help with nissan california's body

[nemo]

Hello people! I am trying to decide on what to do with my car. It is a 1989 Nissan California SGX. It came from our province that is close to the ocean, so at the moment there are a lot of parts on the body that are rusted really bad. To add to that, my dad did a lousy job of repainting the car 3 times without fully removing the paint, you can imagine how thick the body paint is. It doesn't look good, and there are air bubbles all over the car. This alone would cost A LOT to remedy (scrape to metal). I was wondering:
1. how do you fix rusted parts that have already eaten through the metal and not just the surface? where and how much?
2. is it possible to find a surplus body? if so, where and how much kaya?

[kewlryds]

it would be best that you replace whatever panels you can with new ones or surplus ones that are in good shape. you might be able to find large panels from nissan itself...if they still have spares in stock. hth.

[1D4LV]

or a complete strip to metal tapos pa latero yung mga panels na nabulok o kinain na ng kalawang.

[1D4LV]

or donate mo na lang sa pepsi, sa coke o sa cosmos. hehehehehe. joke ang pow.

[johnart]

The main question is does the car have a sentimental value ? And are the other parts of the car still in working order ? engine, shocks, tires battery, brakes and the electrical ? Because if paint is not just the issue its not going to be economical to repair the car. But then to give you a ball park figure I just had my 1987 L300 versa van repaired total cost P150,000. This included repaint, body repair (yes it was full of holes on the floor and sides), brakes, tires, battery, overhaul engine, and fix the aircon. In my case the amount I spend was way high as compared to the resale value. But comparing to a new van which is now at 733k. 150k doesn't really sound so bad the price is somewhat more or less what you would spend for your car if all the major parts needs replacement and repair.

[nemo]

The main question is does the car have a sentimental value ? And are the other parts of the car still in working order ? engine, shocks, tires battery, brakes and the electrical ? Because if paint is not just the issue its not going to be economical to repair the car. But then to give you a ball park figure I just had my 1987 L300 versa van repaired total cost P150,000. This included repaint, body repair (yes it was full of holes on the floor and sides), brakes, tires, battery, overhaul engine, and fix the aircon. In my case the amount I spend was way high as compared to the resale value. But comparing to a new van which is now at 733k. 150k doesn't really sound so bad the price is somewhat more or less what you would spend for your car if all the major parts needs replacement and repair.

you have a very good point. I was thinking about that the other day and realized it would cost a lot more for me to fix the car than its market value. the logical thing to do would be to sell the car, and add nalang to get a better car. to tell you the truth, the car really isn't in great shape. The engine runs well, but everything else needs urgent repair. The thing is to be able to save up money to get a car after i sell the one i have now would take awhile and i really need a car. i just need an estimate lang siguro to figure out what to do. thanks!

[johnart]

If you can post a picture that would help but my guess is the body repair (scrape to metal) and repaint may be in the 50 to 60k range maybe a bit lower if there wont be any scrape to metal and if you find surplus body parts

[nemo's friend]

Hello people! I am trying to decide on what to do with my car. It is a 1989 Nissan California SGX. It came from our province that is close to the ocean, so at the moment there are a lot of parts on the body that are rusted really bad. To add to that, my dad did a lousy job of repainting the car 3 times without fully removing the paint, you can imagine how thick the body paint is. It doesn't look good, and there are air bubbles all over the car. This alone would cost A LOT to remedy (scrape to metal). I was wondering:
1. how do you fix rusted parts that have already eaten through the metal and not just the surface? where and how much?
2. is it possible to find a surplus body? if so, where and how much kaya?

uyy! OT ... pero welcome to tsikot. medyo close ang handle natin, nemo :-)

dami good advisors dito, bro ... wait ka lang until you get the one to go with.

[orly_andico]

one problem with that "sell the car and save up for a new one.." is that, it's gonna be pretty damn hard to find someone to buy a car that's in that bad shape. unless you really really lowball the price and your buyer is really desperate to get any form of transportation (or: they're viva films and they need something to blow up).

for a 1989 car in bad shape, you'd be lucky to get 50,000 for it. are you willing to give it up for that price? (or most probably even less?)

[niky]

80k would be your asking for a decent condition SGX, I'd say you'd be lucky to get 50k if the rust is that bad.

You can get all the paint and bodywork done for 50k or so, depending on the paint and amount of metal to be welded in. Not an economically sound thing to do, but selling the car might be even worse.

[orly_andico]

It's the old "maintain the clunker car or bite the bullet" question.

I would say, as long as the engine is sound, it is probably a better idea to pony up the 50k to repair the car, after all, he's not going to cough up that money in one go. However, if the mechanicals are going (e.g. overheating, sudden engine death.. basically the car can't be relied on to deliver the goods, err.. the butts to their destination) then it may be time to think again.

On the other hand, getting rid of the car for say 50k won't get him very far. Certainly if he coughs up another 70k or so he can get an AE92 Corolla.. which is not a significant upgrade and is probably just as old (ergo, suspect reliability).

[jimaroquai]

I also have a 89 california, you can still find a good paint job within your area for an ample sum of P25,000.00 with body works na yun. Just look around and canvass. Sa engine, there is nothing so special about it. All it needs is a nice tune up, change oil (which you can do DIY) and overhaul of radiator. That will cost you around P2,500.00. Rust is rust, most of the parts so exposed will be addressed by the repainting job. Sa ilalim, a good DIY undercoating will do. All in all you might be able to reduce your expenses up to P35,000 including shocks etc. The question now is, what is the integrity of your electrical?

89 California is a very good vehicle. It can load so much that it can partially do the work of a pick up and can save you fuel as it can give you up to 10km/l under certain conditions.

[niky]

I loved our California when we had it. My uncle still has one, and it works fine.

But remember, this is all dependent on the condition of your electrical system, just as jimaroquai says. Basically, if your electricals are still good, no matter how old the car, then everything's fine. But if they're not... then it might not be worth it. Re-wiring a car is very very very expensive.

[alwayz_yummy]

yan din ang prob ng maxima namin....100K below...and amount na nnagastos na manin sa sasakyan, is beyond that..but this maxima of our is 75% tip top condition...body is quite bad, and my sterring rack leaks, but napagatsatsagaan muna, mahal pa-rebulid!)

baka nga 80K mahirapan...pero ang maganda ng nandito ito, at least may reliever car kami...

weigh the factors...

[nemo]

cool! thanks for your replies. i think i have no choice but to keep the california. where can i find surplus body parts for my car?

[alwayz_yummy]

box-type sentra front, side body parts can be easily avalilable in banawe... ewan kung may makuha kang skirts...dont put a spoiler..it'll spoil its looks... rear hatch,lights/ parts maybe a bit harder to find in banawe (but not as hard as like my maxima...)

pati ata power windows makakakuha ka din doon, hanap-hanap ka lang..

[niky]

Take note... hindi exacto ang box-type front sa California.

[alwayz_yummy]

ganon ba..parang kasi pareho lang sila (in dimensions, pero sa itsura, alam ko talagang magkaiba..slight)

kasi tingin ko, sa rear lang talaga difference nila...

[nemo]

there's a difference between the sentra box type and the california regarding the front? They look the same to me. I was analyzing my car earlier today...do bubbles on the paint mean there is rust underneath or just moisture?

[niky]

Pareho naman silang B12 model designation, but there are trim differences... baka nagkakamali ako, will check again later... may naka-park na boxtype sa labas, and my uncle with the California is coming home soon.

WIll post again when I see.

bubbles most likely mean rust... and if there's moisture, it'll cause rust anyway. The bubbles indicate gases formed from the reaction of water and metal.