

[leathermang]

You did not put your location in your profile... but... with cold ac, rebuilt engine and good four speed... at $800 I would say jump on it before someone else discovers it.. then ask questions as to the cosmetics....

[gsamuelson]

If you buy, keep in imnd why you bought...cheap transport/commutor. If you get into a full body resto, good for you, go for it! But keep in mind that body and paint can become very expensive very quick, unless of course you are a skilled body man, if that is the case come on over to my house we are havin a BBQ . "Simple" weld in panels is a relative term!

[leathermang]

Bodywork and painting are almost entirely elbow grease and patience....
Get a copy of Ron Fornier's (spelling?)book on sheetmetal..he is a magician....and it shows how simple it is.. and you can allways pound it in a little and apply bondo... never let sandpaper touch your car without a sanding block behind it.. if you use your hand you will be able to see it when you are through.... You might not want to learn on a nice new car.. but this is a great deal to find out what diy bodywork consists of... Greg

[gsamuelson]

I have carreid out a fair of body work in my time. Last project was a ground up resto of a CJ5, about the only original part left in was the steering wheel(oh was a mistake!) After that I did some pretty good work on a Unimog 404. Next is my 416 DoKa.
I also am pretty handy with the MIG welder(can you say lots of rusty crap torn out and repalced to the point where only the fire wall remained??? ).

There is no doubt that the work can be done far more cheaply if done by the owner. But the owner needs the skill, experience, space, equipment and time - things that are sometimes not easy or posisble to come by (my 300CD is going to a body shop for some minor work next week, my plate overfloweth with work!).

Of course the other questioin is the desired quallity of the repair. I have done a few speedy bodo jobs in the past and lets just say I am glad to not have owned the vehicle long enough thereafter to see how long the repair lasted.