Is this much rust a deal breaker?

Hey Ya'll,
I'm a new member here. I've had an interest in 4th gens for a long time and will hopefully be purchasing one very soon. I live in North Carolina, and so rust isn't usually a problem unless a vehicle has spent most of its life up in the mountains.
Right now I'm looking at a 2008 SR5 4wd with about 170k miles on it. The Carfax says that it has been serviced every 5k miles at a Toyota dealership, so I think its a pretty good deal. Also, the owner wants $9,500.00.
The only thing that I am slightly concerned about is rust. From what I can see from the photos, the rust is mostly surface rust. If that's the case I would grind it off asap and thoroughly undercoat the thing. However, I have heard that 4runners are bad about rusting from the inside out. What are yalls' thoughts? Is there any way to tell if there is rust inside the frame? Does this look like a deal breaker?

Any input is appreciated,
James Holmes

 

It has way more rust than my 2007 but it is what you are willing to buy.

 

My opinion on this subject prob ain't worth much, but I'm very interested in the answer so am bumping this topic up in the hope that smarter people notice it and can weigh in.

That said, FWIW, some of this rust would scare me. Especially for $9500. However, if you are handy and prepared to carefully grind/sand it clean and apply rust preventer, and perhaps be prepared to have a spot or two re welded, I can imagine it working out well.

I don't know how one would know about inside the frame rails without putting a scope in there. But the impression I get from the photos is that this rust is mostly localized to the external welds. So I'd want to clean all those up and apply rust preventer to everything, including spraying it inside the rails through most of the holes you can access.

Again, though, this is an uniformed opinion!

 

I tend to agree with @Singleminded. The rust on the exhaust system kind of makes me think there is some underlying rust you visualize externally. However, patience, a wire brush and some fluid film could work wonders. The price might be a bit looking at some of the work you will need to do post-purchase. Good luck with it.

 

Just a quick search I found one WAY better. I think you should look around more.https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ctd/d/remington-2008-toyota-4runner-sr5/7281967835.html

 

I just purchased an ‘07 Limited V8 here in Ohio. It is a little worse than this but just like this one all I am seeing is rust at the weld seems, which is normal. I had mine put on the rack before I bought it and went around with a screwdriver and small hammer and tapped and stabbed everywhere I thought there may be an issue and it was all solid. I would not be afraid of this one but yes, the blue one in Va. is amazingly clean...almost too clean lol!

 

My 2005 with 170,000 miles in the Bahamas has much less rust underneath and zero rust on the painted body.

Amazing how Toyota built such rust-free vehicles compared to my 1996 GMC Jimmy which rusted away everywhere.

I bought my daughter a brand new Camry when she graduated Florida State and got hired by a big stock broker. Pays to have good GPA.

Camry still runs like a top 5 years and 50,000 miles later. Like my 2005 4runner there is not a speck of rust on the painted body.

 

@AbominableStoMan If you can get to the vehicle to do what this guy mentions, physically tapping every part of the frame on and around these rusted weld seams, that'd be most best. If not, its a pretty big shot in the dark.

 

Y'all this is from March haha I'm guessing he's already made his decision by now