A 'country-owned' Navara hiding chassis rust under a fresh underseal
A torchlight, a pick and a mirror caught what a quick walk-around never would
2018 Nissan Navara ST-X 2.3L Twin-Turbo — 168,400km
Why fresh underseal is a red flag, not a feature
A 7-year-old ute with chassis underseal that's still glossy and tacky has almost always been resprayed in the last month — usually to hide what's underneath. Genuine factory underseal at this age is dull, slightly cracked and impregnated with road grime.
What the inspector found
- Underseal still slightly tacky on the rear chassis rails — applied within the last 3 weeks.
- Pick test through the underseal at three points exposed flaking rust scale 2–3mm thick.
- Inspection mirror inside the rear cross-member showed perforation starting on the inner wall.
- Tray-mount bolts had been removed and refitted recently (paint scrape on the heads).
- Service history listed two regional NSW addresses — both within 40km of the coast.
- Tow-hitch wear pattern consistent with heavy boat use.
Outcome
Buyer walked. We supplied the photo evidence (12 close-ups under torchlight) in case the buyer wanted to report the disguised condition to NSW Fair Trading. He chose not to but kept the report for reference.
"I'd already shaken the bloke's hand. Marco crawled under for 20 minutes and showed me three photos. I un-shook the hand."
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