I've been looking to replace my '99 F150 with something a bit newer, it's been a great truck all these years but I decided I'd like something newer. The search and investigation has been disappointing and frustrating! Never saw so many slightly used vehicles with so much frame and suspension area rust, 2-3 year old trucks while my '99 is minimal surface rust. These newer trucks don't look like they'll make it 5 years without significant part replacements! Very, very disappointed in Ford!

 

Dealers may be buying trucks at auctions in the rust belt up north and bringing them down to sell because they can buy them cheaper from the northern auctions. Check carfax on any that you might be interested in. that is one thing they tell you, where it has been registered. I saw this when I was looking for a car for my son. The local Honda dealer had a small GM coupe that came from NY and they hadn't even bothered to wash the salt off the car under the hood.

 

Yes -- unless they were run on the beach in salt water, Southern trucks shouldn't have much corrosion on the bottom side of the vehicle. None of my vehicles since I moved to Texas have shown any appreciable sign of rust -- the only vehicle I own with any hint of it underneath is my '97 Cavalier, which spent the first 17 years of its life in Minnesota.....

 

seems like operator error

 

10th Gen was undercoated frame with painted steel suspension parts
11/12 Gen used a painted frame, and painted steel / bare aluminum suspension parts