Used purchase / rust concern?

Yes its worth a shot,don't panic,if Toyota says no,just patch that bad spot ,clean up the frame and coat it.

 

Weld that sucker up!

 

Wow, that spot near the cats is about to rust right through. Mine looked exactly the same last fall and got my new frame a few months later.

I really hope a dealer will approve you for a new frame because thats about to rust right through.

If you have the service records on hand, also check to see if the headgasket was ever done on that truck. Based on others from here, the headgasket issue with the 2005-2006 starts to fail around 150k-175k miles.

 

Thanks for the tips. I don’t see the head gaskets in the service records. What would be the signs of an issue there? Didn’t think I would be hearing about those after coming from a Subaru haha. No worries, I’ll look into that as well. I’ll post back after the dealer today.

 

Damn that sucks.... maybe go back to the dealer and tell them you have buyers remorse and see if they’ll do anything for you.

That doesn’t look safe to drive

 

I would get a qualified shop to inspect the frame for safety issues. Ask for a written report regarding the rusted frame,safety issue and the cost to fix. Take it back to the independent dealer and show it to them.

Tell them you were sold a unsafe vehicle and you want to return it. They will most likely come back and offer to pay for the fix.

Then it’s up to you. You can go for the fix,or take the legal route.

A car dealer can’t sell you a unsafe vehicle and have no responsibility. He may not have known about it, but once it was disclosed in that short time frame,he sure does. Good luck!

 

With those miles the head gasket issue has already been dealt with or may never even happen.
Hopefully you got a frame inspection or at least an appointment by now.

 

I got the frame inspected and Toyota says it needs a new frame. Like you guys said, they say yesterday was the last day. They told me they have submitted an appeal to Toyota with pictures, I guess to see if they’ll still cover it. It’s gonna be next week before I hear back. All I can really do is wait to see what happens I’ll post an update later on. I have a lot better understanding of my options now. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

The "head gasket issue" is severely overblown and misrepresented.
Fact is that there *is no* head gasket issue.

ANY vehicle, with a bit of bad luck, can end up with a failed head gasket. There is no engine that is immune to it, except for some 2-stroke engines that don't actually *have* a head gasket (the cylinder block and head is a single piece).

The notion of there being an issue is due to the fact that Toyota improved some elements related to the mating surface and gasket, so that your bad luck would have to be somewhat more severe for the gasket to fail, but this does not in any way suggest that there will be an unusually high chance of it happening even with the older design.

Unless you see a head gasket related issue, don't sweat it.

 

And just to add to that slightly, the "Subaru" issues with head gaskets are old news. They were caused by stresses related to having a hot engine and a cold intake manifold. When things get hot, they get slightly larger. Being that the Subaru engine is horizontally opposed, that means that as the engine gets hot, it actually gets a little bit wider, but the intake manifold doesn't -- rather it gets smaller because of fast air and vacuum. So you have the two things bolted together, one getting bigger as the other gets smaller, naturally, there is going to be some stress and eventual failure.

The reason I say that the head gasket problem is history is because they're now using plastic intake manifolds.

 

Hey guys just wanted to post an update.

Things aren’t going that well, honestly it’s a mess. I worked with the Toyota dealership, in the end they said they cant help me because I was one day late. They told me to call corporate so I worked with them for a while and they also told me they wont help me because I was one day late. At that point (1 week ago) I went back to the dealer who sold it to me, AutoNation, and they said no worries they’re definitely gonna take care of me and if all else fails “they’ll buy the truck back”. They reached out to their Toyota dealer, who also said they can’t do anything.

When I brought it to the first Toyota dealer for the “frame inspection”, they pounded on the frame and revealed some pretty big holes, which are the pictures I included. Now the AutoNation is pointing the finger at Toyota saying they damaged the truck and they should fix it, and saying this kind of rust is normal (obviously not). Toyota won’t do anything. Toyota said this is a safety issue and bring it back to AutoNation, AutoNation says this isn’t a safety issue.

The head manager at AutoNation says they wont be able to buy the truck back since it’s outside their 5 day window, even though the first manager and two sales reps said they would get me taken care of. They also said they would trade me into another car, which is what I was hoping for but now they say they may not be able to do that.

Today the head manager said he’s gonna call Toyota again to see what they will do. So everyone is denying responsibility for the issue and it sounds like they’re gonna try and make me keep the truck. I brought it down to Armorology in the Springs and they said it was not repairable, reinforcement is a no go and it’s gonna need a new frame. I’m still trying to work it out with AutoNation but the only option I see beyond that would be for them to repo the truck (I put some down but am paying on the rest) which seems horrible but possibly not as horrible as paying off and dealing with this truck for a long time. There’s no way I’d be alright if a $14k-20k frame repair comes up. Yea I guess it’s my fault for being a day late... it’s stupid. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

 

Its time for you to call a lawyer. I am absolutely serious, you have no alternative. Your lawyer will be able to refer to the proper consumer protection laws in your jurisdiction and put pressure on the proper parties to make it right for you.

 

Yea you’re probably right thanks

 

I'm not even a lawyer up kinda guy, but yeah this is exactly what they are for. Lawyer up. I don't believe a dealer should be able to sell you a truck like this and get away with it unless you specifically signed a no warranty as is sale agreement. They sold you an unsafe vehicle. You aren't being mean or nasty to anyone by simply making sure your rights aren't trampled. It might still not break in your direction, but having someone in your court will exponentially increase your chances. Even if you can't get it fixed you'll know you did everything reasonable to try.

Also, my two cents having used lawyers a few times, and forgive me if you know all this. Don't go with the cheapest one you find. It's like surgeons and tattoo artists, cheaper is not always a great thing. This shouldn't be super expensive but a good lawyer with a solid reputation and up front estimate is often cheaper in the long run than someone that quotes low but finds creative ways to up the bill as you go along, and the results are often better.

Talk to a few, they give free consultations usually, and choose someone knowledgeable. Ask what kind of similar situations they've dealt with and what the outcome was. Don't necessarily go with who makes you feel the most comfortable, these guys and gals basically act for a living if they are trial lawyers and are often really good and making you feel comfortable. Lawyers are just people though, there are some bad eggs but most of the ones I've dealt with are decent people, much like mechanics.

All the best of luck!

 

Most people don't realize this, but "as is" doesn't always mean "as is" -- in fact, most of the time, it does NOT. There are still legally implied conditions on the sale. Now of course, jurisdiction has a lot to do with it, but even "as is" implies a certain fitness for the purpose on which the buyer is buying it. So "as is" means that stuff might break on it and need repairs, but it does NOT mean that the vehicle might be scrap.

Now if the vehicle was bought as SCRAP, that might be different. BUT, even then it isn't absolute. As an example, lets say that you were buying a vehicle as scrap, and said to the seller that you want the back differential because of reasons A, B, C. If the seller knows that it doesn't meet those characteristics, or that the back differential is completely trashed, and he fails to inform the buyer of this, then that is fraudulent misrepresentation (even if the seller is silent), which voids the sales contract and entitles the buyer to being put back where he was when he started.


Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a holiday inn express while reading a business law textbook upon which I have an exam in 3 days.

 

Auto Nation sold you a non road worthy truck,I really think its on them to correct the situation.

 

Dude, you are WAY late to the party. Can't be repaired because there's no metal to weld a patch to. He's been denied replacement for being 1 day late in filing. He's at the lawyer stage now.

 

I would bet if you told the car dealer that your only recourse now is through the legal system since you sold me a unsafe rusted dangerous vehicle, he may just go ahead and refund your money.

He may just be testing the water with you. After all you could be someone that gives up. And then it would have paid off for him.

 

sucks OP, definitely agree its lawyer time. sub'd for resolution

 

any updates?