Looking at a 2016 f-150. Only 31k on the clock. Body and interior pretty nice. Does this look ok underneath? I am in w pa. Snow belt

 

Just a little scale, but a lot of surface rust. but it's hard to tell in the photos. Is there any spot that you could stick a screwdriver though? The area above the rear axle looks the most concerning to me. Might just be light scale, can't tell. Looks like it had undercoat on it and they pressure washed a lot of it off. Undercoat is bad stuff, causes more harm than good. But there are some old guys who insist on it. I would bet that having it steam cleaned by someone who is good at it would make it easier to asses, plus it would look better.

If you decide that it's worth taking a chance on, clean the scaled spots with a wire bush and a Scotch Brite pad wetted with some CLR or similar product, dab some rust converter on those and any other rusty spots. Then treat the frame with some Fluid Film, Kroil, or similar product on both the outside and inside of the frame rails. From there on, retreat the frame in the fall, then clean underneath in the spring. You really can't avoid rust on those roads that are salted for almost half a year. All you can do is try to keep it in check.

You can clean the rear axle with a wire brush, then paint it with Rustoleum. Don't use a spray can. Use the kind that comes in a regular quart can, pour some in a container, thin it with 10% mineral spirits, then brush it on. Use matte black, not gloss. You can use the same stuff on the driveshaft and front suspension parts. If you want to get crazy, you can paint the entire frame with it. Just use a Scotch Brite pad or similar with CLR, then wash it clean before. And realize that Rustoleum will take 3-4 days to be good and dry, so try not to drive it much during that time.

It has really low miles. Was it used on construction sites or on a farm? I hope it's prices right. If you pass on this, consider buying a used truck south of the snow country and west of IH 35, you'll harly ever find a rusty one then. To me it would be worth the trip.

 

Thanks for the reply. No soft spots that I could find. The rear diff just seemed like a lot of surface rust compared to a 2015 also on the lot. The salesman said the first owner used as a shop truck. 22k in 3 years. 2nd owner older gentleman put less than 3k a year in his ownership. I know what u mean about southern trucks. Drove a ram with 55k from Texas looked almost new underneath

 

You saw it first hand, so if it's solid, it should clean up well. I think what makes it look worse than it is, are the parts of the undercoat that they didn't get cleaned off. Maybe even just steam clean/hot pressure wash it, then treat the frame axles and suspension with some used motor oil and call it a day. But with such low miles, I'd prob spend a few hours over a few days cleaning it well and making it look nice. It's damn near impossible to find one with mileage that low on it in that age range.

I see it's a 4x4, what are the specs on the rest of the truck?

 

Thanks for all the info. Was able to get the truck to my mechanic and he agreed that appears to be a lot for such little miles. I passed on truck and the search continues

 

And folks, this why you shouldn't buy that nasty undercoat crap. That truck would look twice as good if it never had it put on in the first place.

 

That looks darn good for 7 years in a salt area. Up here in New England you'd be lucky to see any paint left on the frame at all. Low mileage is sometimes worse than being driven too. The last truck I had to get rid of was a 2006, traded it at about 10 years of use, 63K miles. It was so rusty it was unsafe to drive - frame, cab, even the cast parts of the axles had rust through. You guys in TX, AZ SCA etc. have little idea what NE rust looks like, lol. It's nasty up here!

 

Makes me thankful I moved out of the rust belt. Trucks look pristine down here after many years. The only thing we have is clearcoat burn.

I still have rust ptsd. Id buy that truck, but Id wire brush and paint it. That doesnt look bad to me at all. Take it to a spray wash, wire brush, buy some rust neutralizer spray and spray the crap out of it. It turns black so no real need to paint but will look nicer with some black paint.

What you arent showing are the inner fender wells.. those scare me.

 

The front inner fenders are plastic fiber and the rear is aluminum or has a plastic liner in it.

 

Ah that is right.. no steel anymore.. told ya, ptsd of seeing paint bubbles from so many years of it.

 

One of the benefits of living in an area where they don't salt the roads (of course, when we get snow around here, it usually only lasts a few hours (or minutes).

 

Snowbelt here. When I see pictures like this, I am so glad I started getting Krown applied. Mine looks nothing like that.
Thank for the pictures, Now I can show my Wife these pictures to justify the cost of the application and the cost for me to Get the Fluid film sprayer and gallons for spot sprays at my house when ever it is in the garage. .
Just made my day bumping into this thread . Justifies the effort I put in to combat salt.

 

x2 on using Fluid Film to prevent rust. I bought a gallon (complete overkill) pail to coat the antennas and mounts on my mobile ham radio. It works great. Of course, living in OK we rarely see snow.