My parents had one when I was born. First year '76 model. The front bumper rusted off in the driveway. Whadaya expect in Erie PA?
They did love the efficient Slant Six and the Torqueflite. Their previous car was a 1972 Valiant Scamp. They only got the Volare so they could have 4 doors for me and my sister. Silver sedan, red vinyl interior, and they chose a puke green car seat to completely not match it at all. The next vehicle was a 1982 Datsun 210 SL wagon with every option except a sunroof (air, automatic, AM-FM stereo, power steering, that was all the options, lol!) which immediately went to Rusty Jones and didn't rust like many 210's did.
I would wait until you find a nice, garaged, rust-free version. If you can see rust now, there's much more you can't see yet. But once parts start falling off you'll be able to see the rust under them.
There was a nice one on eBay not long ago, white on tan, police package but still a Slant Six, didn't have AC though, but it sold cheap and it was in Cali so no rust.