I look at cars online all the time and am trying to determine what you get for that description? Does it mean??? "The rust is covered up good", "it's a rot free stand-up piece," or "you can't see the rust from my house"!!!!!

means rust is possible somewhere on the car.

It`s a scapegoat phrase for the seller to plead ignorant when you buy the car and find rust.

I have heard the phrase rust free and you could see plenty of rust. I guess it depends on if uou are buying or selling.:D

It means that a person who is blind, or severely visually impared might not be able to tell that the car is 70% rust. Kinda like the difference between basil cell skin cancer and internal lung cancer. One's a death sentence and one's not.

Always assume there is rust and interpret as follows:

"No visible rust" = rust has been painted over and/or undercoated over

"Rust free" = I'm not charging you for the rust that is on the car

I'm not saying that everyone using these phrases are trying to rip you off but it's your nickel so you need to investigate all aspects of the car (especially with the elevated prices that are being paid). You can bet that the majority of these 40 year old cars have some form of rust on them. The rust is there, whether inside of the rocker panels eating from the inside out or under some freshly applied undercoating (which always raises an eyebrow)... it is up to you to find it and determine if it is acceptable based on the pricing of the car. A few exterior photos of the car can never tell you anything about the structural integrity of the car. There are guys that are regular sculptors with bondo. As always... buyer beware.

I always say "Nothing a blind man will see as you pass him at 30 MPH, his guide dog may not even notice".

It kills me because that phrase may be TOTALLY legit and the guy is simply covering his ars. OR the car is a rusty mess that has been "PORed" and it is and it will self destruct in your garage.

I mean, if I were selling a car, a "rust free" California car, I would say the same thing. I mean, what are you supposed to say "No RUST what so ever" and the guy sues you when he cuts off a rocker and finds it? What about up under the quarter panels in the trunk? Just about every one of these cars, probably 99% of them, have surface rust up there that would never mean a thing unless you lay on your back in the trunk with a flash light. "No visible rust" would be an HONEST description of a super nice car if you WANTED to give an honest description.

But if you wanted to be DISHONEST, "No visible rust" is a good way to do it too.

In a nut shell, feel the guy out. Talk to him a bunch on the phone before you go over, I will bet you will have a good idea before you even get there which "No visible rust" you have. :)

Brian

Here in the South, I believe the following terms apply:
Needs body work - means needs body
needs engine work - needs an engine
no rust - no body (totally rusted away)

You guys have me laughing out load.:thumbsup:

Rob

What does "not bad" mean when you ask a buddy how good looking a girl is?

What does "not bad" mean when you ask a buddy how good looking a girl is?


That means she's not bad looking if you have your beer goggles on ! ! ! !:beers:
It's like my father use to tell me. "She's good from far, but far from good".

Thanx for all the GREAT replys on this subject. I knew you guys would have the answers!!!!:hurray:

I remember calling someone up about a car years ago and the seller insisted it has 'No Rust'. I asked about the rear framerail in the next sentence and the seller said 'oh, thats rotted away'.

I guess ROT is different than Rust.

Same thing went when I was only looking for 4 speeds and asked if the car was a manual, the girl selling it said YES and after driving an hour to see the car I found out manual means CONSOLE SHIFT.

Bought a truck one time from an old fella that told my wife on the phone that the truck had a 5 speed manual transmission. It did - 4 forward and 1 reverse. Yes, he was serious......