Is cometic defect a red flag when buying Tundra?

That is a rough looking truck, I've got more miles and my steering wheel does not look remotely close to that, to be honest I've seen work truck with 10x that mileage in better shape with the steering wheel.

CPO just mean it passed bunch inspection, there are still chances that the mileage may not be true.

 

Someone above stated that you should ask the dealership to put the truck on a lift for you to take a good look at the undercarriage; fair enough and they shouldnt balk over this, except to say their insurance policy wont allow [if thats true, how do they get around walking owners out to view what problem the dealership is trying to repair?..never mind].
In that case, take a yoga mat and a bright flashlight with you to see as much as you can on your back: Not that you havent already considered it, but my hi-lites of 'underside inspection' are to look for frame deformities and dents, heavy rust in frame rails-suspension parts, rock deflectors, exhaust lines, gas tank [i think some have rock shields], see that catalytics are in place and not showing theft attempts. Differential, Oil pan, trans pan, eng block to trans joint should be dry as in no oil sweat, or at least no drips. A 4 yr, 33k mi old Tundra should be oil/fluids dry underneath [if not, its been a hard 33k mi's- meaning it likely still drives well enough, but you might be buying a 'driveway stainer' or a bigger problem]; road dust/dirt & fine surface rust not a big surprise, but most of metals should still appear as Toyota flat black. I would still insist on a compression chk; maybe even offer to pay half that cost as a good faith gesture that you are more than interested in buying.
As far as rolling back ODO's, would seem an extreme act of fraud for a Toyota Dealer to engage in, especially risky since Toyota doesn't just hand out [sell] dealership licenses to anyone; they're very corporate controlled and image conscious. Of course I may be standing too close or have drank too much of the 'kool-aid' [admittedly, Im a Toyota/Lexus fanboy] but from my experiences, even the dealerships try hard to to match build quality of the vehicles.
Side-note: Kinda surprised Tundras.com hasn't yet produced a thread like "..So, you wanna buy a late model Tundra?..".
[see Shifty's "..So, you wanna buy a Gen 1 Tundra?.." thread here]. If you havent yet browsed it, he covers the good, bad and ugly about Gen1's [w/ a few chuckles for fun] and some of that likely applies [generally] to late models as well.
In my search of the most perfect Gen1 I can afford, I expect there to be quite a few 'roll-backs' between priv owners and independant [hate' em] small time car lots. Makes it difficult to assess Tundras of this vintage [17-18 yr olds] and even more so with the better, cleaner presentations that look and drive like near new. IE: it looks too new and good to be true; maybe the exact reverse of what you might be looking at.
In the end, the drive test [acceleration, braking, steering, dash guage data, working accessories, odd noise or sound reflections with windows down, etc, etc,] will be your best final test [together w/underside inspection-fluid checks]. But by all means, I wouldn't attempt any price negotiation until I've done all the above first.

 

actually my truck with 189k looks a lot better than that as well

 

thanks for the tips!

what do you mean by compression check? I intended to do third party PPI to check everything I can before buying

 

I requested a few undercarriage pictures and they were in good shape given it'a northeast truck

 

Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but if you have never heard of the test:
Compression Check is measurement of the motors ability to compress air in each cylinder and therefore how well the piston, rings and heads valves are able to contain and compress the air/fuel mixture before combustion. The Measure is expressed as PSI: pounds/sqr inch] from a gauge temporarily inserted into the cylinder sparkplug hole, and cranking engine a few revolutions; measured individually for all 8 cylinders. It should be within a range; every motors' compression specs are based on builder design. I estimate a healthy 5.7L toyota compression range to be somewhere between 150 to 180 psi. When new, probably 10% better.

Yes, a pre purchase inspection should include a compression check and results noted in the final report document from the tech/mechanic; I would be witness to it, no matter who does the test. Also, I would be surprised if the dealership would allow your tech to do it though, as they may say their own mechanics have already assessed the condition or based on other readings they may feel it isn't necessary. OTOH, I cant blame them for wanting to protect their asset from hands theyre not certain of. However, since you're the one buying [or not], you can insist as a condition of sale and they should be more than happy to do the test, if the motor is as healthy and reliable as age & mileage suggest. It isn't a sophisticated instrument and most anyone who has ever changed a sparkplug can do it [w/out f'ing things up] but it means time on their part for which I expect they want to be compensated for.
So, being one of the best determinants of the motors operating condition, its a rather standard test.

 

Ok, saw your reply about the pics and it being a 'northeast' truck; I guess you understand that 3-4 yrs in that snowbelt means truck endured salted roads the last 3 or 4 winters. Your PPI should include a statement about the amount of rust the frame has and if any frame part is at risk of failure and should be repaired/replaced or somehow treated to neutralize or stop any more rust damage.
At the same time, lots of Toyotas live there and they wouldn't have the quality rep they merit if they couldn't take 10 years of NE snow belt life. It [buying a snowbelt vehicle] is something though that a lot of folks on this site would advise to avoid, however in your case, its at least a young truck.

 

Wheel wells in the bed look sketchy to me. Steering wheel just looks dirty and the battery terminal can be replaced, we see those rusted out all the time.

 

thank you for the explanation!
I am definitely learning something new today

 

I agree. I’m an avid fisherman and my old trucks steering wheel looks like that actually. Combo of deet and sunscreen that doesn’t come off all the way.

But it is definitely overpriced.

 

Toyota CPO is almost always at or above 'hi-book'; supposedly you get a warranty term. Ive purchased TOY CPO in past butbeing a Toyota, never needed any warranty service. Not sure what OP's Tundra should price out at but the USED market is 'whack'. Cleanest Gen 1"s I've seen over last 45 days disappear within 7 days. Interest rates and prices of NEW are sending peeps to CL, FB, Cars.com, etc.
Im almost ready to check out; trying to not encourage the current market trend. Oh well.

 

Flash the EPROM with whatever mileage you want.