Idiot or Moron?

[White Stripe]

The LX models are built by toyota with a 25 year life span in mind. I would take it to a toyota dealer, tell them a independent shop mentioned some concern about frame rust. When they look at it and see the rust see if they will put a new frame under it for you as a gesture of good will, or perhaps toyota will buy it back. If they blow you off, tell them you were under the impression these were quality vehicles and supposed to last for years. Its a LX and supposed to be much better quality than a tacoma-which toyota has replaced many frames for under good will. If that doesn't work, put full coverage on it, and hope you crash it into a tree or something.

 

[spressomon]

Do yourself a favor: Move the rust bucket downstream. If you're serious about owning a Land Cruiser and want to mod it...you will have it a long time. The amount of rust on your's will frustrate the bejesus out of you and add considerable cost to everything you do to it. And remember from Neil: "Rust never sleeps...".

Chalk it up to a life lesson and the cost of education.

 

[bamabrock]

send it back to auction. There are tons of rust free 100s in texas close to you. The only vehicle I would consider buying off ebay would be from a high end (lexus, mercedez, etc) dealer who is selling trade in vehicles over a certain age or mileage on ebay because they dont keep those on their lots. The local lexus dealer here does that with anything over 4 years old.

 

[2003lx470]

First, STOP drinking, save the money and invest in your new hobby. If you know how to fix things here and there, and if engine and trans working, drive it!!!!!

Don't try to fix major repairs, not worth the investment. Better luck next time.

 

[reznunt]

I'd say try and sell it (with full disclosure) and cut your losses. Not worth the time and money you'll be putting into her IMO. Lick your wounds and then find another cleaner candidate to start with.

 

[re_guderian]

Is that the frame box separating?

 

[sean2202]

@White Stripe good idea to have it inspected by Toyota. At least you can submit a claim and say you are dissatisfied.All of the late 90 early 2000 Toyotas have a frame rust problem. I got big money for my 2000 taco in 2010. 2001 and up Taco's and tundras get a frame replacement. The 4 runners have major rust issues on the rear trailing arm mount that Toyota won't acknowledge. I have heard reports of the Sequoia's have rot as well.

 

[sean2202]

@re_guderian I believe that pic is by the front cab mount area. Like I said before I would start my inspection with a big hammer here to see how far it goes. IMO the box frame is strong and I wouldn't be too concerned with it as there are no suspension components here. Where I live rust is a fact of life, others are more fortunate than I. If you are concerened weld a plate over it if you know how or can find someone that will. Show that to
the dealer as well.

 

[labcab]

I'd take it by CarMax too. They'll buy anything and from what I've read, can sometimes surprise you with their offers. It might be enough to help you run without losing too much on it.

 

[Pinittowinit]

Just my 2 cents here. I understand where your at. I would try to send it back to the auction first, if you can't I would sell it and take the hit. Find a nice one and move on in life. If you keep it the problems will only frustrate you and you will constantly be thinking about it when you look at your truck. That will give you a bad taste in your mouth. You obviously love LC's as do all of us. When we go outside and see our trucks I smile and think to myself.. Look at that bad bitch!!

 

[ihadmail]

To all of you suggesting he just simply return it to auction, what are you going to suggest to the next person who comes here with the same issues with the same truck?

I could never suggest just dumping the issues of a vehicle on someone else and letting it be their problem. That's simply not the right thing to do.

There have been some good suggestions. The first is asking Toyota to back these issues. Another good option is to replace any of the pieces that can be replaced, such as that transmission cross member and the suspension components. The body rust can be fixed relatively easily by an auto body shop. It's possible to replace the steel that's missing from the frame. The last good suggestion is to simply drive the truck and enjoy the life it has left in it.

 

[cooper30]

I'm bucking the trend. I don't think you got a bad truck...maybe paid a little more than I would have (depending on mileage), but still, it's a 16 year old vehicle from a state that apparently uses some chemicals and salt on their roads.

My 2000 LX has spent its life in Maine and has rust, granted it doesn't have cancer like yours in a couple of those pictures, but all in all, I don't think yours looks bad.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. I've seen and fixed much, much worse.

Anyway, If it was mine, I would fix the holes, spray some Fluid Film (or ATF) on the underside (and every nook/cranny), and run it. My only concern with your truck is that being in Texas, there may not be a whole lot of people used to doing rust repair on structural components. You can't just weld a piece of sheet metal over a frame hole and call it good. If you know how to weld, do some Googling and fix it yourself.


After a few winters, even brand new vehicles up here can look like that (and worse) unless they have been sprayed from new and all the drain holes cleaned regularly. It's a fact of life when owning a vehicle up here. We have State mandated yearly inspections, and from my (limited) observations, the #1 reason for failing is rust.....rockers, fenders, frames, etc. Craigslist for this area is full of vehicles that are great mechanically but falling apart structurally.

Good luck.

 

[homer78749]

You are all very wise and kind to respond. Thank you. Given my decided lack of mechanical skills, I think I may try to cut my losses on this one and sell it and resolve to not be a dumbass moving forward. Even driving this heap for two weeks though has made me know I want to have one.

 

[WarWagon]

I stopped off to have my oil changed before I drove mine back from Philly and the mechanic was kind enough to do a once over while it was up on the rack. He thought for sure my LC was newer because he said he see's vehicles roll in with complete body rust in the 2007 and up years....all types of vehicles. Said mine didn't look bad at all and I agreed. This from a lifetime Philly mechanic.

Now I will say this, I think you got the very worst end of the deal based solely on what you paid for it ($7K?). I paid 4K for mine and refused to go a penny higher because I knew I had some work ahead of me. But at this point it is what it is for you. What if you sell it and buy another one in the $5-6 range and there are gremlins you don't know about? What if the PO lied and said the TB service had been done but then boom, you blow a belt and at worst you have a blown engine on your hands? Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't.

Unless you're willing to dole out at least 10-15K you're gonna be rolling the dice in a lot of ways with what you're buying. I do think there are cases where rust is such a cancer that you're done, but based on what I've seen I don't think you're there.

I thought long and hard about mine. It's super clean and straight and has a strong engine. She's a little rusty here and there, but aren't we all? I own this truck for better or worse. It's a damn Land Cruiser after all!!! They need homes and people that will appreciate what they are. And the ones that have been a bit neglected with some bumps and bruises, well they need owners that will not abandon them unless it's absolutely time.

These are all special vehicles, and sometimes they require that special owner.

 

[aging fleet]

You are all very wise and kind to respond. Thank you. Given my decided lack of mechanical skills, I think I may try to cut my losses on this one and sell it and resolve to not be a dumbass moving forward. Even driving this heap for two weeks though has made me know I want to have one.

Best of luck whichever route you go. They are great trucks so try not to let this experience discourage you.

 

[ihadmail]

You are all very wise and kind to respond. Thank you. Given my decided lack of mechanical skills, I think I may try to cut my losses on this one and sell it and resolve to not be a dumbass moving forward. Even driving this heap for two weeks though has made me know I want to have one.

If you change your mind and decide to keep it there are many here on the forum that are willing to help walk you through most of the repairs. Even if you're not doing them yourself a lot of us have knowledge of fair labor rates for simple things like replacing the suspension.

I'm sure there is a 4x4 shop not too far from you that builds custom buggies or rock crawlers. If not there should be a speed shop that builds dirt track circle cars or drag cars. Any of these shops would be set up and have the knowledge to do the weld repairs to the frame to make it structurally sound again.

If you feel like a loss and moving on would be best, good luck in your search for another 100. There have been a lot popping up in SC, NC and GA that appear to be in great condition given they're 13-18 years old. Average price seems to be right at $8k for one with 175-200k miles, a straight body and little to no rust.

 

[e9999]

there is rust and then there is rust. In most places rust is just that, you deal with it. But penetrating rust in the frame is not good, that's *R*ust. With that on the table -and it looks like you got some- the truck may even be unsafe to drive and could be very expensive to fix if you don't do it yourself and you have both skills and time. This looks like more trouble than your average DIY can reasonably handle. I would even see if the auction would take it back on the grounds that there appear to be potential safety issues here.

 

[97 AZ LC]

Have you looked into EBay's Vehicle Purchase Protection? It covers certain types of fraud including the vehicle not matching the seller's description. If you won an auction you are automatically covered.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

Mmmm i would personally try to jump ship and cut my losses. buy one from AZ..you can't make stuff rust here..

If you do go the jump ship route, I'd love to buy/trade+cash your steering wheel if its tan leather and it is still in good shape.

 

[kybishop]

Rust is a bastard indeed. Hard to stop. Stop it, not really, just slow it down. It will come back.