How severe? Did I get beat?

You can check the Carfax to see where it lived during it's life. But being from Florida I would bet it was driven on the beach....literally in the shallow salt water.

 

I’m from New Jersey and my truck looks just about as bad as that. Frame was replaced in the mid 2000s so it’s fine but everything else is slowly falling apart. I’ve been slowly replacing things as they go bad or rot. It’s honestly not that bad since I try to do all the work myself but rusty bolts sure do suck.

 

If they won’t take it back, would asking them to clean up the undercarriage at their service department be too much to ask?

 

It does not need to be north to get rusted like that. Very possible it was "driving on a beach" truck. Ocean water will do the same as stuff they put on the road up north.

On one of those pictures it looks like your dealer did a hammer test on the frame, so probably it is not as bad as it looks. It looks like this truck was coated by Toyota's recall campaign (which we know did not do anything good to prevent the frame from rusting), either the coating was put over the already lightly rusted frame or it is now flaking off revealing the layer of rust under it. If you are going to keep this truck I'd recommend to clean that frame from the coating and rust and paint it properly with rust-eating paint. It's a lot of work but better to deal with surface rust now, than rotted frame later. All other rusted parts, bolts, shields, e.t.c. you will have to deal with them when the time comes for maintenance or repair. Be ready for the fact, that most of those bolts will break when you try to undo them.

 

did you get a CarFax from salesperson to verify its registration history?

 

When I see such suggestions I'm always wandering: "sell it" to whom? Even if the new owner buys it cheap (loss is taken) he still will have to "Messing with that damage will only cost more and more and aggravate (piss you off) every step of the way....for years.". So you are saying that dealing with all that $hit is OK if you play less? In that case why bother selling it - take the loss (like you would sell it) and deal with all that mess yourself.

This truck is not done yet, with some patience, money and skills it can come back to glory (if engine and driveline is fine). Of course if you can get any help from the selling dealer (I doubt - they already spent that Christmas bonus) it will be better. I don't think they are at any fault - they did not cover up the rust or the condition of the truck. It was sold "as is" and "as is" was clearly visible (with look at it with flash light). One positive thing is that average blue book value went up in Florida when this selling price was registered

 

In this day How could you not have requested more pictures before you drove that far.

Then I drove 14 hours one way to buy a Truck to have Mother Nature Drop 3 big Trees up hill on it before I got it off the trailer

It happens Over Come with Tacoma Lust we all I think have been bitten in one forum or another

 

Yes, you overpaid based on condition. What is important now is to determine if the truck frame is salvageable. I would take it to an independent shop and have it fully inspected as mentioned above and get a report. If the frame needs to be replaced, I would take it back to the dealer and see what they can do for you.

 

We all get taken at one point or another. It happened to me with my very first vehicle; I took the seller's word, and didn't get it inspected, nor did I ask friends for their advice. In the end, I was able to prove that the seller lied about the vehicle condition, and it all worked out. Unfortunately, this is not your situation...

So right now you have to ask yourself if you're willing (and able) to take on this project, knowing that it's going to cost you more money, in addition to time & possible aggravations. Is this your only vehicle? Are you single? Do you have a wife, and young kids? Do you have the time to make this a top priority?

If you sold it, you'd likely lose 1/2 of what you paid. If you take on the project, and it costs you an additional 1/2 of what you already paid for the truck, plus time & aggravations, will it then be worth it?

Welcome to TW, and good luck.

 

If you can't get your money back. You can try selling it to "We buy any car" Not sure if you have them where you live. I got rid of two of my wife's junk BMW's that way.

 

One thing is for sure: you're not going to get anything back from the selling dealer by asking nicely. Don't under-prepare for that effort also - do some research, read this forum for similar experiences and good luck.

 

doesn't look all that bad. most vehicles of that age up by me are the same or worse. frame looks like it was coated by toyota a few years ago and is starting to flake off.

as long as the frame is solid, everything else can be replaced fairly easily. just need extra elbow grease and to expect some broken/stripped nuts and bolts working on the rusty ones. check the brake lines, replace any necessary parts, and then run the truck. no big deal.

 

in fact, if you replace the gas tank skid and those brake shields and take the same photos again, it would look pretty decent under there. you can get those parts from a junk yard (or an "online" junk yard parts website) for pretty cheap

 

https://www.ipacket.info/9D407F5E-21C8-11EA-8049464782AADBF9

 

^^^ OPs new to him truck


perhaps a good FF soaking treatement will help loosen any stiff stuff up
my pure mid west 'non garage queen' tacoma seems to drive so smooth and buttery!, never been better! after i drizzled a thick FF coating on all those parts
it is supposed to work the wonders, that FF



#hardcoretacolife

 

I uploaded the link.. check it out

 

Guys I have a question about the 1st gen rust issue. Are most of the problems with the rust coming from heavy snow areas where the roads are being salted a lot? The reason I ask is I have an 01 Tacoma and live in Eastern North Carolina, I do my own oil changes so I am under the truck every 5,000 miles and so far I haven't seen any rust. Just curious.

 

salesguy lied to you
that carFax shows this was a PA truck for a really long time


moved from Ohio to Florida a couple years ago