This is my first posting on here and i would like to ask your opinion.I will take delivery in 2 weeks on a 2015 Rx with 30k KM and i was able to take a few pics underneath the car. To my surprise i noticed a few rust spots. Is this normal( the car was driven in the Toronto area) ? Should i worry about this? Does the car need rustproofing? Please see attached pics.
I would say what you are seeing here is fairly typical. Most of what you are seeing is some surface rust on just particular and fairly heavy duty components that would take decades to rust away. Not much you could do about the exhaust system, and it looks in good shape in any case. Rust proofing usually provides more emotional improvement for the owner vs the vehicle, at least for the majority of the vehicle's life. If it makes you feel better about doing it, then go for it. IMO, the greatest benefit will be to the kid (currently in diapers) that will be buying the car for $1000.
Been lurking for a couple of months here and learned a lot but stilI consider myself a noob when it comes to cars. I did pull the trigger and bought a 2015 RX350 CPO. I wasn’t actually looking for a CPO but this car fit Lexus’ criteria and it was priced slightly under market value so I jumped on it. The dealership has been pretty good so far. They gave new brake pads, brake fluid, rotors and brand new tires! They will also be buffing out a small scratch on the bumper per my request. The only thing they didn’t address that I mentioned to them on more than one occasion is my concern about the rust in the underbody. I take it that their position is that the amount of rust is normal. I do live in Toronto so salt ridden winters are pretty common. But when I compare the rust on this RX to my 2004 Accord, I’m a little concerned with how much rust is developping in such a short amount of time.
I attached a pic. Can you let me know if this is “normal”? Should I keep pushing the dealership to address the rust issue since this is a CPO and it’s current state doesn’t meet CPO standards? Or would I be wrong to do so?
If they don’t budge, what should I do to make sure it doesn’t get to a point that it actually becomes a mechanical problem? I do plan on driving this car for another 10 years. Should I pay Lexus’ (ridiculous?) $999 fee for rustproofing, or go to an independent rustproofer for approximately $150 per year?
what about extended warranty? I bought this car for being extremely reliable so I am leaning towards no but at the same time, the car has 77,000 km on it and power train is only covered until 80,000. Is it too risky to only be covered for 3,000 more km?
WoW I just looked at my 2015 and the underside looks nothing like that . Mine spent 2 winters in New Jersey and is now in Virginia. Not much salt used around here. The stacked shims on mine are still mostly black paint and none of the other bolts etc. have that kind of rust. Salt is a killer for the undersides. I also have an 06 SC430 that came out of Florida in 09. It still looks like new underneath. No rust at all. I also don't drive it in the winter as much. Terrible in the snow.
As stated above, that is normal surface rust. It will take so long before those components degrade to the point you need to do anything that you will no longer own the RX at that time or the transmission will have failed first.
I would save your money and not waste it on rust prevention treatments that will do nothing but empty your wallet. The body itself does not rust. Those are all heavy steel or other metal components with light surface rust.
If you want some cost effective protection that also makes it look better, I sprayed mine with Fluid Film, available at Lowes or Amazon. I do it once every year or so and a can costs about $10. You only need one or 2 for the whole car. https://www.fluid-film.com/automotive-applications/
In Ontario they use a salt brine , they put it down before the snow or freezing rain starts so the car really gets covered in salt
the best thing to do is to get it Krown https://www.krown.com/en/
pbest time is in August, they usually have a deal happening than
