Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wrecked Tacoma - Buy or Pass?

Got a call from a friend who has a 2019 Tacoma with 88,000 miles on it. It's one of the loaded out 4x4 TRD Pro models. A woman hit the front quarter panel and pushed the hood up. All parts replaced and the truck will be showroom condition when done - no engine damage and the chassis is in order. They are waiting on a core? part that is backordered to finish reattaching the front quarter panel, that could take 6 months. He has to sell it due to time constraints and purchasing a new truck for work. The dealers offered a trade in deal and he offered to sell it to me close to that figure. I don't know what that number is yet. So, with this brief description in mind...

Would you buy it even though it is wrecked?
What figure would be your go ahead on purchasing?

Thanks.

if it is done correctly by a good shop that knows what they’re doing, and the price reflects the damage I would not hesitate.

Buy it for yourself if that is a truck you want.

If you don't plan on keeping it long, you may have a problem with people buying a salvage title...

The big issues will be whether their is a need for a rebuilt title and insurance to cover it.

I'd want to see the estimate and repair parts list first - ensure that it's really just what's being described. Also would want to know for sure the vin/options are definitely TRD PRO and not TRD Off Road or TRD Sport. There is a difference.

I'd expect to see a PRO - no accidents on the lot for about 36k here, private party like 32 then? Figure in the accident and you're likely a bit lower - how much depends on what the actual repair is.

I imagine they're offering him about 25-27k on trade in, with the damage? (hard to say without knowing his repair estimate)

Again - that's local to me in WI, GA might be different - supply/demand and all that.

How much?

There is no such thing as a front quarter panel. There's front fenders, inner fenders, a "core support" which holds the radiator (probably the backordered part) and the front bumper, grill, various brackets, etc. Make sure the frame and front suspension has been checked out on some type of laser alignment rack, and any structural damage fixed properly. The rest is cosmetic- - - -the truck would run and drive just as well without it. I taught collision repair for several years, and grew up around a frame straightening and wheel alignment shop in the 1950s.

I've literally been pricing late model tacomas like crazy the past month...looking for one for my son.

I agree with post above, one that hasnt had all that happen to it should be in the 35k range. Still crazy in my mind but its the time we are living in. I checked out a 21 and 22 trd pro with less miles, one was 36 and one was 38.

I literally just test drove a 2019 with 88k on it, limited edition, had all the bells and whistles, just not 4wd. It was 28,000. No wrecks. But I didn't bite.

I don't know if its all the incentives on the full size trucks now or what, but I'm seeing a ton of used tacomas out there now.

I don't know, I know 88k isnt the highest mileage for a toyota compared to other makes but your are getting at end of warranty and dealing with a wrecked vehicle that you still are waiting on parts for. I'd probably pass unless it was a deal. Definitely check out who did the work. They probably offered him 25 on trade I would think if that. Your buddy should be getting a nice diminished value check also from his insurance company.

If it wasn't considered a total loss there shouldn't be a "rebuilt title". If repaired correctly I don't see an issue. Possibly have a mechanic that you trust check it out first.

Weird thing about Tacomas in my experience when I bought my 22. The "Limited" was mostly cosmetic. On a line item by line item comparison to the TRD Off Road - I had a lot more stuff at a better price. What I didn't have were fancy rims and a "limited badge".

I also felt like for the 10k to move up to a PRO, I could put one heck of a suspension package on to rival OEM for less as the real difference between mine and the PRO was the PRO's shocks, badging and auto trans.

I see where base TRD Pro's for 2024 start a hair above 62k now, 10k more than the 2022 IIRC.

I'm no collision tech, so forgive me for my lack of specifics and $hit memory. The backordered part is exactly as you mentioned - core support. I believe it is also the front fender, not sure about the inner fender.

It all comes down to price. You said that the chassis and drivetrain are fine and it doesn’t sound like anything vital was damaged. Given that the accident wouldn’t bother me a bit if the price is right.

The Pro model is overpriced for what you get IMO compared to a TRD OR model but it’s a very cool truck and top dog if you’re into Tacoma’s. If you can get it for a decent bargain and are in the market for a midsize truck I’d buy it in a minute if I were you.

His insurance has picked up the tab, he didn't divulge any other reimbursements. It was also a hit and run, so, there is more red tape between him and his ins.carrier.

The dealer is working on it atm and will give him a quote upon completion, so IDK what they will come up with yet. I'll post it if he gets back to me and I'm still interested.

Real question - would you be interested in the truck if it hadn't been in the accident?

I mean, and respectfully, are you looking for a truck, a Tacoma at this age/mileage and this one fits the bill or are you interested because it's available?

I love Tacomas. At 5'11" the seating is fine for me, they do what I need them to work wise and they're like driving a go kart. Fit down overgrown fire lanes, back country roads etc - plenty of room for hunting gear etc. Is that what you're looking for or is it on the radar because of a perceived deal?

Tacomas aren't for everyone. Some don't like the seating, others need to pull more than 6k a lot, some don't like the mpgs etc. The PRO will have a stiffer ride at slow speeds, shocks will be more expensive to replace/rebuild given they're Fox 2.5's on it with remote reservoirs and internal bypass. Can do it yourself with tools etc but expect to pay $200 or so each to be rebuilt by a pro. And Fox recommends a rebuild every 50k miles (I'd go longer lol) Depending on where you get them - they're a 600-800 per replacement cost.

As long as it isnt retitled as a salvage it may be worth considering

I currently have a Tundra and am sold on Toyota's. I know the quality is there and I'd pay what it takes to maintain it fwiw. The roughest scenario I'd run this for, would be riding through a deer lease or to get to some "off the track" fishing spot. Doubt I'd haul anything heavier than a canoe and probably stash groceries in the back more than anything else.

The seller is a friend and not the type to screw me over, so, I know from his stand point there isn't any trickery.

My trust of machines lacks blind loyalty and my concern is: Will this truck operate within a reasonably maintained condition? Or, should I make it a hard pass as "once it is wrecked you'll have nothing but maintenance headaches going forward?" I know there are a few grease monkeys on here and a plethora of Tacoma lovers that can give me some insight to this particular situation and any related experiences they can shed some light on the matter.

I appreciate the feedback so far.

Over at tacomaworld.com there is a price thread stickied in the 3rd gen section. Good place to compare.

If the damage is cosmetic - I'd not worry at all, assuming I needed/wanted the truck. Even still - short of a transmission rebuild or engine rebuild (not replace) - it's pretty hard for me to feel nervous about ongoing maintenance issues. Flooding or electrical fires - I'd avoid 10000000000%

If 'light' damage and priced accordingly even with a 'salvage' title I wouldn't be too afraid of it.
It doesn't take much to get to 'salvage' these days IMHO

Would the ins even bother fixing it if it was to be a "salvage" title? Sounds like the repairs were authorized by ins etc and he's looking to sell.

I always thought that the salvage title came into play when Ins wants to simply scrap the truck, cut you a check and you buy it back from them and have it repaired?

Pretty much^^^^
It's created quite the industry.
Half of the vehicles that are deemed salvage these days have light front end damage w/blown airbags.

A wrench turner/body guy that lives up the street from me makes a very good living repairing & selling salvage titled trucks and SUV's.

2019 might book for 25k, if damages reach a given percentage of book, then salvage title is forth coming. The biggest problem isn't they might not run great, it's you can't insure for worth. And resale can be a hard row to hoe. Unless one plans to keep and wear out the vehicle, salvage titles are a hard pass!

If the suspension was involved such that the frame had to be straightened, easy pass for me. I've never seen one that straightened out properly. They're a never-ending train of chewed up tires on at a minimum that corner, along with CV joints, ball-joints/tie-rods, and wheel bearings.

Agreed but a salvage title makes it hard to insure and register for public roads

Good on him.

At this point I think the biggest indicator is price. It just seems a bit squirrely to me that the dealer will "let you know" how much it will cost AFTER they've done the work.

'
A few questions come to mind...

So why does your buddy not want the vehicle after the repair is done ?
Have you seen pics of the wreck ?
I this going to be one of those deals where you can never quite get the front end aligned to spec and it eats front tires?
The last ? is just a consideration and something I've seen happen.

To be succinct, it's a timing issue on his end. My memory doesn't serve me well sometimes, but I think it has to do with the insurance company and the circumstances around the wreck. You know how they can be a pain in the ass.

The dealer is currently working on it - I don't have details beyond that.

At a minimum I'd need a 3rd party to go over it for issues.

I'm just at the beginning of the process, and trying to come to a consensus that's satisfactory on my end.

there should not be a Salvage Title unless it was written off as a total loss and the insurance company took possession of the vehicle or Title... "insurance claim paid" or some such may show up on title when you register it though... is the missing part a weld in or bolt on?... either way, i'd go to a late model salvage yard and have it in two shakes of a lambs tail... biggest concern is the inflated trade in price that new car dealers offer to draw the suckers in... they make up the difference on the new vehicle price... personally, i would have no concerns other than the repair quality (nobody pleases me, but me) & the price...

From the sounds of it, it might really be more truck than you "need"?

How bad is the terrain on your deer lease? Mostly flat land? Up in what serves as mountains in GA? Hilly/rocky ditches and such? Do you really want to spend the extra money for a Pro model when even a 2WD base model would do and you could use the savings in cost for other purposes?

Nothing wrong with owning more truck than you need, just sounds like you're unsure given the circumstances.

I'll agree with others here, I doubt those repairs are going to warrant a salvage title, so if the price is right it's probably not a bad idea to pick it up, see if you like it, then sell it for little to no loss if you're not happy with it.

Hell, if I had one of them sitting in the driveway and the price was right on that one I might just buy it for parts in 15 years when Toyota discontinues supplying them as they have on my '01. I'm thinking of looking for a parts truck for mine as the driveline is now approaching 270,000 miles.

Good luck with your choice.

Make no mistake about it salvage title or not once there’s been that much repair done to it. It will show up on a Carfax and anybody down the line that might consider buying it won’t touch it with that much damage. If the damage means nothing to you and the truck runs, who cares but yourself but be aware, Carfax salvage title and so on will severely limit any resale…

If it comes with a salvage title are you planning on having cash on hand to purchase? Didn't think banks/CU liked to get into financing vehicles with salvage title, but who knows anymore.


Personally unless I had a pressing need and the guy threw a great number at me its just not worth the potential headaches.

I don't have total confidence in Carfax as I've seen serious repairs on known vehicles not show up. Is this because the shop or the insurance doesn't report it.

I don’t see it having a salvage title based on the damage. Nothing critical was damaged. A 2019 Tacoma with that number of miles and the Pro package is probably a 35k truck I can’t imagine that some front end damage would be enough to write it off.

Thanks for the input. He took the trade in (26,000) from the dealer and they marked 4000 off the new one. It wasn't a salvage title either. Win some lose some!

Sounds like GA prices are like WI prices.

Unless there's major structural damage, a "salvage title" doesn't bother me. I've bought several low mileage "totals" from insurance companies for ridiculously low cash prices, repaired them, and run them until they literally fell apart. I don't give a damn about any sort of insurance other than liability. Anything beyond a fender bender I can fix myself is going to end up sending the car to scrap anyway. I'll buy another total, fix it, and drive it for 200K miles or more.

Life's hard enough without focking yourself in the ass. Go find a clean one.mb

so remember you have to figure the cost of waiting to use the truck yourself. you're paying for a truck that isn't usable right now. A truck in that situation isn't tradeable either. so the seller can't use his truck of sell it right now unless YOU buy it as is. thats not an issue, its just a factor in price. Also a factor you might not buy a tacoma right now otherwise in your current sitatuion. If the truck is worth 35k never wrecked. the repair damage, I would want a discount of around 5k just for buying a wrecked truck thats been repainted. Repaints are never as good as factory. so repaired that is 30k, figure the wait and hassle I would be at 25 grand as is considering labor and parts are included. if the truck ends up with a salvage title. I probably want to be in it 6-7k less.

My son and daughter-in-law bought a lot of salvage title cars and trucks. It didn’t matter to them a bit because they bought them to use. If that’s what a person wants who cares what the title says unless you’re the person that’s gonna try and sell it then the person buying it isn’t too enthusiastic about buying something with a salvage title. As was mentioned before, short of frame damage, a salvage title won’t hurt anything at all.

A small Mulie buck did this in 2020 in Utah. I got it patched together there and drove it home. I'm still driving it today with 200K+ on it.

that depends entirely on Who! did the prep & painting & What! products they used $$$...

Other than Kindig in Utah, no one can beat factory paint…

LOL, that is both funny! and a coincidence!... if you watched Kindig's Kustom "Gull Wing Mercedes" episode, that short guy in the booth when they painted it is Rick Harvard, the Head Honcho at the Akso Nobel (Sikkens) application center in Troy Michigan... he is a friend of my brother... we have prepped & painted with Rick in Troy... When we built a "No Holes Barred" RestoMod Trans Am some yrs back, my brother flew Rick in to Shoot it... after he shot the body, my brother wasn't happy with it, as it would have required a heavy cut & buff, and we wanted an OEM factory texture (aka orange peel)... He sent him home & i shot it with over reduced clear at a higher air pressure... after lightly nibbing the dirt specks & then lightly buzzing it with 3000 grit Trizact on a soft interface pad, followed by a light buffing with 3M perfect-it 3 step polish, it is a "Dead Ringer" for a factory paint job... Rick is a good Painter (and Chemist) with more experience than me... but i can Outshoot him when it comes to matching an OEM factory painted look...

A good repaint makes a factory job look like schitt.

Factory paint looks dead with minimal depth.

Straight from the booth, no polishing yet.

It’s not how the paint looks at first. It’s also what it looks like years later. The color has to match as it ages. Also repaints on bumper covers totally suck too.

that has everything to do with not fully curing the undercoats (aka primer) before painting, and then not letting the paint fully cure before cutting & buffing which leads to dieback of gloss down the road... and also not using Top Quality products so it holds up to the elements long term... some (most?) collision shops like to rush things to keep the customers happy & get paid $$$, and also cut corners on product quality to save a few $...

I have an uncle who has wrecked his 2017 tacoma twice. Both times the front end was smashed in enough that the doors had trouble opening but the truck remained drivable. A good paint and body shop fixed the damage both times and the truck looks as good as new and it works the same. The work is "guaranteed for life" which means the life of the business that did the work.....and I believe transferable to a new buyer. The cost to the insurance company was astronomical and now my Uncle's insurance bill is the same.

He is getting pretty old and probably should stop driving.

All depends how good the prep was and how good the painter is.

You can keep qualifying the paint job like finding a woman that can stand up to the rigors of a real soldier, but day in and day out that is the exception, not the rule…

Good for you, but not many can back up that claim. Kindig puts out stuff that factories can’t match in their ability to fabricate and paint. Try and find a shop that can accomplish the same finish.


I had my GTO repainted about 8 years ago by a Chevrolet body shop. They took all the parts off and hand worked the whole car. I doubt it looked this good from the factory, but that was 1965.

Today they have some great paint applied to a body you can’t do in a paint booth…