Too Much rust for LX470 purchase??

[RGRPILOT]

Good Evening forum, Im new to the forum but have been a lurker for awhile. Looking to get into overlanding and found a NE LX470 and I am unsure of how much rust is too much for this vehicles undercarriage. I am stationed in GA and do no have access to get eyes on, but the seller has graciously provided pics........Please Advise. The pics shown seem to be the worst. Thanks in advance.
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[marshotel]

It looks like they sprayed over the rust with black paint and then the paint fell off in places. There might be a lot more rust under the black paint.

Proceed with caution.

I would be sure to inspect that rig carefully and in person. I'd get under there and probe for rust under the paint before going ahead with a deal.

Why bother with a rusty rig from the northeast when you could get a clean example from closer to your location?

 

[RGRPILOT]

I haven't been able to find something decent price with reasonable mileage. Believe me Ive been shopping.

 

[Schwein]

:For a salt belt truck that looks pretty good, for a southern truck it looks pretty bad

That being said if you live in the south I would just look for a no rust example...

 

[Dwight S]

Do you have to have a LX 470 or will a LC work for you? Go to AutoTrader.com and put in your requirements. There is a 2002 LC in Roswell GA for $10,500 with 176,000 miles that already has many bolt on goods. I also believe it is a MUD member or previous MUD member truck. Stick with finding something in the south as a minimum or in the southwest preferred (no rust). No sense spending the money that will rot away before it's time...

I wouldn't be afraid to buy any LC or 470 with less than 200K miles, if the price and maintenance records are good. Don't jump at the first one you find and don't settle for something like you asked about, good ones are out there, just be patient.

 

[Sandroad]

A number of "how much rust is too much" questions have come up on MUD lately. Although certainly less is better, those of us with 100s have to know that our trucks are now anywhere from 7-16 years old and not getting younger. I'm sure there are some nice, low-rust southern trucks, but surface rust on the under-carriage is going to be on more trucks than not as all of them get older. With the caveats of watching out for rust-through on the body and/or bondo/bad paint jobs, I would just consider rust treatment part of a good baseline on a used L.C.

 

[Dwight S]

, I would just consider rust treatment part of a good baseline on a used L.C.

Says the man from Michigan... The OP is in Ft. Benning GA, finding a rust-free southern truck shouldn't be hard, I pulled up several on AutoTrader within 200 miles of Ft. Benning. It will all depend on how many miles the OP will accept and how much he wants to pay. They are out there.

 

[SmoothLC]

Rust?

Set up an email alert on Autotrader for AZ vehicles.

2000 LC in Tucson for $10,990

"Looks" clean, but no undercarriage pics and no rear locker.

Edit: Have them send you detailed history and pics, and depending on your needs, fly out and pick it up.

 

[hkeller]

Too much rust. We have a 200 LX that looks like a 1 year old rust free car underneath. Working on it is a breeze. Look for a southern car.

 

[RGRPILOT]

Thanks

i will try Auto trader... the LX450 seemed like a great deal it only has 105k and it was going to be 11k shipped to my door. And 1 owner. Not going to rule it out, but definitely am looking for something mildly built and well taken care of. Some of the high mileage ones scare me...due to my minimal experience with Toyotas.

 

[Delancy]

.. the LX450 seemed like a great deal it only has 105k and it was going to be 11k shipped to my door. And 1 owner.

Where is this at?

 

[RGRPILOT]

New York

 

[re_guderian]

...Some of the high mileage ones scare me...due to my minimal experience with Toyotas.

you need to get over this!

I can assume by your budget that you will not be paying a mechanic all repairs and basic maintenance. If true, you will very much regret working on a rusted rig. IMHO, that rug has too much rust. My 80 series was from PA/MD, and had about that much rust. It SUCKED working on it as every job involved snapping books, re-tapping holes, cutting off rusted parts, etc. to where the most mundane jobs became tedious. I just picked up an '04 - ten year old truck - with ZERO rust. SO nice working on it!

 

[Delancy]

New York

Lot of differences between the 450 and 470, but that's what I paid for nearly an identical 450 a couple of years ago.

That sounds like a good deal.

 

[RGRPILOT]

Thanks Guys and Dwight S.....looked up the one you suggested in AutoTrader for 10.5K and will probably buying Sat once I get hands and eyes on it. Everything looks good, has a slight rake..gotta figure out what thats about. Other than a few things looks to be ok.

 

[RGRPILOT]

This is it

 

[Dwight S]

Thanks Guys and Dwight S.....looked up the one you suggested in AutoTrader for 10.5K and will probably buying Sat once I get hands and eyes on it. Everything looks good, has a slight rake..gotta figure out what thats about. Other than a few things looks to be ok.

Hope it works out for you. It has a lot of extras for the money. Check it out completely. See if you can pull a CarFax on it too.