Quote Originally Posted by DaveA View Post
I emailed a local shop I found online and they said $500; seems high to me.
$500 is pretty steep to just fix that spot. I'm assuming they're planning to weld in replacement metal for that price, and the affected area is always much larger than the bubbling paint suggests.

FWIW, I'm looking to keep the car for about two more years and don't care all that much about the resale value when I go to get rid of it.
In that case, I wouldn't spend money on cosmetic issues. I'd rough sand the bubbling paint off, touch it up with some primer/colour match paint and call it a day. 20 minute repair. And you'll probably have to touch it up after each winter - it's going to come back.

My mechanic told me the underside has a good deal of rust, too, so I'm thinking maybe I just leave this to be. If I could get it done for like $200 I probably would, but anything more just seems unreasonable for two years.
Thanks.
If the underside is starting to rust, I'd invest your money on an underbody rust inhibitor treatment instead. Slow that corrosion down or you may end up with rust-related problems like failing brake/fuel lines or a leaky gas tank.

Living in the rust-belt, I'm a firm believer in rust prevention. I don't know what your options are around Boston, but here you can get commercial non-toxic underbody-only sprays for ~$50, or full-vehicle treatment (underbody + applied inside every panel) for ~$100-$150. In your case, I'd go underbody only since you're not planning to keep the car long.