Finding rust on vehicles with undercoat

[Clemson]

Are there any tips and tricks for checking under 4runners with an undercoat?

I am checking out an 2004 v8 limited. The vehicle was up north for the majority of its life(I am waiting for VIN to check what states). The seller states there is a "normal" amount of rust on the underside.

I asked for pictures of the rust, but the response was the underside is undercoated so I won't be able to see much. If I go look at it and poke around with a screwdriver, is there a good chance I won't be able to see issues because of the undercoat?

 

[camp332]

Are there any tips and tricks for checking under 4runners with an undercoat?

I am checking out an 2004 v8 limited. The vehicle was up north for the majority of its life(I am waiting for VIN to check what states). The seller states there is a "normal" amount of rust on the underside.

I asked for pictures of the rust, but the response was the underside is undercoated so I won't be able to see much. If I go look at it and poke around with a screwdriver, is there a good chance I won't be able to see issues because of the undercoat?

You should be able to see the rust underneath the undercoat. Hence, a not smooth looking surface. Just push on the areas that look suspect with your fingers/hand and you'll be able to feel any soft spots.

 

[Jslum]

Usually when undercoat Ed they only do the frame, so the drives haft and exhaust should be uncoated, they are usually both good indicators. And if the undercoating wasn't prepped well it will just flake off on heavily rusted areas

 

[fAr eAst rUnnEr]

Some sellers may use undercoat to cover up rust. Not all but some. If the undercoat looks new and uneven you should investigate it further.

 

[jonesmw10]

What type of undercoating? Do you know if it is rubberized? Petroleum based? Mine has some rust underneath too and was always undercoated with fluid film/petroleum based undercoatings. Here is an image as to what it looks like. Images are huge but don't want to shrink them so you get a rough idea. Not the best shots but this is with 140k and 8 Buffalo, NY winters. I know it sounds silly, but if it has a tow hitch in the rear, you can get a pretty good idea what the frame looks like based on that alone. If the tow hitch wasn't resprayed and it is covered in rust, frame probably doesn't look any better. At least, that was what I observed at the 10+ 4runners I looked at.

Edit: Just to add to this... This 4Runner is exceptionally clean compared to the others I looked at when I bought it (3 years ago in Buffalo, when I lived there). There was an 08 with 56k I looked at that was solid orange underneath from rust.