Should I buy this rusty 98 LC 186K

[aharlan001]

I have been looking for a lc or lx for 4 months. Unfortunately I'm in Virginia where there is alot of rust especially in the populated areas north of me. Anyway I found this 98 lc with 186K. It needs right valve cover gasket, abs sensor?, timing belt due soon (done at 109k), and front seat leather. It has modest maintenance history but has recent pads/rotors/tires. Mostly a Maryland vehicle. Mostly surface rust except behind both rear wheels (1st pic passenger side) and in front of the passenger wheel well (2nd pic). The body/paint is quite good except for the aforementioned rust. Carmax offered the seller 4K, but the sellers were firm at 5K. Is this a good deal? Can anything be done about the rust. Is it worthwhile to purchase and fix or just treat and let nature run it's course? What would repair cost? The other side isn't as bad but it needs more than just surface attention. There is a collision history and I can tell that the rear bumper isn't perfect.

Also what are these three random connectors to nowhere by the passenger firewall? (see last pic)

 

[FxFormat]

That rust at the back of the bumper area is non structural, just cut that off and call it a day, how's the under carriage look? Those connectors in the front are for the LX470 AHC system, that year LC didn't have AHC so the connectors are unconnected.

 

[aharlan001]

Surface rust as far as I can tell, no holes like the one pictured... Not really sure where else to look...

 

[JT4runner]

Rust doesn’t look that bad but without seeing it in person it is hard to say. Living in Virginia I would say look around for a Southern LC/LX. There are quite a few here in GA,TN and N.C.

 

[JT4runner]

I just purchased a 98 LX that was local to Atlanta its entire life and has zero rust on it.

 

[FxFormat]

Take pics of the frame, all the ones you're showing are non essential parts of the vehicle. the frame is what's important, and the bolts and nuts attached to it will determine how much cursing shall expel when you work on them.

I'm in VA too and rust is going to be part of hundys, even if you get them down south, after this winter it'll just rust up again, it is what it is. I treated mine for the upcoming winter. I'm in Dulles area if you ever want to bring an LC over for a PPI.

 

[BullElk]

I got a '99 with 312k from VA with same type rust for $2800. Very solid LC. There is a 2003 LC in Atlanta with 292K miles for $5000....just to give you an idea.

 

[aharlan001]

So I'm in good shape at 5k since the miles on this one are lower?

 

[bentonrover]

That ain't rust bro. Come to CT and I'll show you some. Pay the man and enjoy your rig. That's about $7k up this way.

 

[CLEcruiser]

All comes down to price, and if your a perfectionist. At $5k I would buy it all day.

 

[2001LC]

The nuts/bolt on this will be a real pian to deal with. From Maryland rust will be in panels. Look closer at rear hatch, bottoms of door, along rock panels and above windshield for bubbling or scaling in paint. Look at frame end to end paying special attention above rear end/axle.

 

[rtobinski]

I have been looking for a lc or lx for 4 months. Unfortunately I'm in Virginia where there is alot of rust especially in the populated areas north of me. Anyway I found this 98 lc with 186K. It needs right valve cover gasket, abs sensor?, timing belt due soon (done at 109k), and front seat leather. It has modest maintenance history but has recent pads/rotors/tires. Mostly a Maryland vehicle. Mostly surface rust except behind both rear wheels (1st pic passenger side) and in front of the passenger wheel well (2nd pic). The body/paint is quite good except for the aforementioned rust. Carmax offered the seller 4K, but the sellers were firm at 5K. Is this a good deal? Can anything be done about the rust. Is it worthwhile to purchase and fix or just treat and let nature run it's course? What would repair cost? The other side isn't as bad but it needs more than just surface attention. There is a collision history and I can tell that the rear bumper isn't perfect.

Also what are these three random connectors to nowhere by the passenger firewall? (see last pic)

Looks relatively good to me. That said, I just bought my first cruiser last sunday and it is super rusty underneath. It's a '99 with 175k and I got it in fredericksburg for $4,850. I really wanted a white one and wish I would have some across the one you posted because I proabably would have snatch it up. I am definitely going to need to replace the front crossmember of the frame....hopefully not much more than that though. I will see as I dig deeper. My body and interior are in really good shape and I only need a couple minor fixes to a couple of pieces of trim. So far my only real issues(besides rust) are a non-working and leaking sunroof which I knew before i purchased and also water on my front passenger floor which is hopefully just because I need to clear the drain tube for the ac condensor. Let us know what you end up doing. Good luck

 

[1stduetruck]

Looks relatively good to me. That said, I just bought my first cruiser last sunday and it is super rusty underneath. It's a '99 with 175k and I got it in fredericksburg for $4,850. I really wanted a white one and wish I would have some across the one you posted because I proabably would have snatch it up. I am definitely going to need to replace the front crossmember of the frame....hopefully not much more than that though. I will see as I dig deeper. My body and interior are in really good shape and I only need a couple minor fixes to a couple of pieces of trim. So far my only real issues(besides rust) are a non-working and leaking sunroof which I knew before i purchased and also water on my front passenger floor which is hopefully just because I need to clear the drain tube for the ac condensor. Let us know what you end up doing. Good luck

Did you buy the blue one from NAB? I looked at the one. If you don’t have history, let me know. I have a maintenance history on that one. Timing belt and water pump 2007 at 135k.

 

[rtobinski]

Did you buy the blue one from NAB? I looked at the one. If you don’t have history, let me know. I have a maintenance history on that one. Timing belt and water pump 2007 at 135k.

Yup! That's the one I purchased. I got into an accident the week before and I was kinda in a pinch and have been "looking" for a cruiser for about 2 years, so i pulled the trigger on it. They said the belt and pump were replaced at 135k, but had no records to show me. That would be awesome if you could share any info on it.
So, what do you think of it? Clearly not a huge fan of it since you didn't buy it. A appreciate any thoughts you have.

 

[1stduetruck]

Yup! That's the one I purchased. I got into an accident the week before and I was kinda in a pinch and have been "looking" for a cruiser for about 2 years, so i pulled the trigger on it. They said the belt and pump were replaced at 135k, but had no records to show me. That would be awesome if you could share any info on it.
So, what do you think of it? Clearly not a huge fan of it since you didn't buy it. A appreciate any thoughts you have.

It’s from NY and had dealer preventative maintenance. Calipers done at 135. The history and interior looked excellent as was price. The rust kept me away, but I have the time to wait. If you dig into it then you should be fine as you build it up and take care of the truck. Whoever owned it had money to maintain it to spec. Post some pics

 

[rtobinski]

It’s from NY and had dealer preventative maintenance. Calipers done at 135. The history and interior looked excellent as was price. The rust kept me away, but I have the time to wait. If you dig into it then you should be fine as you build it up and take care of the truck. Whoever owned it had money to maintain it to spec. Post some pics

Cool, thanks for the info. Did you pull a carfax on it? Pretty unreal that they on put 40k miles on it in the past 11 years. Guess it was just sitting and rusting.
I will definitely post some pics as I get into it and start cleaning it up. It rides so smoothly relative to my 4runner(265k) and my lexus gs(170k). Hooked my trailer up to it for a dump run on saturday and I couldn't even tell I was pulling an extra 2500lbs. My 4runner is a different story when towing.

 

[1stduetruck]

Cool, thanks for the info. Did you pull a carfax on it? Pretty unreal that they on put 40k miles on it in the past 11 years. Guess it was just sitting and rusting.
I will definitely post some pics as I get into it and start cleaning it up. It rides so smoothly relative to my 4runner(265k) and my lexus gs(170k). Hooked my trailer up to it for a dump run on saturday and I couldn't even tell I was pulling an extra 2500lbs. My 4runner is a different story when towing.

Create a mycarfax account and add the vin as your vehicle and it will populate maintenance history. It’s free.

 

[rtobinski]

Create a mycarfax account and add the vin as your vehicle and it will populate maintenance history. It’s free.

Thanks for that tip. I saw some paperwork in the car that was confusing and now I have confirmed my confusion. This car was always registered in New York, but pretty much all maintenance was performed at shops in Maryland.

 

[tacoduck]

I had a 2001 from NoVa with similar levels of rust. I bought it 2 years ago for 7k, and sold it 2 years later for 8k. Id drive that truck all day for 5k.

The Valve covers you could possibly fix by just cranking them down... that fixed mine.

 

[aharlan001]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to go for it as long as a second look does not reveal more rust.