I don’t know that much about cars. What happens if there is rust on the 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon and you do nothing about it? How long will the car rust? How much is annual insurance for a car like that?
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Those are absolute peak Mercedes. It’s totally possible to find a replacement fender on ebay or even a Euro-specialist salvage yard in that color.
ok…now I understand it. So before I say I would like this car, I guess I would need to find someone who repairs cars to look at it. It is possible he may have fixed this rust in the meantime as he is storing the cars in a specialty car/repair shop garage that are friends of his. Also, I think if I could get the car at a relatively low price (to buy the car as part of the divorce), i could always sell it if it gets worse. It is a nice looking car. Thank you for your kindess in explaining.
Hello.
Rust happens with oxygen and water. Called oxidation, it eats metal and leaves rust behind.
Automotive paint is used to cover the metal surface and protect it from being exposed to water. If there is a scratch or chip in the paint that is deep enough to expose metal it will rust.
It is possible to mend the metal. If you remove the rust and build up areas where material was removed, you can repaint the area and it will be repaired.
You do not want to paint over rust, or paint anything that might trap water against metal, a lot of people make this mistake. It only makes things worse.
Once rust starts it continues to advance as long as there is moisture and oxygen present. The speed of advancement is dictated by environmental factors, so if you store this car in a dry area away from moisture, the rusting process will be greatly slowed/‘stopped’.