Should I Worry Buying a Used Tacoma That's Been Driven in NY?

Hello All,

I am new to this forum and am seeking a little advice. I currently own an '05 Scion tC and am looking to get into a used four door Tacoma. It's getting more and more difficult to load/unload my now 2 year-old daughter in the tC. My wife wants a minivan and I just won't have that (she has a Rav). Besides, I've always had a soft spot for Tacos.

I have looked at several Tacomas in my area (central Kentucky) and have found one that stands out to me:

CPO 2009, 42K, 4DR, 4x4, SR5, etc. etc.

The price the dealer is asking seems marginally high, but I expect that with a CPO Taco. I'm sure I can get a grand or so off the price.

My main worry: I looked at the free CarFax and the vehicle was a lease from 3/11/09 until 11/2/11 in WEST CENTRAL NEW YORK. I actually grew up in exactly the same town it was emissions tested (coincidence or fate?) and leased in. But, being originally from that area, I know the TONS of salt that go on the roads in the winter. The two winters it was up there were about average snowfall for that area.

We do salt our roads here in Kentucky, but nowhere near as much as NY.

Should I be worried about corrosion/rust after only two winters in that climate?

I have a second test drive (and more thorough self-inspection) set up for tomorrow.

Thanks for the help!

 

no you should not. the tacoma comes with with a warranty 60 months and unlimited miles
http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/warranty.html

 

If it was driven by Scott (BGR) then yes.

 

It depends 100% on how it was cared for. If you don't see a lot of rust and corrosion, then it was likely cared for very well and I wouldn't really worry about it. We buy and sell used cars up in New England daily and you still see lots of much older Tacoma's running around up here... Mine is a 2007, I've owned it since day 1, it's got some rust on the frame but no serious issues that are rust/salt related. If the truck was kept reasonably clean and the undercarraige wasn't allowed to just rust to hell, go for it. Use it as a bargaining chip. If the frame and undercarraige looks bad, like flaking rust, don't go near it.

 

Right, but that only covers "sheet metal" perforation. This does not cover frame rust/rot.

I consider myself fairly handy...do all my maintenance myself. Is any amount of minor surface corrosion on the undercarriage/frame something that can be easily remedied with a steel brush and a couple cans of POR-15, or should I worry about corrosion penetrating areas that I could never reach due to salt.

I'm really on the fence with this one. The problem is that used Tacos with low-ish (50K +/- 10K) files in good shape rarely come available in the trims I want in this area.

Thanks for the FAST responses!

 

Thanks, this helps a bunch. I looked at a '06 in Louisville on Saturday that had some pretty bad looking (flaking, bubbling) rust on a good portion of the frame and I pretty much walked off the lot right then and there. Lo and behold, the car had spent it's entire life in Colorado and appeared to have been left outside, and not in a garage. The interior was nice and clean, but that only means the owner hadn't made a mess of it, or the detailers did a good job.

 

I'm in the Great Lakes region and get more salt than NY. All the OEM parts have been fine after two winters. The 2nd gen Tacoma frame is not boxed, so there isn't a lot of opportunity for "hidden" rust like the 1st gen frames (where the frame rots from inside out). Have a look under the truck when you go to see it.

BTW, certified pre-owned doesn't mean jack. They inspection the dealer does is no deeper than the typical inspection you get during an oil change. It carries the same risk as a private sale.

 

Duplicate...silly me...

 

Thanks...I wasn't actually using the CPO tag as a reason to "pay more." I do like that it extends the original drivtrain out to 7 years and has a 12mo/12K comprehensive though. Just a little peace of mind when spending a fair bit of cash on a used vehicle.

As for your track record with the corrosion bit, that's comforting somewhat. I guess I'll just have to give it a good look-over and make sure it's clean.

 

I looked at a used (1st Gen) that came from Maryland and underneath was real rusty so stay away from the one you're looking at.

 

A good once over from a mechanic of your choice seems reasonable. The price of a used Tacoma is many times just a little less than a new one. Worth looking at if you find the right dealer. There was up to $4K difference in dealers when I bought.

 

Being a lease people dont take care verses them buying it. See if you can find somewhere to put the truck on a lift and get a good look underneath for yourself. Just my opinion. Good luck and hope things work out in your favor.

 

NY STYLZ DB

(This message is brought to you by your friendly neighbor-hood BGR)

 

See, and I had read it can go either way for leased vehicles. Since the lessee is required to keep the vehicle in relatively good shape, you'd think the person would have done that.

Couple of things I'm a bit leery of is on the Carfax, I see two entries, one at 16000 and another at 30000 "Rear brakes serviced/adjusted." Why in the world would a relatively new vehicle need the rear brakes serviced/adjusted? Also, I see that the vehicle was offered for sale on 11/5/11 in NY, and then on 3/19/12 auctioned. Then shipped here to Kentucky and placed for sale at another dealership on 4/4/12. Then on 7/30/12, auctioned again to the current dealership and placed for sale on 7/31/12 before being "certified" on 8/15/12 and relisted.

Should I stay away from a vehicle that has beeen bought and sold by dealerships, sat around for months without being sold to a customer? Is the market that bad where a clean looking Taco would sit without selling for that long? It also leads me to believe the "Toyota Certified" sticker was placed on it as a last ditch effort to sell it.

I don't know...newer Tacomas with relatively low miles in 4DR 4x4 in good shape (EDIT: and the colors I want) are just so hard come by around here. Us Kentuckians must love our trucks...

 

With that kind of history, I'd be really weary of it. I'd want to know why a relatively new truck was put to auction twice, shipped down south, then put up for sale again. I don't know what a dealership or Toyota does to make it 'Certified' but something seems a little odd with that history of sales and auctions.

The brake adjustment wouldn't bother me. It could have been something as simple as a noisy brake that the PO was complaining about.

 

In the snow belt, drum brakes should be serviced every two years or so, to adjust and lubricate all the moving parts in the drum.

All Toyotas nationwide including the tC nowadays specify a brake wear measurement (pad/shoe thickness, disc/drum runout) every 3 years / 30k. Typically dealers would just do a brake service and machine the discs and drums.

 

Ooh boy... year 5 and no brake adjustments

 

You should try removing the drum and have a look inside... that is, if it hasn't rusted shut.

Canadian maintenance booklet:
https://clubtoyota.toyota.ca/ClubToyota/manualSupplement/2010/en/ManualSupplement.pdf

You'd think Canadians know snow. And Toyota doesn't offer the complimentary 2-year maintenance, nor are there any high-profile awards for having the lowest maintenance cost. The maintenance schedule probably represents what the truck needs, not beset by conflicts of interest.

 

There was major flooding last year in New York state prior to deer season which is in November. A dam broke and there were towns that were literally swept away the damage was unbelievable I had to travel many miles to get around the flooded out areas which were closed down so I could get to the area where I hunt. I would be very cautious with that truck based on it's history

 

Interesting point about the flooding. Unless there's a discrepancy in the way dates are entered (dd-mm-yy vs mm-dd-yy), the truck appears to have been leased for 32 months, which is an unusual term.