Thoughts on buying a Tacoma with accident

@Chew - yup, this will be my first DC Tacoma. And yes, I don't disagree with your 'used' statement. Although under no obligation to fix the damage, I thought the dealer would have prior to putting it on their lot. Just seemed like such an awesome truck to be sitting there with a busted bumper.

In any event, I may still look at used, however concentrate my efforts on a CPO, no accident history, sold at a Toyota dealer, and have our mechanic look it over. I did test drive a 2024 SR5 yesterday. It was a nice truck for sure and felt a bit more comfortable than the 2023 and seemed to drive better also. However, I didn't like it soooo much that it would stop me for looking at a 2022/23. So, the search continues.

 

A wise decision. I’ve purchased multiple CPOs and was very pleased with each one. In fact, my last brand new vehicle was a 2017 4Runner, and the only reason I bought new was because that was the first year of the navy exterior with brown leather interior, and I had to have it. But otherwise I prefer to let someone else take the hit of driving a brand new vehicle off the lot. From a financial standpoint, you are much better off buying a CPO with ultra low mileage. And often the CPO warranty is better than new warranty. It’s a win-win

 

I was talking to a salesperson today and asked if a particular truck on their lot was a CPO. He said..none of them are at the moment. I asked why and he said (this is in Maryland) that you could not certify a Toyota with an open recall. Is that true? I had never heard of it before.

 

found this
https://www.yourlemonlawrights.com/...certified-used-car-have-an-open-safety-recall
Doesn't seem to be specific to Maryland

 

the first and easiest step is to use an OBD code reader that reads airbag codes. the really shady shops just damage the dash indicator so the vehicle systems will still report an airbag deployment, it's just not readily visible when sitting in the vehicle. the same shops will do it for check engine lights as well.

but i don't believe that in toyota's at least, no digital OBD access can give anymore than basic airbag codes(working, self-test, failure). i don't believe that techstream offers the ability to see the date at which components were installed or changed.

to check beyond that, i believe you'd need to gain physical access to the modules to verify the manufacture date. but you'd also need to gain physical access to check for the second shady trick, where they wire a resistor across the airbag wires to allow the system to self-check, but skip installing the real airbag charge.

personally, i would absolutely skip over a vehicle with a known airbag deployment. regardless of the airbag stuff, it means the hit was of significant force, and i'm not comfortable with the idea of what else got jostled loose during that impact.

 

Checking the airbag is sometimes very easy....you can typically see where the bag has forced open the cover in order to deploy. Once that has happened you can't repair it without being obvious (I guess you could if you wanted to spend A LOT of time doing it). The control module would be a little more difficult but would only require removing several of the screws/bolts that hold the center console in place. It's usually mounted to the "tunnel" under the center console stack (radio, heater controls etc). Once the pieces have been removed it would fairly easy to tell, old original ones will typically be covered in dust from years of being in the truck. A newer replacement will be clean. I know this is a little bit of an over simplification, but once you see it you'd understand what I'm talking about.

 

If the frame and engine isnt damaged. Everything is replaceable! I know a few people who flip tacos like that. Good luck

 

Once again, thank you all. I am currently looking at another silver Tacoma. The dealer is Jones and it's located in Bel Air, MD. Anyone familiar with this dealership?
The truck is:
Still under original Toyota Manufacturers Warranty
Is Gold Certified through Toyota
And the seller has agreed to a pre-purchase inspection
url: https://www.jonesusedcars.com/certi...a-Tacoma-9ad3b8d10a0e083a70d4991f869d89d7.htm

I did have an interest in a very nice Lunar Rock Tacoma from CarMax. Really, really liked the color in the shade, however not so much in the bright sun...so I walked away.

Thanks again.