Rust mitigation options? (1 Viewer)

[LC80PGX]

Looking at a 1HD-FT with 100K miles that has some concerning spots of rust on the body. Curious if there is any realistic mitigation for it, or if new parts are in order.

 

[gummycarbs]

Curious if there is any realistic mitigation for it

Depends on your skills and willingness to devote time and money to it.

The bubbling rust on the door is going to require cutting back and replacing sheet metal. It's also probably way worse looking inside the door. The windows might get by with removing the glass and seal, wire-wheeling and neutralizing the corroded areas, then body filler and paint.

 

[LC80PGX]

Thanks gummycarbs. To clarify - I will not touch the rust myself (lack of skill and time) - more interested in knowing if its even worth going to a body shop for, and what kind of cost is realistic. Going to use this as a bargaining chip, or as a data point on walking away from the purchase altogether. I lean towards the latter because, like you said, this is only what I can see from the outside.

 

[bicycleagent003]

It also depends on your use case and where you live. If you live in a dry climate like SoCal/AZ, it probably won't get much worse. And if you're just going to wheel it and beat on it, don't worry about it.

 

[LC80PGX]

Mid Atlantic, street parked, daily-ish driver.

 

[BILT4ME]

Mid Atlantic, street parked, daily-ish driver.

Can you get it cheap?

Rust never sleeps.

 

[LC80PGX]

Not cheap, it just rolled off the boat from Japan. I think passing is the best option.

 

[gummycarbs]

more interested in knowing if its even worth going to a body shop for

I don't know if you could even find a body shop willing to take the work, and if they did it would be extremely expensive. From what I've heard, body shops are swamped with predictable, relatively easy collision repair. Hand-forming patch panels has become a labor of love and not something you can really afford unless you're Jay Leno.

 

[LC80PGX]

You are right, the ones that I called mostly didn't even touch rust. The one that was open to it was not willing to even speculate on level of effort or cost.

 

[ppc]

To be more specific than others, for proper repair just for the areas shown in your photos could be $2k to $3K if not more. Given what's shown in your photos expect many other areas undiscovered or rust hasn't broken through the surface. The thing about rust it goes deeper than just what is visible. Like an iceberg 1/10th is visible 9/10ths is below water.

 

[LC80PGX]

To be more specific than others, for proper repair just for the areas shown in your photos could be $2k to $3K if not more. Given what's shown in your photos expect many other areas undiscovered or rust hasn't broken through the surface. The thing about rust it goes deeper than just what is visible. Like an iceberg 1/10th is visible 9/10ths is below water.

Totally agree, and I told the guy I am passing on his two trucks.