It's a simple repair, and done correcty is going to be a load less hassle than cutting out a complete section etc.
My view is this why do a perfect pristine job on a 20 odd year old car like this, as this is just the first of many rusty bits that need doing each year.
It's the same case with my dads xr4i, patched up each year for mot, but getting fed up of doing it now, so getting another shell.
tabetha