Purchased a 2013 Laramie Longhorn. Unsure whether to keep it. Please help.

Hi from Florida! Firstly let me apologize for not starting out with an introductory thread but I ran into some issues buying a RAM 1500 and am now looking for some advice so hoping you, the experts on this topic would be willing to help me out.

Long story short, I purchased a 2013 Laramie Longhorn with 37000 miles on it. The car was originally from Philadelphia so I assumed it would have seen some snow. All looked well; interior as I wanted it, in black with white gold and with a 3.92 gear ratio.

So because this car came through a superstore (which I don't think I should name, yet you likely understand who they are), I have a five day return option so I brought it to my own mechanic to check out. Long story short he wants me to return it due to excessive rust. Also, the right front shock absorbed is leaking, the right front axle is leaking (the boot I assume?) and there's impact marks on the control arms and that is the one that worries me most. Then my mechanic says there's just too much corrosion on the brake lines, the power steering lines and the coolant hoses need to be replaced. He's worried that because of the rust maintenance is going to be disproportionally expensive as he'll likely keep on shearing off heads and such. Then again I don't know what's excessive as mechanics down here tend to be allergic to rust.

My question is whether any of you would be willing to give me their opinion based on the attachments on whether they think there is a price point at which I could keep this truck or that I should just take the slight hit and return it today. I didn't pay top dollar for this car either; likely this is why but I'm not sure if that should justify this condition. I'm pretty sure they'll offer to deal with the shock absorber and axle but I doubt they'll replace anything preventative such as brake lines, power steering lines and coolant hoses, let alone control arms) Also the undercoat doesn't seem to be very good and sprayed over the rust but falling off I suppose that would have to be redone as well unless it's too late...?

I've attached some pictures below... I'd really appreciate anybody's opinion on whether I should walk away from this car now or not... Many thanks!

P.p.s. I've been looking around for an alternative with the 3.92 gear ratio... I can find only one in a 500 mile radius although I don't like the interior nor the color too much...

being a 3 year old truck and from a state that sees snow and probably uses road salt that much surface rust is no big deal.

the one thing for me would be what you have circled in red that gouge.

Thank you, really appreciate your opinion... I'm also not quite sure what needs to be wrong or broken for the wheel to turn so far as to impact and gouge the lower control arm; let alone whether whatever is/was off can thereafter reasonably be fixed...

If it's already worrying you and you have the option to return it, I would just do it. Peace at mind is the best
It probably won't give you problems for now but eventually it will and unfortunately you'll be out of warranty so you would have to pay everything.

Good luck with your decision

Return it. It will always be on your mind and bother you. Wait it out and find the truck you perfect for you.

Thank you all for your replies. You're right, it does worry me and I've only had the car for a week. The car is currently being inspected by them. Unless their offer truly is stellar I'll return her and start looking for another one.

I am from the Philly area and holy **** the underside of my truck doesn't look like that. Return it. It's obviously been abused. I just don't see how it rusted that bad. Mine is clean and it's been through two years of snow and salt.

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HEMIHEMIHEMI said:

Thank you, really appreciate your opinion... I'm also not quite sure what needs to be wrong or broken for the wheel to turn so far as to impact and gouge the lower control arm; let alone whether whatever is/was off can thereafter reasonably be fixed...

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Ive seen this before.. dont quote me that it's normal...but it happens.

If your mechanic is telling you to return I absolutely would. I mean, his best interest would be to have you keep it and then perform all the maintenance. His suggestion and expertise should carry a lot of weight.

If you have doubts return it while you can.

That being said, there is a sliding scale of what is acceptable to some people. Quite frankly that is not that bad for a 3 year old truck from a salt belt state and I live/work in the Philly area and seen worse.

I live in Buffalo, NY and that rust is nothing. Unless you use Fluid-Film (or similar) every year, your underside could look like that in one winter here. The leaks are something to get obviously fixed. That, what looks like, a gouge would bother me. In all honesty I've had my truck to the dealer for warranty repairs about 20 times in 2 and a half yrs, so I'm not surprised about about the leaks and rust.

Sir John said:

I live in Buffalo, NY and that rust is nothing. Unless you use Fluid-Film (or similar) every year, your underside could look like that in one winter here. The leaks are something to get obviously fixed. That, what looks like, a gouge would bother me. In all honesty I've had my truck to the dealer for warranty repairs about 20 times in 2 and a half yrs, so I'm not surprised about about the leaks and rust.

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Ok; thank you; very interesting... the gouge does bother me; I unfortunately don't know if it's still impacting or not as the car is in for inspection. I'm sure it will come up if/when I try to sell the car if it isn't solved. Hopefully they'll call me with a proposal tomorrow... thanks for all the input from everybody...!! It's been extremely insightful and helpful!

I bought my truck brand new an now have 27,000 miles on it an I also have the gouge marks on both lower a arms but not sure what caused it.

HEMIHEMIHEMI said:

Ok; thank you; very interesting... the gouge does bother me; I unfortunately don't know if it's still impacting or not as the car is in for inspection. I'm sure it will come up if/when I try to sell the car if it isn't solved. Hopefully they'll call me with a proposal tomorrow... thanks for all the input from everybody...!! It's been extremely insightful and helpful!

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Is it possible it was in a accident but it's not showing on the car fax. I guess every one has a different opinion on the rust. I said before I am from the philly area and my truck doesn't look like that. My 09 didn't look like that underneath. So to me it's not normal.

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Yes, it's totally possible that she's been in an accident... I did find it mysterious that all the issue occur on that one corner of the car; shock, axel, control arm and steering knuckle. It's what made me think, but apparently some others have the same control arm gouges, which I'm sort of surprised about yet sort of happy to hear...

i also live in the salt belt, imho, i dont see any rust that would concern me. i wouldnt return a truck because of a leaky shock and a gouge on a control arm.

I'm also new to this forum, and kind of torn about what you should do. I've owned many many vehicles over the years, and If I'm concerned about an issue right after buying a used car, that concern never goes away until I either completely fix it or get rid of the vehicle. From my experience, it's not easy to find a 3 year old truck that has no issues. The problems that you have identified don't really concern me too much (other than the rust), but I normally work on my own vehicles if I don't have a warranty.

The only way to totally avoid that is to buy new. It can be a lot more expensive to do that, but the peace of mind of having a warranty is worth a lot. You just need to decide for yourself saving some coin by buying used outweighs the peace of mind of not having to worry about repairs for three years. In the end, how badly do you like this specific truck?

My opinion is listen to StoneDude76. The truck could also be from a worse area and the owner moved or sold to a dealer in Philly. The damage doesn't have to be from a wreck, as long as there wasn't a claim it wont show upon carfax. Truck may have just had a hard life. Id return it for piece of mind but its your truck and your choice. Rust will eat away at the metal pieces and the smaller softer ones may need replacement sooner than you would wish. Let us know what you decide to do!

EDIT: Living in a humid area such as Florida will only make it rust faster.

Looking at the circled gouge....I have the same thing on my truck on one side....I don't know what caused it but I bought my truck new. I also have 5100s in front set at 2.8....I thought maybe that caused it

As for the surface rust.....that is normal for a 3 yr old truck up in the rust belt. I'd recommend having an undercoating done if your keeping the truck for a while.

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Metalizer said:

Looking at the circled gouge....I have the same thing on my truck on one side....I don't know what caused it but I bought my truck new. I also have 5100s in front set at 2.8....I thought maybe that caused it

As for the surface rust.....that is normal for a 3 yr old truck up in the rust belt. I'd recommend having an undercoating done if your keeping the truck for a while.

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may have been where the truck was chained down during shipping.