Should I be worrying about the tacoma I bought?

I recently bought a tacoma in Milton, WV; I'm in Texas. Everything in pictures seemed great, frame looks good etc., so I went with it. I've been really busy with school so my dad has been helping me out with finding a way to get it to me. He spoke to a woman today that works at a transportation company and was said something among the lines of buying a car from WV was not a good idea, it's a mining town with bad roads and such. I didn't hear the conversation but my dad said she was very upfront and I guess you could say she sounded concerned. Anyway, is that all bullshit? Should I really stress about what she said? I mean from the pics and maintenance records and such it looks in excellent condition.

 

did you buy a truck without seeing it in person? that would be concern #1

 

Yes, the truck is in West Virginia, I am in Texas. You can see it here: http://www.haroldeastermotors.com/2002_Toyota_Tacoma_Milton_WV_268047036.veh

I know it's typically a risk to buy without seeing but I did. My question is however can someone really just say upfront that buying from a certain region is bad?

 

How can you tell the frame looks good? there is one half-ass picture of it.

The WV comment seems dumb to me, so I wouldn't worry about that, but the buying the truck without actually looking it over first is more concerning as the other guy above said. Good luck

 

Thanks. The dealer said it's rust free before I even asked, and seemed to have a lot of knowledge of tacomas. Also seemed to be an honest dude on the phone but who knows for sure, only time will tell.

 

Looks like the frame has undercoat on it, not saying this is the case but they coulda sprayed over existing rust. Buying from anywhere that they put salt on the roads a lot I would want to check the frame in person.

The frame could be solid, but could also fail a puncture test. The rest of the truck looks pretty clean.

 

buying from regions certainly have their risks. Buying from flood regions is one, buying above the salt belt is another. As far as suspension, just be prepared. In fact, if i was buying a truck not seeing it in person, part of my price would include assuming ball joints, struts, whatever need replacing, as that would have been one thing i physically checked.

 

My initial impression is the truck looks well-taken care of. I'm not familiar with that area so I can't speak to the lady's opinion. You already bought it so no need to worry, just start planning for repairs and preventative maintenance that you can start doing.

 

that about does it.

 

There is not a right or wrong answer to your question of "should I worry." If you want to worry you can, or you can just drive the truck, take this from someone who tends to worry.

Tacoma's have a frame rust issue that is accelerated by the salting of roads in the winter here in the northeast.

I wasn't aware of this until I moved here, so don't feel bad.

I'm pretty sure I looked at this truck online while shopping for a Tacoma earlier this year.

To be honest this truck looks like it had the CRC coating on the frame (or another type). This could be ok, or it could be hiding rust holes. You won't know until you have hands on the truck. You are bringing the truck back to Texas so it probably won't rust any further. Just take care of it and drive it until the wheels fall off.

Life is a learning lesson, just make sure to "fail forward!" If the truck drives for another ten years and you are happy then awesome. If the frame erodes out from under you then you'll do a lot more research in the future and be the most informed truck/car purchaser in the world.

 

Having lived there for a while I can say that her concern is a bit much. It's all in how you take care if your vehicle. Milton was a nice place. Smaller town so I bet you it spent some time on dirt roads and such. Heck I even drove up a driveway near there that could have been designated an off road trail. However these trucks can handle it. Be ready to pay for some maintenance and hope the frame is good. My truck was originally bought in WV and lived there and Virginia and PA for most of its life and is still kicking at nearly 200,000.

 

For me it would depend on the $. Looks like a nice truck.

 

I'll second that...that it is a sweet truck!

 

Yeah, I wasn't really worried until what that lady said.

I really hope the coating is not the case, replacing a frame is very expensive (I think)

That's good to hear. I'm not sure what that lady was concerned with tbh. Thanks for that input, feel a bit better about it now.

 

There are some areas I would be concerned about. The general area of Milton isn't one of them.

 

hell, with the state of today's roads it cant be much worse than buying from somewhere else

 

When I first read your post I was reminded of when I went to the dealer to get my current Tacoma. The sales person told me to take it for a test drive down a particular bumpy road to test the suspension...I was thinking "This truck has 100K miles on it, it will need new shocks, and quite frankly I can fix suspension." I drove it to a parking lot and went over the frame with a fine toothed comb.

To me it sounds like the person on the phone wasn't particularly familiar with Tacoma's as much as just concerned with you buying a truck from a rural mining town that has bumpy roads with tons of potholes.

There are lots of people out there with great information and people with not so good information. Learn to sort between the two...Tacoma World is a great place to get learn some things.

 

Spoke to the dealer and they're going to text me more pictures of the frame after it's done storming. Said they understand my concern and they've had a few (guessing tacomas with bad frames) there but "this is by far the best of the 100 we've had." Will update later with pics

 

Outside of a bad frame or whole truck overdue for maintenance you should be fine assuming you can turn a wrench.

All these trucks are getting old and will need replacement parts at some point. Fortunately the knowledge and parts are plentiful. Throw in the chance you want it mod or upgrade yourself and it is mostly a moot point. The fact you are here is a telltale sign that you will be spending money and time I hit anyways..

 

I would not concern myself with the opinon of "the lady."