TRD Pro Badge on Non-TRD Pro

I can imagine there’s someone out there buying up SR5’s and making a few strategic mods on them to sell them for profit to unsuspecting victims.

 

Yep doesn’t matter the industry, people will always look for a way to take advantage of people.

 

My 2017 4x2 OR just got totaled... the VIN did bring it up as a TRD Offroad but they couldn't tell that I had the TRD Premium tech packaged based on the VIN. Had to get nasty with them about it... "like hey shitheads you see the sunroof in the photos? That is an option." nightmare is almost over.

 

Are you then saying the insurance companies will come back with the same quote irrespective of model and price? If so, either the Pro owners are getting a deal or the Sport and OR owners are getting screwed.

 

I didn't take it that way but good point.

 

I think it all depends on the insurance company, the adjuster etc. My experience with Liberty Mutual was terrible. I'm sure like everyone they are overworked, understaffed, and underpaid.... let's be serious being an insurance adjuster would be a terrible job. My experience was one of ZERO communication from my adjuster. He never asked what options or trim i had. They knew it was a TRD Offroad but they didn't know what factory options were installed. So they tried to comp me to these other offroads that like mine were 4x2 but none of them had the premium tech. I tried to explain this to them, but they had a tendency not to respond to any of my emails. They would call me, ask what's the hold up. I would tell them. They'd say email us your concerns, then a week would go by with no response or update to the payout, and then we'd rinse and repeat like the conversation never happened. I got them to finally add the options included in the premium tech package, which they severely depreciated and wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. In the end I got them where I wanted them to be, but had I accepted what they were telling me at first, I would have been paid out $2000 less. I still think they should have given me about $1500 more but I got tired of a one way conversation that always went nowhere fast. Moral of the story is, just make sure in an insurance situation you read everything carefully. I don't know if TRD PRO or TRD Sport come up from the VIN but I imagine they do. Not sure what kind of options the VIN shows for those... hell i don't even know what it showed for mine, i can only pass along what the insurance told me, and I'm sure you can tell from my ranting above, I don't trust them.

 

I think I’m mis-communicating. The point I was trying to make is on the front end, when we call and purchase a policy. If they can’t tell by the vin number if it’s a $30,000 truck or a $50,000 truck then someone is losing, and I doubt it will be the insurance company. So, my point is, are you suggesting the insurance cost on an SR5, Sport, OR and Pro are all the same? If not, I suspect it is because they can tell by the vin because nobody comes out to check new vehicles before giving you a quote.

 

I bought my 2017 Inferno Sport AC simply because it showed up on our lot one day from auction and I was tired of driving a 2011 gray Taco 4x4 SC LB work truck with manual everything. I wanted power options with cruise control and I liked the color, the hard tonneau, the side steps, and yes, the scoop. When my plasti-chrome grille started peeling I replaced it with a pro-style aftermarket (with Raptor style lights of course just to make sure it would bother someone else). It looked better and was half the price of the factory Sport grille. I'm not trying to make my truck a Pro because I don't need a Pro. Most of my driving is on the road and the Sport has better road handling characteristics, period. If I was 45 years younger and still did heavy off-roading I might have made a different call. I just need 4x4 for Michigan winters and to be able to get around my hunting property up north. Who the heck cares if someone adds a "Pro" sticker to their SR model. Did it devalue someone else's vehicle in some way? I think not. My Pro style grille looks much better than the original did. Should I have not done it for fear someone else (who I don't know and probably never will) might be horribly perplexed as to why I did it? Live and let live! Wouldn't it be boring if we all drove matching vehicles? Feel free to change you shocks, springs, grille, wheels, tires, but...don't touch that badging....

 

I think if it’s a 4x4 and says off road it’s acceptable. Either way I doesn’t bother. What bothers me are V-6 mustangs and chargers

 

Being an adjuster is a great gig, just because you had a shitty one and a bad experience doesn’t mean every claim is handled like yours lmao

 

Your claim of better road handling, period, is only true if you are talking stock sport vs stock off road, and even then it’s debatable. Plenty of aftermarket options people choose handle better both on and off road.

 

No, I'm not saying anything. Toyota says the TRD Pro is an SR5 with options. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

I actually ran my vin through a few of these decoders today on a whim and it consistently came back with SR5 even though I have a TRD Pro. With that said it also consistently came back with a selling price of $48k, so I think the insurance company has all the info they need to issue a policy

 

This is what populates when I enter my VIN on Prestige Toyota website: https://parts.prestigetoyota-ny.com/

2021 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport SR-5 GLX 3.5L A/T

E
****

 

I am talking stock and it's not really debatable. The Sport has firmer shocks, a taller wheel with shorter rubber allowing for less sway and less lean in the turns. It is specifically engineered for better road handling. I work in Toyota parts and have taken more product knowledge courses than I care to admit. Toyota states that the Sport in designed for better on-road handling. The Off Road, with its softer shocks and 16" wheels with taller rubber, is designed for better off-road ride and handling. You can turn any SR into a better riding and handling vehicle if you have the time and money to do it but straight from the factory the Sport handles better on paved roads. I do 97% of my driving on road and about 3% off road. Not everyone buys their vehicle to climb mountains and ford streams, that's why they make so many different models.

 

When my Sport DCLB 2nd Gen was totaled last year my adjuster who was 3,000 miles away, tried to pass off a base 2nd gen access cab tacoma and another short bed as equivalent. In NJ they go by what is found within 30 miles of your home. I called bullshit and fought them with identical vehicles that I found on the interwebs and they relented and raised the payout significantly.

 

Am I gonna go straight to hell for this?

Just received these today for my '21 TRD OR. Pulling the "Tacoma" badges off the door for this new "Pro-style" badging. I'd hate to get run outta TW-town for this offense.

 

I just can't believe anyone would choose a Pro style badge. Pulling mine off was job #1. I think they look terrible. Fake bolts and fake machining? Red that matches nothing?

 

Yeah, red and mint green are a terrible combo.

 

I think they look great! I’ve always liked these badges. I’m in the other boat I guess
I can’t understand why someone would take their badges off. No, I don’t need an explanation, thank you