According to these articles Toyota will pay 150% of high Kelley Blue Book value for 1995 - 2000 Tacoma pick-ups with rust problems. Trucks without rust will get a 15-year, unlimited-mileage warranty.
:::raises eyebrow:::
I drive a 2000 Tundra. It seems all of the problems are related to the Tacoma models, but this has me wondering. I might ask about it at the next scheduled service.
Any trouble with the brakes?
Cool - I have 98 Tacoma that was a repurchase. I think I’ll contact my local dealership and see what they have to say. I’ll let you know if it turns out to be a UL or if I meet with a lot of reluctance. Wonder how long it takes to get a check after turning it in, assuming thats the way it plays out. i can’t be without a car for weeks on end.
It’s been driven on crappy Midwest roads and is showing some rust, although it runs great. Still, I wouldn’t mind getting $9K to turn around on a newer vehicle without the rust and hail damage.
:::reraises eyebrow:::
Um…noooooo, not that I’m aware of…now I need to Google what that’s all about.
If anything, they’re really grabby and sensitive (without being jerky/inconsistent), not sluggish or weak. Considering I use it to haul a trailer that’s 5000lbs total tow weight (when it’s fully loaded with 2 horses), brakes are reeeeeeeeally important to me, so we made sure they got the A-OK from the dealer before we hitched the thing. FTR–it’s a V8 Tundra with the tow package, the model designed to haul things like this. Dealer’s service center said the trailer would be nothing for it. I’ve heard many a horror story of people hauling with underweighted vehicles or improperly balanced/hitched trailers–it’s enough to make any horseowner paranoid!
The one thing is, as a work truck that hauls bales of hay, scoops of sand, bags of feed, etc., it’s gotten quite banged up over the years. Hay scratches paint like you wouldn’t believe, even with the bedliner. The worst exterior ding ironically came from some asshat at the grocery store who apparently opened their door HARD and left a huge dent in the fender (DeathLlama popped it out, so it doesn’t look as bad). The interior is covered in a layer of fine dust, sand, and hay particles. But it runs like a monster–never a problem (except for routine maintenance), except the fuel light burned out. Still–I think when the line’s on E, it’s time to get gas. Don’t need a light to tell me.
I envy other people’s pretty shiny new trucks, but take pride in that my truck shows off not how pretty or shiny it is, but how hard it works.
Now I must sniff out Tundras and brake problems…
I read a FOAF post on another message board that said the brake rotors on '99 and 2000 Tundras were too small and prone to warping. I haven’t read anything else about them.
U.S. News & World Report seems a legitimate cite. Here is a page that claims to display the memo. I don’t know ‘showstop.org’ though, so TIFWIW.
Of course they’re not going to buy back just any Tacoma; only those that have rust perforation of the frame that cannot be repaired. I’m not entirely clear on the 15-year warranty, but I think it only applies to the 813,000 vehicles in the VIN range.