Hi all, new member here. For the last 7 years my fiancee has loved her '98 SR5, and with just over 232K on the clock it has been a great car for her. Recently she noticed a loud clunk when coming home from work one day, and upon further inspection we found that the driver's side rear lower control arm bracket has separated almost completely from the frame due to rust.

I know that these frame rust stories are nothing new here and have done some research into the issue, but it seems that the diagnosis is far from good. With it being on the driver's side, the gas tank would have to be dropped and there is the added risk of severing fuel/brake lines in the process. Luckily, there doesn't appear to be any other significant rust issues with the remainder of the frame...but best case scenario we are still looking at four figure repair bill, and that's not something we're willing to entertain.

I'm looking for advice on the four options I figure we have at this point.

1. Contact customer care/area rep to negotiate a trade on a newer car (she was planning on purchasing a Rav4 in the fall, anyway).

2. Sell the car as-is.

3. Fix the car and sell it (not sure if this would be worth the trouble, seeing as we may not recoup the repair costs).

4. Donate the car and write off the value.

It's unfortunate as the rest of the car is in excellent condition. New shocks/struts, good tires, immaculate interior. The only thing that doesn't work is the clock, and there is some rust on the rear bumper. Front bumper/hood was replaced about a year or so ago when she had a small parking lot fender bender, so the front end is factory fresh.

I wanted to keep the car to drive in the winter since my DD is far too low for snow, but looks like those plans are shot now.

TIA

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My opinions are above. Good luck.

If you do keep it maybe wire wheel the frame to get rust off then painted it to make it last a little longer.

I thought that was permanent mud.
I think it's time to "🎶Let it go, Let it go🎶"

I'd go for the sell it as-is route. But don't try to f*** somebody by not telling them.

List it as a for parts type of deal, if the price is right somebody will either buy to swap a new frame under it, repair the frame, or part it out, that way the good parts don't go to waste.

I thought that was permanent mud

Sell it , move to a nice place that does not use corrosive chemicals or better yet does not need them , purchase new 4Runner never have this problem again.
Live happily ever after

I wish. To the best of my knowledge the car hasn't ever been offroading.

Thanks for the replies. The repair sounds like it will require a small portion of the frame (where the bracket attaches) to be removed and replaced , as well as the the gas tank being dropped to make the new welds. If we decide to fork out for the repair, we'll be selling the car in the next four months anyway.

Being a car guy myself, I would never dick someone over as a seller. I may post it here to see if there is any interest, but parting it out ourselves is far too much trouble with our wedding on the horizon.

That would be ideal, but seeing as she is a teacher and I still have a year left of school we won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The new 4Runners are wicked cool though.



I'll probably post a feeler thread on here to gauge interest, but honestly we'd probably let it go for the first person with $2-2.5K.

With that much rust welds I don't know how well the welds can hold up even in a short period of time.

I'd go with option #1, see what the Toy district rep will say, explain she wants a new Rav 4 and hold out for a very good price for one from the local dealer.

What is used on the highways during the winter in Cincy?

I'm going to call them today to see if there is anything they are willing to do. I understand that they are in no way obligated to do anything after this much time and mileage on a secondhand car, but a blue book trade-in seems reasonable when they'd be selling us a new car.

I think they use some sort of salt brine solution on the roads here. Sometimes it seems like they're just using rust to coat the roads though...I can't imagine how else it would spread as rapidly as it does here. My BMW won't ever see snow again for this reason.

After talking to one of the more highly regarded dealers in the area, we're going to sit down and talk with them about working out a deal. In all likelihood they'll give us a grand on the trade, but their sales manager assures me that he will "take care of us"

With any luck they'll take something off the top of a new Rav4. I plan on negotiating the final sale price as low as possible, then turning around and financing through a credit union. So...we'll see how that goes.

I thought that was permanent mud.

I'd drop the tank, patch the frame, and drive it for another 10 winter's.

Yup, personally I would cut the section out and get a clean section from another frame.

Plating it up would work but wouldn't look as nice.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. We traded it in today on a Ford Escape. Hopefully it finds new life with someone else!

I thought that was permanent mud.