How Much Rust is Too Much? Pics Inside. Pass/Buy?

[bushwack]

Hi All,

So I've been discussing purchasing a 2005 LX with 100K Miles for $19K on this thread:
What should I offer for an 05 Lx 470 100k miles?

I liked the price and the vehicle has perfect maintenance records and is in amazing condition...until I asked to see under carriage pictures... and the ugly rust monster showed up.

I don't have a clue if this is a lot of rust, or if it's no big deal. Should I pass on this car or is this typical and cosmetic? What sort of issues could I run into in the coming years?

Apologies if this didn't justify a new thread, but I hope it does.

Thank you for sharing your amazing knowledge with a greenie.

Thanks!

 

[04UZJ100]

That's completely fine.

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

That's not rust...just normal aging.

 

[motorhead]

best of luck on your hunt,,,,i'm in the same boat as you trying to buy my first LC

 

[bctlex]

Another vote - it is fine. Having said that, if you buy this car, on picture no 3, which I think showing the passenger side, notice that the bracket for the sway bar is rusted. I would suggest to take care of the rust before it gets worse. The cause is the outlet from AC that drip water constantly into this bracket. I added a little hose so that it will drip the water somewhere else.

 

[bushwack]

Another vote - it is fine. Having said that, if you buy this car, on picture no 3, which I think showing the passenger side, notice that the bracket for the sway bar is rusted. I would suggest to take care of the rust before it gets worse. The cause is the outlet from AC that drip water constantly into this bracket. I added a little hose so that it will drip the water somewhere else.

So sounds like the rust is ok. How does one take care of existing rust? I appreciate your observation of the AC drip, I'll definitely look into adding a hose there. Thanks for all the responses!

 

[re_guderian]

Where are you located? While certainly nowhere near the rust some trucks have, I find that working on rust sucks. Get good at the drill/tap, or get good at having someone else work on it. There are those that deal with rust well. I'm not one of them having owned a NE 80 series. Never again. However, if you live in the rust belt, even if you buy a rust free truck, it'll rust soon, right? If it were me, if look for a truly rust free truck.

 

[bushwack]

I'm located in Wyoming. I've had deep rock chips on the hood of my car for years and not a sign of rust. Perhaps the rust on this Cruiser won't advance any further in my climate? Finding another Cruiser without rust would be easy, but finding one with a perfect maintenance record, low mileage, and immaculate exterior and interior condition isn't as easy. It's just hard for me to properly weigh the importance of these factors against each other since I've never encountered a rust situation before.

 

[Kabanstva]

I'd buy that without hesitation. Nothing to worry about here.

2014-2015 trucks in the Chicago area look like that after one or two winters. No joke. The salt on these roads is brutal. Last year, it seemed like there was more salt on the roads than snow.

 

[hkeller]

That is not as bad as many we have seen, but why in the world don't you find a southern one with zero rust. There are some really clean trucks out there, inside and out.