Rear wheel area, a dent... Rust concern?

[Jem_hadar]

OK, so I have just noticed that my right rear wheel area on the car has been slightly cracked and damaged/dented.

There is a small crack (less than an inch) near the top of the rear wheel well (is that whut the area is called on the car's body?), and at the other side near the top of the wheel area it's pressed in o more than a little degree. :S

Its nothing thats noticeable, unless you're aware of whats happened as I am now... what the hell? Did someone lightly back up into me? FUCK. And when did this happen?

Anyways, I noticed (I think, I only discovered it tonight and its dark) that there may have been some paint chippage underneath... none thats visible on the exterior looking at the car, but underneath as you move to the inside of the rear right wheel well.

Besides my annoyance at having my car's perfect exterior damaged (her first wound ), I am presently MORE concerned w/ an increased rick of rusting I may now have because of this. (with our cold winter's and all the road salt we use up here north of Toronto) Is this a valid and reasonable concern I should be having at this point? I'm not sure.. im not versed at all in much knowledge re: rust on a car. So whether or not this should be a real concern of mine, I'm not even sure at this point. Just it occurs to me and seems logical that maybe it is?

Sometime this week I may try to get a quote on whut it would cost to repair, but I dont have the $$$ I want spend to fix this, and I don't wanna go through insurance only to see my rates go up even though it's not my fault.

Last time I had to have a vehicle repaired for a deep dent/scratch in the front driver's door, it cost me like 600$ to repair, to un-indent the door in the wrecked area, and to pay to have the paint colour matched and reapplied to hide the damage.

If it's more than a 100$ or so, I'm content to accept it as Cara's first wound, and get on with it. It's not really marring the appearance of my car to a great extent. But if rust could be an elevated concerned now, I feel more inclined to take steps.

Anyone with some comments, thanks.

Jem

EDIT:

Ill try to grab my buddy's digi cam so I can take a picture of the damaged area so yall can kinda see visually whut I'm talking about. Hopefully tomrrow or Tues then. Hopefully the pic will be ok.

[uncleyaris]

only that i feel for you man, and living in ONT, I know what insurance is like! Vasoline the shit out it to help with the rust factor, and save $$ for the proper repair.

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by uncleyaris

only that i feel for you man, and living in ONT, I know what insurance is like! Vasoline the shit out it to help with the rust factor, and save $$ for the proper repair.

So you're saying take regular vasoline you can buy in any store and liberally apply it to the cracked and dented/chipped areas by the rear wheel?

I guess I would have to do this weekly or monthly, or after any time I had it cleaned in a car wash?


Sorry, I'm a n00b when it comes to car repair, etc.

[uncleyaris]

the later

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by uncleyaris

the later

Only really after I have her washed? OK, thanks for the info/advice.

[uncleyaris]

no probs

[Jem_hadar]

Go figure, grabbed my buddy's digi. First it was dead... had to charge, which meant him having to find where he left the cable thats been lost for some time now. Finally found it, got the cam charged! Then I find out after I have it, his memory flash card isn't in it. He finds it.
Great. Nope. The camera tells me its unable to read the damn card. He must have given me the wrong one or something. Jesus, cant catch a break here. Frustrating. I wanna go get my car cleaned and photos of it as as I can.

Looked at it... the part thats cracked, it appears its the plastic part (obviously). Which is good and bad. If i wanted to fix the crack, they'd then have to replace the whole bumper area it looks like (ie. therefore, not a cheap fix I imagine). But I dont have a rust worry at all w/ that crack. Thats great.

But part thats been dented, was of course the metal. Underneath is where had a bit of paint chip off. And my friend is of the opinion that rust will be quicker rather than slower to set in. :S Crap.


And I just recalled that my deductible is either 300$ or 500$ anyways, so no matter what it costs even if I do go through my insurance, I'm paying that out of pocket regardless. Dont have even $300 free to take care of this presently.

Also, I'm concerned about taking it into the dealership to have a quick peak and give a ballpark guess at an estimate, as I lease this vehicle. If they're aware of the dent and crack damage, may they demand that I fix it ASAP? Not sure what my responsibility is here in the short-term as someone only leasing the car.

Looks like I'll prolly need to find a shop to just take a peak at it and give me an estimate.

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by uncleyaris

no probs

Well, something just occured to me, dont really know why it didnt before.

Aren't there rust products out there you could buy at like Canadian Tire like stores that would help protect the damage area from rust?

There must be. I could take Cara through the car wash and get her all clean, and then apply the spray. I think this is fairly recent damage (a few days? a week or two?), as I didnt see any corrosion.

Hopefully this should be a pretty decent solution for now.

Feel free to post any opinions or comments on anything re: my situation or what I think may be a solution.


EDIT: (to avoid re bumping this thread again)

It just occurred to me that I could prolly by the Toyota touch up pen, couldn't I? Buy it in the Yaris bayau blue colour of my ride, and apply it on the chipped area. Its not a circular chip like one a stone may cause, but i think it may work.

Hmm, I wanna reflect on this new idea. If that would work, then that would be great. Affordable, and the exposed metal would be protected once again!

[Jem_hadar]

Well, went to Canadian Tire and bought some Rust Check - Rust Inhibitor and sprayed that one liberally the damaged area after taking it through the car wash to get her clean.

I really hope this helps keep the risk of rust at bay. :)


And I took the pics of the damage...












(more to come... I'm just posting them all that were taken.)

[Jem_hadar]

Here you can see where the paint chipped at the underneath part of the right rear wheel well :(






As you can see, its not THAT noticeable unless you're up close and looking for it. (some what helps... kinda :S)