inspection

1GT gang - I'm working on a deal for a truck through a dealer. solid price and truck looks groovy. going to try and get a full inspection on it - 2006 limited double cab - anything I should specifically ask them to look at? Or do inspectors for inspections generally do their own thing? rough 180K miles on the truck. Appreciate the feedback

 

Read this first starting at beginning:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/page-8

Rust is huge problem on FGT especially up North. Inspect frame carefully and be sure to look under bed and over spare tire area. Where are you located?

Three things will instantly kill your Tundra
1. Snapped timing belt
2. Broken lower ball joint - may kill you as well
3. Failed radiator at trans cooler interface.

Timing belt, LBJs and radiator must be replaced at 100k mile intervals if OEM. Use only OEM, AISIN or Denso parts. Aftermarket parts from FLAPs are shit. Numerous member found this the hard way when their Moog or Chinesium LBJs failed in 20K miles. All these jobs are DIY with a few tools and some mechanical aptitude. Expect to pay a lot if you take it to a shop and most shops do not know theintracies of these trucks.

If you aren’t mechanically inclined Don’t by a 20 year old truck. If so join our group and read on…

PS - never buy any Toyota part from Scamazon or EvilBay as many counterfeits sold on those sites.

 

Been in this forum and certainly been deep reading on a ton - I'm in Wisconsin - this truck I found has been in PNW/CA and looks like a no rust truck. Just curious if I should get an inspection at a Toyota dealership, or one of these other shops in the area where the truck is pre-purchase

 

C'mon man, you've been here long enough now to know what to look for. Don't over think it.

 

@The Black Mamba I do - Just curious if I get anything out of an inspection from a Toyota dealer or a mom and pop shop. pre-purchase inspection - again, just curious if anyone had any tips or feedback is all

 

At my dealership, for example, we offer a prepurchase inspection for 1.5hrs ($299.92 at our door rate). We will perform a 72-point checklist and a test drive along with a full system scan with the laptop. We will guarantee the items checked good for 30 days and make recommendations of the rest. That's all.

I personally would use a dealer over a mom-n-pop since the dealer specializes in that brand. I would also ask for videos and I would ask for certain items to be checked (like what is listed in the MEGATHREAD).

 

My nearest dealer refuses to repair any FGTs claiming they are old and all the heat exposed plastic and rubber is too brittle to work on if the vehicle is more than 15 yrs old. He also refuses to participate in Toyota online parts program.

 

Need to have a deeper in depth phone conversation with the mechanic but he said overall truck looks good however it needs a new right axle, he mentioned one of the lug-nuts is missing on one of the wheels (lol but not really lol), and the A/C(air condition) needs work - whatever that means.

again need a deeper conversation - he just left a voicemail - question for the group - you think he's talking about the CV Axle? and if 1(passenger side) is shot/needs replacing do you think it's worth just replacing both at the same time? I would think yes. and only using OEM parts, correct?

 

Could be CV Axle, could be rear axle housing, maybe lug nut is missing because the stud sheared off, and he thinks a new axle is needed?

The downside to using people for PPI who don't know these trucks is, simply put, he could see the CV axle's boot is torn, and be thinking, "Welp, needs a new CV axle, this one is toast!" when it's pretty simple to re-boot the CV, and OEM's will keep on kicking with torn boots for a looooong ass time, based on a few anecdotals from others on here. It costs way less to re-boot your OEM CV, and if that CV is OEM, you'll get way more life out of it rebooting than you would replacing it with new-aftermarket.

 

Hey, at least you did the right thing and did a PRE purchase inspection. Can't tell you how many POST purchase inspections come up with a laundry list of woes. So, kudos. He is probably talking about the CV axle. There's really no way to inspect the rear without serious dismantling. Yes, replace both at the same time with ONLY OEM. There's a possibility that you can just re-boot if it's not too far gone AND it's OEM. But most shops are just going to want to replace the axle if they go that far. If you're mechanically inclined it's not too difficult of a job, but not for a newbie. Missing lug nut is a problem because it probably means the stud is fucked too. May need to be replaced if the threads can't be cleaned up. In other words, I wouldn't just slap a new nut on there. There's a lot of questions about the A/C. What's the problem? Simple recharge, or new compressor? Big difference.

 

Yeah. The seller wanted $1500 down payment - non-refundable, but did say he'd drive it to a mechanic for PPI. Mechanic PPI = $176 and that's a hell of a lot better than $1500 and be able to walk away if I need to.

Need to find more info about the A/C - I'll have more justification. Maybe I'll be able to bring the seller down a few thousand in price - no idea.

 

This is sketchy AF, IMO. That would be enough for me to walk away.

 

Might just be a weeding tactic, and seller doesn't really expect that. In some places, if he were to keep the $1,500 but not deliver anything, it could be considered grand theft.

 

Yup. Keep you posted on what I find out today

 

as originally thought. it needs CV axle to be replaced then recommended alignment
I believe just a charge / service for the A/C - said it most likely has never been done
overall not horrible

 

So, what are they asking?

 

$16 grand for the truck $186,000miles - seller
Is real antsy
Maintenance about $1100

 

GET TO THE CHOPPPPAAAAAAA

 

Wow. I think I would offer $13K. See what they come back with. What's the history with the timing belt, water pump, and LBJs? If no history, you can definitely plan on doing those things immediately. And then $13K is totally justified.

 

Yup timing belt was done at 86,000, but if it’s every 100K, seems about right to replace / get new again.

 

Yep. It's actually every 90-100K. And that's IF OEM Aisin parts were used. You're probably going to need a radiator too. Search "pink milkshake" and "brown radiator". The price keeps going down!

 

guy sold it. He would not budge on price at all. said $16grand or leave it and had a guy driving 4hours to see it - I think that guy bought it. Win some you lose some, but this seller again, seemed very pushy to sell and didn't appreciate me asking many questions. on to the next

 

Well then, all dealerships are different. When I bought my 2006 from my dad, I knew it was a solid truck but I took it to a Toyota dealership anyway. I explained that I just bought the truck and wanted to make sure everything was tip top, or did anything need attention. I went to pick it up and all they did was recommend services based on the mileage, some of which I had already taken care of.

Where I usually park, there is a pine tree next to me so pine needles usually collect on the wiper blades. They also recommended new wiper blades, but the pine needles were still there. So they recommended new blades without even turning them on to check.

 

May also be a sign they intend to discontinue it soon

I'd buy a spare, but I'd need to pressure test it somehow straight outta the box just to make sure there was no damage in transit, and that's more pain than it's worth, I think.