My tundra arrived rusted

Ordered a ‘17 trd OR from Vroom. It seemed like a good deal seeing as the truck has only 15k miles and all the features I was looking for. So it showed up and the underside is full of rust. Frame, suspension, drivetrain, even the hardware holding the fender liners was rusted. Needless to say I’m returning the truck and Vroom has offered a full refund and seem to be doing right by me, so far. I’ll know for certain once I get refunded. After this fiasco I have decided to just buy new. So I got a 2021 SR5 crewmax 4x4 on the way.

 

Carfax shows where vehicles were registered. Was it in an area that has rust issues?

Anyway, that's a 4-5 year old vehicle, and it's showing mild surface rust. The control arm is the only thing that looked at all "bad" to me.

 

I was told it was coming from Texas but turns out it was from Ohio. We’re not used to seeing much rust out here so to me it looked pretty nasty. I just know If I’d seen the truck in person I wouldn’t have even considered it.

 

Its surface rust. Some rust on control arm and leaf. Shouldn't be a huge issue if it was a good deal. If you are not happy then it make sense to return it.

 

Un-protected parts rust, that's just the nature of things. To be honest, that looks pretty clean to me. And that slight rust can be fixed in no time at all with a little work then some protectant used to keep it from rusting further. Don't give up on a good truck over something as minor as this.

 

As a California owner, I'd be terrified the leaves are meh, the rust around the rear shock brace welds is what would scare me the most.

 

Nothing a wire wheel can’t fix

 

First thing that pops up..Flooded vehicles from storms/hurricanes? Makes you think? Resales?

 

Vroom is based in Dallas - so that’s why the OP saw a TX vehicle.

As an Ohio vehicle - I’ve seen worse.

Yes, I would immediately clear any of that off and fluid film no matter where I lived - it’s surface and not severe - but no point in waiting for it to return.

Low miles doesn’t mean well cared for or never driven in salt - just low use.

Should have been noted by Vroom I think - and really should have been cleaned up - but they are more focused on the flip than reconditioning these days.

 

It may not be serious rust but I still wouldn’t have considered this truck for myself.
With such low mileage it’s a sign this truck wasn’t cared for….Living where you are driving on salty road it doesn’t take long for a truck to look like this but it also can be prevented with a little care. This is my 2016 tundra with 113k ..after 5 winters on salty roads.

 

The control arm and top bolt for the rear shock look pretty bad for a 2017...


And I live in Northeast Ohio.

 

Yeah that looks horrible to me and I wouldn't even have considered it. I'm one to wash the undercarriage of my vehicles often in the winter time to avoid any type of surface rust. I live in Nebraska so you know that I'm busy keeping my vehicles clean during winter.

 

me 2. heres mine 2017 on long island, goes on beach, salt from winter and i am not even super anal about washing it

 

I get that the rust could be cleaned up and the exposed metal covered but I’m not gonna spend 40k on a truck then have to spend a weekend cleaning out the rust. That should’ve been done by the dealer or at least given that info in the vehicle description. They make a point to photograph blemishes and scratches quite meticulously, but nothing from under the vehicle. I did ask them about a different truck with more miles but they said they were unable to provide and pictures of the undercarriage.

 

My 05 chevy didn't look like that living in Philly/DE/NJ and I owned it for 14yrs. Good for you OP on Passing on that. Did you happen to check out other things...?

 

Dang!! That truck must have only been driven in the winter and rainy days in the summer, then parked outside next to the farm pond.

 

I did not. I saw the rust while it was being unloaded from the truck and that was enough for me. I was gonna check the cam towers and a couple of other things but didn’t see the point once I knew I was sending it back.

 

Or maybe in the farm pond.

Even our Minnesota trucks don't rust that much in such a low number of miles.

 

Completely get it and understand - it should have been disclosed - just like a paint defect or a rip in the seat.

That said - playing the other side of things…some people just don’t understand NOBODY wants to pay 40k for a 40k truck with issues…but make it paying 40k for a 45k truck and attitudes change quickly. With the scarcity and supply chain issues and that number is changing to a smaller and smaller difference that buyers will accept.

Mark my words - we are gonna have “2021” Tundras with a March or April 2022 build date - just too much demand and too hard to get new components so they will build 2021s and then finish them when components are available like Ford did.

Vroom (as most dealers) are counting on you being so excited about that “new to you” car feeling that they expect you won’t look underneath and they are willing to take the chance of you being that 1 in 8 who won’t accept it rather than spending $$ fixing it BEFORE you returned. Guarantee they either relist or more likely run back through the auction locally.

 

Very true. Luckily I did get a deposit down on a 2021 that’ll be here next week. I wasn’t able to get the trd OR that I wanted but it seems like for the tundra that’s just wheels, shocks and mild duty skids.

 

Seems to have a lot of time at the beach.

 

Just undercoat it.

 

The sticker on the upper control arm is perfect

 

That'll trap the rust and become a gigantic problem later on.

 

I had some surface rust on control arms and at the welds on the frame. Just hit it with a light wire brush, then rust converter and fluid filmed it. Looks like brand new down there now.

 

Congrats on your new truck! Post up pics when you get it.

 

And the LED headlights and fog lights.

 

For the price of the OR package I can replace my lights, add skid plates, upgrade suspension, add wheels and tires and probably have a little left over.