2015 TRD 4x4 *possible* purchase

Hey yall,

Tacoma lifer here… Im considering buying a 2015 TRD 4x4 Tacoma & I have til today or tomorrow, to decide on it. A dealership sold it to a smaller dealer, whose trying to sell to me. Tacomas are crazy priced right now & I think this a truly good offer, but my concern is - the dealership did their own inspection & decided to sell it off because of a possible “Transfer Case leak” that they didn’t wanna take time n money to fix - service mgr said they’re just very picky & stringent & have tons of inventory to sift thru. I don’t know anything about this, I have called some mechanics & they’re like 50/50 on if it’s ok to buy it Vs just simply fixing it. They say it’s not a hard/ or expensive thing to fix - which I probably would if I buy it for peace of mind. I don’t use 4x4 - but it’s a well maintained NEWer Tacoma that’s within my price & im in need of a truck in next 2-3 days. Its the best, cleanest,& newest of the Tacomas I’ve found - in hopes of not having to worry about mechanical issues for long time. I haven’t seen or verified the possible leak - the seller swares there’s nothing mechanically wrong with the truck - Should I be concerned about this BEFORE purchase?? or is this typical & not an issue if I’m not using 4x4 & it would just be a coming thing to occur & would just be an easy fix & is worth buying the truck ??

Thanks - JD

 

How much do they want for the truck? How many miles?

 

How much and where are the pictures my dude.

 

Asking 21900…. I found out about these issues & intend to go lower on my offer to account for fixing issues …(reached out to dealership that did initial inspection) & they also said it has a worn center bearing…. Wasn’t told to me 1st time I called…. I assume these are related - but fixable too — what’s your thoughts

 

Not enough info provided to comment on the pricing.

How bad is the “possible transfer case leak”?

Worn center bearing is no big deal to replace, assuming that is the driveshaft center/carrier bearing. I change those about as often as tires. It’s worth it to do the U-Joints at the same time as the carrier bearing.

 

I haven’t seen/ driven the truck yet. This just what I know from researching & trying to do homework on it prior to going to talk to the guy & looking at & driving the truck. If I were to buy - is it safe to drive on a worn bearing being it affects the driveshaft

 

You need to look at the frame for rust.

 

This reminds me of those Craigslist ads where the vehicle "just needs a new battery/ carbs cleaned", etc.

I would personally not be okay with a mystery issue on a $20000 purchase.

Of you're interested and unable to inspect for yourself, get a third party mechanic to inspect. Do not rely on the opinion of the selling dealer or the dealer who offloaded it.

Also, like the other posters said, you need to take into account miles and frame condition (rust) outside of any mystery TC leak.

 

I was gonna take it to a mechanic - to put it on a rack & inspect it

 

If you buy the truck, fix the carrier bearing. It’s not expensive and is an easy replacement if you have the tools.

That said, unless it’s literally hanging by a thread, you can probably drive several thousands of miles with it being “worn” and be ok.