buying LC 100 with some undercarriage rust (2 Viewers)

[betos]

Hello! First post here so hopefully not doing it all wrong or breaking any forum rules/etiquette...

I'm thinking of buying an LC 100, year 2000, with 185k miles for $6,400, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what's too much undercarriage rust (or even if it's just normal rust). The body is rust-free and in very good condition as well as the interior, which is not the case in all of the ones I've seen for this price. The title is clean, only a minor accident in carfax, and it's supposed to run great. I'm planning on using it as a daily driver, on some gravel roads for work, road trips every once in a while, and some overlanding/light off road but not planning on making tons of modifications to it.

Based on the images, is this a good buy and can anybody tell me what would definitely need to be replaced other than the fuel tank skid plate? I think there's also another skid plate missing. I got more pics but only lets me upload those. I'm more able to spend money over time fixing it up than up front so considering that and the price, does it seem like a good buy?
Thanks for the help!

 

[nissanh]

Looks like there is an underbody coating. If the fuel skid plate is rusted like that, I can imagine the rest. Also one of the body mount is cracked.

 

[Kabanstva]

And rear bump stop rusted off lol

 

[Sean9421]

Looks to me that this thing lived in a salty place, but the previous owner(s) did their best to slow down the rust process. It's going to be a bear to work on that undercarriage, but so long as the paint and interior is decent, and it doesn't have a ton of deferred maintenance, it could be a decent buy for that price. Considering the milage, it looks like that thing can still provide many years of service, at the expense of longer repairs and bigger bills if your not doing the work yourself. One big plus side is that if someone spent time/money/effort trying to protect the undercarriage like that, it probably means this thing was cared for, and they wanted it to last a while. Seeing as your in San Antonio, that's going to help keep the rust from spreading quickly and you can get some extra years out of it.

 

[ace10]

That truck looks like it's lived its entire life in Michigan. You're in Texas. People in Texas shouldn't be shopping in the rust belt.

Are you sure you want to drive a twenty something year old truck for work?

 

[Dirt J]

I suggest you pass on that one.

 

[betos]

Thanks for all the replies, they help a lot!
Yes, the carfax shows just 1 owner for over 22 years in New York and a second one in Texas for a few months.
Here's a few more pics showing other parts:

 

[Fairgame]

Personally, I would buy it and start looking around for another chassis if you want a rebuild project.

 

[Kabanstva]

Do not buy this

 

[plainjanefjc]

Looks like someone did a coating after the fact to hide how bad this thing really is. Every bolt with need to be cut off. I guess on the bright side you won’t need sockets and screw drivers to work on it- just an angle grinder and a hammer will fix everything.

 

[Trapper50cal]

Hard Pass - but I'm spoiled living in the Southwest.

 

[ace10]

Looks like someone did a coating after the fact to hide how bad this thing really is. Every bolt with need to be cut off. I guess on the bright side you won’t need sockets and screw drivers to work on it- just an angle grinder and a hammer will fix everything.

The mystery goop was applied since the last oil change.

 

[supercoupe91]

You cant even tell what is rusted.

suppose on bright side as more of the truck rusts and falls off, the trucks weight and mpg improves fractionally.

the price is getting close to reasonable for parts.

 

[plainjanefjc]

The mystery goop was applied since the last oil change.

View attachment 3461452

Which was 30 thousand miles ago…

 

[4Beast]

Looks like newer CV boots

 

[MountaineerLC]

My guess is an unaware TX buyer got it for that for a good price from NY, sight unseen. Once they got it they realized it was a rusty mess underneath. They then had it undercoated to make it look better and they're trying to unload it ASAP.

Hard pass, you can do much better in your AO.

 

[sanscruiser]

add a torch to the list of must haves for repair..

 

[dubdub20003]

In New England, maybe…. No reason for you. You’d hate every job!

 

[kevgentile]

For the right price would make a good daily winter driver for us up here in the mid-atlantic.
I personally don't think it's all that bad. Low mileage, clean interior, and if really has a rust free body. But I'm a mechanic with a big shop and 40 years worth of tooling. I'm used to all kinds of levels of rust.

I've worked and maintained a lot worse. We had a customer with an '87 Vanagon that was super crusty, but we kept it going up until just a few years ago until it got rear ended and he collected $25K from the insurance co. Like duddub said, I hated every job on that damn thing, but it kept on trucking along.