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Brand new Ram has rust.

CafeRacer

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Hi I am new ram rebel owner joined this forum couple minutes ago.
I bought my ram 8days ago.
I just checked under the hood yesterday and I found couple of rusted area on the engine and even the frame area.
I called to dealer where I purchased this truck and they said it is normal for this truck.
Plus salesman said "this is not BMW sedan or nice SUV".
Is it really normal for all the trucks??
Actually undercoat seems really clean and good but the frame inside of bonnet area has rust.
Could you please tell me about your opinion and the truth?
 

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Nibis

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I would take it back and get a new one, LOL The engine block is normal, that frame area is normal too, I have some rust there too, it's where the A/C condensate drips
 

79 300

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Looks totally normal to me. Rust spots on the frame can be touched up. (there are lots of "rust treatments" out there). Rust on exhaust manifolds like in your 2nd photo happens all the time and most paints will burn off ,whether they are for high temps or not. Your truck probably cost more than some BMW's and nice SUV's. That is a smart-*** excuse in my opinion.
 

STR

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I hate rust... when installing a cat-back system I saw several areas with superficial rust, i.e., frame spot welds, drive shaft, axle, pumpkin, etc., and I painted everything while under there. I agree, you shouldn’t have to paint a new vehicle, but you’ll find rust on the undercarriage of most vehicles... even BMWs. If that bothers you, don’t look under the dash :p:https://5thgenrams.com/community/th...n-my-brand-new-2019-ram-laramie-normal.21115/
 

OldMarine

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someone on the "burning smell" thread was saying the factory coats the engine and exhaust with some kind of oil so they don't rust on the lot,(hence the burn smell when new)...lol, well I guess we know the answer now on that one
 

CafeRacer

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Whoa~ never imagined a new car with rust but thank you all for replies. Greatly appreciate it!
 

moosem

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I think it’s normal to an extent. I’ve had my truck for almost two years and it doesn’t have as much rust as yours does.
 

Thr33BlindMice

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hmmmm...I dont get it....it's a NEW truck....how is rust considered as "normal"????? oh hell no...I would take it back and and demand something...a new truck would be ideal.
 

leonjulius1979

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I bought my 2020 Ram in May of 2020. It too has rust in the same spots. I called Chrysler and several dealerships, even opened a case. Chrysler said it is normal and only surface rust. It won’t effect the longevity of the engine. I don’t know about that. The mechanic at the dealership said he never saw rust on a vehicle that new. He checked several other trucks on the lot, even showed me, they all had rust. I’m still concerned in the back of my mind though.
 

SD Rebel

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Whoa~ never imagined a new car with rust but thank you all for replies. Greatly appreciate it!

The only thing that looks somewhat off is the surface rust spots on that piece of painted frame. Either some bare metal shavings got caught on the surface or some scratching off of the paint in those spots has developed surface rust.

As mentioned, it's nothing to worry about. Also, as the owner of a couple of BMWs, be glad you bought that truck, you will be impressed with the residual values and low depreciation in comparison.
 

OldMarine

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just look at your front brake rotors after a rain the night before....they start to rust in less than 12 hours! Perfectly normal for block to do also, unless it's a painted block, which ours are not.
 

doolin64

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I would clean it and spray it with some black implement paint in a rattle can. I don't think the dealer would do anything.
 

Dusty1948

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There was a comment earlier that suggested Ram frames come coated with a film to prevent rusting on the dealer's lot. I've owned three Rams and observed many others and have never seen any kind of coating on the Ram frames other than the factory paint. In fact, the only trucks I've seen with a film from the factory on the frame are GMs.

In the original post the pictures of the rust spots are actually where the spot welds are. For some reason welds on the frame don't hold paint very well. If it worries anybody, I dabbed some Derusto black enamel paint on the weld locations on my previous Rams and that held up very, very well.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 044313 miles.
 

mr.fusion

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Bare metal will have surface rust in just hours unless you live in a desert. But like mentioned already, it's easy to spot treat now while it's fresh and it will hold up a long time. Lots of good rust converter/primer/sealers....
Also, sometimes a mechanic etc... will just say something to agree with you because they don't want to argue or make a big deal out of everything. It's easy if they aren't the one with the authority or responsibility to do something about it, and it's better than arguing with customers. Just something to keep in mind
 

ManBearPigNJ

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8f4a0f5a5000a3f1637665b8a26fc968.jpg

Mine (April 21 build) has the same thing as the OP in the same place. How have dealers reacted to this? It is really stand looks like there was some sort of bracket there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Mountain Whiskey

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hmmmm...I dont get it....it's a NEW truck....how is rust considered as "normal"????? oh hell no...I would take it back and and demand something...a new truck would be ideal.
Do that. When the sales guys finish rolling around on the floor laughing they will thank you for the great entertainment. Today they may even offer to buy back your truck for what you paid so they can resell it for $10k more.
 

Sal731

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That spot was probably how the frame was grabbed on the assembly line by the machines
 

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