Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Tacoma Edition)!

I saw this at Fred Beans Toyota on the drive home from a car show yesterday; I would like to start off by saying that I would NOT buy this truck even if it wasn't overpriced because looking at it closely revealed evidence of an accident and subsequent body work, as well what appears to be the original frame. Since this Taco is a 2008 model, the window for a free frame replacement would have expired in the summer of 2020 (probably earlier); I actually got under the truck and looked at the frame, and while the frame wasn't the worst I'd seen on a 2nd Gen, the future owner of this truck would be screwed if they found perforation down the road. Overall, the truck seems to have been well cared for and its condition reflects its extraordinarily low mileage; The two exceptions are the frame, and the obvious body damage that I mentioned above. It is a bit hard to see in the pictures, but the damage is to the lower corner of the right door, and lower right cab corner...


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

Almost $22K, and this marked down from what Beans was originally asking; This is probably more than the truck cost brand new!

 

Marked down from almost $23K! A base model 2005 RC 5-speed 5-lug Tacoma with no A/C was like $13,415 if I remember correctly from the PDF brochure I read, and I'm pretty sure that a loaded DCLB TRD Sport was less than $35K; This truck has A/C and 4WD, but it's a base model, and they're definitely asking more than it cost new! If I were to buy this truck, I'd be spending at over a grand outfitting it with the features I want, like a decent stereo system, a backup camera, and intermittent wipers...

 

It was unlocked, so I went inside...

 

The 2.7L/5-speed...

This, in my opinion, is the most desirable powertrain combo ever to be put in a Tacoma; I pushed in the clutch pedal and went through the gears, and in my opinion it felt fine. At less than 40K miles, I'm assuming it was driven very carefully and has the original clutch...

 

This one had the bottom half of the gas pedal lopped off as per the unintended acceleration recall, just like my truck...

 

One of the most useless factory radios in Toyota history in my opinion; No AUX input, no USB port, no Bluetooth, and not even a cassette player...

 

I'm assuming the A/C works good...

 

I've noticed this on a lot of older 2nd Gens; The little red stickers on the door locks have faded to yellow. Mine did not fade, but the one on the driver's side simply fell off; The donor door that was used to repair my truck following last February's scrapyard pipe incident had an intact interior panel, and the door lock thingy had faded to yellow. My complete door panel, including the still-red sticker, was fitted to the donor door...

 

And now I bring you the signs of a possible accident that was hastily repaired; Not as easy to see in these pictures...

 

No obvious damage to the door aside from that little ding near the top of the picture, but the door doesn't line up properly with the cab...

 

My truck didn't look this out of whack after taking a direct hit to the passenger door from a runaway metal pipe, and the cab wasn't damaged...

 

I saw quite few vehicles at Fred Beans Toyota yesterday, and the previous owners of this 2016 DCSB TRD Sport just happened to show up in the RAV4 they traded it for while I was wandering around the lot; They bought this truck new, and we got to talking...

The husband told me that they paid either $34K or $36K for this truck when it was new (I forget); The truck has almost 90K miles, and Fred Beans is asking almost what the damn thing cost new! I understand that these are unprecedented times, and that demand exceeds supply, but when do we draw the line between trying to make money and just being an asshole?!?!


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

This truck is in excellent condition, but I am still not used to living in a world where ANY vehicle that is over five years old and has almost 100K miles is going for new vehicle money...

 

Brand new 2022 SX with a "Tacoma Market Value Adjustment" of more than $1,800; Thompson Toyota in Doylestown charges sticker, but they are seriously the only dealer in the area that doesn't gouge you out the ass with markup on new vehicles...


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

One of my favorite pastimes since I got my driver's license back in 2011 has been to explore car dealerships on Sundays, because in Pennsylvania they are forbidden by law from opening on Sundays, and in New Jersey where I was yesterday they are also closed; Dealership backlots have never disappointed me, and Toyota dealers are not different. I've found all sorts of cool Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the backs of various dealerships, including an old Dolphin camper, a 1st Gen Prius, an early 1990s MR2, at least one customized FJ Cruiser, and numerous Tacos and Tundras that were unique in some way; There were three later model 2nd Gen Tacos at Fred Beans, all of which I'm pretty sure were there for frame replacements. This lifted 2012 DCSB V6 looks similar to a Hilux one might find in the Middle East...


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

2013 AC SR5; The wheels color-matched to the paint color are a nice touch in my opinion...


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

2015 DCSB TRD Sport; I did not look underneath any of these customer trucks, but if you look closely, you can see that the frame of this one looks pretty rough. There were several rusted out frames stacked on one side of the lot, and two new frames sitting outside the entrance to the service center, so I'm thinking this truck is a recipient for one of the new ones...


June 5th, 2022:

Flemington, New Jersey

 

I met the owner of this truck at the dog park yesterday; 2012 DCLB TRD Sport with only 40K miles!


June 8th, 2022:

Perkasie, Pennsylvania

 

June 8th, 2022:

Perkasie, Pennsylvania

 

2013 AC SR5 V6


June 10th, 2022:

Oaks, Pennsylvania

 

2022 DCLB TRD Sport


June 10th, 2022:

Oaks, Pennsylvania

 

2015 DCLB SR5


June 10th, 2022:

Trappe, Pennsylvania

 

2003 Access Cab SR5


June 10th, 2022:

Trappe, Pennsylvania

 

2016 DCSB TRD Off-Road


June 11th, 2022:

Fleetwood, Pennsylvania