Help buying a Tundra

Looking to join the Tundra family. This forum is awesome and already has provided me with. A wealth of info as well as plenty of mods I want to spend $ on.

I am looking to purchase a newer (2014+) truck and I've got a few inquires going. One is a used vehicle that offers an autocheck report however that doesn't provide a wealth of maintenence history. Checking to see:
1) is it true you really only get maintenance info via a carfax?
2) if so, is there anyone here that has the ability to pull a carfax report for free?

 

Thanks, I checked and the only record was the initial PDI when the truck was 2 miles OLD. 8m guessing that service done outside the dealership isn't pulled in here. Right?

 

I’ve never had a dealer NOT give me a carfax for free upon request.

 

Their response was somewhat lame. They only use autocheck. So I asked them for pics of a few things (e.g., cam towers) before I drop $25.

The truck has over a 100k the clock so I'm interested in the maintenance over the years. Tough thing would be if it was done by owner.

 

I’d be leery or any dealership that doesn’t use carfax.

 

You could find a local mechanic with carfax to inspect it for $50-75. Maybe less. More money but more piece of mind.

 

Not a bad idea. They claim they've done a 100-some point inspection on it.

 

Have you looked into the costco or sams auto buying programs?

 

A while back I had however I had a dealership 1.5 hours away contacting me instead of the two Toyota dealerships in town

 

Ask for that list! Lol
Be very wary of anything any dealer claims. If they are confident in it , they should offer a free warranty, like 50k miles. But they won't.

 

I would try to do all of the negotiating over email, it'll take out the emotions but it does take more time. You can get multiple dealerships to compete for better prices.

 

Stupid question...Is this truck at the Toyota dealer or are you buying it privately?

If it is from the dealer just walk if they don't give you the report.

 

Good info....thanks for the share!

 

I'm looking at several trucks. One is at a Toyota dealership and another from a non-Toyota dealership. Been dealing with the non-Toyota dealership via email, they, are the ones that don't offer a carfax

 

I believe that carmax uses autocheck so I wouldnt worry too much about that. Just focus on getting a good deal and whatever the KBB and edmunds value it at stick with it. If you can, get the invoice from them and add a grand on top of it. Most dealers wont give it to you though or will give a fake one. I would be cautious with non-certified Toyota dealerships (i.e. mom and pops) because they usually buy auction vehicles that were shitty trade-ins that big dealerships didnt want.

 

I agree that if a dealer doesnt use CarFax, I would be very leary. When looking for vehicles (Private and Dealer), I bought a bundle of CarFax inquiries so I could pull my own. It was worth the piece of mind when you're spending that much money on a purchase. I have two left that I don't see myself using. Bought 6 for $100, so I can sell you one for $17. DM me if you're interested.

 

I will. The vehicle I was looking at sold from under me however lining up some others. I'll keep the offer mind, thanks

 

Question on the third gen...

I tried searching for this however didn't find a great answer. I pretty much fixed on the platinum trim and as far as I can tell:

• 2014 - 2017: Pretty much all the same, however the brake controller became a standard option in 2016
• 2018 - 2019: TSS added standard. Upgrade LED headlights/grill. Revised dash layout and appearance however everything else is pretty much the same as the 2014 - 2017 Platinum
• 2020 - 2021: Remote Start, Keyless entry, Entune 3.0 were all added, else same as the 2018 - 2019 Platinum trucks.

Does that summary sound right or am I missing something?

 

Bump

 

I cannot personally confirm but I believe your info to be correct.

 

Thanks.

Do 3rd gen Tundras have issues with frame rust? This was a known issue with 3rd Gen 4Runners and comparable Tacos (late 90s early 00s)

 

2019+ don't have a transmission cooler, at least, not the one you would expect. You can find more about that via many threads on this forum.

 

Not sure if more or less prone to rust. Definitely inspect if from northern states that salt the roads

 

No not like the Tacoma/ 4 runners in the past had.. However it's always good to take a look underneath especially if you live were they use salt in the roads .

On another note regarding car fax. It's a good tool but alot of enthusiast like myself do our own work. So it's not a say all end all to how somethings been taken care of. I think you can tell alot about a previous owner by the general condition of the truck. If someone takes care of their things it will show generally.