Purchase Advice, Buying Used Tundra from Toyota dealership vs Other Brand Dealerships

Friends,

In short, when looking for a used Tundra, would you avoid purchasing a used Tundra from Dodge, Chevy or Ford dealerships? I've always purchased used Toyotas from either private sellers or Toyota dealerships with the presumption/theory that any Toyota at a Dodge, Chevy or Fort dealership ended up being traded in there because the owner wasn't happy with and/or had issues/mechanical problems with their Toyota trade-in.*

* Of note, I have no data to support my theory and recognize there might be other reasons folks trade in Toyotas for different brands (features, MPG, price, ignorance, etc.). For example, my father has been a Toyota fan since 2005 but is considering a new Silverado because in his mind the Silverado is "a good truck" based on his last memories from purchasing a new one in the 1970s.

I ask this because I've been looking for 2 weeks now but have had trouble finding a used Tundra with my specs: 2013, 2015-2017, 4x4, Double Cab, nearly any color besides black, somewhere in the $30k range, less than 60k miles.

I've done a bit of searching here and on the web but haven't seen this concept discussed. Am I just out of the park in my preference to buy used Toyota vehicles from Toyota dealerships in hopes that the person was happy with Toyota and therefore traded in on a new one?

Thanks for your input!

Joe

 

People trade in vehicles for all kinds of reasons. I don't think it matters much which dealer is selling. A Toyota dealer might perform a better check/ prep to certify a used Tundra for example.

 

Chris - thanks! I purchased the fighting chance package but the invoice prices are a bit out of budget for the 38 gallon tank. The 38 gallon tank is my only reason for considering a 2016 or newer; otherwise, I'll purchase an older model and add a transfer flow brand tank later.

From what I've read and seen the best one can expect on a new one is at or a bit below dealer "invoice" roughly translated to $4-6k off MSRP. With an MSRP at $40k, I'd be out of budget. The truck that would be in budget (SR model) isn't available with a 38 gallon tank.

Matt - thanks for the input!

 

For that amount of money, I’d want the CPO warranty and therefore you’d need to get it at a Toyota dealership. You may pay a little bit more, but in my view the CPO warranty would be worth it.

 

Ditto^^^

 

I purchased my used 16' Tundra from a GM dealer and had a great experience. The truck sat on their lot (Cadillac lot) for a few months before I bought it. I got a pretty good deal IMO and the process was painless since they couldn't nickle and dime me with dealer crap. One difference is the truck only had 27k miles so it's still under the factory warranty. The same truck from a Toyota dealer would have easily been a few grand more. Since it is still under warranty I didn't mind it not being CPO. I think the dealer just wanted it off their lot.

 

I also prefer to buy used vehicles from the same brand dealer - it shows that the previous owner was happy with the vehicle and traded it on a new one (or at least that's what I make myself believe) Sometimes it might be that someone likes the brand, but had a 'lemon' and traded it for another one of the same brand hoping to have better luck. Or I have seen where a vehicle was in an accident or something mechanically is going wrong so people try to trade it, knowing it is a good brand; they just don't want to keep that specific vehicle. Also, there might be a Tundra at a Ford dealer where someone just tried Ford for better MPGs and not necessarily anything wrong with the truck. But, that being said, I still prefer to go to the Toyota dealer for a used Toyota - it will be your best bet in general.

 

My local dealer has new 2018 DC 4WD for $30's.

 

As others have said, it's beneficial to buy from a Toyota dealer if you can get it CPO. That said, just because it's on a Toyota lot doesn't mean the previous owner was happy with Toyota and/or ended up in another Toyota. When trading in to a dealer of another brand, that dealer will often get a "buy bid" from dealers of that particular manufacturer, especially with newer vehicles, then sell it to them. Also, a lot of dealers own many different dealerships, so someone might go trade their Tundra in for a RAM and then the RAM dealership will transfer it over to the "sister" Toyota dealership.

 

That's a wild assumption. How do you know that someone didn't trade in their Tundra so they could buy a Prius? As long as the vehicle is in good mechanical condition who cares why the previous owner got rid of it. If they were happy with the vehicle then they wouldn't have gotten rid of it... Personally I have never sold something I was happy with.

 

Update: I edited my reply here as I was confused and thought Steve was responding to my original request. I just realized Steve's post was a response to a different post by Ferdie.

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Thanks for all the feedback and discussion! I can see both sides of the coin and will give it some more thought.

Steve - I expanded and clarified my original post. You're right in that it's not so important if the seller was "happy with it" but rather what matters to me is whether they had mechanical issues/problems with it and thus traded it in for a different brand.

 

I bought a new 2017 SR5 TRD for $32,000 on 1/31/2017 without much negotiation. You can get the deal you’re looking for if you look for the “SPECIAL” and aren’t selective on price or can open your budget window if the right deal pops up.

 

That's not the point, and I said it is not always the case. Most people sell vehicles that they are happy with. They are just in the habit of buying a new car every 3 or 5 years, regardless of the condition of the current one. If they are happy with it, they will typically trade it in for the same brand, if they are not happy with the brand, they might go somewhere else. Not always, but at the same time not a wild assumption - just reality. They might trade a Tundra for a Prius, but it still shows that they were happy with the brand, so the used Tundra might be a good buy. If they trade the Tundra for a Chevy Volt, then maybe they are pissed at the Tundra for some reason, therefore did not consider the Prius. Or maybe not. Who will ever know? Point was just in general, people are brand loyal if everything goes well; if something is wrong, they might try different brands, and then you buy the trade-in that might have something wrong with it.

 

Man, I've seen this more times than I can count in my extended family. Not a terrible thing if you can afford to have a new one every few years but I prefer to keep vehicles closer to 10-15 years to avoid the massive depreciation from 3-5 year turnover.

 

I am the same - I had my Tacoma for 16 years. My wife however puts about 40,000 miles a year on her car between work and family trips, so we trade that every 3 years before it is totally worthless due to excessive mileage. Other people lease and trade every 3 years just because the lease is up. I bought my son's Camry like that - 3 years old, beautifully garage kept car; the people just returned it because their lease was up and they got a new one for the next 3 years; nothing wrong with the car. Many scenarios.....
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Joe (OP)!

 

I have several friends in the automobile dealership business. Just because the Toyota is sitting on a Toyota lot, doesn't mean it was traded in there. Because of the fact that most people like to buy used from the same brand dealership, the dealerships actually sell the trade ins to the branded dealerships. For example, someone trades a Chevy for a new Tundra, the Toyota dealership will sell the Chevy to a local Chevy dealer because they can flip it quickly and the Chevy will bring more money on the Chevy lot.

My 4runner came from a Ford dealer, I have owned it for over 9 years, with no issues. My son's 08 Tundra DC, which I bought him when he graduated from college, was purchased at an Infiniti dealership. We have owned it for over 4 years, no issues. My current 07 Tundra Reg Cab, was purchased from a Ford dealer. Haven't had it long enough to know how it will hold up, but it's a Toyota. I feel very comfortable buying a used Toyota from anyone, or anywhere. The real trick is knowing how it was maintained. Sometimes people document that very well, others not so much.

 

Bought my 2010 from a Ford dealer that is local to me and has a good reputation in our smaller county. The previous owner traded it for an ecoboost, apparently in search of better fuel mileage. The truck was clean and the price was right. It had floormats and seatcovers in it since new, the interior showed zero wear. Had about 60k on it when I bought it. The ford dealer included their platinum warranty coverage, basically their CPO coverage that they are allowed to extend to qualified used vehicles.

I've read through the coverage and it's fairly comprehensive. 5 years from my date of purchase or 100k on the odometer, whichever comes first. We bought my wifes Mazda 5 from a Chevy dealer. I'm not picky when it comes to same brand/same dealer for used vehicles. 8 years ago I bought a Tacoma from a Subaru dealer. 10 years ago I bought a Ridgeline from a Nissan dealer....

 

When i started looking for a tundra, i started looking at used. I found 1 used that is a 2015 or 16 that is the exact same truck as mine with 35k miles for $36k! No brainer to spend a couple grand to get a new one. The used market is insane for truck. I saw so many 100k mile f150's for $30k+

You should be able to find a late second gen tundra in your budget.

 

My point is that if you have done your homework and looked over the vehicle then it doesn't matter why the person traded it in. You are trying to add levels of logic that are not necessary and are making assumptions. Why would I care if the previous owner of my truck no longer likes Toyota for whatever reason? All that matters is condition, vehicle history, price, and warranty in my decision making.

 

Rick - thanks for the insider info, good to know!

OBXTundra - that's also good info. For the non-Toyota dealers I've been checking out their reviews/reputations.

Danimal86 - you're spot on, the used market is much higher than I could have imagined since I haven't truck-shopped for many years.

Here are just two examples of the frustrating pricing I've been seeing (invoice on a 2018 4x4 5.7 SR is roughly $34k and there's a $1k cash back incentive):

 

A prime example of how Toyotas hold their value. The SR is the base model? But I agree that is doesn't make a lot of sense to buy used when for a few thousand more, you can get new. Also, new vehicles typically have better financing rates, depending on how old you buy, etc.

 

Haha, don't I know it!

Yes, the SR is the base model (also called "Tundra grade" in earlier years I think). The only reason I'm even considering the SR5 is to get the 38 gallon tank. If I can find a solid 2nd gen 4x4 I'll just change out the factory 26.4 gallon tank with a transfer flow tank (48 gallon). For 2016 and later, I'm only considering those with the 38 gallon tank.

This thread has definitely expanded my search a bit.

 

Yeah I would just try and find a dealer that does offer their own warranty. Most used lots on dealerships do nowadays, at least I think they do. For instance, my Toyota dealer offers lifetime power train warranties on all of their non Toyota used cards that are within a certain age and mileage. You get a better warranty on their used stuff than their new!

 

On a side note to this, I've had excellent luck with Zurich extended warranties. I had one on my Tacoma that I bought in 2010, it was an '06, from a Subaru dealer (so non CPO). The 6 speed manuals in the Tacomas were known to have issues if you strayed from the recommended gear oil, bronze syncros get corroded....blahblahblah. Well anyways the previous owner or even the dealer must have used the incorrect gear oil in the tranny, only 8k miles into my ownership (maybe 70k on the truck) it developed a nasty grind into 4th and 5th gear under mild/heavy throttle. Brought it to my local Toyota dealer, dropped the pan, found a lot of shavings/debris. They made 1 call and sent 2 pictures to Zurich. Full cost of replacement was payed, $25 deductible, replaced with brand new factory Toyota transmission. We now have a Zurich warranty on my wifes Mazada 5, bumper to bumper, every operating system covered, tacked on about $1100 to the price of the car. I've had a few other friends with Zurich warranties when their factory runs out, all have had great experiences and it's nice to use your local shop of choice.

 

@jp_over Never mind buying a Toyota and ignore what these guys are saying, what you really need is a classic 4x4
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/729297288/overview/

all kidding aside I just bought a 2013 double cab with 5.7 and 78,000. I paid $20,800, whether I got a deal or not remains Tobe seen, however I am very happy at the moment (shit MPG aside)
there are also a lot of after market stuff as well if you want to customize.
https://www.carid.com/2013-toyota-tundra-organizers/du-ha-underseat-storage-case-505082275.html
https://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.c...overs&autoselect=1?set-vehicle=1&autoselect=1
https://www.carid.com/2013-toyota-t...uine-leather-custom-seat-covers-69544296.html
https://www.carid.com/2013-toyota-tundra-steering-wheels/steering-wheel-30611369.html
https://www.carid.com/dash-kits.html

pretty amazing the stuff that is available.

 

I purchased my 2016 SR5 CrewMax with the XP package from a Toyota dealer. It came with the CPO warranty and had 50,400 miles on it. Price was $33,600 out the door. So taking off the tax, tag, title, prep, etc the price was $29,500ish. It came with a 38 gallon tank, tonneau cover, and the 20" wheels.

 

If you purchase a used tundra anywhere before the factory 3/36 has expired you can purchase a Toyota platinum warranty from a Toyota dealer. There are a few threads about that on here with contact names. Personally I have found the best "Deal" is typically at a competing brand lot rather than a Toyota lot (the Toyota dealers are proud of their product). .

I also don't limit my search to local dealers. I open it up for a distance as long as I am willing to hop on a flight or drive out. Just get a 360 walk around, interior, exterior and under. Saved a few thousand on my purchase when i went 500 miles for my current Tundra!

I have the transferflow tank. It is awesome for the range by the way!

Good luck and let us know what you get.

 

I finally found it: 2017 Tundra 4x4 CrewMax with the SR5 upgrade package (38 gallon tank), CPO and 17k miles. A very basic, no-frills, below the radar type truck which fits my needs perfectly. I paid $32,500 + TTL at Atkinson Toyota (South Dallas).

Thanks to all those who weighed in and helped me make some informed decisions.

I was at first only considering the double cab as I wanted a 6.5' bed. After some thought, I changed to the CrewMax since anytime I'm hauling large / long stuff I'll be using a trailer.

Here's the stock photo (we just got it home and it's dark):