After reading many post (when the search fuction was working), I contacted nissan to see what could be done. In short, they were willing to offer me $500 towards the purchase of a newer car. I declined because, I'm in the process of buying a house and have a kid on the way... I can't see myself spending $25,000 on a new max - at least not under these conditions. I decided to take it to my local body shop. He's done body work on my car before, and eventhough he's a bit sloopy in terms of leaving my car very dusty at the end, This guy is really good. The extent of the rust is almost embarrasingly dangerous. Both wheel-housings (left & right) have gapping wholes that are about 12x3 inches in length and the rear columns (left and right) are hollowed and flaked out by the rust. I removed the back seat and the trunk panels and it didn't get any prettier. The left seat belt harness is totally off the body of the car and rust ate-out the back of the wheel housing into the top part of the trunk. Surprisingly, because I did something about it early, my gas tank and filler tube are unharmed by this rust.

The bodyshop dude looked at me and said, "I think is time for a new car"... I explained my situation to him and he said... "ok... I'll have to take the gas tank off... do some soldering... how $500 sounds to you?"

What do you guys think?

 

$500 sounds pretty good for the amount of work but I hope you ment do some welding and not soldering.

 

lol if my welder said "soldering", i'd change welders. It depends on how many miles you have....you could also part it out and sell individual parts and get more money than what they are offereing if you wanted to go the route of getting another 3rd gen max.

 

welding will help, but I'd still be unsure that the original strength of the car will be restored. I would get a lawyer to help you out and basicly force the dealer to provide you a car in equal condition without the rust. I know a car with no known history is a bitunsettling, but you should also be able to convince them to give you a warrenty for x number of miles.

With a kid onthe way, safey would be my #1 concern and a patchwork car would not be my first choice. If I remember right, Nissan never did the recal work that would have prevented this and they refuse to correct the damage caused by an item the federal government felt was a significant safety issue. If the car wrecked and you were injuried becasue of the rust weakening the car, Nissan would be in for a world of pain in my opinion. WHo knows, there may be some out in the requirements of a recall, but I'd see if there was a lawyer out there to help you out before spending any of your money.

 

Interesting observation, one that indeed crossed my mind. But for the time being it was easier to spend $500 than to get tangled up in legal issues. I got the car back and the welding looks great! to the naked eye the structure seems stronger! No different than getting your car fixed after a collision. But certainly I hope to never have to test it out. I sprayed some rust retardant and some rubberizer on the new repairs and other possible problem areas. Once I increase my equity, I'll be in for a minivan

 

I thought that I had bad rust!! Your rust is crazy big!! Too bad you didn't catch it before it got that big!! I had some problems on the rear panels, inside the passenger door, around the sunroof, and under the windows on pretty much all four doors. But then again I do live in Hawaii and the salt air will rust just about anything!

 

Dude, you are seriously talking about $4K+ worth of body work. If your guy is going to do it for $500 you're either sucking him off to supliment the difference or he's ripping you off buy not doing the work and just patching it so it looks like it's been done. Either way, you're probably going to end up with a funny taste in your mouth! lol

 

seriously...what's your case?

you bought a car over 10 years ago (may not be the orig owner)...it's rusting now due to the owner not doing the recall...or lack of mainteance.

so now u want the DEALER to pay out of pocket because of something the owner didn't do?

sometimes people need to be a little less sue happy and be more realistic.

 

Just get over it. The car is old. You live somewhere where it snows, do you not? They salt roads. Road salt causes rust. Rust eats cars. The safety concern sucks, but it's been too long since the recall was initiated to do anything about it. I was gun-ho about it too when I first discovered that my car was eating itself. You just deal with it and eat the cost or get rid of it...

Good luck whatever you do, though. There are horror stories all over the General Discussion forum on here, check them out.

 

 

If you're you cant bare the thought of separation.......try transformation!
Search your locality for a good shell, same color and move parts over. It won't cost as much as $25K and now you know where to look for signs of rust.

 

i just had 2 holes in the rear left wheel well welded a few weeks ago and the seatbelt re-attached for $275...when i took my car to get inspected they said i had 3 more holes in my trunk..on the rear right wheel well and behind the seat...im payin $220 to get that done...so $500 sounds about right...i was gonna try and fight nissan to get it done...but i heard stories about ppl doin that...so i decided to throw in my own cash and get it done now...so i can install my stereo before the summer

 

What's the point??? To keep it from rusting all over again, and three times as fast as it did before, you will have to replace the wheel wells and any other damaged body panels. Rust doesn't just go away when you cover it up, you have to eliminate it totally. That is why I say it takes a lot more than $500 to fix the problem...

 

Nismo is right
Rust in cars = Cancer in humans
It is (next to) impossible to get rid of or stop.
Welds tend to be porus, brittle and dirty(slag) If the welds crack, or improperly cleaned they continue to decay.

If you are just eyeball'in the vehicle for rust, consider this: When a dentist examines your mouth, they start with xrays of your teeth, then follow with a physical inspection of the actual tooth surface for decay.

Background:
Some time ago, I had a vehicle that was maintained for many years. At some point I discovered rust in rear wheel wells(under dirt and undercoat) It was undermining the structure around the rear shocks. Nothing would cure it. Get the picture. At some point I I hunted down a replacement vehicle and over time did a trans-auto-plant.
Long story short, when I sold my car with parts after 18 years it still looked like new(+/-)

 

Uhh, nice analogy with the whole dentist thing! lol If you want to get rid of the rust you're going to have to replace whatever body and/or underbody panel is 'infected'. If you want to have a safe seat-belt again, forget about it. Unless you can get a body shop to warranty their work you are always going to be liable for whoever is in that seat... and I've personally never heard of ANY body shop that will warranty rust work. That's because it IS like cancer. Good luck to you, though...

 

hmm after reading this i kinda want to take a look at the spots where rust is more likely to occur
its more of a safety issue because i usually take my girlfriend and her son out every weekend and if my car is unsafe i really don't want to put them both in danger. where should i look? i have a bit of rust (really minor) on the bottom on the door frame in the corners, i haven't seen anything in teh wheel wells so thats good i think how do i take out the rear seat to check? thanks for the help

 

you can either pull out your back seat or pull out the trunk liner. the problem starts on the driver's side near the seat belt mount. it's a faulty fuel filler stem to blame. it eats holes in your trunk. if water gets in your trunk you probably have a bad hole...

i noticed mine when i was installing new struts..

 

ouch i'll take a look tomorrow
i haven't seen any water in the trunk tho but i'll check

 

So that is the problem huh? When I took out my spare tire since it is worthless being that I now have 18' I found a little pool there in the spare tire well. That is messed up that they did not do a recall on that!! Now I every couple of weeks check the trunk to make sure that I'm not carrying a portable pool that I did not know of.

 

They did recall it. That is from the fuel filler stem eating a hole in the side of your trunk. You probably have a hole there. I would drill a drain hole in your spare thing if I were you. Then I would start thinking about what to do about the hole in your trunk...

 

isn't there already a plug in the spare tire well? i coulda sword i saw something that looked like one maybe just hallucinating again.
but after looking i saw no signs of rust in my trunk so i'm a bit relieved but i'm gonna pull up the rear seat later today and check there as well
as it stands only rust is the lil bit on the corner of my door frame at the bottom...

 

well, you had better go ahead and cut that rusted part out now, before it spreads... and weld in a nice patch. Make sure you coat/treat everything so that it doesn't rust again. Do it now before the cancer spreads...

 

how much do u think it would run me? i'm a bit tight on cash at the moment....

 

hmmm... not sure. That's very subjective, and really depends on the person doing the work. I was quoted $4000 for mine, and that was from a friend, but that was for one new .25 panel, two rear wheel wells, new fuel filler stem, and new lining in the trunk including new seat belt mount.

 

hmm i better catch it before it gets to that point because right now it is extremely minor
i'll probably take it to a body shop this weekend and get an estimate

 

the point is that i'm a broke college freshman...i don't just have money lying around to go by another car...i've been trying to...besides i knew the guy who was welding my trunk...and he cut out where it was rusted and welded new metal in...then he sealed the whole wheel well where he fixed it...and i think having my seat belt re-attached to the new metal is better than just having it hang in the trunk...but thats just my opinion...u can say all you want about how its stupid to fix the holes...and u should just by a new car...but i cant so im gonna play the hand i was dealt

 

I don't recall ever telling you to go buy a new car, but whatever. I simply thought it was important for you to understand that the rust can't just be welded over (this is what many body shops will do and call it fixed) and that the rusted areas have to be totally removed if there is any hope in salvaging the car. That's all. I understand you're a poor college boy, I've been there myself. I'm long from the days of being in college and I'm STILL broke! lol I just think it's important that you understand the physics involved, as well as the possible liability. Don't forget that from now on you are liable for whatever could come of someone who is in that seat and is in a wreck if they are hurt. Good luck!

 

nismo1989...i know you didnt say to go by a new car but someone posted something about getting a new shell and swapping parts...sorry for posting that in the reply to you...but it was just on my mind...i wish i could just buy another max (preferably a ve)but i cant...but all of the welds are legit...i made sure...everythin is sealed up and the rust was cut out...and i know im liable if there is an accident...i just figured its better if the seat belt is attached to something rather than just hanging down behind the seat...once again im sorry but i understand what your saying

 

Well, good luck! I decided to remedy the problem by investing in new rear seats. I'm taking the rear bench out and adding two racing buckets (since I'm putting in reclining racing seats in the front) and installing 4 point harnesses bolted to the frame. I chose to pay a shop to do it for me so that they could assume liability. Not an option for someone who's not willing to pay that money, but I had a tax check refund this year so I splurged. lol!
Good luck, though... I hope the cancer's been removed!!!

 

I was gonna look in to getting racing buckets this summer...front and back...it all depends on how much $$$ i make...if u don't mind me asking how much did that run you...and what seats you chouse...you can email me at oaktown123@hotmail.com or IM me on aim at oaktown123...or just reply to the thread..thanks

 

I'm getting 2 buckets, and 2 recliners for $700 new... but that's kind of a steal. The harnesses and belts are costing me $200 total, though. That makes $1000 even when all is said and done and they are in my car. That's a lot more money than I really have to spend, but I really wanted different seats. Maxima front seats suck, and I wanted to do something about that rear belt...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nismo1989


I'm getting 2 buckets, and 2 recliners for $700 new... but that's kind of a steal. The harnesses and belts are costing me $200 total, though. That makes $1000 even when all is said and done and they are in my car. That's a lot more money than I really have to spend, but I really wanted different seats. Maxima front seats suck, and I wanted to do something about that rear belt... [/QUOTE

yeah maxima front seats do suck...$700 for the seats is a really good deal...dont know if i can spend that much yet...just spent $1050 on my stereo...which was the main reason why i had my trunk welded...once again thanks for the info

 

Hey dude
I feel your predicament here!!1 I too am beging to get rust on mine it's hit my truk and is excelerating fast. but what I'd do is if you know some one who owns a shope or garage just cut off every single peace of metal that is rusted and replace it with sheet metal weld it and put on lots of paint to avoind future rust. I'll be stripping mine and painting every single metal on my car. apperantly NIssan did not do a good job with their wheel wells cause tha's where they commonly rust, anyways good luck with it dude
Demakok

 

do take into consideration that the car is almost 15 years old...
it sucks but gotta admit thats not all that bad.... i guess

 

Well, it's all in the fuel filler stem. It leaks. They recalled it. Most didn't get the recall done when it was recalled 9 years ago. Now it's rusting...

Nissan would have been happy to fix it 9 years ago and take care of the problem before it started.