Thrilled to be here!

Hey all,
I just bought a 1991 honda accord dx. It was pretty rusted around the wheel wells. Right now, it's in the shop. What they are doing is cutting out the rust, welding on new sheet metal, coating it with fiberglass?, and giving it a new paint job. It's going to cost me about $1,000.

I've been searching the forums the past couple of days and I'm getting pretty excited about working on my car. I'd like to know what you guys think. Do you think this car is doomed to rust again? I think for a grand they should be able to stop the rust.

I love driving this car! It was a steal at $1,300. I was thinking it would be a good car to practice with. Do you guys have some suggestions on mods I could make that wouldn't cost me a fortune? It seems like the first thing everyone does is I/H/E. Is that expensive? Can you do that in stages? Where do I start? I'm very much a beginner, but I'm really motivated to learn. Thanks.