My 1998 F-150 finally rusted to the point that it won't pass inspection. It has holes in the body under both doors. The mechanic told me they would pass it if the holes were fixed. I've been thinking of selling/replacing for a while; looks like I waited too long.
The mechanic advised me to take it to a local body shop that does "good work" and have it fixed right so I can get a decent re-sale value out of it. I haven't gotten an estimate yet (shop was closed yesterday), but the mechanic was thinking at least several hundred to a grand to fix it right. The alternative would be to get someone to just patch it up well enough to pass inspection. Not sure how much that would cost; presumably much less than fixing it right. I have no experience with body work and don't feel confident trying to patch it myself.
The truck also has liberal amounts of visible rust on the frame, but so far everything is still sound. Within the last 6 months, I've hauled full loads of firewood on rough/uneven logging tracks with no problems.
Edmunds tells me the truck is worth $2,600 (private party sale) in "rough" condition, $2,900 in "average" condition. I would consider the patch job to put it in "rough" condition, as the fact that the body has rusted through would still be evident. I think the full body shop repair would put it in the "average" category. I don't think I could get it beyond "average" with the frame rust and a few other issues that the truck has. Kelly Blue Book values the truck quite differently; they say it's worth about $5k in fair condition and $5,400 in good condition. I did a little Craigslist cruising for similar trucks, and although mine has lower miles than most of those listed, I doubt I could get $5k for it.
Either way, it looks like I'm looking at a boost of only a few hundred dollars for fixing it right. So I'm thinking it isn't worth it. But I'd love to hear from mustachians who do body work or have experience with similar situations.