I am a wimp (door handles, window switches, rust)

[Bulent Murtezaoglu]

>>>>> "HuwP" == Huw Powell <audi at mediaone.net> writes:
[on rust repair]
    HuwP> Either fix it right or let it go I think.  

Fixing it right probably means a paint job at a _good_ place which 
is likely to be expensive.  I've never had anything like this done, 
but I imagine $1k+.

    HuwP> Why throw money
    HuwP> at a car you're going to get rid of that will not "improve
    HuwP> or maintain" it before you get rid of it?  

Exactly what I am asking myself.  There is some bad feeling associated
with not taking care of perfectly functional machinery though.

    HuwP> And a cheap fix
    HuwP> will just be a waste of money or worse (you either won't get
    HuwP> it back or the car will eventually rust worse)

This is why I wrote to the list.  Everyone seems to think this.  Why?
I can see how shops could screw up whole paint jobs, but making existing rust
spots worse? 

    HuwP> You may be likely to get more $$ for the car eventually in
    HuwP> pieces anyway - as time goes by the 4kq market is going to
    HuwP> be more and more focussed on rust-free examples, I think.

Well the car's mostly bug free now, it'll need bushings and such and
maybe 10 hrs or so from my clumsy hands to fix odds and ends.  Hmm, so
are you suggesting parting it out?  Or was this a comment about
getting it repainted?  What kind of prices are people seeing for late
model working 4000KQ's anyway?  

Oh another question: the car came with a fifth alloy wheel so when
one of the tires ended up picking up a nail, I had another identical
Toyo Proxes mounted on the spare wheel.  Had the punctured one plugged
also so I now have 5 tires (I am confident about the plugged one now, but
couldn't risk it before a road trip).  How should I rotate these on a 
quattro?  I want all five to get even wear.  Alignment seems OK with
no noticeable uneven wear on tires.

cheers,

BM