Dealer Charging Too Much?

So the bank won’t approve a loan because they think the truck is overvalued?

Also, on a side note, I worked detailing cars at a dealership for ten months and still cannot believe some of the shitboxes that people financed; A 2011 Kia Soul with relatively high miles for $6,500 was one example (this was in 2019)!

 

And also, I think this is a good place to bring up the sad story of the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder my dad traded for the Tacoma in 2009. My dad bought the Pathy new in 1996 and paid it off in 2000 or 2001. It was easily the most dependable vehicle we’ve ever had and to this day it holds the record for longest period of time we’ve kept a vehicle.

When we traded it, it was 13 years old with about 113K on the clock; There were some rust spots in places, but it was in excellent mechanical condition and everything worked.

I’d offered the Pathy to a friend for $3,500 and she had cash in hand, but she couldn’t make up her mind. We’d gotten like $2,300 for it on trade. She finally decided about a week after we’d traded it that she wanted it. I told her that if she was interested in it, the dealer probably still had it. She called the dealer, and to the shock of both us, it had already been sold. A perfect example of “You snooze, you lose”...

For the next seven years or so I was completely unaware of what had happened to the Pathfinder; I saw green Pathfinder SEs around my area that looked very similar to my dad’s, but I had no way of knowing if it was the same truck. Based on what I later found out from the Carfax report, it’s only possible that a green Pathfinder I saw on York Road in Jamison, PA in either late 2009 or early 2010 was my dad’s.

In 2016, my dad found the Pathy’s original window sticker, and in 2017 I ran the VIN through Carfax.

Our Pathfinder was repossessed from the second owner barely eight months after they’d purchased it! The trail goes cold after the repossession in June 2010, which I’ve been told indicates the Pathy failed to sell at a repo auction and more than likely ended up in a salvage yard where it was ultimately crushed. This REALLY pisses me off, because that Pathfinder was near mint when got rid of it. It also begs the following question; Who in the hell finances a 13-year old vehicle with over 100K miles?!?!

 

Did yours get repoed too?

 

Lol negative.

 

#ruined

No thanks bb

 

In my opinion, one should never finance an older vehicle and/or one with high miles unless the selling party and/or finance company signs a binding agreement forcing them to pay for repairs, replace the vehicle, or buy back the vehicle and forgive the debt if something breaks.

 

@Dan 77

I forget who it was, as did not actually know talk to the person, but there was a member on here from Maine who had a 1999ish Tacoma that was not paid for despite being more than ten years old at the time. He inadvertently let his collision insurance lapse and then totaled the truck in a single-vehicle accident; He apparently still owed a ton of money on the truck and I don’t know what the outcome was...

 

I agree but I saw a 2001 DCSB that I had to have in the fall of 2014. I really like 1st gens.

Edited to add that I no longer have it since it was totaled out but I wasn't upside down at all.

 

Depends on the mileage and interest rate. If I couldn’t afford to buy a vehicle for $5,000 cash, there are always ridiculously low-priced but ultimately reliable beaters around...

In 2012, I found a 1994 Chevy S-10 Blazer with 130K miles and would have bought it if I didn’t have my Tacoma. It looked like shit and needed a paintjob, but it ran great and there was no rot or serious rust; It had ICE COLD A/C and working 4WD! Seller was a Chevy mechanic; Asking price was $600!

 

@Dan 77

My truck was a gift from my dad when I got my learner’s permit and has been paid off since probably spring of 2013 at the very earliest. My truck is worth less than $10K and since it’s paid for I am no longer required to carry collision insurance. However, I still do pay for full coverage because I had a scary incident back in 2015 where a drunk driver did ran a stop sign and did $2,200 in damage, then promptly lied to his insurance company, which forced my insurance company to eat the cost of fixing my truck. If I didn’t have full coverage, I would have had to sue the guy!

I’d probably get like $9,500 for my truck if it got totaled, which is more than enough to pay cash for a decent used truck (not a 2010 or newer Tacoma, but still a decent truck) and still have money left over. As a rule of thumb, I’d keep a vehicle on full coverage until the yearly cost of insuring it exceeds 50% of the actual cash value.

 

@Dan 77

Your ‘01 is not presently paid for?

 

I am well aware, but I do not have that on hand after paying down some unsecured debt. At least not to the tune of 5 figures. It is about cutting out $900 worth of car payment into a negligible amount. Paying cash for a vehicle will come when I have the means and serious savings to my name and a well funded 401k.

For now I might consider waiting for the price to go down. Yes, previous circumstances made a $850 seem feasible, but over time no longer worth it. Good suggestion, but my search ironically turns up little to no results in the rest of Texas. Hopefully search results will improve. Even so, I think traveling isn't really an option. IDK honestly.

I am contemplating doing that, but I only wonder if there’s truly enough wiggle room on this vehicle if they stupidly gave the previous guy a lot of money for his trade in? Only they know and the dude (know who he is, but not personally), who I am looking into reaching out to (seems stalkerish/invasive though).


Getting rid of my current truck first is something family really suggest to me, considering previous circumstances I put myself in regarding automobiles the past 6 ½ years. This vehicle is considered my ground zero to making my life much more sensible, viable and not sacrificed just to have a nice vehicle/toy that’s overkill/senseless.

I am praying it goes down or another nearby option pops up.

It’s at roughly 129,000 miles. I honestly was under the impression that having mods devalues a vehicle because not everybody has the same taste. Which is why I’m skeptical of the idea that they should be overpricing it or giving someone so much money for it on trade in.


I was banking on the KBB, being hopefully $16k. Really thrown for a loop the lone local manual V6 TRD OR Tacoma of this vintage, is so overpriced. They don’t specialize in Toyotas anyway, so I don’t understand their BS, other than thinking the mods will bring buyers.


I did an exhaustive, 6 hour nationwide online search, that pretty much pointed thousands of miles away or above Mason Dixon, meaning rust concerns. Really frustrating how majority of them seem to not be in Southern or Southwestern states. I guess folks in snowy areas love manual 4x4 Japanese trucks more than warm weather states?

Even that aside, I really don’t have the luxury of traveling and then driving it back. It’s really about spending as little as possible, while I finish my degree. Sadly, I still need a truck and really don’t want a new one, to be fiscally sound until I have very flexible cash flow.

I'm looking for a TRD Off-Road, plus SV is too distant. I don't have such free time to travel to buy a vehicle. Thanks for the suggestion.

Looking for TRD Off-Road only, plus very far away.

I've thought about this, but vowed to never make another senseless nor lopsided automotive purchase again, unless I have 1 years salary in savings. I might wait, but unfortunately there might be someone else with better bargaining power ($15k+ cash) or dumb enough to swallow the price.

I fortunately do have negative equity regarding my current truck because I might have paid a little bit too much for it and didn’t negotiate because of goo goo eyes for it a few years ago and have an APR under 8%. Plus some off-roading blemishes. I had hoped to not run into an ideal Tacoma so soon, to allow me time and room to plan carefully.

Yeah, I don’t subscribe to the idea of financing a newish 3rd gen, on the basis I’d be back to square one in some ways. I am planning on making serious changes to my quality of life and a $500+ car payment is not a good idea, which a $30k+ Taco equals.

I must strongly point out, I am not in the position of paying cash outright for a $15k truck. If I was, I would have flown out and drove one back without hesitation. Or financed $20k on a new example, w/ $15k down.

Thanks, very sound wisdom. Goal number 1 is ditch my truck, then replace it with a reliable and ideal vehicle, that isn’t too new, but not too old or worn down.

Just hope no one else is dumb enough before me and the dealers learn the same lesson a neighboring Chevy dealer did, with a used 6 speed JK Wrangler that they cut by $7k and still sent to auction anyway, because no one fell for it.

It would be very nice if I could pay cash, but thanks to various expenses I am trying to cut down on first, it is not a reality. Throwing $15k in cash around would already make a nice down payment on a 3rd gen equivalent, so I wouldn’t be considering a 2nd gen GRN245 Taco at that point.

I already lost so much spare money on foolishly helping out a bratty relative, I am trying to downsize and finish rebuilding. (In case recommended) a rotted out sub-$5k vehicle isn’t viable either, so it can’t be something too old unfortunately. It has to be something that can be long term, with little headaches.

Freeing up $500-600 a month is my goal right now and this seems to be the only way, as opposed to being without a vehicle (frees up $700, but increases costs via public transport and increases lost income potential).

The last deep search I did about a week ago turned up a lot of vehicles far away from me but I wouldn’t say that many of them were in the Houston area or Eastern part of Texas. The majority of used manual Tacomas in the rest of Texas are of high priced 1st gen and expensive 3rd gen variety. Or 2WD X-Runner (which is nice, but not viable).


I am trying to go with a vehicle altogether that checks all the boxes that my last Tacoma didn't and can be held onto for 5 years, with no regrets. Most 2nd gen results seem to be deep into AZ, on the coasts, or in the snow belt. In that case thanks, I will do some more searching just to confirm what you are recommending anyway.

 

I don't have the 01 anymore. I was in an accident and insurance totaled it out in Dec 2014. I didn't buy it back from them and through carfax research it lives on in Dallas, TX. I rolled the payout into a 06.

 

Also, won’t most banks refuse to finance a vehicle if it’s older than a certain age or has really high miles?

 

Depends on the bank. Navy Fed will finance just about anything.

 

I bank with Navy Fed!

 

Yes.

Really? Wow...

Nice buy!

The truck is very clean, other than mods and overly sweet (yet rough) interior scent. Under the covers, seats are like new.

It seems easier said than done, when looking at the marketplace at times. Thank you for your advice.

Exactly, just doesn't make sense.

LOL, it's the mods right? Feel like I'm between a rock and hard place. Really got to shave off $500-600 a month, by ditching my nearly $900 a month truck ASAP.

I'm afraid of this reality. A young Fort Bliss recruit or dude w/ no existing obligations (or generous parents) might get it. Or an out of state buyer.

I owned a non-TRD, V6 4x4 DCSB manual of 2012-2015 vintage. Something feels different between earlier Fremont built GRN245s, versus newer TMMTX built trucks. Hated mine by comparison. 3rd gen shifter is nice, but engine feels torqueless and very expensive for my budget.

Exactly what annoys me, but I can't prove if they undercut him and then are now overcharging for mega profit. He bought a decked out new Raptor, listed at marked up $91k (MSRP was $75k). He probably fought hard though.

Before hearing the $23k price, I had hoped this would be the case. They "know what they have". (eyeroll) I'm not even okay with $20k. $17k at worst only.

Unfortunately...

 

@Dan 77

I had to drive home from work...

Are you a veteran or active duty military? I’m not, but my dad was in the Navy for 25 years and even as an adult I’m getting some benefits; These including banking with Navy Federal and insuring my Taco with USAA!

 

same here, Ford dealer wanted it gone and when they knew I wasn’t interested in an f150 and wanted a manual, they called after 4 months of price drops when they got to my price lol