Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Impact of rust on used pickup price?

Friends:

I'm looking at a 2002 F-250 4x4 dual cab with the 7.3. Super low mileage owned by a snowbird who is selling out here in FL. KBB shows the value at around $20K, and I assume it has baked in current market conditions, etc. into its pricing algorithms.

Problem is there is no factor in the algorithm for rust, cause by our salt air near the coastline. There is body rust, especially at the bottom of the door panels and also the underside is pretty rusted up (springs, shackles, frame. On the underside structural parts it looks like surface rust, not too deep....but still.

How should I factor in the rust in the price? Some kind of percentage of overall cost. To repair it with body work and parts replacement I ballpark will cost about 5-7K.

Your thoughts welcomed, and appreciated!

No help on the pricing, but if it has flares on it.....tighten the fasteners or remove a few to check for rust behind.

My neighbor and I both have these rigs, his nicer than mine. His has stainless flares and when we replaced his IDM, it was devoid of metal behind the lower flare....all cancer. Mine has none.

I think you’ve answered your own question. 5-7k would be the amount to deduct. Personally, rust is a no go for me. Tells me the vehicle wasn’t maintained and cared for properly, and it’s only going to get worse.

Yep! Washing and waxing a vehicle is part of a good maintenance plan.

I wouldn't buy it. I had a nice Nissan Frontier, but in 7 years of driving in the salt and snow it had bad rust. It was worth $7 grand but I was going to sell it for $2 Grand.

My brother the lawyer told me it wasn't worth the risk, he said to take it to the crusher and collect the $400. I went ahead to sell it, I was taking the buyer for the test drive, and I applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. The brake line had just rusted in two and all the brake fluid had squirted out. Fortunately I was able to control the crippled truck and didn't crash.

I realized brother was right all along.

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It helps.
Move to a place with winter and brine, you will lose a bit of your self righteous attitude.

Not at all uncommon to see nice well maintained vehicles with perfect mirror shiny paint. Missing rockers, cab corners, or holes surrounding the wheel wells.


I envy those where it's not a problem, rust is the reason we personally junk cars.
Everything else is repairable, once rust gets going fixing costs thousands.
The fixes only last a few years, then the bubbles come back.

I can’t help with the price. It’d make sense to me that it could effect price more in an area where that rust is less common so that there’s more choices without the rust than in a region where it’s common place.

That rust reminded me of when my sister moved to FL from up here and took her car to a mechanic shortly after moving down there. The mechanic saw her out of state DL and commented that he thought it looked like an up north car based on the amount surface rust on the bolts and undercarriage. The car was only about 5 years old and the paint still looked great but undercarriage rust and eventually rust around wheel wells and bumpers is going to happen in places with months of weather hovering back and fourth above and below freezing daily and all of that road salt/slush being driven through. It gets into every nook and cranny.

Agreed

LOL! You think Northern Tennessee doesn’t keep the damned roads covered in salt all winter? For the most part, it is unnecessary, but they still have to get rid of all that salt so they can buy more next year and not have their budget cut.

Rust is a no go for me. Then I live in a dry climate. I can't imagine driving some of the rust buckets, I've seen. Dents are fine, they can be repaired, or left. Rust not so much.

A sample of one, but have some broad experience with keeping and improving older trucks. If there is any significant body/frame rust, here is no easy permanent cure and trying such can be a costly/nagging effort.

Long ago learned to say "not this one".

Yep.

All of the washing and waxing in the world does no good once salt finds its way in tiny nooks/crannies and cracks or between inner and outer panels. Some beds even have 3 surfaces, outer bed skin, inner wheel well and the part you see on the inside of the bed, the inner wheel well which you really can't see and damn sure cannot wash.

My old truck was washed underneath after any snow event and at about 180k and 10 years old it started showing some paint bubble. 30k more miles and 6-7 years has the outer and inner rockers gone, cab corners as well.

About all can do is slow it down but steel is going to rust.

Or bite the bullet if it's a good enough buy and redo the vehicle. Did that on the 08 I bought 2 years ago. 60k miles but had sat most of its life. I believe it sat after a lot of salt was sprayed underneath.

Outer rockers were shot, inner wheel wells gone, some rust over tires on bed sides.






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Yup, if it’s rusted through anywhere,I won’t give it a second look, regardless of price. Rust = poor care and maintenance.

I will take salt any day of the week. Brine is applied with a sticking agent. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Rust from road salt doesn’t start on the body (outside) it starts underneath especially voids in the body. These aren’t areas being waxed.

Or on some piss poor body designs water is getting into poorly sealed seams and cannot escape.

GM pickups were bad about this on the 99-at least 06. Top of cab where back of cab and roof meet water could get in but no way out at bottom of cab corner.

I got a 05 tundra eat up in the frame last inspection dude said no way n hell it’s gonna pass this year.Prime candidate for farm use tags cause I ain’t buying another one for dumpster runs once a week.

International Harvester Scouts were brutal. When I worked for them I witnessed a used Scout start to rust 2 weeks after the body shop fixed it.