Copart Tacoma. How to buy a newer Tacoma with out breaking the bank.

Black flares look sweet.

 

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The black flares would look sweet man!

 

I thought about doing that at first, and I don't disagree. I plastidipped them because their is basically no prep time and I didn't have to spend two hour masking the grille off. In short, I was feeling lazy . I may still do it eventually, but for now I kind of like the way it turned out.

I agree with most of you that black flares would look good. Maybe if enough people on here say so I can show this tread to my wife and she will be forced to see it my way (Yeah like that could ever happen)

Side note: Anyone have any experience with roof racks? are they really just a bolt in for double cabs? I found a guy on ebay selling them for a little under $300. I used the rack on my old truck a little but honestly I just think they look cool.

 

Yes do the flares black. I plasti dipped mine too

 

Hey I just checked out your truck pics. It looks good! How long ago did you do your flares and how is it holding up?

 

Damn awesome job!! Sub'd AND Rep'd!
What a great way to learn how to work on your vehicle!

Love the FB too!

 

Thanks for the Rep! Yeah this project is just helping me iron all my kinks out before I begin the body work on the Mustang. I have not verbally admitted it to my wife yet, but I love that POS Fastback shell almost more than her. Of course I think she might already suspect that .

 

You can make a car exactly how you want it, can't do that with a woman! Women (and men- before the ladies pipe in) you have to take as they come and hope its what you want in the end! (some of us just happen to luck out!)

 

The Tacoma passed its first road trip test. 424 miles round trip. The ride was enjoyable and before I loaded up the bed I was getting 19.8 mpg - cruising @ 73 mph!

I only wish I could say the same thing about the honda civic we went to pick up for my sister. The reason I went up there was to help my folks pack up there house since they are headed back to Alaska where we are originally from. Anyways, the wife was driving the civic back when it over heated. Unfortunately it really overheated, completely destroying the engine. We got stuck in Butte for about 3-4 hours since no u-haul's were open on Sunday there. I had to wait for my folks to rent a dolly and drive it down from Missoula (approx. 100 miles). Long story even longer it looks like this event will impact my progress on the Tacoma because I have to swap out engines on the civic now before the end of July when my sister flys in to take it... Luckily I found 3 good looking replacement engines from a local salvage yard for a little less than $400. I just need to give them a call and decide which one I want, then get to work. Oh the joy!

 

I just made what I consider my last few purchase for repairing this truck, namely my driver airbag and new tires (Pictures and writeup to follow soon).

I updated my cost summary spreadsheet for this whole project. By now I think I got a pretty good feel for where I stand. I am kind of curious what others think about my approached. Check out the attached cost summary spreadsheet. I don't think I came out much ahead as far as cost vs. resale comparison but the knowledge I have gain from taking on this project will last me longer then any truck ever will. (well i guess that depends on how many brain cells I kill while finishing the paint work )

here is a quick look:

Original Budget Cost
$10,500

Total estimate cost to complete the truck:
~$11,309.85

Subtract the sale price of my old Tacoma:
$8,100

Finally Cost Out of Pocket:
~$3,209.85

Some things to note:
In my final cost I included items such as taxes, registration fees, new tires, alignment, etc. All these items are standard cost that I would have to pay even if my truck was not a re-builder, but I included them in my cost summary just so I can track it all.

There is still a lot of body work and paint to be done so this project is far from over but for now this is where I'm at...

 

How much do you think you could get trying to sell the truck with a salvage title? All of the too-good-to-be-true auto deals on craigslist are either branded or salvage titles. This thread is interesting.

It's cool you got insurance without issue. But I highly doubt you would have been able to get a loan for the vehicle, right?

 

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I am not sure about a loan, one of the big reasons I went this rout was so I wouldn't need a loan. My initial investment in the truck was ~$7,000 before I could start driving it and what not. I sold my old truck for $8,100 so I still had money left to make more repairs. The rest has been pay as I go.

Banks will always lend you money, you just might not get the auto loan rates you would like since their is not much collateral on the value of the vehicle. It is my understanding though that you can get auto loans on repaired branded titles. As long as the bank sees value in what you are borrowing against they know there is money to be made and they will lend it to you.

As for the value of my truck when all repairs are made... That is hard to guess. My rule of thumb, if I consider buying a repaired salvage vehicle, no matter what condition it is in, including the number of miles, how clean the interior is, or how nice the paint, never pay more than low book. Tacoma's have a funny way of maintaining their value though. If I were to sale it and I felt the repairs were legit a and it was a sound truck all around, I would ask low book for it and not settle for much less if any at all.

 

Yeah, I understand your reasoning. Personally, checking title status is the first thing I look at when searching for vehicles. Might be a hard sell. Who cares tho, you bought this rig for your use - not to just fix and try to make a buck off of.

 

I did the flares maybe a month and a half ago. I have to redo the valence since the damn auto car wash brush peeled part of it away. The flares are so far so good

 

That is the first thing I do too. I wouldn't try to hide the fact the vehicle I am selling was branded (I did not mean to give that impression). But if the price is right and the truck is straight, its an option for someone who wants to save a few bones. But I like you said there is really no point in taking the resale discussion too far because I plan on keeping this one for a while, and the goal was never to make a buck.

Thanks! I think I am going to do it in the near future along with my rims. I saw that you can buy the FJ TRD center caps for the stock taco rims on a post here. They are $10 each and $10 for shipping so total $50 but I think it looks pretty good and a cheap alternative to buying a new set of rims . I am not sold yet on that idea, for sure the fender flares though.

 

Great job! sub'd

 

Man....glad to see someone else out there bringing these Taco's back from the dead! I love all of the work you have done. I used to buy from Copart but I need to be able to see the vehicle before I purchase it if it has been wrecked. Copart does not allow you to get near their vehicles until you have won the bid and have it loaded onto your trailer to take home. If you check out my build....you will see how ugly my truck was when I bought it. Just like your Taco though....Just sheet metal and no damage to frame, suspension or drivetrain. Great job on your build though and as a side note.....don't you wish the pass side airbag had been turned off!!!! Not that difficult to replace the dash but wow is it hard to find a replacement locally!!