Buying a wrecked Tacoma - worth it?

I bought my first Tacoma a couple of months ago. I had been looking for a while, and wanted a 3rd gen 6MT, I did not want an automatic. Considering I didn't have 30k+ to drop on one, and 6MTs are hard to find, I decided to go the route of buying a wrecked one from Copart. It was the first time I'd bought anything on Copart. So in case anyone else is considering doing it, I figured I'd write up a somewhat detailed account on how everything penciled out. Obviously repairing a wrecked vehicle can vary widely, but in my experience, I found it to be worth it.

First off, I do every single bit of work on my own vehicles. It probably seems obvious, but if you don't do your own work, don't buy a wrecked Tacoma lol. Anyway, I ended up buying a 2022 TRD OR 4x4 with 7,000 miles, red, 6MT, tech package, leather heated seats and such. The first photo shows the damage. No airbags were blown, and it started right up when I went to Copart to check it out. So I decided to bid on it.



The big thing to be aware of with Copart is the fees! I ended up winning the auction at $17,800. However, by the time I paid the fees and got it hauled to my house, i had $19,700 into the truck. Still, I was very happy with that. Then the work began!

I spent roughly $2500 on parts that I needed to get it fixed. Hood, fender, control arms, spindle, headlight, core support section, and then a coastal Offroad front bumper kit.

When I first looked over the truck, I didn't see any frame damage. But when I tore down the front end to replace the bent control arms, I discovered a slightly (1/2") bent LCA bracket. Which brings me to a big discovery of mine: a wrecked truck will always have more damage than you think. I also discovered the bed was slightly tweaked in reference to the cab (it must've shifted when the accident happened. It was an easy fix, loosen bolts and adjust the bed). Anyway, the LCA bracket was easily fixed by a bit of welding and a hammer.

Once I got the suspension rebuilt, I had to get the core support straight. I pulled as much as I could out with a chain hoist, then cut two sections out and welded new sections in of the most bent up parts. Toyota sells those pieces individually, which is handy. It's still a pain to get everything straight. It took me several hours of mocking up body panels, tweaking things, and mocking it up again to get things straight. It's still not perfect, if you are within 5 feet of the truck you could tell it's not factory body gaps. But its more than good enough for me.



Then I bought some other mods to make it how I want. 10k winch, LEDs, Bilstein 5100s and Eibach leveling springs, and I am currently wiring in an aux fuse block and dual battery setup and getting the lights and winch put in. All that stuff was about $1500.

Fortunately I live in a state where a) people without a dealer's license can buy salvage auction vehicles and b) getting a rebuilt title is pretty simple, just needed a brief 15 minute inspection and receipts for parts.

I still need to paint the replacement panels, I have the paint here, just haven't gotten time yet. But all in all, I ended up with a 2022 TRD OR with 7,000 miles for less than $24,000 set up with a steel bumper, winch, 5100s, and dual battery. I probably have in the neighborhood of 100 hours into the rebuild. The body panels aren't perfect, I had to hammer and weld a bit on my frame, and it has a rebuilt title. But it drives like a brand new truck and its got a full life left ahead of it. If I was to buy a clean title Tacoma for $24,000, it would either be 10 years old or have 120k miles. Or be a base model. None of which I really wanted.

Anyway, the big things I would advise if you are going to do this is
1) have cash (can't get a loan to buy from Copart)
2) have the tools/space to do your own work! I did everything myself, even did my own alignment after the repair/level kit
3) Go look at the vehicle in person before the auction!
4) Plan on keeping the vehicle for a long time (rebuilt title hurts resale obviously)
5) Don't go all OEM parts (especially for cosmetic/body panels). I would've spent thousands more to rebuild with all OEM parts, and you won't end up saving much then.
6) Be okay with driving a vehicle that isn't showroom quality. I care much more that I have low miles, solid drivetrain than I care that my hood is 1/8" farther from my headlight than it should be.
7) Expect to spend more on parts than you think. It adds up fast, especially unexpected things.

Overall, I would definitely do this again. It's a lot of work, but in my opinion worth the savings. Sorry for the novel, hope it helps somebody out looking to do this.

 

cool!
Great warnings too! It is not for everyone, and not for those who intend to pay someone else to do the work.
Also worth mentioning; in many states you can't get full coverage insurance, and the resale considerably lower.

 

the stock LCA mounting tabs are weak. Theres many upgrades out there.

 

Thanks for sharing, very interesting

 

I was going to say - Don't touch it with a 10' pole unless you are willing to take the risk of additional work once you do the teardown AND willing / able to do the work yourself. - You've gone and done just that!

Congratulations!

I think you ended-up on the winning side after all! - Not too much hidden damage and despite a few warts (Salvage title, etc.) still on the winning side based on the $$ you've got in it.

Good post and reference.

 

My favorite color welcome from Denver!

 

My truck has never been in a crash, yet I've replaced/upgraded every part in that list except the core support... So I fully support this approach if you got the workspace and tools to get it done

There are websites that sell painted body panels. I don't have a paint booth or spray equipment to do that properly.

 

do you have a picture of it fixed?

 

This!

 

Insurance can be really difficult to obtain on salvage title vehicles.

 

Right on, congrats!! Looking forward to a pic when it is complete

 

Welcome to the forum
Great first post - "(re)built not bought"

Nice color too!

 

I work for a large heavy equipment auction and would 100% agree with this!

We've had many people spot easy fixes on vehicles before they go up for auction that we wrote off as inoperable and end up getting a steal of a deal. Doesn't always end up that way but there are gems to be found.

There's currently a metallic red F150 Lariat DCSB with low miles in decent shape inside and out in our inoperable row that all it needs is a new engine cuz the current one is knocking bad.

Also have a 2021 Toyota Sienna Hybrid with 13k miles on it. It has a rebuilt title but is otherwise in amazing condition that if you could get over the title it could be a great vehicle!

 

I have full coverage on my salvaged 2010 Corolla here in California, “mercury” all they said is if I was in an accident my payout would be less , and it was more for the insurance on my Corolla then my 2020 Tacoma . Either way let’s see some finished photos !!!

 

Nothing as its not mine. Just another vehicle that came in to be auctioned off

 

here's how it sits now. Like I mentioned, I haven't painted the replacement panels yet but that is coming soon. I really like how the coastal offroad bumper went together, highly recommend it for anyone who wants a weld together bumper kit.

 

Can't see the picture.

 

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and worse to make an insurance claim if hit

 

Welcome to TW.

 

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