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Yesterday I test drove a 2021 (late build) F-150 XLT. It had 22,000 miles. Interior looked brand new as you'd expect. Exterior looked like a 15 year old truck with 200k on the clock. It was ridiculous. Paint was faded and the chassis was heavily rusted. Carfax shows that the truck was a lease and was in service for 30 months. How in the world does a truck look this bad after only 30 months? The axle, frame, step rail brackets, suspension links, etc looked horrible.
Yesterday I test drove a 2021 (late build) F-150 XLT. It had 22,000 miles. Interior looked brand new as you'd expect. Exterior looked like a 15 year old truck with 200k on the clock. It was ridiculous. Paint was faded and the chassis was heavily rusted. Carfax shows that the truck was a lease and was in service for 30 months. How in the world does a truck look this bad after only 30 months? The axle, frame, step rail brackets, suspension links, etc looked horrible.
I live down a gravel road and use my truck as a farm truck occasionally.....it's a 1999 F250 and I don't have any areas underneath with THAT amount of surface rust.
Yes exactly. I live on a gravel road myself and some of our county roads are also gravel and dirt and my truck has 92,000 miles on it and it still looks brand new up underneath. I'm going to tell the dealership that if I decide to try and make a deal on this truck one of the conditions of the sale is that I want them to pressure wash it and professionally undercoat it.
Look back at earlier threads in 2020 and you will see a LOT of complaints on rust on brand new undriven trucks. the paint on the axles was crap and fell off during transit. But as mentioned, that was a northern salt belt unwashed regularly truck. That is all owner neglect.
Do NOT get it undercoated! That will only make it worse. Get it Wool Waxed instead. Find a shop that properly preps and applies it. You bring it in cleaned of mud and dirt, IE wash it first, then they put it on a rack and pressure wash with a cleaner to remove scale and other deposits and lets it dry. Then they apply Wool Wax EVERYWHERE! They coat the entire underside with it and it lasts for several years.
Look back at earlier threads in 2020 and you will see a LOT of complaints on rust on brand new undriven trucks. the paint on the axles was crap and fell off during transit.
Nothing has changed...
My 23 Superduty, the stickers were put on identifying the axles and then painted over... So im guessing any iota of paint prep that could have been done was not.
