So I noticed from reading on this site that 3rd gens can have rust issues. I'm currently looking at this 3rd gen and thinking of buying it but noticed from the video the dealer sent that the previous owner spray painted a lot of the under carriage...meh. Bad sign? The rest of it looks very clean. Let me know your thoughts. Am I better off finding a 4th gen? Here's the video - 02 4runner customer video(1) - YouTube

Spray paint itself is no red flag... I am constantly touching up my frame and undercarriage to mitigate future rust issues.

That said, I see signs of lots of potentially crusty rusty bits in that video... where it has been painted, it appears there is rust scale (or possibly heavy dirt build up) under the paint.

If your concerned about rust, I’d suggest you look that one over in person before buying


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You also don’t see too many “walk arounds” where so much attention is paid to the undercarriage... I think the seller is making sure a discerning buyer can’t try to tank a deal after the fact, that especially if this is an eBay deal







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

that doesn't look great. not necessarily a deal breaker tho. whether its worth checking out in person depends on how much time you have and how much of rush you're in to buy.

there's lots of info on rust here - do some searching so you know what to look for. make sure to pay attention to the inside of the frame where the rear lower control arm attaches.

Normally it’s the rear 1/2 of the truck that shows rust. This one has rust right up front around the skid plate and tow hooks.

I’d be super suspicious of this one and check it over real good.

It’s got less rust than the 2000 I just picked up. ;-)
The more I look at mine the less I am concerned about the rust.
Mine was cheap so I expect to spend some money. Most of my rust is in things that can be easily replaced. Suspension parts. A lot of the frame still has factory paint on. Until I pressure washed it it actually looked worse than it seems to be.
But it’s your money so you need to carefully inspect it or get a buddy that knows more that you do to have a look. Up here in Canada my local dealer is happy to inspect any vehicle for a fee.
Good luck

Thank you guys for all the great feedback! I appreciate the details and callouts. That's very helpful. I'm having 2nd thoughts now!...haha. Maybe I need to go 4th gen? I just love the way the 3rd gens look so much better.

That video is really only showing 15-20% of it. What would really be beneficial is looking at the inner frame near the gas tank and rear LCA mounts. And, on the passenger side, inner frame near the muffler.

Additionally, drop the spare and get a view of the rear-most frame sections. That spare looks like it was pulled off of the Titanic, so I do not have high hopes for what is above it, hidden.


The above are really the main trouble areas. If you're seeing signs of painted-over rust on the front, I'm guessing the rear doesnt look so hot.

Nothing wrong at all with painting a frame. I'm always cleaning mine up. But, painting over scaly rust without grinding it off is just lazy (AKA they're trying to pretty-it-up for a quick sale)

If you take a look, that painted section in front of the rear lower control arm mount looks like it has had a frame repair performed already. They were painting to cover up the fresh repair, not painting to paint the frame.

We're not saying it's junk, just saying be careful and do your inspections.

Mine looks like that, but without the black touchup paint. Living in Ohio, that frame is good enough. The touchup paint could be a red flag as the seller is trying to hide the rust stops that are maybe a deal breaker.

I would take it in for a pre-purchase inspection so they can look at the frame more carefully. If not, you could probably ask if they can put it up on the lift to observe more. Also check the radiator and the lower ball joints if there are signs of replacement.

Thank you...haha...yes that spare is probably the worst spare I have ever seen in my life! It literally does look like they pulled it out of the Mariana trench somewhere!

This car lived it's whole life in Chicago, so I'm assuming a lot of the rust is from that.

That black frame paint looks somewhat fresh and looking at the imperfections, it's clear there is some surface rust. The seller might have touched things up recently. Doubt that rust goes very deep though, so mostly likely just an average condition frame.

If you're buying online, I would try to ask the seller for closeup higher resolution pictures of key areas such as the sway bar mounts, suspension mounts, rear trailing arm mounts, and etc...

If I had real concerns about frame rust, and those pictures do raise concerns, I would not buy it without crawling underneath it and poking around. Especially since it is from Illinois. I looked at one that had rust so bad In the front that i pulled off a handful of large flakes to show the owner and told him the truck was unsafe for the road, and this was in CA. The owner was not amused

I've seen 4th gens falling apart with rust

I just went through this nightmare of rust.

I saw some areas on there that require deeper investigation plus with an accident and a life of salt in Illinois I would not move forward without an in person viewing.