seems like u got a bit of rust...maybe thats what the snows does though. what do i know, im from cali

 

now thats ART!

 

I see surface rust... but nothing critically bad. You should look into those oil-based rust protection packages. They really work!

 

Not my car, someone else I conacted via autotrader. He sent me pics of underneath without having to request them

 

How does one get rid of "surface rust" does the factory warranty cover such things?

 

some rust probably from the snow......otherwise looks normal

 

some rust probably from the snow......otherwise looks normal

Considering we dont get much snow here, should I be concerned about this? Should I try to use it as a bargaining tool?

As soon as he calls me back I'm gonna run a carfax on this one. He told me its got a clean title and never wrecked.

 

How does one get rid of "surface rust" does the factory warranty cover such things?

Can you get rid of surface rust?!?! I guess in extreme cases on body panels one could grind it away and repaint. But you wouldn't do that for this underbody surface rust. You'd just leave it alone. I guess you could treat it if you wanted.

And no... factory warranties do not cover surface rust.

 

Can you get rid of surface rust?!?! I guess in extreme cases on body panels one could grind it away and repaint. But you wouldn't do that for this underbody surface rust. You'd just leave it alone. I guess you could treat it if you wanted.

And no... factory warranties do not cover surface rust.

Sorry if that seemed dumb, again, here in Oklahoma rust isn't much of a problem...replacing ac compressors in the summertime is what our weather tends to do to cars.

 

With those pics it's hard to tell. We would pics of some vital parts of the car...



-Dave

 

With those pics it's hard to tell. We would pics of some vital parts of the car...



-Dave

What do you consider vital? I have the rest of the pics he sent me, they're all interior and body shots...you want those?

 

Meaning pics of directly under the car i.e. transmission, steering parts, shot of the wheels so we can see the rotors and pads, rear end casing etc.

 

Here's some wheel pics...I'll have to request some pics of the rear diff

I would imagine a rear diff could rust fairly easily up north. Hell mine has rust on it and I live in Oklahoma.

 

seriously, looks fine to me. just a case of snow exposed automobile

 

if you're really picky, you can replace the main control arm connecting bolts&nuts, and whatever other bolts&nuts look rusted, otherwise, the car looks like its in pretty decent shape. If you wanted better pictures, i would have asked him to get an underbody wash at the local gas station car wash, otherwise the thing looks fine.

 

if you're really picky, you can replace the main control arm connecting bolts&nuts, and whatever other bolts&nuts look rusted, otherwise, the car looks like its in pretty decent shape. If you wanted better pictures, i would have asked him to get an underbody wash at the local gas station car wash, otherwise the thing looks fine.

If things progress in the talks then I will do that. He's supposed to call me this evening or tomorrow so we'll go from there and see if the price is negotiable.

 

Yea, looks like superficial damage, shouldnt be anything to worry about. But generally its not a good idea to buy a car from a place with snow, the damn salt they put to keep ice from forming does terrible thigns to the underbodies of cars. My uncle was telling me that up in canada, where he lives, people have to replace their cars quite often because of rust damage.

 

Ok, I just got off the phone with the guy...48k miles asking 17,900.

He had most of the maintenance done at the dealer. But not all of it. The guy seemed pretty honest. He's gonna get me some pics of the rear diff. He said there's not much negotiation room in the price though

He said he did the 30k service at the dealer and they've been doing the oil changes and washes/waxes since he bought it off the lease he had last year. So far he's had no problems with the car other than a cd changer issue. The tires have about 15k on them he estimates that they're about halfway worn.

 

Honestly... the car looks good from what I see. And you never know what exactly you are buying...or what will happen. You could get a car in great shape and lose it in an accident. You can get a car that hasn't had it's oil changed for the past two years... yet have it last you for 10 more years. You never know.

You really need to check out and drive the car yourself as well as have a pro check it out. That's the best you can do.

 

The lower parts on my car looked far worse than that when I got it. The car was a year old and from northern Ohio. I covered all the surface rust with "Must For Rust" and then painted with "Rust Bullet", and two years later it still looked great.

 

Take your time looking for a car. I saw your previous post about finding one with a salvage title. Most of the really low priced cars have issues, and it's more difficult to negotiate over the phone than in person.

If you're on Okalhoma, i'd look for a car from a non-rust area. There seem to be a fair amount of IS300s that come up for sale in TX. Austin, Houston, Dallas, you should be able to find something pretty decent.

Having said that, I don't think the rust looks bad. I used to live up north, and it's normal to get rust like that on the underbody after a few years.

 

Take your time looking for a car. I saw your previous post about finding one with a salvage title. Most of the really low priced cars have issues, and it's more difficult to negotiate over the phone than in person.

If you're on Okalhoma, i'd look for a car from a non-rust area. There seem to be a fair amount of IS300s that come up for sale in TX. Austin, Houston, Dallas, you should be able to find something pretty decent.

Having said that, I don't think the rust looks bad. I used to live up north, and it's normal to get rust like that on the underbody after a few years.

Yeah, I'm not in any hurry but this weekend I began the real search and three cars jumped out at me. 1 with a salvaged title, 1 in wisonsin and another in virginia. Haven't heard from the guy in VA yet.

Looks like this car is a good car, however, the is unable or willing to negotiate much on the price. At this point I'm not comfortable paying more than about 16k (this changes month by month as I save more money). Financing more than about 8500 compromises my long term financial goals for my wife and I. Something I'm not willing to do since in reality my car is fantastically reliable and well maintained.

 

Is it me or does that car has some aftermarket shocks?? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, purple/yellow color, aren't stocks black?

And to answer your question about that rust, I wouldn't worry about it. It's normal. My 04 here in NJ has some as well I would be worrying about rust if I saw anything on the paint and any of the body panels. Goodluck with your car search

 

My OEM shocks were purple.

 

Is it me or does that car has some aftermarket shocks?? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, purple/yellow color, aren't stocks black?

And to answer your question about that rust, I wouldn't worry about it. It's normal. My 04 here in NJ has some as well I would be worrying about rust if I saw anything on the paint and any of the body panels. Goodluck with your car search

It sucks because I feel this guy is extremely honest. We talked last night about the car for probably 45 mins. He told me everything he could think of. The car had the right front fender replaced and the front bumper cover because he hit a truck in a parking lot. It's got three paint chips into the clear coat. One of those is a ding the size of a quarter. He said he'd get that stuff fixed for whoever bought the car. 175 bucks is what the lexus dealer estimated to fix it.

I just dont think we'll agree on a price which is ok, because I think 17k in reality is fair for that car, just sucks I dont wanna spend that much

I'm also talking with a guy in virginia on his. Maintained by the dealer and he's got all the records. Good news is, he just wants payoff on the car because he's moving to New Jersey with his wife. Bad news is he wont tell me what the payoff is.