I bought my Rav4 in Chicago so the undercarriage is super rusty, and every person I have asked about it is concerned about fixing it in fear that things will start breaking as they take things apart. My rear differential is leaking and was told I need new seals and one of the bolt heads broke off with peg still in outer casing. Took it to a friends dad to look at it, and he said to not even bother because it is too rusted and to just have levels checked whenever I get an oil change? So now I am very confused on what to since I know nothing about cars! help!!
Taylor , people are trying to tell you that this vehicle has reached the end of it’s service.
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I live in WI and just sold my ‘07 RAV and it was in great condition. In garage when at home, maybe that made a difference? However, IMHO you have two choices - 1) Buy another car right now 2) try one of those “don’t do it repairs” and see how it goes?
If the people you talked to were mechanics I would take their advice. If they were friends with unknown skills or experience I would ignore their advice, but I would find a local independent mechanic and pay them $100 or so and have them go over the car to give a professional opinion on the condition. If the Rav is that rusty it might not be safe to have it on the road.
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“Fully depreciated”
You really need to asess the structural integrity of the frame. It may look bad but still be solid. Living in WI for 30 years I would very very surprised that an 07 would be unfit for duty.
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If I was in your shoes, I would likely say goodbye to this one. Rust is like permanent cancer, and usually too expensive to fix.
Send us pictures of the undercarriage. We just cannot tell how bad it is without them.
If it looks anything like this it is time to kiss it goodbye! https://jalopnik.com/5924130/how-was-anyone-driving-this-ridiculously-unsafe-car-on-the-highway/
If it jsut surface rust you might get a few more years out of it. Definitely keep an eye on that leak. Use an impact to remove the rest of the bolts if you remove the cover to change the fluid.
I mean, I guess they did fix the Pinto’s exploding rear end 