Junk or not

Good morning community, I got the bad news this morning from a small independent mechanic who appears very good based on online reviews that my 1998 4Runner is junk.

The overall reason he gave me is that the car is rotten on the bottom.

The immediate reason to have it looked at was that the car started leaking brake fluid on a recent trip and the reservoir is empty now. When I refill it, it immediately leaks out all the brake fluid again. The mechanic told me that the brake lines are rotten and it would be too extensive and costly to replace them and he would not be able to make it a safe car so I should call a junk yard and have it towed, I might get a few hundred bucks for it but he considers it junk. He urged me to not put any money into that car. It has 160.000 miles on it, otherwise drives fine, had the clutch replaced 2-3 years ago (5-speed) and the exhaust was welded a couple of times due to rust.

Anybody thinks I should get a second opinion or do you agree that it is junk and I should get rid of it?

Thanks for weighing in.

 

All depends on your financial situation. 20 year old vehicles with rust or rotting problems aren’t going to magically get better. Sounds like you’ll just continue to throw money into it. Having a car payment sucks, but so does having a money pit.

 

Have you looked under the truck? is your 4Runner really rusty? If it is, it may not be worth the money to fix. Otherwise you might be able to get the brake lines off a junk yard 4Runner.
Take pictures and show it to another shop/ mechanic.