2000 LX470 Old Man Tan for my Dad - noob questions (rust)

[95Supra]

A neighbor offered to sell my Dad this 2000 LX with 182k miles.
It's a nice mild build: OME, 285s, timing belt service done recently. Interior is amazing. One front CV is leaking profusely. It's been sitting for a few months, hence the caked pollen.

I'm mostly worried about the rust:


Based on the photos, would you walk away?
We plan to get a PPI at a local toyota 4x4 specialist. I'm just wondering whether it's worth our time. Asking price is lower than anything decent I've seen on the market in a while.

 

[ChiefKeef]

She's a little rusty but I'm from Maryland so everything I have is rusty. Most of that I would wire wheel/brush and then soak it down with Fluid Film twice a year and then drive the crap out of it and fix things as they break. Rust is a tough topic around here. Anyone from the south will tell you to run, anyone from the north will be like "thats not that bad". I would definitely get some info from your PPI then go from there.

 

[95Supra]

She's a little rusty but I'm from Maryland so everything I have is rusty. Most of that I would wire wheel/brush and then soak it down with Fluid Film twice a year and then drive the crap out of it and fix things as they break. Rust is a tough topic around here. Anyone from the south will tell you to run, anyone from the north will be like "thats not that bad". I would definitely get some info from your PPI then go from there.

Thank you - yeah this is my first time approaching anything in this condition, my 4Runner was from TX so I don't have much experience at this level of severity. He's asking $8k which, with all the mods, seems fair, but my Dad is retired and I would probably end up doing a lot of the rust work.

I got hands on/in the worst parts and everything still felt solid underneath. But it just looks like a ticking time bomb to me.

 

[95Supra]

Here is a link to the full imgur album, for some reason when I click on the photos in the first post it's not pulling up:

 

[95Supra]

Here is a link to the full imgur album, for some reason when I click on the photos in the first post it's not pulling up:

LINK

 

[Foehammer]

It's a bit rusty but not something some elbow grease won't mostly fix. 8k is a pretty sweet deal, that thing looks minty beside the surface rus

 

[Fairgame]

Although pitted it simply requires a rust converter and a covering of paint

 

[diabetik81]

If the structure is fine the only other issue you'll likely have is fuel tank, brake lines, and then whenever you need to replace something it'll take that much longer with broken bolts and such. Even the diff plugs, etc will likely be a pain to get off.

 

[95Supra]

If the structure is fine the only other issue you'll likely have is fuel tank, brake lines, and then whenever you need to replace something it'll take that much longer with broken bolts and such. Even the diff plugs, etc will likely be a pain to get off.

Thank you. Current owner did stainless brake lines in the last few years fortunately. I think it was mostly preventative, but I wouldn't be surprised if the line on that rear left hub was going bad. I wasn't able to get a good feel on the whole fuel tank but it looks like a lot of surface rust.

I think we'll go ahead with the PPI. It's a very nice rig otherwise.

 

[diabetik81]

Thank you. Current owner did stainless brake lines in the last few years fortunately. I think it was mostly preventative, but I wouldn't be surprised if the line on that rear left hub was going bad. I wasn't able to get a good feel on the whole fuel tank but it looks like a lot of surface rust.

I think we'll go ahead with the PPI. It's a very nice rig otherwise.

View attachment 3595859

When I got mine it had 1/2 tank of gas. I filled it up on the way home and when I got in the garage there was a puddle of gas leaking. The tank was rusted at the top. Needed to say I had to replace it. Just be prepared for dumb stuff like that.

 

[Exiled]

Offering a different perspective. 100/LX470s aren't so rare that you can't find a better one. I would walk away from that much rust, personally, lots of western/southwestern 1000 series available for sale and the prices have come down from the pandemic era madness.

 

[77pantera]

Offering a different perspective. 100/LX470s aren't so rare that you can't find a better one. I would walk away from that much rust, personally, lots of western/southwestern 1000 series available for sale and the prices have come down from the pandemic era madness.

100% agree with this.

Rust is subjective, by Buffalo standards, that thing is mint, by SoCal standards, it's a total loss.
I personally would pass on it, there's a whole world of rust free vehicles out there, and clean hundy's aren't $20k+ like they were a few years ago.

With that said, that is still a decent unit. A powerwasher with a turbo tip and some primer/paint/rust preventive of your choice would clean that up a solid 80%, rack is leaking badly as well.