Here's the deal, I'm down in Austin and there is a 2005 LC in Dallas that I've been looking at. It's got 160k miles on it, however it spent the first 7 years of its life in the northeast. I know that's a red flag. Dealer said "No rust!" Then sent me these pics, now I'm pretty new to these machines and I don't know exactly what I'm looking at. I do see rust though. Is this enough to send you running in the other direction or is this something I can seal and not be worried about? This vehicle is 200 miles away so, if I can dodge a bullet without having to travel, then good. Please take a gander and let me know what you'd do. Thanks!
Is this too much rust?
- Thread starter Davex
- Start date
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Not at all. This minimal to none.
a_traut_man
SILVER Star
Agreed, that is one clean underbody based on the limited pictures.
Do I run? LX470 questions
That one I linked isn't as bad as some I've seen. There's been a couple of guys posting threads lately asking the same question about 100s they find. Search "rust under body frame" and you should get a couple recent hits.
The one you're looking at looks about as good as my Florida only LX. Worst thing I can see is the muffler which will probably rust out sooner than later. Even that's not horrible. Get some more pics and dig up whatever service info you can find and figure out if it's worth the trip to go look in person but what rust there is shouldn't be a factor. Good luck!
That one I linked isn't as bad as some I've seen. There's been a couple of guys posting threads lately asking the same question about 100s they find. Search "rust under body frame" and you should get a couple recent hits.
The one you're looking at looks about as good as my Florida only LX. Worst thing I can see is the muffler which will probably rust out sooner than later. Even that's not horrible. Get some more pics and dig up whatever service info you can find and figure out if it's worth the trip to go look in person but what rust there is shouldn't be a factor. Good luck!
search for "rust" titles only and you should find plenty of pictures and the associated opinions.
A quick sample:
A quick sample:
Looks good. You may need new muffler soon, but may not. Mine is crispy looking like that, and almost 2 years later since I bought the car, the muffler still working fine - no hole yet.
We need to combine all these rust topic into one thread - just a thought....
We need to combine all these rust topic into one thread - just a thought....
Man I thought my California Land Cruiser was pretty rust free, but from those pictures I would not be scared. Muffler definitely on the way out...
Don't let the rust stop you if everything else feels right!
Don't let the rust stop you if everything else feels right!
I'm in Dallas, if you want a set of eyes on and a phone call while looking at it I would be happy to help.
CLEAN
- Thread starter
- #11
Awesome! If I go further with this, I'll see if you're still available. Thanks!
Its not bad considering where it came from. Certainly serviceable.
If you are in Austin, I wouldn't look to Dallas for Land Cruisers or LX470s. Houston is a much better market (and closer).
If you can be patient, you can find a literally rust free vehicle (and I don't mean comparatively speaking).
The Dallas market will generally be higher priced than units out of Houston, don't ask me why...but they are.
The way to secure a good, clean, well serviced vehicle is to save ALL the major sites (car gurus, autotrader, etc) as many as you can find, and check them DAILY. Have your CASH in hand and be ready to go look at one as soon as something interesting comes up. They don't last long.
You have to move quickly when you find a good one.
If you are in Austin, I wouldn't look to Dallas for Land Cruisers or LX470s. Houston is a much better market (and closer).
If you can be patient, you can find a literally rust free vehicle (and I don't mean comparatively speaking).
The Dallas market will generally be higher priced than units out of Houston, don't ask me why...but they are.
The way to secure a good, clean, well serviced vehicle is to save ALL the major sites (car gurus, autotrader, etc) as many as you can find, and check them DAILY. Have your CASH in hand and be ready to go look at one as soon as something interesting comes up. They don't last long.
You have to move quickly when you find a good one.
- Thread starter
- #13
Yeah that is true about Houston. I'm in a bit of a time crunch though, moving to Montana in May.
As a northerner I would like to give you a firm "I hate you" for that little rust setting off your red flags 
Thats the kind that we would KILL for up here
Thats the kind that we would KILL for up here
Muddy Bean
Breaking something or fixing something
I'm in Houston for another month if you need to lay eyes on a truck here let me know.
- Thread starter
- #17
Awesome, thanks for the offer!
Cannon88
In the duck blind...
Yeah but thats rusty for TX! 
As a northerner I would like to give you a firm "I hate you" for that little rust setting off your red flags
I guess I need to start buying up Land Cruisers and LX470's. I can find ones a LOT cleaner than that one...though it isn't bad (for where it came from).
I'm thinking there is a real market (in the rust belt) for vehicles like we have down here. Some of the ones I have seen posted as 'normal rust' for up North, we would send to the junk pile down here.
I really am shocked at the stark differences in what is 'acceptable' from one region to the next.
