I'm looking at a 2017 GS350 that spent its last 3 years in Boston (personal lease)

Should I be concerned with 3 years worth of road salt corrosion on the suspension and underbody? I'm in AZ, no issues going forward. I'm not concerned about body rust. I know we'e come a long way there in the last 30 years. It's the underbody I'm concerned about.

A local Lexus dealer service manager told me that they've had lots of headaches with suspension and underbody service and repair with northern cars.

 

I’m from MA and it’s based on how the car was taking care off. I wash my underbody of my car twice a week to get the salt off. And it depends of the cars garaged or not. Best bet is to look at the car in person and look at the suspension and under body to see if there is any rust.

 

Being on the west coast, a lot of us avoid any east coast vehicles. You can do a lot to minimize it, but corrosion will work its magic. I'd only consider it if it.

1. Newest model (no more than 2-3 years)
2. Mileage - If it was a major commuter, it's a hard pass.
3. Garage kept
4. Clean under carriage
5. Good Deal

Otherwise I'd keep looking. A lot of cars further east from me are significantly cheaper with lower mileage than those I can find locally and there is a reason for this.

 

I'd say if you're able to get HD photos or even facetime the dealer/mechanic at the dealership, then that'd be your best bet. I was prior military, so I have friends all over who would be able to take a look for me if need be. But if you're able to get a friend to look at it, then there you go. If not, then just good photos and/or facetime will do the trick.

 

I'm in NYC and haven't had any issues with under body issues on my last two GS's for the last 15 years. I think a good dealership will be willing to take a few under body pics if thats your primary concern. Places like Carmax and Carvana only sell on-line and have great return policies if you think you can use them as a basis for comparison.

If the car is certified and still under full warranty, you will have more "say" if you find a problem after purchase - but I wouldn't purchase sight-unseen without an independent mechanic inspection, detailed pics and clearly written return policies/warranties.

A few to gauge that deal you're working on (under $30k):
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...8687/overview/
https://www.carmax.com/car/18651002
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...1495/overview/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...6850/overview/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...0537/overview/

 

Like others have said - all depends on how the car was taken care of and used.

In reality - 3 years isn't **** even if it was daily driven through the winter. The underside would probably have minimal corrosion, which wouldn't be a problem out West. I looked a good number of used vehicles here in the good old Rust Belt and the underside of the luxury cars holds up very, very well. Look under a Chevy after 3 winters up here and it will look 10 years old. A Lexus still looks new.

I'm interested to know how a dealer in Arizona has so much experience fixing "northern" cars, though!

 

As others have said, it mostly depends on how it’s been taken care of. I try to wash my car at least once every two weeks in the winter - realistically, as much as I can, which is limited by days that are above freezing temp. Best bet is to see it somehow yourself, whether in person or from pictures. I would think that any possible damage that has been done in three years wouldn’t matter a ton if you don’t continue to expose it to salt, which you won’t in Arizona. Just my two cents.

 

I bought a 2013 GS350 w 72k on it in 2017 from Minnesota.
The car was extremely well kept, very clean inside and out.

But working on the car is much harder than was my 2001 GS430 which I purchased from Ohio in 2004 w 30k on it.
When I lowered my 2GS, it was a piece of cake: things came apart as they were supposed to.

After four MN winters, the suspension work on my 4GS was not nearly so easy.
Doing simple things like removing caliper bolts, suspension bolts, sway bar end links, rotors, etc. were all substantially more difficult just because of the extra miles on salted winter roads.

The extra wear will likely have no impact on the longevity of the chassis or components: things are still in incredible condition, as is the exhaust. It's just harder to get things apart.

 

I wouldn't be very concerned. With modern cars it is mainly at most just some unsightly surface rust/scaling on bolts, few metal pieces, it is not like the whole undercarriage rusts out like cars from many decades ago. There are ways/chemicals for taking care of it if you don't like the site of it. When is the last time you heard a Toyota/Honda/Lexus from the 2000's and on having a serious rust issue, major rust damage? I never heard of it, even from the 90's I never heard of it unless maybe you are talking about something that was just left to rot outside, hardly ever driven. These cars aren't collectables or something that is going to appreciate, have a high demand for, they are daily drivers were a little rust on some bolts and some areas is not going to matter much compared to a older collectable.

 

Garage kept is better for the paint/plastics/trim from UV damage, but in terms of rust, it's actually worse off as it is salt water that attacks metals the hardest - and that happens more often when you park in a garage(heated or unheated) as all that crusty snow melts and unfreezes continuously.