First Gen no new frame

Hey Guys,

I’m new to the forum. I’m about to pull the trigger on an ‘04 Prerunner TRD that has little rust on the frame but is passed the extended warranty 15 year.
Do these frames, regardless of condition eventually all fail prematurely?
I haven’t taken the vehicle I’m considering buying the dealership. I just want to take it home! But I also don’t want to buy something that will fail.

if the truck has been taken care of it should last right?

 

Welcome aboard. Have the Tacoma checked out thoroughly before buying

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Thanks guys! Yeah, it’s been inspected and there’s no severe rust. The truck is in North Carolina been there the whole time. I’m bringing it to California so no salt here. I love these first gens.

 

Have it inspected by your personal mechanic if you haven’t done so already. Don’t trust the dealer.
Good luck and welcome to the forum

 

Where in CA? I ask because coastal areas are known for bad rust, too. Inland and you're all good.

Definitely address the rust and remove/treat it as best you can. Once it starts, it's hard to stop it, even in CA.

Also, what does "a little rust" mean. I've seen people post pics of trucks with "a little rust" that I would never drive. You can use a hammer to tap around on the frame and listen for a change in the sound. You should hear a nice metal "ping". A thud means you've probably god bad rust on the INSIDE of the frame. These frames many times look fine on the outside, but they typically rust from the inside out because it's hard to clean/dry the inside of the boxed sections of the frame.

 

Where in NC? If its the piedmont (Greensboro Charlotte, Raleigh) chances are youre ok. Id check a coastal or mountains truck out a bit more thoroughly.

 

Maybe the Massachusetts Dealer's are no fun but I don't endorse the "Don't Trust the Dealer" mentality. I work at a dealer in SW Utah and am pleased and proud of this group. These mechanics are well trained and have years of experience. While I understand pricing can definitely be a point of contention, I cannot support the concept of not trusting the experts. The wealth of information I have gained since working with the dealer would have taken many years of self-gathered knowledge to counter. Don't be scared of your local dealer. Just know what you are there for and what to expect from the experience.

Sorry for the soapbox. Thanks for the spot.

 

I’d buy something inland in California. Wait till your there.
Rust will only get worse no matter where you bring the truck.
Better off waiting. and yes it will fail.

 

so if i came to your service department assistant manager, told him what i found and wanted to know exactly how this is all going down and what to do about it, he would not give me a puzzled and bewilderment look like i got locally from a veteran Toyota specialist ... its like he could really care less, the assistant manager of all staff

 

The problem is that working at a dealer doesn't necessarily make you an "expert" that is worthy of blindly trusting them.

For the majority of them, it's a job just like any other, and they could just as well be changing alternators on a Dodge or a Nissan.

Corporate mentality can easily get in the way of good customer service, where they just want you to throw parts at it and get it our of the bay.

I'm not saying all dealers are bad, but it is certain that not all of them are good.

 

Well that depends on what you say you've found, but considering I'm the ASM, I can say with confidence that the odds are high that I would be familiar with the issue you'd present. That is what we do here. It is my job to be well researched and informed to ensure I can assist with issues you may encounter.

 

No one ever asked for blind trust. You don't blindly trust medical professionals as well, do you? Second opinions and explanations of diagnosis and findings while hopefully proactively offered from your service professional, are also the responsibility of the customer to ensure they have received satisfactory work for a price paid.

Dealerships are managed at the local level. The operation I am a part of is not large enough to fulfill the typical Corporate mentality you reference.

In full, I agree completely that while all dealers are not bad, it is certain that not all of them are good. This applies across the board to the entire money-for-services industry. You should always ensure you are receiving quality work for a quality price. The joys and burdens of free market consumerism responsibilities.

 

ALL metal rusts eventually, that said, if you are a CALI resident you really should check the laws about a registered Cali resident with a Cali license buying a NON Cali approved vehicle out of state and trying to get it approved in CA.

the last time I read the laws for that state, you could only buy a vehicle out of state if it had Cali emissions,OR was part of an inheritance,OR your other vehicle was totaled....there are a few others in there.

CA dmv goes off of the vin...can’t flub that.
(It has been a few years since I did CA law research, highly doubt CA relaxed the law)

just some FYI.

 

That's pretty much it. You can only register a 49 state vehicle if your 50 state vehicle was damaged/totaled out of state and you replaced it with one from that state.

That said, I'm pretty sure all Tacomas are 50 state legal. So the only reason you might fail a smog test is because the P.O. removed the charcoal canister to add 50 horsepower or dumped a non cali turbo on it or whatever.

 

my local dealer shops must be grade A slackers then
or else no old 1st gens come through their bay doors anymore, which is probably true when i asked him approximately how many per year he sees and he said about a big fat 5

 

I’m buying out of state. The truck is in NC and I’m in Cali. I just had a local shop look it over and the only thing was needs an air filter.

It’s a 2004 with only 64,000. Truck hasn’t been in salt belt.

64k mikes! What do you think?

 

That is some serious perspective there. Here in SW Utah, every 20th Toyota that comes into the shop is a 1st gen Tacoma or 3rd gen 4runner with 250k miles or more. The desert preserves them well.