What is typical rust on a frame? Should i buy this 2006?

Looking at this 06 tundra with 129k miles on it but am wondering if I should request the price be lowered due to how much rust is on the underside. It's a 1 owner vehicle but looks like it's been outside in northern ohio for it's lifetime. Any thoughts?

 

If you are really serious you'd want to go inspect in person and really get up in there with a flashlight and a poker. Personally, that's way past my comfort level. It could possibly be saved but it would require a shit load of work. I hate seeing all these 1st gens die from rust.

 

@FirstGenVol very true. I was just looking at one last weekend and poked a new hole in the support bar near the rear wheels. Seller didn't even know that was there and probably didn't want to investigate that. I really like the look of the first gen's but finding one that's not a rust hole in ohio is a tall ask. They're asking 13,500 for this which I think is way overpriced for how the underside looks.

 

Yeah, even without seeing the rest of the truck that seems high. That back bumper alone looks like it was pulled from the Titanic debris. My advice would be to travel south and find a rust free truck. They are still out there if you are willing to drive a little ways.

 

Walk away....this comes from a guy who has owned 3 1st Gen Tundras and once drove 1600 miles (round trip) in 36 hours to buy a 2005 Tundra...and after inspecting it in person, passed. Yes, I saw undercarriage pics first, but they strategically left out bad areas....I learned a hard lesson there.

 

Walk away, that thing is done for.

 

Walk away.

Check the rust free Carolinas and Florida. I’ve found vehicles much cheaper on those areas.

Get an inspection and have a checklist of repair items you’re concerned about

Save some $$$$$$$$

Shipping,and airline flights can save you some serious $$$$$$

 

Way past my comfort zone also.

Beware of the Toyota recall frame coating if it was obviously done as reactive measure (like the pictures below.) If it was done as a preventative measure I'd have no issue with it.

It helps "doll" up the trucks frame, and does help preserve it for a little longer.




Peel up the drop in bedliner too if you find a decent looking one.

At the end of the day, a reactive coating is better than nothing but...


These pictures are what I would stay away from personally. I took these pictures in a local car-lot. I couldn't believe my eyes at how much rust was really there.

 

These are exactly the answers i was looking for! Thank you everyone. I'll just keep an eye out for the right one.

 

Best of luck.

I hope that we helped.

 

This corroborates my currently valued $14k Access Cab. Values are going up!

 

$14k you say? Nice. Insurance company wanted to give me $5800 for mine as the totaled value when a deer hit my door. I told them they were out of their collective minds. Kept the truck and some cash. Haven't even bothered with fixing the three dents. Just need an A/C drivers door and drivers side rear door in 1C7 Thunder Grey Metallic. The dent in the lower front bedside could be massaged out, it's hardly noticeable. For those three things they totaled the truck. And while it's not PHM pristine, it's been very well cared for and maintained. I can't find another like it for sure.

 

Yeah. Insurance values are currently way behind the times because it suits their bottom line. Without going into much detail, I just battled (and lost probably/TBD) an estimated claim. They were 3 times less with their comeuppance. Only goofy people take what the insurance first offers without a fight.

They’ll take your premiums every month and give you crumbs (less deductible) when you claim. If you take care of your stuff and keep it nice, its more of a penalty because most let their stuff go to crap.

 

I found them to be the opposite, at least a couple of years ago. My Tahoe at the time got nailed with hail, not bad but enough to put some dings on almost every panel. Insurance came out and totaled it and valued it at $5800 or $6200, can't remember. Salvage value was around $1400 so I opted to keep and they paid me the difference. I bought the darn thing for $2700 lol.

Pertaining to the OP, that thing is pretty gnarly. A tell tale sign for me is when the bumpers are rotting from the inside out along with the exhaust, differential, spare tire wheel, springs, etc. I bet under the hood looks pretty similar. Well it doesn't look like the worst I have seen, working out that would be a nightmare. Even if it was $5000, I would be hesitant to purchase. There are cleaner ones out there for less. I think if you purchased that, you would be fighting a on going battle that you will not win in the end.

 

@Professional Hand Model so you don't think this could be fixed by getting a ziebart coating? what would it cost to fix all this rust?

 

No. Not worth it whatever it might cost. The truck is already premium priced. Divert efforts to new search.

 

@Professional Hand Model the other option would be to just lease and then buy a new tundra and not have to worry about any maintenance issues. What are your thoughts on that approach? I'll want something to go the distance and starting at square 1 seems like the best option at this point.

 

www.cargurus.com shows a few decent looking ones in my area (NW PA) for less than this one is asking.

There's no repairing this one short of putting a new frame under it.

 

Buy new if you have the money or find a rust free.

 

And then you will still have all the other rusty parts to deal with that attaches to the frame...

 

another question, how does everyone feel about RWD vs 4WD? Again i'm in ohio and get snow quite a bit sometimes but can find a good deal on those more easily. Should i wait for the 4WD? Thanks!

 

4WD or bust in my opinion but I live in Colorado.

 

Yes!

 

4WD. I wouldn't even consider 2WD, especially in Ohio where it snows. My dad had 2WD trucks growing up here in TN and during our rare snow events it was miserable. He would get passed by meth heads in Geo Metros.

 

I hope you didn’t inhale any second hand vapor. Besides, they were driving an Earth vehicle and building carbon credits.

 

New Gen 1 owner in TN. Looked for a long time, at a lot of trucks and long distances from home. Every one I found had unacceptable frame rust. 2 weeks ago, one popped up 30 miles from me. The frame is untreated, but in great shape. Lots of other issues (how do I get the hood open with a kinked cable--yes, I've found multiple options on here--thank heaven), but nothing that isn't fixable. And the price was a small fraction of the one you were looking at: 2001, Access cab, 4wd, LTD, 220,000 miles. So far, I love it, even with its warts.

 

That's about average level of rust here in MN on a normal vehicle (i.e, one that isn't known for frame rot problems). But 13.5 grand? They've gotta be smoking something. A few months ago I paid 1500 less than that for truck from California, with *no* rust, in the middle of the rust belt. And with less than 100k miles to boot. There's no way I'd have paid that much for a truck with that much rust on the frame, or anywhere else. That's about the same amount of frame rust that my old truck had, and it was a 1988 Mitsubishi minitruck. Way older than the truck you're looking at, and had lived its whole life in MN. And I got rid of it because I was starting to have trust issues with the frame.