So I guess I'll just look into a welder and do it my self.

Now to do some reading/watchign videos on how to do this

 

Welding with a mig is really not difficult at all. Once you have the machine dialed in for the material you're welding it shouldn't take long at all to get the hang of it.

Take the advice from the others about getting a good welder. If you don't want to spend a lot on a new welder good used ones are fairly easy to come by at a reasonable price, at least they are around here.

 

Learning how to dial in was the trickiest part for me. Also get a good helmet make a lot of difference when you can see what your doing.

 

I'd say do it yourself.

I just completed replacing my radiator support, fender apron and battery tray...not that hard.

My "training" in welding consisted of going to a friend's shop last year where they restore a lot of old cars. I had to do the floor pans in mine but wasn't sure I knew what I was doing so I paid my buddy to walk me through it. The welding part of the training was about 5 minutes of the guy that works for my friend telling me how to do it, the rest is just practice and getting in there and doing it.

I bought an el-cheapo welder to do my fender apron but I was doing spot welds in spots where you really couldn't see them with the car put back together. Do plan to upgrade my welder eventually because it was a lot easier to get good welds on the floors using the really nice welder w/ gas, etc at my friend's shop. The flux welder I have worked fine for a somewhat hidden area of the car but no way I would attempt to use it on something such as a quarter where the work has to look nice.

+1 on the idea of getting a good helmet. I found a used self-darkening one local for about $50 and it is the way to go.

 

One way I look at these things is this: Say a job would cost $2k. What if you could go out and buy the parts plus a welder for $2k? Now all you have to do is learn to use it and have the time. Once you've done the job yourself, you gained experience plus have a finished job for the same price PLUS a welder. Now you can do more the next time or recoup even more money from friends who didn't bother to do their own thing. I'm a hard core do-it-yourselfer. So much so, I own my own business. A ton of my tools were bought for "that one project" and then...

 

I have found that you can do it for at least the same money on most tasks.

However, on things such as my recent sheet metal replacement I came out ahead on cost even with buying a welder and a few other tools. Either way you have to buy the parts so the question comes down to what's cheaper...the required tools or the labor. My guess is in many cases the tools are cheaper than the labor since most places around here charge between $50 and $75 / hour. And taking pretty much the entire front end off of my car is labor intensive / time consuming.

You get another benefit though. If I had paid someone to do it they would have simply done the task then put it back together. However, since I have an interest in the car while it was apart I cleaned up and painted a lot of stuff under the fenders in addition to replacing the bad metal. Some guy working at a shop wouldn't have taken this time or if he did it would have cost a bunch more hours for simple things such as knocking off surface rust on the frame rails and then giving them a good coating.

You can bet that you will take a lot more care to get the job done right when it is your car instead of someone else's car.

 

Your right where I was a year ago. Look on craigslist and you can find a good Miller 135-140, Lincoln SP140, 110V welder for $3-400, as I did, if you have the money pick up a 220V for a little more. Took some night welding classes at the local college, best thing I could have done. I've spent about 3 mos (SATs only) tearing down my trunk and getting ready to weld in new panels. Full quarter is next. You can do this yourself with time and patience at less than half the cost of a shop. By the time I'm done, I'll have less than $1K invested, with the welder, and have a new trunk, rear panel, lid, and quarter. BTW, I owe you guys some pics.