Best non-rust states to buy used from

Thought it might be nice to have one quick thread for this. Wasn't sure which forum to put it in.

Reading through the forums, which can be quite a task, I can get some semblance of which states to avoid buying a used Tacoma from (be it 1st or 2nd Gen). Obviously, avoid the rust belt, including Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky(?), and the Dakotas (On some charts the Dakotas are a non-salt state). I've heard states close to the ocean should be avoided, so I guess that rules out California, Florida, Carolinas. Although I read somewhere that California was okay as long as it was away from the ocean. Is this a good list to look at for buying used:

Idaho, Utah, Oregon(?), Washington(?), Colorado, Wyoming(?), Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennesse, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana.

Are there some on that list that should be avoided? Do some of those states West of the Rockies use Road-Salt?

 

Found this graphic for road salt use. I'm guessing only western Colorado uses a lot of salt. East of the rockies it is suppose to by pretty dry.

 

If you can - California. We have close to zero humidity and zero road salt, for the most of it. 5 year old truck - no rust except for the rash I've cause which is just surface rust - NO scaling what-so-ever!

 

Any vehicle should be examined, as you don't know where it lived before it got to a non rust state, or how it was used.

The only coastal vehicles (non road salt states) I ever see in Fl with rust issues were beach driven (think those sexy TV ads, running in the edge of the surf) or used as a chemical hauler (pool service).

So. Don't assume. Examine.

 

Agree with "examine". But I'm thinking about buying site unseen and having a vehicle delivered. I'd pay extra for destinations charges if I could be sure it was rust-free. Just think the chances of rust-free are better from the states we're trying to define as better to buy from.

I'd like to think that a vehicle is selling in an area of the country that it was mostly driven in, but yes, I know that won't always be the case.

 

Nevada and Arizona.

 

^ This...I got my 04 a few years ago and it was a (garaged) Arizona truck with only 24k miles on it. Was like it was off the 2004 showroom floor, frame and everything.

Nowadays is a different story but...yeah lol.

CA in general is a good place to look, but some of our mountain communities will salt the roads in the wintertime if they get bad enough, especially up north. And then we have the coast, if you live near the ocean then you can end up with severe rust issues. Not as bad as what road salt does but over time it adds up.

AZ, NV, maybe NM...probably the best 3 states to look at with CA being in the top 4.

 

California is way overpriced,Utah,Oregon,Washington have rust issues,Texas they beat the crap out of their trucks,New Mexico who knows,but Nevada and Arizona trucks are almost always mint condition trucks.

 

Purchasing sight unseen carries risk regardless of where the vehicle has been.

 

Not really. We don't salt the roads much at all, except for the mountain passes. I've never seen rust issues on a vehicle I was looking at buying in WA or OR.

 

My brother lived in Bend for about a year and told me they use cinder wood chips or something like that instead of road salt out there, thought that was interesting.

 

Oregon only just started salting roads last winter, and they really only did it on major arterial highways (I84, 26, and I5)

I bought my truck in Portland two years ago, and looked at a lot of other trucks. None had rust issues. That being said, I wouldn’t buy in Oregon (specifically Portland and Bend) as the prices are so inflated there. Same with Seattle and CA.

 

They use sand crushed from volcanic cinders out in eastern Oregon. Same with paving the roads, that’s why they have a reddish hue.

 

Ah yeah that's what it was, I just remembered the word "cinder" and thought it was wood chips. Seems like a great solution to road salt, he told me he didn't really see any rust issues out there (he was an auto insurance claims adjuster for Geico). I guess salt is just cheaper and more plentiful and other parts of the country.

 

Just an FYI, in NJ we have this jackass governor that has been brining the roads daily. Our first snow storm of the year was in Nov and there were no trucks or plows out and the roads werent treated. It was a driving nightmare. Since then he has overcompensated and orders salt and brine to be put down when there is no snow in the forecast and it's 50 degrees. I've been taking my Taco through the car wash at least once a week to try and save her. Google, snow, Governor Murphy and Brine and you'll laugh.

 

Your graphic isn't coming up, by the way...

 

It's very hard to find a vehicle in Florida with rust. Almost impossible

 

Where I live in Southern Kentucky, we ONLY get brine spread if there is an imminent snowfall in the forecast. My 06 was bought new in Tennessee, and has lived it's entire life in Northern Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, and has no rust issues at all. Of course, every vehicle is different, as are the conditions. I travel a lot on gravel roads, and the Limestone dust is pretty alkaline, so I make sure to do regular undercarriage cleanings at the local spray-em-off "Touchless" car wash.

 

Simply not true. A large retired population from Maine have a "Winter home" in Florida. I've seen lots of rust buckets with Florida plates.

You really should inspect in person. AZ, NM would be top of my list.

 

Yea its true buddy