Advice needed for a novice on body repair

[andrewmeadena]

Dear All,

I've never owned a classic car before and was looking at a 280 SEL today to potentially buy. It has some cracks / rust around the skirting area / sills. Please see pictures. Is this tough to repair ? Should it put me off (I have very little DIY experience with cars and repair jobs).






Otherwise it looked in very good condition for its age.

Many thanks for your advice,

Andrew.

[TJ 450]

It depends on how bad it is, but generally there is more rust than you can see. It would be best if you got someone in the know to have a good look at it for you.

If it is only minor rust, then it may well be easy to fix. This is generally not the case though, but you can be lucky.

Tim

[TJ 450]

Hmmm, it looks like there is a lot of bog and the rust is starting to come through. Particularly, the LH boot well has a smooth finish that is not original.

Of course, that is judging by the pictures, but those are unusual places for rust to start. More likely, it has started elsewhere and that is the "tip of the iceberg".

Just my opinion anyway, others may differ.

Tim