Frame Rust 2nd Gen 2012 Tacoma - Buy or not

I am looking at buying a 2012 Tacoma, owned in the rust belt. I had the owner send pictures of the frame before driving multiple hours to look at it. I currently own a 1998 Tacoma so I am familiar with the frame issues and annually wire wheel and fluid film the frame. Without seeing this truck in person yet I can't tell if this is surface rust or penetrating from the inside out. It appears worst closer to the front of the frame near the second cross member.

Looking for opinions if it's worth checking out or not.

Cheers

 

Price and miles?

 

@Ricardo13x 150k miles

 

Hard to say from the photos, but my gut tells me it's dancing the fine line of when minor cancer starts becoming major cancer. Regardless of the frame rust I bet $5 all of those LCA bushings are seized, and that rear frame area nearest the tailgate is probably swiss cheese underneath the towing receiver. If you know what you are getting in to and what to look for when you get there in person, and if the price is like really really good, then I'd say maybe do it. Otherwise if it were my money I'd say no and keep looking.

 

I'd be more leery on that one of all the rust on the body seams and the rot starting. The frame isn't great but it's still savable easily unless the rear portion is bad. Drop the spare to check properly. And FWIW, someone did a quick shoot over a lot of the bottom for a reason.

 

It's hard to say from the pics if there are any hidden nasties. What is shown is not super concerning just based on the pics, you know the drill with wire wheeling and woolwax/fluid film.

However, the places you want to be most careful of are inside the front of the frame, directly facing the cats on the inside of the boxed section, as well as on the right side frame in the rear by the muffler, especially the top of the "C" as seen from underneath/inboard, looking past the muffler. Other common hard to see areas, which are not very visible in those pics like the previous two spots I mentioned, are the front cab mounts - the front and rear faces of them tend to rot out.

Unfortunately, that truck looks like it might have had the earlier, noxudol-type CRC applied (aka "the black shit"). If so, it tends to hold the rust together in those major trouble areas like tint holds together broken glass, and you don't know you have a hole until it's way, way, way, too late. Toyota quit using the black shit and switched to a white cavity wax type CRC after it became clear that the black shit was causing more problems than it was solving.

If you're really hot for the truck all you can do is drive and hit it with a hammer in those areas to see if chunks fall off.

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback. My initial gut feeling is also to let this one go and not look at it. Being it is located in CT and looks to have more rust than my 98 Tacoma in PA. Not sure if it's worth driving 5 hours one way to be disappointed. It is a manual transmission which makes it harder to pass up though.

I test drove a 2013 a few days prior and got the itch to get a 2nd gen, but I need to curb my patience and wait for the right one to come along.

 

Cars are almost never worth risking a drive for in New England. If there's any question based on pics or seller, the odds are very against you. I've done it enough to not do it anymore.

 

...I'd steer clear, if you don't take measures beforehand, and then consistently, with these, or any other vehicles,in salt areas, the stuff you see is only part of the story,. and you can only do so much to slow the ongoing stuff you can't see. ...too many fires to put out, so to speak, and that truck will look far worse in 3-4 years, regardless of what you do.

 

Eh, looks fine to me.

 

I've got a 2012,and my frame looks about like that. When I had my state safety inspection last August, the tech said; "this one of the better ones", in reference the the frame rust. Don't understand why they rust as bad as they do; I know salt,etc,but would think wouldn't rust as bad as they do.