Hi there,

I'm new here because I recently went out to check a 2006 Lexus IS 350. I'm not too familiar on how well Lexus's can handle rust and the durability of the metal but when I went to check out the vehicle, each side of the pinch welds were rusted and bent. There was a bit of rust forming in the frame which I heard should be concerning if it's in that location. Test driving the vehicle went well though, everything was working and engine sounded great. Coming from Ontario, Canada, I would assume most vehicles up here have rust of some sort but is this rust too much to deal with? Owners states that all the maintenance work has been done at the dealership so I assume the dealership's lifts crushed the pinch welds of the vehicle after being weakened by rust. The price of the car is $6400 CAD and has 270,000k KM. I've noticed that IS 350's are somewhat rare up in Ontario. Please give me a few opinions if I should purchased this vehicle or not.

 

That's bad in my opinion. Feel free to check with a mechanic to verify.

 

In seriousness though, that is alot of corrosion in an important structural area. I would be afraid of those being able to support the weight of the car while its on jackstands.

 

Looks absolutely terrible. Pass if you van is my opinion.

 

I have a hunch there was either some DIY jacking done completely inappropriately or that shop is full of idiots. The pan and the pinch rails being that trashed is from stupid careless and/or inexperienced people jacking the car.

The box shaped stringer looks solid, if you can take it to a good body shop, get a quote to straighten and repair the pinch welds, and see what to future expense.

When I clicked on this thread, I was expecting grip marks from quad clamps that appear from being on a frame rack. If not note treated, they rust. That car takes the cake tho.

 

This was the rust I found underneath this IS 250 last month. It was listed at 12K, came with winter wheels and was at 127,000 km. However, there was a front collission on the carfax. And the rust here looked bad. Not as bad as the one you found tho.

 

They covered up a rusty fuel tank with tar based undercoating which makes the problem worse.

 

I didn't realize that. Seller tried to offer me a deal, but I waved my hand and walked out of there. btw I didn't even know how to inspect a frame/underside of a car until this summer when I bought a problematic car.

 

DEFINATELY pass on that car. The rust is in a very important part of the vehicles structural integrity. You could take steps to stop the rust from progressing, but the damage is already done. You'll be (forever) ruining tires.....thinking wheel alignment will help save the tires, but the car is gonna always flex and continue to wear out tires........I wouldn't be surprised if the seller mentioned "brand new tires" in his vehicle description.

 

The IS250 I posted already sold (cos ad is no longer up). It drove great btw & reason I bought one.