2nd gen screw up

Hello all, just got my first Tacoma. It’s a 2015 trd off road double cab. In my naivety or maybe lack of brain cells I bought one with a rebuilt title because it was a “good deal”. It had no frame damage reported on the car fax and I trusted the seller who had owned it since it had been rebuilt (it was totaled at only 3 months old) and said he had no problems with it. Turns out I was just a sucker. It’s got a diamond frame on the front end near the passenger control arm, a bent rear axle housing, and the leaf spring brackets right in front of the rear tire on both sides have been ripped out with a washer welded in place for the bolt to go through (about 3/4” away from where they originally went through). And since it’s not quite worth what I paid for it and I don’t want to screw somebody else over I’ve decided to try and fix it. Hopefully the local body shop will be able to adjust the frame for relatively cheap and I’m hoping to buy an axle housing and install that myself. My question right now is where are the best places to find such parts for reasonable prices? I’ve yet to find an axle housing for under $850 used or new. And I feel like that is high for just an axle housing?

 

Don't sweat the small stuff.
You got this!
That truck will last you.
The seller should have listed it as "REBUILT" and if they didn't, you have the right to return it for a refund.
A lawsuit is in your corner.

Welcome to TW tho!

 

Glad you are taking the high road...asswipes in our past need not make us pass them forward. That said, you may have recourse to get some $ back from the seller if it was falsely listed for the costs to make it whole.

 

Sorry if I was unclear on that. The seller did have it listed as a rebuilt title. They claimed they had never had issues with the truck in the 3 years/30,000 miles they owned it. Which maybe they did not. I didn’t notice anything alarming when I bought or test drove it. Runs good, seems to drive fine. It was only when it was put on the alignment rack a few days after I bought it that all this was noticed

 

The OP does say he got a “good deal.”

 

WOW! This is why it's important to always, always, always thoroughly inspect a used vehicle before you buy it. I feel sorry for the OP. This is not, "Oh darn. I wasted money on a losing lottery ticket." This is a $XX,000 paperweight. For it to have been totaled at 3 months old, there had to have been in excess of $20,000 damage. From the OPs description, it obviously needed a new frame. If the rebuilder cobbed up the frame that bad, you can be sure they fixed the sheet metal with Bondo by the gallons. It's definately not going to be cheap to straighten out that mess. I would be real surprised if any body shop would even take on that screwed up frame. So, replacing the frame is gonna be about $15K. Replacing the frame at home is going to be a big time consuming commitment after buying a NEW frame from Toyota. There aren't exactly nice straight frames in the wrecking yards. Dumping that kind of money into the truck is not going to be smart. Dumping the truck on somebody else is morally wrong. Selling it to a wrecking yard is only going to get probably $2,000. The OP bought it with a fully disclosed rebuilt title and failed to investigate the extent of the "repairs".

 

@Waymore, just so we are all speaking from the same understanding when we try to provide help, can you provide pics of the damaged frame and other damaged/"fixed" areas?

Others here have made fixes to frames, so they will be able to provide recommendations. We just need to know what we're working with.

 

OP provide pics so others can chime in.

How much did you pay for it?

GL!

 

If you’re having no problems w it, runs fine and passes inspection, why do anything to it?

If it doesn’t pass inspection, just do what you need to for it to pass.

Drive, drive, drive it....

 

I paid $18k for it. Trucks in similar condition with similar miles with a rebuilt title are going for around $22k-$25k in my area. I don’t have any pictures of the damage because the problem is there is no obvious damage just by looking at it. I’ve taken it to 3 auto body shops around here and none of them have been able to see anything (beside the leaf spring scab job) without measuring it and none of them have been able to get it on their lift yet and use their laser measurement system yet

 

There is a rebuilder car lot in my area that is well known for shady stuff. I was in a local highly respected body shop awhile ago and they had a 3rd gen Tacoma in there that was in a light front end collision. They pulled the bumper cover off and the mess under there was astonishing. It was previously "rebuilt" by that car lot. 1 frame horn was so out of place that the core support bolt didn't line up, so they left it out. The new core support was attached with self tapping screws. The radiator was held in with zip ties. The AC lines were not connected. The air bag sensors were missing. Obviously the insurance company totaled it after all that was discovered. I wonder if it got "rebuilt" again.

 

From my understanding once it’s been rebuilt once they just pay you out for it the next time it’s wrecked

 

And I’ll quote you OP “ lack of brain cells” that’s exactly what happened.

 

In Texas on a rebuilt or salvaged title you can only get liability insurance. If you wreck or total a second time you just out all the money you spent to purchase and have to fix it on your own.

 

Kinda answered your own question. 3 body shops all said okay, then just drive the truck . If issues creep up later, then you fix it, until then enjoy the truck.

 

I agree. Drive it.

 

OUCH!

 

Might be the perfect candidate for Long Travel suspension. You have to fix it anyway and it sounds like you still want the truck.

 

Batacoma what does that involve?

 

The frame damage might be ok to leave for a bit. The axle on the other hand isn’t. It slides around bad on gravel/dirt roads and that is a lot of what I bought this truck to do. Even on the freeway now that I know about it I’ve noticed a little funny wandering or something from the rear end. Any one know who’s got the best prices on axle housings?