Rusting of vehicles up North

[92BlueZ71]

I was wondering how much rust to expect on a truck im looking to buy up north. At a glance theres just a little bit on the bottom of the bed by the fender wells, how much should i look to find underneath the cab and bed????? any guess answers or anybody who lives up north's answers would be greatly appreciated. thanks alot

[scottie]

i live in boston, and i'd say its a toss up on how well the truck was taken care of... ive seen trucks younger than mine (mines a 92) completely rotted, but mine only has a rot out the size of a half dollar under my passenger side door. be careful if it has a plastic bed liner on it, because salt could chew the bed underneath it. if it was used for plowing, the rot may be a lot worse than normal. id just say be careful, but not all trucks have too much rust damage up here.

[mudseeker]

i live in michigan and there's alot of salt in the winter, just have to go to the car wash alot. I have a 97 and not a spot of rust on it, my dad has a 92 and the edge of the wheel well is rotting out on the bed. Check the rocker panels under the doors for rust also, my 89 was soft as a sponge under there. Any where cast off from the road may hit. Use a magnet to check for bondo, bondo is ok as long as the metal was prepaired right.

[will4831]

I got a '96 with no rust. I'm in sd and as long as a person takes care of the vehicle, it's usually ok. MN cars usually seem pretty bad. It depends on how much salt (if any) is used on the roads. the rust is pretty easy to find though. My bro had an '89. It was a bit rusty in the drivers coner of the cab. That was it though.

[chevyguy]

If there is visible rust on the body, expect alot in the cracks and crevices and underneath. I have ended up with several up north vehicles and I get rid of them before the rust surfaces. Look for a truck down south if you dont want one with rust.

[Dale]

I agree with scottie.the biggest problem is with how it was cared for.I live in NW Ohio...I also have a 92 4x4....the bottoms of the extended cab are rusted out..I think..theres a design flaw somewhere cause I see alot of them like that..( im thinkn water gets down in from the rear sliding windows...anyways...look it over real good..and if the price is right ya can always fix it*..good luck..

F.o.r.d.= spells junk*

[chevyraised]

Just curious are you looking for a part truck or another ride? I have a 91 chevy stepside for sale if your interested, but I'm thinking your looking for 4 x 4's and not muscle.

[chevyraised]

send me an email if your interested jodysledge@cableone.net

[92BlueZ71]

Well the truck belongs to my mom's good friend/boyfriend??? and I found out he agreed to trade even my 94 Mazda Ext Cab for the 92 Ext Cab short wide Z71 which is a very good upgrade for me and he had put it in the shop last week and had it checked out and its minimal rust underneath and the driverside cab corner is a little rusted out but im gonna fix it myself with some bondo and touch up paint, shouldnt look too bad and it'll keep it from rottin out anymore, long story short the truck has minimal rust and i will have it sometime next month, so its all good. also, anybody with stock 16 inch aluminum 6 hole wheels wanting to sell them, email me at rhowell@angelo.edu. thanks for all the replies.

[scottie]

yeah, i got a set of those stock aluminum wheels on my 92 and i just got bfg mud terrains on 'em and they look sweet. the truck looks much newer now, especially without the stock steel wheels it came with.