advice needed: bail or deal w rust?

[kingcole]

Hi all. So, I made a hasty purchase with my 19 Ram out of Canada: (bought it dirty, knew it had some paint damage but turns out it's got extensive paint damage on front edge of the bed, the front and rear bumpers). So, I purchased supplies to touch up/spray the affected areas and get them back to "work truck" quality, and chalked it up to being in a hurry to purchase in bad weather with a dirty vehicle. Never again, lesson learned, move on.

HOWEVER: 2 weeks after I bought the truck, the rear brakes seized up - I took it back to the used dealer (had a 60 day used vehicle warranty thank god), they diagnosed it and we're now several weeks into waiting on parts from Dodge. Fine, COVID, everyone's dealing with it. Cut to the end: I double checked the service order - they're doing all 4 corners. I asked why, they said the tech noticed that the front rotors were shot from rust damage. I swing by the dealership (it's been parked there for weeks), crawl under the truck, and lo and behold: there's a bunch of surface rust all over the underside. Nothing that worries me from a structural integrity perspective, but there are a lot of rusty exposed electrical components down there.

And here's the question: the dealer is willing to give me the purchase price of the vehicle back on another vehicle on their lot. That's amazing customer service from my perspective (this is 100% on me for being in a hurry and not doing a more thorough pre-buy inspection), BUT - of course they don't really have the truck I'm looking for, unless I spend a significant amount more (basically would end up in a 2021 or so).

So - keep the truck and fix the issues, or bail and spend the extra money? The real question here is: am I making a fuss over nothing? Or is the rust damage a ticking bomb?

Thanks in advance. Here's a pic of the truck so you can see the paint damage. I didn't get any pics of the underside (crawling around in the dealership back lot).

 

[millerbjm]

Will they give you the purchase price back and apply it towards a factory order? You could order a 22 or 23 just how you want it and likely not be into it for too much more depending what you paid for the 19. Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about surface rust on a 2019 - guessing more cosmetic than anything.

 

[mikeru82]

Looks like the previous owner did a lot of driving on gravel roads. The surface rust you're talking about shouldn't hurt anything for a long time. How long were you planning to keep this truck?

 

[kingcole]

Really appreciate the replies, all. Not sure re: applying purchase toward a new vehicle - I bought this one from a Volkswagen dealer, but they are tied into the local Lithia branch, so...? I'll do some looking, though!

I am planning to keep this truck (or whatever one I end up with) for a long time - hopefully a decade or so - it was supposed to be my "buy once, cry once" vehicle after selling my Sequoia for what I paid for it in 2016. But I'm crying more than once over here!

Anyway, I really appreciate the perspective re: the rust. To be honest, the surface rust wasn't my issue - it was when I started noticing all the electrical stuff with rust on housings, etc. that made me freak out a bit.

 

[kdawg]

I would be a little nervous the direction it's going in with discovering issues.

Some paint damage -> extensive paint damage -> rear brakes seized -> all brakes need to be replaced -> rusty exposed electrical components -> what's next?

 

[ZombieSlayer]

If I was in that position, full refund (that's awesome they offered) and get a 2021/2, because you're going to keep it for quite some time it's best to start anew.

 

[JamRam]

I live in Canada. If I lived outside of Canada, I would not buy a used vehicle from Canada.

Generally speaking though, a 3 yr old vehicle should not have rust that necessitates immediate unsolicited action. I would take that as a warning.

This truck will be 10yrs old in your 7th year of ownership, and out of warranty long before that.

I think you are being given a chance to escape impending doom. I say take the refund and go!

 

[ferraiolo1]

Surface rust on the underside is common. Just take some rustoleum and paint it, call it a day.

People with new gm products have to do it after a year of ownership.


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[kingcole]

Appreciate the advice: again, the "refund" is actually a store credit, though, and I'm already at the top of my price range with what I have in it (cash sale, not gonna finance).

The only other Rams within that dealer's network (I can shop any of the three stores owned by the same GM), are 14k+ more $$. I know I said in my original post that I would/could put in more $, and I guess I could if this was a need/emergency, but after a few days of thinking on things and looking at financial priorities: going another $14k+ into this is really a non-starter, as I already paid 10k more for this truck than I had planned to. 24k over my original budget gets me all puckered up.

At this point, I'm planning to drive the rusty one and address the issues as best I can (assuming brake parts EVER come in and I EVER get it back: supposedly I'll have the truck by the end of the week, but we're 3 delays in and counting, so I'm not holding my breath), while keeping my eyes open for deals within my price range. Then I'll sell the rusty one, try not to lose too much $$ on it, and start over.

Just for fun/irony: there's another truck in the same price range in my area... I'm very interested in it, but guess what? It's in service, stuck and waiting on OEM parts, for some TSB fixes. I cannot win. hehe.

I live in Canada. If I lived outside of Canada, I would not buy a used vehicle from Canada.

JamRam - do you mind me asking why you wouldn't buy a Canadian vehicle? I'm trying to figure this out myself, as the dealership where I bought mine currently ONLY has Canadian Rams. The sales staff there said they buy a whole lot of vehicles out of Canada, so if this is a thing I should be avoiding, I'd love to know more details...

Thanks again.

 

[kingcole]

Google answered my question re: Canadian vehicles. Did some research: my truck was indeed one with a likely "gray market" title. Just sold it back to the dealer for 90% of what I paid. Turns out the deal that was explained to me (in store credit) wasn't actually something they could do.

Expensive education on this one. Ouch.