Acura: 1990 Acura Integra rust problem, kelly blue book, rust problem

Question
QUESTION: My ten year old son sat on the rear bumper of my 1990 Integra Sedan the other day, and the whole rear bumper just fell to the ground, leaving a huge pile of rusted chunks and chips of the rear bumper bumper beam on my driveway, effecttively totaling my car.

I purchased this '90 Integra brand new in July of 1989.  I live in SW PA.  Is this rear bumper beam rust problem a normal occurence on a 18 year old beloved Intrgra or what?

Would it cost me more to replace the totally rusted out rear bumper beam than what the car is worth?  It only has 54,000 miles on it, 5 speed manual trans, and runs better than the day I bought it brand new.  What a shame...I love my Integra, but the rear bumper beam rust killed it.

Please advise.
ANSWER: Its normal for your integra or any car that sits in snowy weather or if its around salty climate near the ocean. Rusty car are common in the East coast. you can replace the beam and it will rust out later on.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry, but you really didn't answer the last and most important part of my question (see last paragraph).

What would you do in this situation?

Thank you for your time.

btszymczak@aol.com
ANSWER: The car has really low mileage for its year, if i were you i would replace the beam, it would cost less to replace the beam than to replace your car.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your expert opinion.  However, I am not an auto body mechanic; but, I went on the internet to get the prices of the rear bumper beam parts for my '90 Integra which would total around $600, not even including the labor involved by a body shop which I presume would more than double that total (correct me if I'm wrong).

So let's say, it would cost me around $1200 to have a new bumper beam installed at the local body shop.  Even if I would do this, I would be spending more $$ than what the car is worth in "fair" condition as the Kelly Blue Book says that it is only worth $975 in what would be then upgraded to fair condition if I spend the $1200 to install a new rear bumper beam.

Also, if the rear bumper beam was so rusted that it fell off in chunks, isn't it reasonable to assume that whatever the rear bumper beam was attached to is also all rusted out, indicating additional rust problems there?

According to Kelly Blue Book, it would cost more to replace the beam, anyway, than what the '90 Integra is actually worth, even with only the 54,000 miles on it.  To me this negates putting the $1200 or so into a car which is only worth $975, even after it would be fixed.

However, you say that "it would cost less to replace the beam than to replace your car."  I don't quite understand your thinking here given the situation described above (even though I loved my said '90 Integra), but I would appreciate your further response on this perplexing matter.

Thanks.

btszymczak@aol.com  

Answer
Iam assuming you're replacing the beam yourself, which is fairly easy, by taking off the rear bumper ( couple of bolts and clips) and taking off the beam (four bolts).
Even if you take your car to the body shop, labor should be 1hr-1.5hr max. @ $100/hr. Still less than selling your car and buying a new one dont you think?