Undercoat or Not

The guy who sold me my Tacoma told me not to waste the money on undercoating. Is he right or wrong. Don't know what to do. Anyone have thoughts and experience?

 

I got the undercoating done when I bought my truck new but I dont know if its done anything different to be honest with you.

 

What he probably meant was that it's frame will rot, period, end of story.

 

Pls explain further.

 

The frames rot from the inside out; the actual steel at the molecular level is shit. The frame manufacturer (Toyotas vendor) screwed them and us to make a buck. Drive the truck until you get rid of it or get a new frame down the road.

 

Undercoating makes the ride quieter. I have it done to all my new purchases. As to rustproofing the modern paints are much better than they once were, so not as as necessary as it once was. However, you do live in the far north, major salt zone. Depends on how long you keep your vehicles. I run mine into the ground.

 

Since I see you're in my neck of the woods, you know already, this place is one of the worst places for salt on the roads, and even in the air. So maybe the person you bought it from has a point in saying that no matter what you do, your frame will rot out. And I'll admit, I have lost 2 first gen tacomas to bad frames, and I under coated them every year, but I bought them used, and were 4+ years old when I got them, and am pretty sure the previous owners didn't undercoat them.
I say that you should undercoat it, because it will definitely make your frame and brake lines and bolts and stuff last longer. I mean, it has to better than doing nothing.
After I was wise to the Toyota rusty frames, and I was looking to buy another one, I could definitely see the difference between used ones that were under coated, and ones that weren't, and if you ever sell yours, it may mean the difference between a quick sale, or not.

Now I eventually bought a new one instead of a used one, because used ones were still pretty high in price, and with a higher interest rate, it was only a few grand more to buy new. I went with the 10yr warranty undercoating from the dealer, which I believe the waxy stuff, and get it touched up every year, and it is working great, as far as I can tell.
There are a couple guys at work, one with an 2005, and another with a 2007, and they recently had their frames inspected, and we're fine. They undercoat every year, or maybe every 2 years.
It's up to you what you do, but I would undercoat it.

 

I'm in Cape Breton where they can't seem to afford salt for the roads so sand is mostly used. That said, you mean get it undercoated by the dealer and have them recoat it every year or two?

 

For rust prevention discussion and alternatives see:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/355928-rust-prevention-consolidation-thread.html

 

This whole thread is why he said "don't bother". There's not much you can do unless you want to strip the truck down to the frame, strip the paint, re-prime, and then repaint your frame every 2 - 3 years.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...fficial-perforated-rusted-through-frames.html

 

Not very encouraging!

 

If it was done when it was new yes , now no

EDIT : how long have you had it

 

Just bought it with 8000 kms on it. Manager's truck (they say) I saw transfer papers and it WAS in his name so...

 

I live where there is about 5 months of winter and plenty of salt on the roads. IMO it is well worth spending the money each year to have vehicles treated. I do both my vehicles yearly and have had no issues with rust.

 

had my 2001 undercoated before i picked it up from dealer,, new frame installed in 2010 , giant whole in it from a hammer hit..lol... new frame..

 

clean it off as best you can and apply rust cure formula 3000 or fluid film once or twice a year. Cheap insurance against rust. I wouldn't rely on Toyota to replace rusted metal in the future.

Nice truck by the way. Gotta get rid of those stock tires with the winter you guys are getting.

 

Get some stuff called Fluid Film at NAPA store and spray everything under your truck except the brakes. It is expensive but well worth the money according to my mechanic.

 

When I bought my 2012 with 14K MI on it, i fluid filmed it. I repeat every fall. The used tacos Ive seen with heavily painted frames are off-putting. When you go to sell, the next buyer can't be sure if the undercoating was preventive or used to cover up massive frame cancer.