Question About Experience

Talk me out of the belief, I messed up buying this truck. l

Having owned two previous 2nd gens, I wanted another go at it and got one at end of July.


I love this truck, but the amount of things I’m already having to fix before doing mods of my own, makes me think I overpaid heftily and got taken.

I don’t even know where to start with myself, because the research I undertook to replace my very high maintenance vehicle with something practical and dependable, was a very lengthy and intricate process, to ensure I’d keep it a long time and be content. I have a serious case of what I call “Goldilocks syndrome”.

I’ve already spent quite a bit doing repairs since August, that either it’s just expected for an 8 year old pickup with 103k at acquisition or I’ve been duped big time compared to other “recent” 2nd gen buyers, who have bulletproof trucks.

Wrote a longer post, but cut it down for it not to be too lengthy to start…

 

Well, she looks good. Pyrite Mica is one of my favorite colors on 2Gs. And a manual!

What repairs have you had to do?

 

Those photos don't shed much light -- other than that with the various cosmetic mods (roof racks, window rain shields, fancy wheels and bigger tires, etc.) it would immediately suggest to me it was owned by someone who was into "looking cool," and sometimes these sorts of people also want to "drive it hard" and not really keep up with maintenance...

Everything depends on the maintenance history. Personally I wouldn't buy any used vehicle without a complete, written service history for me to review before purchase. I found a used, private-party sale first-owner 2014 Taco, with 61K miles on it, like this. It took me about a month and going through 15 or 20 different for-sale postings on Facebook Marketplace before I found it.

 

My 2015 with 104k has needed nothing fixed.
The only thing replaced has been brakes and rotors.
Of course I maintain it well.

 

Thanks! It’s why I couldn’t walk away from it. This is a snippet from the story of what happened with this truck and my long search, towards the end of it really:

Since I got back home, I’ve had to replace passenger side half shaft C/V ($570), Brake Fluid Exchange & FS Alignment ($250), Power Steering Pump ($800), Aftermarket LED License Plate Lights with crappy incandescent (state inspection failure), NAV SD card, peeling shift knob, cut+program new keys & fob ($80), serpentine belt ($150).

Plus bent 4600 shock at $700 (my fault LOL), corrected odd camber angles with numerous alignments at both Firestone (not my fault),and Toyota dealer.

• W Glass issues

• HVAC blower motor only works on HI (that will cost nearly $300),
• weak bushings (price unknown)
• clockspring cable has resulted in no horn between 11-1 O Clock positions (quoted $684) by dealer
• shitty Rough Country spacer block lift kit needs to go ASAP after bending shock during low speed desert running.
  • Can’t spend too much right now TBH, so my cap on everything is $2k with labor incl.
• Need to paint over blemishes and existing body damage, but not sure where to find OEM 4T3 clear-coat.
• Carmax valued it at $19,998 to my surprise in mid-August, complaining about transmission hesitation (was really steering pump) and underbody rust.
• Need to fix potential rust issue, despite being in desert Southwest.

I want to definitely keep it, but I really wonder what happened here? Did I buy an 8 year old 103k mile mid-high spec Taco for a reasonable price at $30k with expected issues or did I get cheated on an overpriced clunker?

Dealer service advisor and Firestone insist I wasn’t ripped off, but IDK. My dad doesn’t agree. I’ve been through many ups and downs, hoping I would finally find something which works for me long term, but I’m concerned I’ve bought a money pit instead. Hope not.

I’d prefer to believe I didn’t make a dumb decision buying this exact truck, as it gives me peace of mind, but all of these fixes and rejected warranty claims, I’m getting sick of.

It’s adding up really fast. I’ve already spent $3k (?) and I’m not done yet it seems by a long shot.

 

Could that $30k have gone towards a brand new vehicle with zero problems and a 5 year warranty?

 

All that front end wear makes me think previous owner liked to run 4×4 on dry pavement.
Or just a really bad driver that hit a lot of curbs.

 

$30K?...!

As a point of comparison, I bought my used 2014 Taco V6 4.0L, 6 spd MT, factory tow package w/ 61K miles, clean title, for $25K, in September of 2021. 100% stock, no mods, body + interior in very good condition, zero rust. Private-party transaction w/ first owner, as I mentioned previously. (At that time, CARFAX valued that specific vehicle, with the VIN #, at $27.4K.)

This was in northern / coastal California within 2 hours drive of the Bay Area. CA, being a large & populous state with mostly very mild winters, tends to be a sweet spot for used-vehicle shopping.

 

I know who he is too to a small degree, per the title docs. Problem is, he’s only owner #3 and I’m #4.

He seems like the type you’re describing TBH. I spent a fortune maintaining my last vehicle and I was hoping to get more grounded with a Tacoma instead.

I’m really not sure what I’m in for at this point.

I got really unlucky with the Tacoma marketplace in June-July, where trucks that were truly in excellent condition, often got sold before I could pull the trigger or had unresponsive sellers. I ended up with a very limited selection nationwide, the last week of July I had to make a final decision.

I’ll post an in-depth background in a bit on what happened exactly with buying it, as I tried to not do so initially because of the length.

(Sighs) And that just makes me wonder what I’ve done wrong here…

I had very few problems with my 2014 non-TRD V6 SR5, but then again sold it at 34k miles as the first owner. Apples to oranges in that case.

 

Yeah, 30k is high. The repairs aren’t insurmountable, but what's the rust issue?

 

Yes, $30k. It was very frustrating, as due to proximity and numerous other factors, I had very limited choice.

I took notes on all of the search results nationwide for manual TRD OR DCSB Tacomas, between the 2014-15 model year the month of July 2023. Most had accident history, which I wanted to steer clear of, unlike TRD Sports which seemed much in number.

I’m going to explaining right now all of this.

 

Not trying to poke you, I would be unhappy with all the repairs you've done also.

 

Currently compiling photos and editing text of what I sought out to do when getting this truck and my full experience with the marketplace, dealer, and 3k miles put on it since taking ownership on July 27.

Full post might be ready in an hour or as late as tomorrow.

Thanks, I get it. No foul at all, you’re helpfully sharing your 2 cents to give me some clarity.

I’ve only owned a brand new 2014 Tacoma long enough to judge things compared to this 2015 and the difference of 70-100k miles between both ownerships is harder to gauge.

I had an ‘07 ACLB, which I won’t include as it was a base model.

 

Seems to be a lot of trust in the high priced WyoTech grease monkeys just to have a paper trail. Plenty of owners take care of their own maintenance.

 

It looks like much of the cost of what you’ve had to do is going into paying labor charges. Perhaps your situation doesn’t allow you to do the work yourself. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish with a basic set of tools. The knowledge comes with time & experience. You can find plenty of step by step instructions, and even more people in here willing to share knowledge. You might even find someone close willing to provide some hands on help.

 

Seems like a good truck. I'd just try and be more strategic on the repairs to save.

Regarding HVAC blower only on high: This was a free repair for me. Unplugged blower, bent pins a little with my bare booger pickin' finger, plugged back in. Works

If you like being lifted and already paid for the alignment, a properly sized (longer) bumpstop will protect the shocks. That will save $$ vs labor and realignment. Easy DIY as long as you don't snap off the bolt during removal.

Not to Monday morning QB, but serpentine belt is another easy DIY for like 40 bucks.

 

Strongly agree with the last two posts. If you have some time and space to work, you can knock out a lot of this stuff yourself.

 

CV $50
Brake fluid $10
Alignment free
pump seal kit $11
belt $15
blower motor resistor $20

 

I know what you mean, I got sucked in as my Tacoma has zero rust on the frame. I'm only 4 months into owning blueberry, and she is a high maintenance! But I knew that going in.
I have had to repair or replace so many things already. Im on a very tight budget so I take care of most of the things myself, or with my buddy.
But sometimes when I fix one thing, another breaks. I have gotten past the point of "When will this end" to "If it isn't one thing, its another."

Already spent $6,000 on fixes and upgrades to her.
Im keeping a excel spread sheet just to keep track.

 

O.P. your main problem is you having somebody else fixing small problems,so its the labor that's killing you not really the truck or parts.
Labor is $200 plus an hr.