Scammed - frame rot

the money she would spend on attorney fees could be put towards a Saf-T-Cap installer.

 

Are you suggesting she commit insurance fraud?

 

It was a joke, but that was the insinuation

 

All I can say is wow. I wish you would have bought mine. Totally rust free awsome reg cab with 287K miles. better than that

 

It's a pretty sweet truck and from the photos appears to be in really great condition for its age, aside from the frame of course. I'd make sure the rest of it is mechanically sound first and if so go ahead and fix or replace the frame and enjoy it for years to come. You've already dropped 10 G's on it, might as well spend a little extra in order to get it safe to drive. Depending on your financial situation if you can get it fixed and safe for less than 2k or so you probably come out ahead of what you could re sell or part it out for, plus all the hassle that entails. And as others have said bust out the hammer and see what you're really dealing with, may not be as bad as you think.

 

Sucks you gotta deal with this!
Definitely looks like seller knew about it.
The damage isn’t really hidden the holes still show.
Truck looks good may be worth fixing.
Check or have someone check cab corners and body mounts.
Really need to check it over really good before proceeding.
Rest of the frame under the hood etc for rust.
Sorry hope it works out for you.

 

I'd probably go the lawyer route and see if you could get them to write a scary sounding letter to get the seller to reverse the sale. If the seller is a private party, you probably realistically don't have a legal leg to stand on, but just getting a certified letter from a lawyer may be enough for the seller to rethink his actions. If the seller happens to be a dealer selling on FB Marketplace, you probably actually do have a case. Looking at the Oregon law I found this:

https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=10512

"Prior to the sale or lease of a motor vehicle, a dealer or broker shall disclose existing material nonconformities and defects about which the dealer or broker knows or negligently disregarded when the dealer or broker should have known."

[EDIT] Oregon law also says you have to get a dealer's license if you sell more than 4 cars a year. Might be worth checking his history on FB marketplace to see if he's skirting around that requirement.

 

I have seen a couple lemons of various brands expire. .. dastardly electrical fires....

 

Your not alone dude. I have seen this several times on Tacoma World where guys buy these trucks and get rotted frames. Never buy any vehicle unless you crawl underneath and see what is going on under there. I live in Ohio and everything rusts out. I bought a new Tacoma because everything I saw was rusting out after a few years. Tacomas are the worst for that. When I saw the spare tire in the bed I already knew I was wasting my time. Every year I have to touch up the frame on my 2017 even though it is never driven in the rain , snow or salt. Humidity even makes them rust. I keep saying Toyota will never fix the problem as long as we keep buying them and paying $40000.

I hope your state is different but i recently had to sell my late uncles 2008 Chevrolet Venture which looked great and only had 80000 miles on it. I was figuring around $7000 but then I crawled underneath and the unibody was toast. We sold it for $2000 and had to disclose the frame issues.
Good luck.

 

Where does the truck live? If you were close I would help you fix it yourself.

The Choice is yours Nothing that can not be saved!! The cost might be more then you want to spend .

I paid $500.00 for a comprised frame truck . Though I knew going in what i was looking at.

Lots of Cheap or low Cost frames in California shipping would be expensive.

Hard Call to make Best of Luck.

 

Nevermind ... I'll let OP mention location.

 

I figured that out Thanks for confirming.

 

Even if your state is an "sold as-is" state regarding private sales it wouldn't hurt to contact the seller. Make them aware that h you feel you were scammed and they were deliberately concealing a serious defect which is potentially life threatening and if they won't refund you threaten with an attorney and follow up with a letter from the attorney. It would be a bluff depending on your state laws but it might just be enough to make the seller cave and refund you. Much to gain, little to lose.

 

What state are you in? I'm not a lawyer but a quick Google search shows that some states find this illegal unless the seller disposed the rust to you.

 

Unless I imagined it, it has been posted that the OP is in Oregon.

 

@tacotime133 I asked chatGPT

That said, it's important to note that while there might not be a specific law against selling a vehicle with frame rust in Oregon, there are other laws and regulations that sellers must adhere to when selling a vehicle. These may include providing accurate information about the condition of the vehicle, disclosing any known defects, and not engaging in deceptive practices.​

 

I hate reading stories like these. So many scummy people walk this earth. I was checking out a 4runner for a buddy of mine and both front CV boots were torn. I tried to negotiate it down a bit from his outrageous price but he insisted that the boots come that way from factory and he "knows what he has". Couldn't walk away fast enough.

 

A fabricator will be required - a mechanic (unless he is actually also a fabricator) is the wrong tree to be barking up.

 

Devils advocate, the frame goop just looks like undercoat, not paint, that’s been layered up over years all over the frame. For all we know seller is some old dude proud of his truck given the new paint job and decent looking interior, and sold it as-is having never paid attention to the frame cause it was getting “treated”.

My thing is if the buyer never inspects it then it’s just as likely the seller couldn’t be bothered to either.

Rust sucks. Dealt with that shit on a 4Runner. Never again.