Worth the buy out after lease

I love my truck, but I am concerned that when my lease is up will it be worth keeping. I have the 6 speed which I have read is a weak transmission. Also its white which I have also read is a horrible color from Toyota being single stage paint and will oxidize( already have a spot on the hood that I thought was from bird shit and a few coats of wax will take care of). I have had the infamous steering wheel shake that everyone seems to have. I am starting to think is it worth the buy out price in 2 years when my lease is up? Really disappointing to think that a $30k truck falls so shit and the dealerships do everything they can to not satisfy the customer with any issues that come up. I just past 12,000 miles and I still love the truck, but as a lease. Will it be worth it to own it and still deal with the headaches if I decide to own it?

 

That's really up to you. How much will you need at the end of the lease vs what is the going rate for the equivalent truck in your area?

 

If you are having paint issues now they can only get worse, if I was you I could shop around when it's time then decide

 

This is the plan with my lease (to buy it afterward). The only reason I did it that way was to keep the payments lower. I'm just under 20,000 miles, no issues whatsoever, almost done with the Toyota Care free maintenance, then I'm gonna start wrenchin' on it.

 

I would say not. go lease another one, maybe the next generation, and go from there.

 

Not for what they will charge you for it at the end

 

Yeah I leased once, it is a lower payment but not worth it. Depending on the dealership when you bring it back. They will nickle and dime you for everything.

 

I only leased once and would never do it again. The car I leased would have had a higher buyout than the car was worth and had I really wanted to keep that car I could have bought a 2 year newer one used for the same price as the buyout.

Luckily I'm at 3 yrs ans 50k miles so far on the Taco and it hasn't gone to shit yet. Its paid off so I'm hoping to at least have it for another 100k before thinking about getting a new truck.

 

Yours is a 2011. I have heard that there have been a lot of "silent upgrades" to the 6-speed transmission over the years, 2007 and 2009 seem to be numbers stuck in my head. The biggest problem with that transmission should hopefully be just the exceedingly low 6th gear ratio, but that's something you would have noticed the first time you took it on the highway.

Nice thing about the 5-speed MT on the 4-cyls is that Aisin has been making that transmission for over two decades (my '91 Heep YJ has effectively the same unit called AX-15). It was very thoroughly debugged before the first Tacoma ever hit the pavement. Point of course, is that bugs do get solved with time.

Seriously? White isn't clear coated???
I suppose that the simple solution to this would be to bring it in to a body shop and have it clear coated.

I'm not aware of any kind of "steering wheel shake". Do you have references to this or more description? Is it possible that your wheels are out of balance or out of round? Either could certainly make your steering wheel shake, and neither would indicate any mechanical problem with the vehicle.

That would depend on how much they're asking for it.

I'm not following your "falls to shit" point... the only headache you've mentioned that seems to be real (at least from your perspective) is regarding the paint. I do understand how that can be somewhat frustrating, however, its nothing a competent body mechanic can't cure for you for fairly little money, and when its done, the paint will look brand new again. Take care of that bird poop spot too.

 

buy it at lease end and then sell it outright or trade it in for another one

 

^This is what I am going to do. I know that once I give it back they're going to sell it for 5-10k more than what my buyout price is(That's the current they're selling prices for 5 year old Tacoma's in my area, with 100k and up for). With a little hard work and patience you can make a bit off your buyout by selling privately. Don't let the dealer nickel and dime you.