Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

A bad sign? I’ve got rust in the rear arches on my Saab which is apparently very common and a fairly easy fix, rest of the car is sound though according to mechanic.

This merc should be newer than bad paint era no?

2007, so yes I think so. My belief is that these bits of the arch have been blasted with grit from the tyres - and they're standard paint, rather than stone-chip, which has had predictable consequences.

The chap who is painting the 911 is actually a Mercedes specialist - I sent him a load of pictures and his response was "standard Mercedes rust around the arches but should be ok to sort out the only thing is I may not be able to keep it just to the lip so may have to blend into the lower half of the rear doors for colour match.
Regarding the bonnet yes it would be recommended to blend the wings."

I find quite funny, yet am also horrified by, "standard Mercedes rust".

Anyway, I've asked him for a quote and will send that straight to the owner (he asked to see it), and then we'll see if we can negotiate around that.