The unimaginable has happened, my baby has rust on the passenger front fender below the trim!!! I have never had any body work done on any car of mine, but would do you all thinl it be more cost effective to have the rust repaired (it's bubbling under the paint) or spend $137 on a new fender and have that painted to match??? I've been toying with the idea of getting the entire front clip painted as there are a lot of rock chips all over the hood, bumper and air dam to begin with...

 

Well, if you got the front fender fixed, you will want whatever bodyshop to paint more than the fender. You want to blend the panels around the fender otherwise you will be able to tell the paintwork right off the bat! How is the paint on the car? IMO, i think you are better off painting the front of the car along with the new fender, but if you are going to do the front half, why not do the whole thing so it matches, plus I am sure it's not going to be that much more since you are already doing the front half PLUS blending in to the back area. Just something to think about! Good Luck though with whatever you decide!

 

If you just have some surface rust, I would just have somebody that knows what they are doing repair it. If you let it go it will eventually rust through and then you would need a new fender. These cars rarele rust, so I would just take it to a shop and see what they say. Most body shops do not like doing rust work though.

If it's below the trim, your trim piece is probably holding water which is causing the rust. Start by taking the trim piece off and see what you have.

 

How does that little trim piece come off??

 

I think it just pops off, but you will probably need a new clip to put it back on. The ones on the doors have a little screw you take out and then it slides and comes off, but I am fairly certain that one just pops off.