My daughter would like a Toyota FJ cruiser 2007 to 2014. It has a full frame, but I see subframes on other cars rusting out on other cars all the time. Here in Ohio, the frames are super rusty or have holes in them. No recall from Toyota Just wondering what you guys see out there outside of the rust belt.
Southern Cali, Oregon, Washington state....Wyoming, Montana, some parts of Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona.. Some parts of Texas
Florida. Inland away from the coast if possible. Coastal cars will rust from the top down rather than the bottom up
I had a 93 full size shipped from California. Clean as a whistle. Only issue I'm having is the paint is coming off in sheets in the cold weather. I'll paint it this summer.
I'll go along with Briz, but if the car has not been garaged the paint and soft trim will probably be in poor shape.
My brothers and I have bought several vehicles in the Phoenix Arizona area and driven them back up to Minnesota. As others have said, you need to find ones that have been kept in a garage or the clear coat will be peeling off the paint and the interior will be sun baked. They're out there, it just takes a little time to find them at a decent price. And as others have stated, stay away from coastal cars and flood prone cities.
I just did this... the opportunity came up to transport some parts for a customer back to the shop from TX. I needed to replace my winter suburban, with a similar GMT800 truck, 2000-2006. We did a lot of looking, and one of my friends/customers did some great on Site legwork for me. Nothing like seeing the vehicle in person. I will share a few tips from this recent experience. Facebook Marketplace is the place to go for the best selection and buys in the less than 10K price range.. but that place is chock full of nuts, scammers and downright crooks.. you have to wade thru them to find the decent folks selling on that venue. Use common sense, and as soon as something doesn't feel right, then move on. VIN history check is critical to find a rust free vehicle. Just because it's in CA, does not mean it was always there. I paid for $200 worth of Carfax checks, and they saved my butt a couple times.. several odometer rollbacks, and one vehicle that showed up in TX for the sale.. spend it's whole life in the rust belt. Having someone local take a peek at it for you, and establish contact with the owners is a must. Ask on the board here, we have members from just about every city and town in the country.. pay them to look at it for you, if you must.. it's critical.. everything looks better in pictures. Deals are out there, and if your just looking for rust free parts it's going to be easier. JW
I recommend the southest (away from the coast) too; but beware! My son and I recently looked at cars and SUVs for him. In one weekend, we looked at a Marauder, a Saab 9-7 (Trailblazer in disguise) and two Tahoes. ALL were northern cars, rusty as all hell underneath. The Saab had metal flaking off the frame by the hitch. The Mercury had holes in the front fender and rockers made of wishes. I guess due to the used car market being so F’d up, the shady curbstoners are bringing northern salty sh1t down. If a car is truly a southern car, it’ll still have its tags on the springs and stickers on parts. No scale of any sort. If it has ANY, it’s a transplant. Patrick Pictures are the Saab; it looked good until I looked under it…
We wound up buying a first gen 4Runner out of north Alabama-here’s what a 34 year old southern vehicle looks like. Patrick
You would think a desert area, but not really, the sun is fierce and the exterior and interior and tires will be well on its way to UV deterioration
This is Northern California and Oregon. There was some surface rust from soggy carpet(bad weatherstrip and Oregon rain) Bought some clean stuff out of Alabama and Georgia as well.
Be aware that the year and make of the car have a lot to do with rust. My o5 Dodge Magnum RT spent the first 12 years of it's life in New England and there is absolutely no rust anywhere on the car except in one spot - on the roof. The roof was fine until we moved to Florida six years ago. Now the paint is killed and there is rust on the roof. he fact that the car (or truck) has lived it's life in a salt-free state is no guarantee that there will be no rust.
I got 04 Duramax out of TX recently 200k and 19 yrs old not a speck of rust anywhere. But did do a complete teardown of interior to clean the dust out. Being in MI my whole life and working on cars from here is an lesson in big hammers, heat, torches, penetrating oil, not in that order. Few cars i've worked on from southern state is like looking at something not from this world. Also seen a few from NC, SC and AL all clean and basically rust free. Also you can find them as far north as KY, winter is short and salt minimal. Good Luck in your search.
I live in CT and travel to KY/TN relatively often because of work. KY/TN are not Utah in terms of rust, but it is a dramatic improvement compared to the North East. I have considered driving down there next time I am car shopping.
That’s where the wife’s Tahoe came from was Kentucky, super clean and high mileage, just what I like! The cars/trucks in Ohio suck! Even 6 mo. old GM trucks there frame is rusty
