Buy a New Truck or Repair a 2009 Tacoma?

yeah - I never bothered to do that. My bad.

An online report says around 11K but I can't imagine a test drive will get me that.

 

Well not that have shown pictures,yes dump it,way too much rust.

 

I dropped in to ask the same question as the OP with the exception that my 2009 four door TRD off road has 150k on it and the interior is trashed from burns to dog chewed seats to a chunk of bait I can’t find. The exterior is scratched pretty badly from overgrown logging roads but no dents. I did have the frame replaced under recall and the leaf springs too I recollect. I don’t really like buying new but when I looked at the prices of late model used I said the hell with it. It runs great and it’s never left me anywhere so I’m gonna dump 5k or 6k into it. I’ve got two pre purchase kind of gigs happening this week so those will be the determining factor. 6k for another 100k in miles is worth it but the moment I can’t jump in my truck and drive to the four corners of the country is they day it goes.

 

I love my 2009. 130k on the clock, looks used but no dents. Florida frame has zero rust. The wife wants me to buy a new Tacoma but I don’t see a reason to.

 

I got a price on the Y -pipe for my 2008 V6 , $1000

 

OP, I asked myself this same question (keep and fix or buy) except my central NY Tacoma doesn’t have holes in the frame so I kept it and threw some money at it to fix the cosmetic stuff.

With that hole in the frame I would get rid of it as soon as you can, fly south, but the newest truck you can before thanksgiving, drive it back home and get it undercoated with the waxy/oily stuff of your choice (frame, body, inside doors tailgate, everywhere) take good care of it, and have the undercoating touched up yearly.

That frame is gone and it’s not worth dealing with up here at the point your truck is at.

 

It’s a shame you missed out on the frame replacement campaign

 

Wow, i hope you went aftermarket

 

It was rusted at the flange where it connects to the straight pipe. . Cut that part out and welded new steel piece in there . $100
New York is now going with the same shit pollution laws as California. There is actually a CAT inside the Y pipe

 

Yeah I think you have the right idea since you are reframed. Seats are probably not that bad to find and replace if you are ambitious and DIY, for instance.

I'm at a similar point with my 2010 and 134K, starting to need age based versus mileage based stuff (steering shaft, alternator for instance) but it's better than a payment and I do about 8K a year now working from home. Not to mention that I can't get another single cab without buying something old and about the same age as mine.

Got reframed in 2021 and did all the shocks and coils while I was at it.

 

Yes there is, but it doesn't actually monitor anything, unless the emissions person does a sniffer test at the end of the exhaust.

In VA, they hook something into the OBD2 port, and scan. If there's a check engine light or the scan shows that codes have been cleared then you need to drive for x miles, and come back.
I have had an aftermarket Y pipe for years and its passed several times

 

They do the same here . Just plug it in to look for codes . Check lights and tires and done .

 

I agree 100%. I bought a 2023 and it seems sluggish compared to my 2009 TRD SR5.

 

Get a VW. They use some sort of hot dip coating on their frames and supposedly their vehicles don't have frame/body rust issues.

 

Thanks for all of your help! I ended up getting a 2023 SR5 with 200 miles on it! Some guy got on the waiting list for a new 2023 and leased it only to have his wife make him return it. His loss - my gain! I have a brand new truck and saved about $5K.

The Toyota dealer wanted to give me $8700 but I was able to get almost $11K from one of the larger dealers here in WNY. I noticed they didn't have many Tacomas in their used inventory, and that got me some extra cash.

I jumped on this one and am happy with it, especially since it came with the locking tonneau cover and tailgate. I wish I would have went with a SR5, TRD and a 6 foot bed like my 2009 but this deal was too hard to pass up. I can live without the TRD but I loved that hood scoop on the 2009.

 

Congrats! I think you made a wise choice.

I'm not sure you were seeing the full extent of the damage to the frame based on some of those pics, and it looks like you also had a power steering rack leak that would have needed to be addressed.

I'm in a similar boat with my 2007 w/ 183k on the clock. My truck received a new frame from Toyota back in 2016, but the one thing they didn't replace was the trailer hitch. Your hitch in those pics looks even worse than mine does now, so I can only imagine what the rest of your frame looked like. I'm all for fixing things, but sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel.

That said, I'm still trying to keep mine on the road, but I've had quite a few issues since my frame was replaced ~7 years ago:

- Differential carrier bearings/pinion bearings went out (required a newly rebuilt third member) - also ended up replacing my driveshaft u-joints and center support bearing while trouble shooting this issue
- Power steering rack leak (installed a new rack and tie rod ends)
- Front wheel bearings (fairly common)
- Rear axle seals failed, which took out my axle bearings (somewhat common) - ended up replacing the bearings, backing plates, seals, all drum brake hardware, etc. since I had it apart
- Gauge cluster failure (chased my tail on this one for months)
- New shocks (the originals had some life left in them, but were pretty badly corroded)
- New wheels + new TPMS sensors (the originals were structurally sound, but they looked like garbage; the TPMS sensors still worked, but they were well beyond their design life)
- Front caliper pistons will need replaced soon due to severe corrosion - I may just replace the entire calipers

I'm sure there are some things I'm forgetting, but those are the big ticket items. Every time I tear into it, I'm usually one or two broken bolts away from wanting to set it on fire.

But they still make parts for it, and I keep buying them since they are relatively affordable and readily available, and the truck is pretty easy to work on.

I think I'm going to start searching for an OEM hitch that's in better condition than mine along with a new bumper support (mine looks like garbage right now). I'd like to keep the truck another 3-4 years at least...everything else seems to be in good working order, and I just can't stomach the price of newer trucks right now.

 

Make an appt right away with Krown of WNY, and get it spayed before the salt flies.

Krown of WNY (716 686-9133)
50 Burkhart Ave. (1 mile west of Transit on Walden)

 

Im going through similar, frame is gone but runs great at almost 300k

I found a frame and going to swap it. New trucks are 45k and i have twins in college.

 

This ^^^ Winter is coming

 

Just read your thread. Good call! Enjoy your new wheels.