Toyota Frame Settlement Postcard

Hey everyone, my truck is one of those affected by the settlement, but I'm actually right on the verge of trading in for a new vehicle. Does anyone know if I'd be better off waiting for the possible frame replacement, or if it is best to trade in before this is finalized? My gut instinct is that having a brand new frame could only be a good thing and increase the truck value, but I could also see someone looking at that and assuming that new frame means some kind of serious damage happened and lower their offer. My plan is to trade back in to a dealer, not a private sale.

 

Trade in or sale it now will mean that truck no longer will qualify for frame replacement. For the current class action, it qualifies only for owners who purchased their vehicles prior to Dec 2, 2016. Tough decision, suggest take good look at the frame, if it has rust holes, then perhaps a frame is in its future should you wait.

 

When I was shopping for a truck I was specifically looking for a second gen with a newly replaced frame! This meant I was spending more money but I also knew that buying a truck after December of 2016 I would not be part of the class action suit and therefore have a more difficult (if not impossible) time getting a frame replacement if needed.

Take it to the dealer and see what they will give you for it, if its what you want and you were going to get rid of it anyway then it doesn't matter. Don't mention anything about the frame. If they bring up your frame and try to give you less then you can take then you probably have your answer.

 

It will be interesting to see how dealers are treating a badly rusted trade-in, it has to knock down the resale value and one would think the trade-in value as well...

 

Unless the condition of your frame hurts the value of your truck I would trade it in. It sucks that someone else will end up with a rusted frame, but better for you in the long run. Do you think your frame has a 10mm hole in it?

 

You think they actually know to check the frames?

 

Depends on the dealer. Some of them are completely clueless and just see a Toyota Tacoma with a high resale value!

Another dealer may tell you that your truck is a rust bucket and offer you next to nothing, then turn around and replace the frame on their time and sell the truck for $15K+!

 

It ha been a well-publicized ongoing issue for over five years, I should hope they know. Any dealer than doesn't needs to be crossed off your list. When we were looking at our '09 last October one of the first things I did was crawl under it--the sales people knew just exactly what I was looking for, one of them said "Not a spot, right?"...

 

I would think its 50/50. Either way, @akjone02 has the upper hand.

1. The dealer says sorry, your truck has too much rust, then akjone02 says, ok heres the outcome of the class action lawsuit, ill wait until you replace the frame and then sell it.

2. The dealer is clueless and gives him the value he desires.

 

I called my local Toyota dealer this morning to find out if they were prepared for the frame replacement stuff, just to see if I could get my foot in the door to get mine looked at as soon as the settlement was up. The service guy there said he'd never heard of any of this and that it was all a scam. He insisted there was no rusting on the 2010 frames and anyone telling me otherwise was incorrect.

This is a good idea and probably what I'll end up doing. If they tell me the frame is hurting the value I'll wait, if they say it all looks good then awesome.

I just crawled underneath to take a look. I don't know that I spotted anything truly horrible, but I really have no idea what I'm looking at.

 

Looking at your pictures I'd say It's unlikely there are any perforations > 10 mm, however as you live in a rust-belt state it likely would qualify for the CRC treatment provided for by the suit.

That said however having now lived here in Florida for 26 years (after 45 in New England) I guess I forgot how the road salt eats up a vehicle. You'd never see a Taco like that on a Toyota dealer's lot around here. The snowbirds come here in the Winter and trade 'em in and the dealers promptly wholesale them off to the "buy here/pay here" places...

 

I dont know how many miles you have on your truck, but it honestly doesnt look that bad. My 2010 with 14K miles on it looks about the same.

It also sounds like the dealer is clueless about the rust, so I'd say go trade it in man and see what happens. Its a win/win for you either way.

 

I've been comparing my frames rust with other ones I see every chance I get, and I can say there are far worse ones out there...a lot of them probably shouldnt even be on the road any more.

 

It's a 2010 and I've got just shy of 75k miles on it. I'm impressed that you've only got 14!

I'd drive this thing for another 75k miles and be happy with it, great truck. But when I bought it I went as bare bones as I possibly could: Manual transmission, no remote locks, really no amenities at all. 7 years later and I think it's time for a few upgrades.

 

Haha yeah I can understand that. I actually just traded in my 2014 GTI that I put 85K on for the Tacoma with 14K. It actually came pretty well equipped, only thing it doesnt have that the GTI did is Bluetooth and heated seats. Some old guy was the previous owner that must have only drove it in the winter.

 

Hi Everyone, is it possible to opt out from the frame replacement, and receive monetary compensation instead? From my understanding, this has been an option in the past with other frame recalls.

Thanks!

 

Pretty sure you missed the deadline for opting out.

 

Thanks for the quick reply dmarsh15. I thought that the opt-out option deadline was march 27, but this was for those who did not want to receive any settlement benefits.

 

Oh ok, I dont think you can opt out and receive money instead. I am pretty sure its either frame replacement, frame coating or nothing.

 

Hey guys I just bought 07 taco dblcab trd off rd from south carolina. it was a private seller...so does this apply to me? if so, how do i get it fixed?