Trucks from Albany, NY area and rust

[jeromehdmc]

I am looking at a 2006 Silverado that came from the Albany, NY area and I am wondering about the amount of salt they put on the roads and if there is a rust problem with trucks from there.
It is a fairly low miles truck and it looks like it has been well cared for. No signs of rust in the rockers or cab corners as of yet.

 

[eclecticcottage]

We're across the state, but unless they didn't drive it in the winter, it's seen enough salt to start the rusting process. Ask for pics of the undercarriage, frame, wheel wells...

 

[greg13]

I'm near Syracuse (the Salt city) an hour and a half west of Albany. You can bet it has seen it's share of salt. Since it's an 06 it may not show any signs of salt damage yet.
You may want to make a few phone calls to body shops in the Albany area to get their thoughts on salt damage.

 

[PapaDave]

Buy one from Detroit. There are salt mines under parts of the city. Really.
I think the city itself has high blood pressure from all the salt.
And the cars rust in about 2.5 hours.

 

[jeromehdmc]

I looked it over pretty good and I didn't see anything starting yet, but it may be in the nooks and crannies.
The only place that looked out of the ordinary is the exhaust manifolds, they were rustier that usual.
That's a good idea to call a body shop, I didn't think of that.
Even though it can be had for a good price it sounds like it may have some problems on the way.

 

[MasterMech]

If you're worried about rust, I would avoid vehicles from this area (including Albany and Upstate) entirely. The only way to know for sure would to be there in person.

Not only do the deposits do a number on bodies and frames, engines get it bad too as the salt roadspray eats the chit out of newer aluminum engines just as bad as it did the old cast iron ones. I about cried the last time I looked under the hood of Dad's '03 2500HD and saw what all his Upstate business trips did to that engine.

 

[Retired Guy]

They rust here quite well. Although cars today seem to be much more rust free that a few decades ago. Then they would rust through before the 3 year payments were done.

 

[velvetfoot]

I've lived in Oswego (near Syracuse) and now near Albany. MUCH less snow here than out there. As I recall, they used to have a parade of Winter Rat vehicles, I think at the end of the winter.

 

[Jack Straw]

You need to get under it and look at the frame, fuel lines and brake lines. Be very careful, I have seen trucks that were rusty and it was painted over so it was hard to see. Low mileage sounds good, but sometimes it means it sat and things seized up, ie parking brakes, etc.....

 

[Bret Hart]

I'll echo what everyone else has said. The salt here can be tough on a vehicle. Mine is a 2000 with 270,xxx miles and has spent it's life up here. The Cummins part will likely last forever but the rest of the truck is slowly fading away.

I'd recommend buying something from the southwest. Arizona maybe.

 

[charly]

I use to plow the main highways for DOT in the Albany Area,,,, yup,,,, lots of salt,, so much salt the bridges along with the concrete piers are being eaten up... I have a nice Dodge Cummin's , just turned 140K, 2004, rusting under the doors already,,,, UGGG If you want to keep it here, take it off the road for the winter....

 

[flyingcow]

Don't do it. Try to find one south of the Mason Dixon. I bought a 2006 in VA, best thing I've done in a long time.

 

[Jack Straw]

We also had quite a few vehicles flood here during Irene and Lee.......

 

[FanMan]

A lot of times you also get salt and slush inside the frame, it just accumulates and you don't know until it rusts through from the inside.

 

[jeromehdmc]

I'm passing on the truck, just too much of a chance for rust.
Thanks for all the input, in the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't buy it but the price and miles were good.
Enjoy the snow up there it's 60 here and no snow.

 

[TMonter]

One of the reasons I love the PNW. I have a 1986 F250 and minus a bit of minor normal surface rust on the frame and such, it's still in excellent condition. Semi-arid conditions and no salt make for long lived vehicles from a corrosion perspective.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'm 15 minutes from Albany and can verify that we use salt, large amounts of salt, up here. My 04 has rust on the rear wheel wells.



Matt

 

[lukem]

I'm always amazed at how good cars from the southern Cali look when I'm out there. No rain. No salt. 15 years old and they look like new on the outside. My BIL bought a truck from TX and it looked the same. If you are shopping out of state, look south and west.