Upper Control Arm Mount Rusted through!?!

[skyrunner]

My gf's 99 eclipse recently started making bad noises over bumps and we took it to the shop and found out it was the upper control arm mount had completed rusted through. Is this a common problem with the 2nd gen body?!? I can't imagine. Seems like a freak thing to me.

Also, opinions on what to do, please... We had the mechanics weld in a plate and stud to bolt the control arm to for now, but he seemed rather unsure of the "permanence" of that solution. Obviously, replacing part of the frame seems like an unlikely solution, so I feel like we may want to sell the car now while it is fixed, pointing out the problem and taking a hit on the sale But the welded plate looks like a good solution to me and it looks fairly solid and well done. I just don't know if it is worth risking it. What do you guys think?

I could get pics of the solution up here if anyone is interested.

I wasn't planning on dumping the problem on someone else, I'm too honest for that. However, I was thinking about selling the car as-is and letting the buyers know of the potential problem so they can deal with it if they want to. I was expecting that we would take a loss on the car if we did this. (It is my fiance's car) I don't want her driving it if the temporary solution is unsafe, and from what the mechanics were saying who fixed the problem, I don't think they really trust it...

The problem is not the control arm. The control arm is fine, no rust. The frame actually rusted through. More specifically the part of the frame that the control arm mounted onto. It had a stud that was welded onto a "boss" on the frame, and that boss rusted and broke free.

The solution was cutting that entire boss away and some of the frame surrounding it to get rid of the rust. Then a new plate was cut to fit the missing area and a stud was welded onto that section. That plate was then welded onto the frame.

It seems like a major problem, but I can't make up my mind if the solution is safe enough. I think it looks fine and we can keep an eye on it, but the mechanic was acting like it wasn't a good idea to continue to drive the car.

BTW, we have owned the car for less than a year and I can't imagine that this would happen in that small amount of time. I have to believe that the stealership that sold her the car knew about the problem, because they kept going on and on about how it was "undercoated" so it would never rust... She bought it hook line and sinker (I wasn't even there to look at the car, she bought it with her Dad). Basically, I almost want to take it back to that dealer and demand a trade, but honestly I know it wouldn't go anywhere because we have no proof that he knew about the problem... Anyway, then he would just go sell it to some other unsuspecting buyer.

 

[Defiant]

Life in the rust belt, where cars are supposed to last three years and the owners are supposed to run off and buy a new one before the road salts do their work.
Yes, you've diagnosed what must be done in order to keep that chassis on the road. Properly done -and, I'm surprised you found a mechanic who would hang his ass out far enough near the circling lawyers to do a "might get by" fix- will probably cost around $1500, perhaps more. It probably can be safely fixed, but of course you'll never know before the crash, and whoever's involved may never know.
I would either part-out that car, or otherwise be done with it. But I've not lived anywhere that such rust was an issue, and the one 510 I got from New York which had -and, which had an iron lace floor- was only a summer work car.