Opinions on undercarriage pictures

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JOFS

JOFS

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Hello,
I am looking around for another 100 series. I was sent these pictures of an undercarriage and wanted peoples thoughts. I am concerned as the vehicle was first listed at a toyota dealership and I emailed upon it being listed. I was then told it was no longer available. It then showed up at another dealership that I am not clear is reputable. It appears to have gone through and auction to get there.
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What I see is some overspray. I see a rusted out broken off bolt on the skid pan. My suspicion is there is rust that has been covered. What do people see?

Thanks for you help.
 
I agree, looks like a rattle can job using flat black paint. At first glance I was thinking dang, that is about as clean as they come. The rear diff has a lot of texture to it indicating a lot or pitting from corrosion. Not a bad thing mind you but it's a good indicator of a cover up.

Areas they can't cover up would be rust in or on the tailgate, windshield corners, etc...

TCase looks a little moist too.
 
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There is overspray on the muffler. Also, why the hell are they using the rear lower control arm brackets as jacking points for the truck???
 
Cover up job to sell. Needs closer inspection by trusted mudder, if you can't get to it yourself.
 
As for going from one dealer to the next- not at all unusual. The dealer taking the car in on trade will try for a couple weeks to sell it at an optimistic price. If it doesn't move it goes right to auction, especially if it's not a brand they deal with or if it's older or higher mileage than what's typically on their lot. Certainly not unusual or any sort of "kiss-o-death" situation.

I don't see any frame damage and I don't consider surface rust a big deal on these as from what I've seen the frames are of incredibly good quality.

Broken off bolt on underbody plating is totally normal and is resolved with a drill and tap, no big deal.

Basically, :meh:
 
The issue with leaving one dealer to another was that it left nearly immediately after being traded in. They listed it when they took it on trade and then I inquired immediately. They informed me it was gone. I suspect they looked at it and figured it needed something. They never had it on their lot but did have it on their autotrader listings but never with pictures and only a note to call for info.

I realize the frames are good quality as I have two 100 series vehicles but I have found them to be much more prone to rust than earlier models. My 80 has less rust than both my 100 series. My one 05 100 series has started having some of the other rust issues like a/c lines etc. I am looking for a vehicle to replace that one as I do my own work and don't want to deal with the hassle of rust if possible. Generally it is not the frame I am worried about. It is more the overall situation.

I have found telling signs to be if the spare can actually be taken off if not frozen, if the e-brake actually works, if the bottom tailgate doesn't have rust under the shield and if the upper tailgate handle doesn't have rust. I have gone to dealers and asked for them to take the spare off and sorted out many rusty trucks quickly that way.

What I am trying to sort out is I have a dealer telling me that they have a rust free cruiser with low miles that I have to drive 4 hours to see. They are asking a premium price for it. I am willing to pay a premium price for a rust free truck but not one people being deceptive about.

John
 
Did they tell you that the rust was painted over? If so I would still think about going and checking it out. If not than what else are they not telling you and attempting to hide. I am new to Land Cruisers but from my recent search and purchase I found being patient paid off. I was ready to pull the trigger on one with a lot of surface rust on the undercarriage mostly because of the price but two weeks later found a cleaner one for only 2 grand more. To me that was well worth it as I knew i would spend a ton of time cleaning off the rust on the cheaper one only to surely find more issues. Also who ever took the short amount of time to tried to hide it did a poor job. If it was done by previous owner shows that they did the the quick easy way and not always the right way, to include maintenance. Also you say it is at a dealer that has a questionable reputation. With what info I have seen I would say walk unless reasonable answers to above. Good luck
 
JOFS said:
I have found telling signs to be if the spare can actually be taken off if not frozen, if the e-brake actually works, if the bottom tailgate doesn't have rust under the shield and if the upper tailgate handle doesn't have rust. I have gone to dealers and asked for them to take the spare off and sorted out many rusty trucks quickly that way.
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I would agree 100% on this as part of any pre-purchase inspection. Have you asked this dealer to do this? Have you seen hi-res pics of the upper and lower clam shell?

This underside doesn't look that bad to me for a NE rig (in spite of the spray over). I'd like to see the upper tail gate handle.
 
They're never quite as nice as the pictures depict, especially the further they get from you :)
What part of the country is it in? Atlanta area, I could try to put my eyes on it.
Ron
 
I haven't asked the dealer for pictures of those other areas as I don't want to tip my hand if I go to look. I don't want to give them too much information on what I will be looking at. I have just been sorting out if I make a special trip or if I just go when I would be traveling that way anyway. I do not want to waste a day for a vehicle that isn't what is promised.

The beauty is I have all the time in the world. I have extra vehicles so I don't have to rush.

The truck is in the northeast.

I appreciate everyones input.
John
 
Is the second dealer a Toyota dealer or a used car dealer? I agree that immediately auctioning a trade-in would indicate the first dealer didn't want to "deal" with it. A simple inter-dealer trade would look better. On the rust, there is a lot hidden by that bad paint job. I'm in Michigan and don't mind surface rust at all. However, I would prefer no treatment to just a bad rattle-can cover-up. If any dealer told you it's rust free, then you need an extra helping of caveat emptor on this one. Might be worth a look, but in addition the rust, check out what appears to be grease in areas over the rear diff. Also, that exhaust crossover pipe looks like it might become a "straight pipe" pretty soon because the rust. Too bad they painted the driveshafts; I wonder if that would mess with balance? Finally, I've not seen a LC with the frame weight on the driver's side. I wonder why it's over there and not on the passenger side?
 
Traded in at a Toyota dealer then sent to auction despite me contacting that dealer the day they posted it on autotrader.

Now listed at an independent used car dealer, That has very mixed online feedback.

My lx470 has the weight on the drivers side as the one in the pictures does

John
 
I wouldn't be concerned about it being bounced to another dealer. Most of the OEM dealerships wont keep used vehicles over 4-5yrs old, unless it's a unicorn with crazy low miles and super clean in & out. They often have a short list of wholesalers that they regularly spin these older trades off to or just send them to auction. Expect there will always be something needing attention, and figure that into your min/max purchase price.

If it was serviced at a Toyota dealership at all during its life, you can run a service history here: Toyota Owners Official Web Site you'll need to set up an account if you dont already have one. Enter the VIN# look up the service history. When your done just delete the vehicle from your profile ( unless you by it).
 
Interesting about the weight! I may move mine to see if I can get rid of the last little bit of resonance.
Better check both Carfax and Autocheck on that LC. Others will have different opinions, but I think a used car dealer with very mixed feedback is an iffy place to buy a vehicle. Go into that deal with your eyes wide open.
 
If this is an '07 with 58K miles in MA, I can prob take a look at it for you next week.
 
John, based on the CARFAX this LC has lived a pampered life between Brookline, Newton, and Wellesley MA. If you're not familiar with the area, those are some of the wealthiest towns in all of New England. Prior owner probably traded it in for a 2015 LC at Toyota Watertown. It is odd that they sent it to auction.

I'm happy to help out next week. @spaber05 may be able to help sooner if you want to move faster.
 
RND1 said:
John, based on the CARFAX this LC has lived a pampered life between Brookline, Newton, and Wellesley MA. If you're not familiar with the area, those are some of the wealthiest towns in all of New England. Prior owner probably traded it in for a 2015 LC at Toyota Watertown. It is odd that they sent it to auction.

I'm happy to help out next week. @spaber05 may be able to help sooner if you want to move faster.
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Yep, I'm available to help sooner if need be but am leaving for the holidays starting late Tues, just let me know.

Looks like the first 10k miles of its life were spent in CA and as @RND1 said, those are some very wealthy neighborhoods so I imagine this was maintained with something close to a "cost is no object' approach. I imagine it went to auction because they didn't see themselves selling it over a brand new 4Runner for that kind of price and just wanted it off the lot. I would bet that a lot of people (who don't know any better) just scoff at the thought of buying a nearly 10 year old car.

Keep in mind the 60K service is coming up, nothing like the cost of a timing belt, but not just an oil change either.
 
Thanks guys. RND1 will check it out next week. I am aware of the service history and have plugged it into the toyota owners website. It has already gone through a couple of batteries and an alternator which I thought was a bit odd.

Thanks for all your help.
John
 
TheForger said:
There is overspray on the muffler. Also, why the hell are they using the rear lower control arm brackets as jacking points for the truck???
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I was wondering why the lifted it at those points too!! overall looks decent though.
 
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