Buying from a used car lot

used dealerships weird me out in general.
I feel like they tamper with the software to make stuff break in time, so you come back

 

thank GOD for carfax!!! hats off to the OP for doing his homework!

edit: ...and 1st gen'ers help'n a brother out!

 

I ran the VIN through www.toyota.com
Order date 7/04
Date of first use 9/20/04
8/27/10 water pump replaced.
7/15/14 spare tire cable replaced under recall.
3/16/17 oil change Huntington CA Toyota 78,825 miles.
N.Y. Inspection sticker still good.

 

Seems shady to me with the 1 month ownership and structural damage at that time. Then 3rd owner accident. Now it shows the truck was in the west coast and now east coast. This is how they do title washing.

 

i wonder if the photographer is handicap?

buy yeah,... structural damaged (frame rust?)... then an accident. that's a hard pass for me.

 

Dude, you know someone is totally going in to scoop this before you get there. you better hurry!

Also, Carfax only knows what is reported (voluntarily) to it.

But who cares if the frame has been replaced or there was structural damage reported?

If it was fixed properly, it would be BETTER than new. Focus on what it looks like now, not how it got there.

 

Buy the truck, not the seller.

 

That Toyota emblem isn't stock

 

That does look really good. I say if there's no frame rust, you should probably move quickly.

 

None of those are stock. The "Tacoma V6" looks like it's from a 2nd gen, and that "Toyota" emblem is far too small, not sure what that's from...

But, those are just badges and have nothing to do with how good of a truck it may be. It could just be a sign of repainting the tailgate, or just that the PO like the look better...

 

If you know what your looking at it's worth a look BUT everyone is right, that jumping state lines with auctions bullshit is a good way to clean a salvage title.

 

Good eye, the font of the Tacoma emblem is different for sure. I agree they're just badges but it's worth noting as it could point to an accident/repair.

 

Thanks for running that for me! or maybe I missed it on their posting regardless I think I'll avoid the truck on that note

 

For sure. But like I said in an above post, as long as the work was done correctly, it's like even better than original. So the fact that "repairs we made" shouldn't scare people off.

Look at the condition it's in NOW.

 

I noticed that and was sketched out, that was part of the reason I asked for peoples thoughts. Good eye Thanks!

 

not everything is reported to Carfax

 

Being that it was in an accident then sold off and auctioned. I suspect it was intercepted in the salvage process. Not supposed to be able to do that but I know for a fact it used to happen a lot.

 

Exactly what I was going to say. We all know the OEM tailgates are junk anyways when you're actually hauling stuff.

 

When I was looking for my truck this year, I was weary of the same thing. However, as most people have said, just get a carfax and make sure the vin matches, then just go through the truck with a fine tooth comb. Check the frame for sure and any suspension components, look for leaking oil etc.

 

Look it over closely and make a list of all the problems you find. Use that list to knock down the price and figure out how much you're going to have to put into it as well. Eventually either you'll find a price you're comfortable with and you'll get it, or they'll still want too much for it. It all depends on how badly they want to get rid of it.

For what its worth, my other truck sat on the used lot for 18 months before I got it - because of the manual transmission. Its been rock solid for 12 years.