purchase evaluation: too much underbody rust?

[snowpilgram]

Looking at buying a 2010 GX460 Premium with 162k miles. Asking price is $16k

Interior and exterior look to be in good shape, here are some photos of the under body - any advice on the level of rust/corrosion there?

 

[Rednexus]

Maybe that is a bit rusty for a CO truck but it would be exceptionally clean in the Midwest! Looks like surface rust to me that could be cleaned up with a wire wheel repainted, and undercoated. I don't see it being a big deal, but always check for any places where the rust is more than surficial. $16K seems cheap for a GX460, but maybe you could use this to get the price down a little more.

 

[Tex68w]

It's too much for me personally but I live in Texas so I expect better lol. None of it looks cancerous and the price is silly cheap so it might be worth taking a stab at.

 

[Fedzilla]

That looks exceptionally clean if I was still in the midwest (Dakotas). But I've lived in NW Florida for 10 years and have a 2006 Lincoln Navigator that looks brand new underneath, still has perfect stickers on the frame. My 2011 GX spent majority of it's life in GA, and is clean underneath as well. I'll be moving to the Springs in the Fall, and personally if I was buying a GX there, that underbody wouldn't phase me to much, comes with the territory.

 

[r2m]

It may depend upon how much "elbow grease" you have.
If money is more of a concern than spending time under there with a wire brush and wire wheel, then I'd go for it!
As mentioned above, it's only surface rust which will come off easily and then just spray something like Rust-Olium or equal.

 

[snowpilgram]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I don't mind a few hours underneath with the wire brush, and It's in good shape otherwise, so seems like a keeper.

 

[Schwein]

For New England that rust would be considered zero issue. a wire brush and some rust neutralizer would clean that up in a half day. then spray it down with some undercoating.

 

[Hammeredsole]

Maybe that is a bit rusty for a CO truck but it would be exceptionally clean in the Midwest! Looks like surface rust to me that could be cleaned up with a wire wheel repainted, and undercoated. I don't see it being a big deal, but always check for any places where the rust is more than surficial. $16K seems cheap for a GX460, but maybe you could use this to get the price down a little more.

I would find a Texas truck and ship it. You could always fly out and inspect it, with a total cost of a few hundred dollars taking place of a significant headache of accumulated rust. I had a 2014 LC200 and now a 2019 GX460p that were both spotless underneath. Even the mild steel fasteners only had a very light dusting of surface rust. and still mostly gray steel. I would never purchase a vehicle of any age or mileage with that amount of rust. Once it starts, no amount of prepping or coating will get rid of it.

 

[Rednexus]

I would find a Texas truck and ship it. You could always fly out and inspect it, with a total cost of a few hundred dollars taking place of a significant headache of accumulated rust. I had a 2014 LC200 and now a 2019 GX460p that were both spotless underneath. Even the mild steel fasteners only had a very light dusting of surface rust. and still mostly gray steel. I would never purchase a vehicle of any age or mileage with that amount of rust. Once it starts, no amount of prepping or coating will get rid of it.

Keep in mind you live in a different part of the country with a very different climate. Those of us in the Midwest and East deal with rust all the time on vehicles, outdoor equipment, BBQ grills, etc. If rust is surficial, it can be mitigated with proper treatment for a few hundred dollars and a weekend of work.

While I agree that buying a rust-free vehicle is always preferable, there are other things to consider as well. When I was looking for my GX I saw quite a few in Texas, for prices of around 10-20% higher than Missouri. I had plans to look at one in DFW, but the owner pulled it from AutoTrader a day after listing. Getting a GX in TX would have meant 1) buying the vehicle sight-unseen, or 2) having to fly/drive to Texas for a maybe 50% chance of both wanting the vehicle after seeing it in person and negotiating a favorable price with the seller. Option 1 (sight unseen) is never a good idea as you can get a vehicle with major mechanical issues, owned by a heavy smoker, etc, and have problems that are worse than surface rust. I would personally never buy a vehicle sight unseen. Option 2 (long-distance travel) has a high cost to look at a vehicle that you might not even buy. The costs of plane tickets, meals, airport parking, and getting the vehicle back (driving it or paying for hauling) can easily be $1-2., or more if you're going more than a state or two away.

For my personal GX (which was posted on CarGurus a couple of days after the one in DFW disappeared), I was able to drive 3 hours from home to look at it, thoroughly inspect ever part of it, drive it, talk with the owners, verify that everything worked, and drive it home the same day. My GX is not rust free, but I'll be out around $250 in materials and a weekend of work to mitigate the surface rust (which is similar in extents to pictures from the OP). Had I bought one in TX I would have been out another $1-2K in the price of the vehicle and $1-2K to look at it an get it back, or maybe even more if I had to make multiple trips. So I'm sill ahead somewhere around $2k or maybe a lot more. The time I spend mitigating the rust should be similar or less to me time in flying to TX and driving back a GX.

So buying from TX might be best if money is no object, but isn't always feasible or cost-effective for many folks. I'll be posting a detailed writeup on my rust mitigation this summer, once it is warm enough to do a full pressure wash / wire wheel / corroseal / repaint / undercoat outside.

 

[Tex68w]

I pick fly-buy-drive for a cleaner lower mile vehicle over something rougher in closer proximity every single day of the week but to each his own.

 

[Rednexus]

I pick fly-buy-drive for a cleaner lower mile vehicle over something rougher in closer proximity every single day of the week but to each his own.

And there is nothing wrong with that! In my situation I picked up a nice, low-mileage (135k) GX, with brand new timing belt and water pump, brakes, brand new tires, and brand new Phoenix head unit, but some surface rust on the frame.

What I would not want to do is dissuade anyone from passing on an otherwise well-priced GX due to minor surface rust, as it is just not that big of a deal (and usually easier/cheaper to address than mechanical problems or even routine maintenance like a timing belt). Major frame rust or body rust is of course a totally different story.

 

[maingear]

$16k at 160 is no bargain.Thats the price of a clean GX.
For the time spent removing damage caused by corrosion, you can drive to a southern state and get a clean one.
Look at the Lexus dealership websites down south. Most will have the mx history and car fax on the listing.

 

[carlos33018]

Just as a reference, I bought my 2010 GX at a Dallas dealership with 150k for 15.1k + ttl OTD was 16k

 

[Acrad]

460 pricing at least at dealers is heavily dependent on mileage. Of course trim, maintenance history and area of the country also play significant roles...and of course pretty much rust free on the underbody.

 

[snowpilgram]

Great to hear everyone's feedback.

I was looking across several western states for a good truck. Some really nice ones in NM, but nothing that was enough of a screaming deal to justify the flight or long drive. In the end, I did end up buying the truck above (for $15k). It's in good shape otherwise and had good service history.

For context, another '08 470 I looked at with 125k sold at a dealership for $16.5 and you could pull flakes of rust off the underbody.

I plan on re-doing the suspension in the coming weeks, so will hit it all with the wire wheel and paint while I'm under there.

 

[carlos33018]

Just went on car gurus and took a quick Peak in the Texas region:

Used Lexus GX for Sale in Austin, TX - CarGurus

Save $7,289 on a used Lexus GX near you. Search over 4,600 listings to find the best Austin, TX deals. We analyze millions of used cars daily.

www.cargurus.com

this guy has 160k miles and it’s going for 16k. I’m sure if you call , you can get the dealer to drop the price to 15k.

Here is one with slightly less miles again, slightly more $

Used Lexus GX for Sale in Austin, TX - CarGurus

Save $7,289 on a used Lexus GX near you. Search over 4,600 listings to find the best Austin, TX deals. We analyze millions of used cars daily.

www.cargurus.com

Which one is the better car? I don’t know, you’d have to look at the maintenance records, TSVs performed, check for accidents, etc. It’s going to take some time, work, and potentially travel to find a really good deal on a good GX. In my case I drove to Dallas from Austin.


There are a TON of used GX’s in the Texas region, well over 100k miles under 20k. Now if you’re looking for something with under 100k you can expect to pay over 25k for it, which at that point you might as well get a CPO from Lexus for about 30k .

 

[Acrad]

You'd have to follow the history. I've seen some north eastern cars being pulled south for sale.. even saw a Canadian one being sold in Texas.

 

[Rednexus]

Great to hear everyone's feedback.

I was looking across several western states for a good truck. Some really nice ones in NM, but nothing that was enough of a screaming deal to justify the flight or long drive. In the end, I did end up buying the truck above (for $15k). It's in good shape otherwise and had good service history.

For context, another '08 470 I looked at with 125k sold at a dealership for $16.5 and you could pull flakes of rust off the underbody.

I plan on re-doing the suspension in the coming weeks, so will hit it all with the wire wheel and paint while I'm under there.

Congrats on your purchase!

It's interesting that GX470 prices are probably lower in the Midwest than anywhere else in the country, but GX460 prices are sky-high. I have not seen a 460 under $20K and I see very, very few 460s on the road or for sale, period. There must just be a shortage of them in the Midwest relative to GX470s.

As mentioned previously, when I clean up the underside of my GX I'll post a detailed thread here on how it goes and what the total all-in cost is.

 

[Acrad]

I see a lot more 470s in the PNW than 460s even though production run of 460s sold in US exceeded the 470s a couple years back

 

[Teagan]

Love the people from Texas and Florida who comment on rust threads.

"That truck might be under-priced by 7-8k, but I'd rather fly to Dubai ($3k) and buy a GX from the desert for $10k more and ship it back ($5k) than pay $200-600 to get the rust surface removed and undercoated on the cheaper, local truck. But that's me and I'm from Florida so my cars have never had any rust"