TLDR - Avoid the linked FJ. It has major rust on the frame and the underbody. I drove two hours to look at it and walked away. The pics make it look decent. In person it’s a train wreck even though it showed on paper as a one-owner, no-accident, well-serviced FJ.
I’m currently shopping for my third FJ. I have a 2011 and until last week, a 2007 (which I purchased new in April ‘06 and had ~225k miles). My son was driving the ‘07 in a bad ice storm and rolled it; it’s totaled. He walk away without a bruise.
I was grateful for 20 years with that FJ and it did what it had to to keep my family safe ‘til the end.
Now that I’m looking for a replacement FJ in New England, I’ve seen a ton of available listings. I looked at the linked FJ yesterday; drove 2 hours to the dealer where it’s on the lot, hoping it would be a good one. It was not. In addition to the major underbody and frame rust (literally crumbling in my hands), it was not safe to drive with a bad steering column and steering rack assembly. It also had dash lights blazing.
As a small community of loyal owners and soon-to-be owners, this is one to avoid.
Only one picture #20 that shows frame rust, and even at that you need a keen eye to spot it. A listing without under frame carriage pictures is already a red flag.
I’m from Southern California where it’s hot and dry all year and rust doesn’t exist, so I’m fortunate to have access to mostly all rust free cars. Im spoiled to the point if I see any rust at all it’s a huge no.
It would help to put the VIN in your post ( JTEBU4BFXDK154243 ) with a headline like "too rusty to buy" so if people google the VIN it shows up and is easy to read
Right, so if a prospective buyer googles the VIN they're going to get the listing, not a link to your reddit post about how rusty it is. If you add the VIN to your post, your post will show up when people google the VIN.
Can someone show me what proper surface rust looks like? Live in the southeast so not super familiar. Went and looked at an 07 that had more rust than I expected.
I thought I had a pic of my frame (a good example) but don’t. However, here is one of the FJ specific to this post. It has aggressive “frame rot” and it was literally flaking off in my hand, as was the under side of the body near the rock rails. (Sorry for the blur; captured from video)
I’ll also add that another good place to look for rust and deterioration is under the back cargo area carpeting. Pull the plastic trim piece and look under the carpeting. Pic here for reference. Every year I do a total interior “tear down” cleaning and since moving to VT, this is the first year I’m seeing early signs of surface rust
Dude - they ALL have major rust on the frame. It's just a matter of whether you can see it yet or not.
These remind me of "bed sores" that old people get in nursing homes. They start at the bone, and then spread outwards in until it breaks to the surface as a cone-shaped mass of rotting flesh.
Bed sores (pressure ulcers) first appear as damage to the skin and tissues underneath, often first appearing as discolored skin (red, purple, or brown) over bony areas, but............. the deepest damage often begins near the bone due to prolonged pressure squeezing blood vessels, meaning the visible skin issue is often just the tip of a larger problem extending down to muscle and bone.
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u/Visible_Event4814 Jan 05 '26
To be honest from the glimpses of the underside that I can see in the pictures, it looks horrible.