Rust on 2000 Landcruiser

[sdbolduc]

Good day all,

I haven't been active on here since I sold my BJ42 back in 2009 which was the same year my first son was born and the son who is wanting to spend his summer job earnings on a 2000 LC

While I love the idea and support it they are not easy to come by here in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. We have been looking at one for sale that needs a lot of work such as a manifold, brakes and tires which we are prepared to do. It is a single owner vehicle originally from Colorado which gives be comfort BUT ... the frame and underside looking pretty rusty. I do not have any experience with 100 series but I know that a bad frame is not a great place to start. I am posting some pics for your review and comment. These are only for North East Americans and Canadians to comment on - you folks without snow will likely throw up when you see these LOL. My instinct is to run even if the price is right. Thanks all in advance.

 

[sdbolduc]

More images

 

[excessive]

i wouldn't buy it, rust is not worth the headache in the long run.

 

[Live to Ski]

well, i'm from both worlds.....vt ca.

depends on price. it's not like you have a ton of clean choices.

 

[sdbolduc]

well, i'm from both worlds.....vt ca.

depends on price. it's not like you have a ton of clean choices.

Fair point i grew up on the vermont border and clean cars were hard to find there too i am pretty sure i could get this for $5k CAD. The seller is super nice and motivated to sell. 290k miles showing its age but otherwise well maintained.

 

[whitec13]

Mine was rusty when I grabbed it nearly 8 years back, but being from Michigan and always driving 4Runners, working on rust is just a part of daily life. For context, mine was bought from the original owner with a mountain of great maintenance records. So the rust didn’t scare me much. I paid $4500 for it back then with similar rust and roughly 50k less miles than your example. If you know how to wrench on rust and it doesn’t spook you, then price and maintenance history are the only factors you should look at. If someone else will be working on it, that would also sway things, as the prices will inevitably be higher.

 

[Kabanstva]

Offer them $500

 

[sdbolduc]

Thank you all for your feedback so far. Given that it needs at least $5-6k (brakes, timing belt, manifold) I am not so sure it's worth the trouble either. If the brakes and manifold were ok that would be a different story

 

[nissanh]

Rear Diff is about to fall apart! It is a parts car 100%

 

[CrackedManifold]

Southern New England here.

It doesn't look too bad tbh, I’ve seen newer vehicles with worse frames. Tap a few areas of the frame to make sure it’s solid. Wire wheel and POR after.

The rear diff on my Sequoia is in worse shape. Rotted at the cover and carrier and leaks fluid, but top it off when needed. Always has fresh fluid

Despite the work it needs, I would buy it for the right price. Would be a great father-son project. Haggle then down a bit, still a good price as is.

 

[Malleus]

Trust your instincts...run away. You can have a 100 series shipped to you for less than you'll have in that frame – if you ever get it right again.

 

[sdbolduc]

Southern New England here.

It doesn't look too bad tbh, I’ve seen newer vehicles with worse frames. Tap a few areas of the frame to make sure it’s solid. Wire wheel and POR after.

The rear diff on my Sequoia is in worse shape. Rotted at the cover and carrier and leaks fluid, but top it off when needed. Always has fresh fluid

Despite the work it needs, I would buy it for the right price. Would be a great father-son project. Haggle then down a bit, still a good price as is.

Thank you for the vote of confidence on this, I appreciate it. Frankly any car in his price range will be old and likely have the same level of rust under it. Maybe a civic or corolla makes more sense but where is the fun in that? I mentioned $5000 - keep in mind that is Canadian dollars so that is about $3600 USD. A few more pics of the rest of the LC.

 

[Landman2000]

I wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. Rear axle looks like it’s about to fall out, front lower control arm mounts look like they’re about to rust out and every bolt will break as you try and remove them for maintenance. You would be better off finding a clean vehicle from a rust free part of the country and having it shipped to you.

 

[Chamba]

The things you Canadians do to cars with salt gives me chills.

 

[CrackedManifold]

Thank you for the vote of confidence on this, I appreciate it. Frankly any car in his price range will be old and likely have the same level of rust under it. Maybe a civic or corolla makes more sense but where is the fun in that? I mentioned $5000 - keep in mind that is Canadian dollars so that is about $3600 USD. A few more pics of the rest of the LC.

I paid $6K USD for my '05 LX with 238MI, similar-but less rust. No maintenance performed, rusty AHC components. $3600 USD would have been instantly sold in my area (Rhode Island).

Does it have the quintessential rot hole on the driver's side crossmember area? Dealing with rust in the northeast is just a way of life for our toys. Just marinade the nuts and bolts with PB blaster a few days before turning them. Keep a set of Taps & dyes on stand-by.

I used to live 10 mins away from NB, Canada (Houlton, ME). Our struggle with rust is mutual.

 

[sdbolduc]

The things you Canadians do to cars with salt gives me chills.

Ahahahaha - right? That said we don't have many options given that most of us spend November to April in a mix or ice, snow, rain and more ice.

 

[rexington14]

Thank you for the vote of confidence on this, I appreciate it. Frankly any car in his price range will be old and likely have the same level of rust under it. Maybe a civic or corolla makes more sense but where is the fun in that?

I have a 100 and a Corolla. Corolla with a manual transmission is more fun to drive. And much cheaper to run which is important especially for a first car / young driver.

 

[Kabanstva]

Ahahahaha - right? That said we don't have many options given that most of us spend November to April in a mix or ice, snow, rain and more ice.

Those aren’t the problem. The problem is the s*** they put on your roads to melt the ice and snow

 

[rexington14]

That LC is a stopgap at best - drive it till it breaks then sell or part it out. I wouldn't put (waste) any of my money into fixing it up.