I recently took my car into an autobody shop to see how much it would cost me to have two rust spots patched up, above each wheel well. The women who I purchased the car from did a shotty job cleaning it, being as it may, I was told it would just rust out elsewhere along the wheel well after being fixed. The solution : replace each quarter panel ($2000 can), or sell it (don't want to). So I need to know where I can find two new quarter panels, for a cheaper price than what I would be charged for them here. I can have them painted at the shop, and have a mechanic/friend put them on the car, thus saving a bundle. Thanks.

 

Try looking in junk yards.. there's a good online site that I can't remember the url to.

Should save you some bucks.

 

Holy crap that's nuts... $2000 for two rear panels????

I just fixed it myself... took about a day or two of work. There's instructions and pictures on my site... HTH .

 

Thanks, I think I'll ask a buddy of mine to help with doing it myself, I checked out your site, and it was very helpful. I pulled the rubber off the rim that goes around the wheel well, as it seemed to be the root of the problem. Would you recommend cleaning out the inside of the wheel well, sanding some of the minor rust that is back there, and spraying it with rust protector? I fear this happening again. Thanks again.

 

Glad my site was a little bit o' help .

Most of the underbody is coated with an underbody protector. To break that seal would mean you'd probably have to get your car done again; not too expensive compared to the rear bodypanel cost, except I think you might have to clean your entire bottom off again. Do you actually have rust on the inside of your wheelwell? Most Hondas don't develop it there due to the underbody coating.

Also, it's not mentioned on my page, but I HIGHLY recommend using a clearcoat after you apply the final paint finishes. The clearcoat is basically what protects the paint from the water, since the paint isn't waterproof, and hence the car...

Oh yeah. I did it on my site with a screwdriver and some sandpaper, but if you can get your hands on 'em, air tools (like a handheld grinder) or better yet, a Dremel tool with a grinding attachment will take hours and hours of painstaking scraping and polishing off your schedule. Of course, use a mask 'cause there's lots of icky Bondo / fiberglass dust floating around when these are used .