tig welding car panels

[seanc]

im planning on doing some car restoration starting with rear arch replacement. i have done some mig welding before and was reasonably competant with it. I have always wanted to be able to tig weld, making exhausts/manifolds etc. for cars eventually.
I am looking at buying a machine and it just seems a waste to me to buy a mig when i also want to tig later on. are there any down sides of using a tig on car body work as mig seems to be primarily what people use. I can only see tig as having more benefits for working on body work. lower amp settings/less filler needed etc. obviously the one downside is it will take quite a while to get up to a reasonable standard on the tig.

any other reasons i shouldnt use tig for car body panels ?

 

[the snooper]

tig will be slower, argon gas more expensive ? more akward underneath the car

 

[pedrobedro]

Tig is ideal for new metal. Underneath a car with restricted access for cleaning and holding a rod in one hand and a torch about 1/16" from the metal surface without fouling your tungsten you have very little chance of success. There are reasons for mig being the main process for car work, it's not just a fad.

 

[backpurge]

MIG is the way to go for cars, because TIG is a lot slower your heat input is higher therefore a greater chance for distortion, also the stuff you are welding needs to be clinically clean. TIG is also a lot more difficult wherever you have restricted access