Bought a salvage title truck, Oh what a feeling!

[lendaddy]

I got a '00 Toyota Tundra Limited 4 door 4x4. This is my first furrin truck. I gotta say I like it alot! Very smooth and powerful, with a great ride, etc.. I really can't say enough. The 4.7L V8 is I believe the Lexus design???? Anyway, fabulous. The Salvage title was due to a roll and I spoke with the guy that did the work, very honest. He showed me the imperfections and put it up on a lift to view the frame and that it was straight. You would never know it was rolled. Anyway I picked it up for a third of what I would have paid for a "perfect" one! Maybe I'll get bitten down the road on it, but I doubt it. Hell, for the paultry amount I paid I wouldn't even care. It's nice to get a deal every now and then

[Superman]

Congrats. Frankly, I am not an American auto man. Soon, I'll be shopping for a Ford/Mazda pickup. You know, the Ranger. With the 4-liter. 2WD, extend cab.

[Dantilla]

I'm a big fan of dragging vehicles home from the insurance auction.

Congratulations.

[id10t]

Just out of curiosity, any differences in insuring it? Value, policy "rules", etc?

[legion]

Originally posted by id10t
Just out of curiosity, any differences in insuring it? Value, policy "rules", etc?

Shouldn't be too much. From this point forward it will cost the same to fix something as a new, undamaged vehicle. They might exclude any damage that resulted from a faulty repair. If it is in an accident again, they will only pay to bring the vehicle up to the condition it is currently in, not new condition. Also, if it is totalled again, you will receive something closer to what you paid for it, not the full value of a new vehicle. It might be even cheaper to insure because the replacement cost is so much lower.

[speeder]

Congrats, Lendaddy! How on earth could you get "bitten down the road" on that deal? Getting BDR happens when you pay normal price for a new or late model vehicle, put lots of miles on, (which sounds like you do from Cayenne experience), then go to trade it. You can probably drive this thing for free for years or just keep it forever. No comparison between Toyota and domestic truck quality, I hate to say. Toyota is the gold standard.

[RickM]

Originally posted by Superman
Congrats. Frankly, I am not an American auto man. Soon, I'll be shopping for a Ford/Mazda pickup. You know, the Ranger. With the 4-liter. 2WD, extend cab.

Curious, what is Mazda in a Ranger. If it were a four cylinder you could say the engine?

I'm on my fourth Explorer and love it. It shares the Ranger Chassis but not sure if the Ranger has the 4 wheel independent suspension.

[lendaddy]

The quality is definitely up there, but to be honest I never "really" had a problem with my domestic trucks either. The only thing Big3 trucks have on this is parts/service availability but even that is shrinking with the Autoones and Napas carrying huge import stock.

#1 coolest thing on this truck The MOTOR!!!!!!! This thing is like a rolex. It's got some "sport" exhaust on it and sounds sweet too. High Tech v8's are cool

[RickM]

Good luck with it. Toyota/Lexus makes an excellent product.....one of the best IMO.
As long as the repair retains the integrity and safety up to where it should be then you win big time.

[turbo6bar]

What does a "perfect" '00 Tundra fetch these days? I'm considering a Tacoma, but I'm not sure if I can handle the downgrade in bed size.
jurgen

[speeder]

Jurgen, check ebay and autotrader.com, should be plenty of them. Hey Len, where did you find yours?

[turbo6bar]

Actually, my "what does...fetch" question was/is a roundabout way of saying,"whatcha pay, lendaddy?"

Looks like the Tundra is going for $10-15k. 1/3 of that could mean $3500 or $5000. $5000 for a 4 year old Toyota ain't bad, in my book.

[speeder]

If you buy a salvage vehicle cheap enough, (and fixed properly), they probably have better resale value than a clean title, since they have "bottomed out" already. In any case, they have a lot less distance to fall. How much can a $5k truck depreciate? Less than $5k, that's for sure.

Also, roll-overs are among the best to buy, insurance companies will total them almost automatically and they can be fixed better than new.

[lendaddy]

Yep, got it for just over $6k. I was looking at spending $15-$19k for a similar Tundra. I found it in one of the free "Wheeler Dealer" type mags. Like I said before , it's not perfect but there is no structural damage. No one has noticed the flaws yet. Not that I would care, just helps illustrate how minor I guess.

Overall I would say the Tundra is slightly smaller than a Big3 truck, and I mean slightly. The Tacoma is considerably smaller yet.

[greglepore]

Len-totally agree about the motor. I drove one of these just before I bought my Ram, and that motor is a swiss watch. Totally overkill in a pickup, but way cool. I would've bought it at full boat retail if the back seat wasn't so darn upright (I have kids that actually use it). Helluva truck.

[FastDave]

I traded my '99 Z71 for an '02 Tundra Limited in December.
The Tundra is quicker on take-off due to more HP/LB. It also
corners better than the Chevy. It seems to have more torque
but doesn't seem to be a long stroke like most engines with
as much torque. My mechanic said it was the result of variable
valve timing. My mechanic also told me the engine in the Tundra was developed by their Lexus division.
I also agree about it sounding better.
I like the fact that it's made in the USA.
My son has blue '93 Toyota 4x4 and I have a white one.
The new Tacomas are larger if you still want something smaller
than the Tundra.
I will choose Toyota over any Ford, Chevy or Dodge. I don't
think there is any comparison for price, quality or reliability.

[surflvr911sc]

Congrats on the great buy!

Both Toyota & Ford are at the top in the truck dept, imo. I love my Ranger and didn't want anything bigger. The 4.0 has tons of power, I had to put a 3.6 in the P-car just so it could have more than the truck.

The Ranger still has a solid rear axle, but the front has torsion bars, yes, torsion bars, big ones. At least it does on my FX4.

Funny thing though, my '89 Bronco II was the best off-road vehicle that I have ever owned, and that includes Jeeps. Put 240k miles on her and hardly touched a thing repair/maintenance wise.

[A Quiet Boom]

Originally posted by Superman
Congrats. Frankly, I am not an American auto man. Soon, I'll be shopping for a Ford/Mazda pickup. You know, the Ranger. With the 4-liter. 2WD, extend cab.

Supe, something we agree on!

I love my 4 liter 4wd extended cab FX4 Level II Ranger, that 4 liter with 4:10 gears and a Torsen rear diff that comes with the Level II is much quicker than I'd have thought. BTW if you get the Auto as opposed to the manual it's got a 5750lb towing capacity, plenty for a 911 on a small car trailer. Believe it or not I prefer it for everyday driving onve the P-car. Get the Mazda, it's the same truck with a better warranty. I was going to get a Mazda but they didn't have a package like the FX4 Level II. (Level II gets you 4.10 gears, Torsen diff, Bilstein shocks, skid plates, SS tow hooks, Alcoa forged alum wheels, and BFG 31x10.5 All Terrains. A guy that used to work for us had the Mazda 4 liter 2wd, sweet truck!

[surflvr911sc]

Yep, same truck Christian -love it!

[speedracer]

I have a tacoma that was a roll-over as well, but it wasn't a salvage title if you can believe that. I love mine, and don't have to worry about it . I just change the oil and drive. Gotta love Toyota reliablity.