Are cars outside of rust belt truly rust free?

[odessit]

I am in NH and am planning to get used GX 460/LX 570 /LC200 some time over the next 6 months.

Both of my current cars (GX470 and LC100) have some rust even though first one came from Florida and second from California but spent at least some time in Massachusetts before I got them. I put FluidFilm on the cars every fall, so delaying surface rust build up, but can not reverse it

My question is - are cars outside of rust belt truly rust free? How far South/West do I need to go? I keep my cars for long time so do not mind getting there to pick up a right car. Just want to make sure that I am not deceiving myself with a premise of 4-6-8 year old truck being rust-free.

Thank you!

 

[xychromosome]

I live in NC and my GX was originally from FL. Even though I often drive on the beach throughout the year (I'm pretty pedantic about rinsing the undercarriage as soon as I get back home), I don't have any rust at all. So to answer your question, a southern truck should be rust-free.
I'd look south of DC and be wary of any carfax report mentioning time spent in the noorthern or midwestern states.
Caveat: nothing beats your own eyeballs on any potential purchase, you never know what may be hiding.

 

[jeremy j]

Mine has been in TX since new and has no rust at all.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Mine was in Texas for the first ~13 years of its life and had zero rust during that tine.

 

[jdam]

The condition of some SoCal/Southern Nevada/Arizona/New Mexico cars would really surprise you. If we bothered to clean the frame at all on our 24 year old Sequoia, you'd say it was almost new.

 

[odessit]

Great to know! Thank you!

 

[llm]

really depends on the car. i had 2 cars when i lived in the north east. one taken care of, one not really. the not really was rustier but not dangerously so. my so cal gx is mostly rust free. mostly because i drove through potash road in canyonlands and didn’t wash it for a couple weeks.

 

[Cold Iron]

Your 2 vehicles from the SE and SW started to rust when they were introduced to Ma. brine and salt, not the original location. Sodium chloride, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride don't take long to start eating iron. With that said it depends on the time of the year for exposure risk.

Picked up my 19 GX 2 years ago in Mn. and I used the VIN and mylexus app to check the service history. Winters it was done in Texas and summers in Mn. so was owned by snowbirds. From the dates they really hated snow and it never seen salt. Like mentioned eyeballing the undercarriage is the best determination of that. Before the first snowflake fell I had it treated with NH Oil Undercoating. It was clean of rust to start with.

I climbed under my Taco for 11 years and treated it with Fluid Film but there was still some rust. Especially around the door sills, you need to get into body panels and use pressurized spray into hard to get places. And FF doesn't have the best wash off resistance if you do a lot of water crossings. And there is the salt brine on roads that you drive through when it warms up. After watching it being done professionally I will never do it myself again. Last week I made an appointment for Woolwax treatment next month it has much better wash off resistance than FF. The shop I checked out uses a hot water pressure sprayer to clean everything off first.

Finding a vehicle owned by snowbirds isn't easy, on the other hand they often own luxury vehicles often leased for ~4 years then turned in.

Down in town there is a dealer that specializes in used vehicles from the South. They will look for vehicles for you if you tell them what you are looking for.

2nd largest Metro area in Mn. but still only ~100K people. My oldest son lived in Cambridge, Ma. for the last 6 years and couple of months ago moved across the border to Maine. His girlfriend lives in NH. Hard to believe that there isn't something similar in that area, might be worth it to take a look.

 

[r2m]

If you're looking for a for a southwestern GX, be sure it was originally from and only has been in the southwest. Check ownership and where it's been.
I can attest that being in So. Cal and only 150' from the Pacific blue, I have only the very lightest surface oxidation that could easily be brushed off.

 

[Hiluxforever]

My truck spent 120k or 9 winters in Iowa. It was washed frequently and only has some light surface rust. I have done some wool wax before I moved to Colorado.

If one of these trucks is really really rusty, its a huge red flag and walk away. Way too much other maintenance was probably put off if they couldn't be bothered to wash it appropriately.

 

[Hiluxforever]

The best shot i have showing my frame rust. I am at 145k now and wash it at least once a week. I can take shots underneath once I clean it.

 

[Arailt]

My 2019 has always been in Texas and has zero rust. After living in PA for 35 years, it blows my mind. Sometimes I crawl under it just to admire how clean and rust-free everything is.

 

[Malleus]

I had a classmate in my Basic Intel course at Ft. Huachuca who made a similar comment. He grew up in western PA and graduated from West Point. We were talking before leaving for Thanksgiving exodus (it was 90° that morning) and he told me he'd never thought that there was any place he didn't have to be snowed in for half the year.

He lives in Atlanta now.

 

[PoindAxster]

Northern cars can be rust-free too (except some bolts), but ONLY if the owner puts the effort into using a wax undercoating. The oil undercoating works as well, but it is a mess. You have to get through a winter or two with the wax on, then go back for touch-ups.

Unfortunately, 99% of people don't know or don't have the extra funds to do that.

And this is why you're best to spend the $800 to $2,000 in shipping to get something below the Mason-Dixon line. Autosled makes shipping easy - highly recommend them. Then, set aside $1,000 to have Woolwax professionally done. #NorthernTax ....and we wonder why everyone moves South when they retire.

 

[NorthwoodsGX]

When I got my GX I wish I had focused on only rust-free cars, but I wanted something soon and was having a hard time finding blue or nori green. Turns out you can only have so many *musts on your list. The body is rust-free, but there was some surface rust on the frame. I cleaned it up with a needle scaler/wire brush then sprayed everything with Rustoleum rust converter, and followed it up with Woolwax, and I plan to do a fresh coat of Woolwax this fall to make sure I didn't miss anything before salt season. I am curious to see how it holds up this winter, right now the underside is rust-free...

To those that wash weekly, do you use touchless car washes, self wash, or what? I was going to a touchless carwash but the overhead jets were so powerful they blew water past the sunroof seal and I don't want mold to build up in my headliner.

 

[PoindAxster]

When I got my GX I wish I had focused on only rust-free cars, but I wanted something soon and was having a hard time finding blue or nori green. Turns out you can only have so many *musts on your list. The body is rust-free, but there was some surface rust on the frame. I cleaned it up with a needle scaler/wire brush then sprayed everything with Rustoleum rust converter, and followed it up with Woolwax, and I plan to do a fresh coat of Woolwax this fall to make sure I didn't miss anything before salt season. I am curious to see how it holds up this winter, right now the underside is rust-free...

To those that wash weekly, do you use touchless car washes, self wash, or what? I was going to a touchless carwash but the overhead jets were so powerful they blew water past the sunroof seal and I don't want mold to build up in my headliner.

Get some pinstripes and it won’t matter what car wash you take it to