Had my relatively-new-to-me 240 checked out recently, want thoughts and opinions
#16
^^^neither, because of the fact that yur car is 12 years old and dealerships love $$$. Your trunk lid probably says "SE" because it was probably a replacement for the old rusted/damaged trunk lid and was either painted, or they were lucky enough to find the right color hatch.
#19
The rust on the outer linings of the quarter panel look like that section of the car was replaced with a section from another car, welded back on and didnt use what is known as seam sealer. Outer panel replacements that are welded on will rust in a short period of time if no seam sealer material is used.
Seam Sealer basically protects raw metal spots that have been welded together from rusting.
The trunk, looks like it was from another car (possibly the same car the quarter panel was from) and it was most likely near salt water most of the time. I dont know the history of your car (nor what looks like replacement parts for your car) but the rust on the panel, is from poor body work.
Now, back to subject. The car is pretty old, and if your going to replace the bushings, you can look at solid bushings like them aluminum ones.
Another thing about the aftermarket, they're not really that much cheaper. Unless you go with taiwan replacements which never fit nor work properly. Ive dealt with insurance companies that go behind their customer's back and force us to use the cheap crap. Fenders and hoods 99.999999999% of the time NEVER worked without a lot of work.
Go directly to the manufacture (dealer) and look up parts. What you can do, is check with your local wrecking yard and ask them for comparison between new and used prices. If they use Mitchell Guides, the price for new stuff is about right. It is true that dealers sometimes mark up on parts, but not if you know your sh*t.
Good luck with the parts!
Seam Sealer basically protects raw metal spots that have been welded together from rusting.
The trunk, looks like it was from another car (possibly the same car the quarter panel was from) and it was most likely near salt water most of the time. I dont know the history of your car (nor what looks like replacement parts for your car) but the rust on the panel, is from poor body work.
Now, back to subject. The car is pretty old, and if your going to replace the bushings, you can look at solid bushings like them aluminum ones.
Another thing about the aftermarket, they're not really that much cheaper. Unless you go with taiwan replacements which never fit nor work properly. Ive dealt with insurance companies that go behind their customer's back and force us to use the cheap crap. Fenders and hoods 99.999999999% of the time NEVER worked without a lot of work.
Go directly to the manufacture (dealer) and look up parts. What you can do, is check with your local wrecking yard and ask them for comparison between new and used prices. If they use Mitchell Guides, the price for new stuff is about right. It is true that dealers sometimes mark up on parts, but not if you know your sh*t.
Good luck with the parts!
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