The Cheap Toyotas video series is here!
Are Toyota trucks really the most reliable vehicles you can buy? We want to find out by purchasing three old Toyotas that obey these two simple rules: each must cost under $10,000 and each must have over 200,000 miles on the odometer. Once we have them, we will put them through a series of tests and take them to our professional mechanic to see whether are good or bad. Let’s do it!
To accomplish this, Roman and the team head out to a local dealer auto auction. We do not have a dealer license, but Brendan’s brother-in-law does. This is the best local place to get some good deals on older vehicles. This way we do not have to hunt for these all over the state or the country. Naturally, there are many bad reasons why vehicles end up at a used dealer auction: something is seriously wrong, there is rust, some are repossessed, some are mistreated, and some are simply unwanted and donated. We must remain vigilant and purchase good-ish quality Toyotas.
Big thanks to our friends at Falken Tires and Rider Justice for sponsoring the Cheap Toyotas series! Find out more about the Falken Wildpeak R/T tires. Another huge thanks to the team at Rider Justice. They are a trusted personal injury law firm with a specialty in helping motorcyclists and overlanders after a bike or vehicle accident.
Spoiler Alert:
Tommy immediately zeroes in on an older Toyota 4Runner 4WD. The one that looks best to him is a 1999 model with over 250,000 miles on the clock. Brendan is there to help secure a sale, and Tommy gives him a budget of $4,000. What do you know? They win the auction at a final price of $6,500 plus fees. Ouch, Tommy overpaid. Still, these older 4Runners are legendary around these parts (Colorado), and their values are high.
Andre goes out to purchase a pickup truck. What better truck than a Toyota Tundra V8? Andre finds a 2008 Tundra crew cab 4×4 TRD Off-road model with the 5.7L V8. This one has over 224,000 miles on the clock. It has some visible damage on the front, faded paint, and an airbag failure warning light. What can go wrong? Andre gives Brendan a $9,500 budget and they walk away with the truck for a price of $10,000 plus fees. Ouch, Andre basically blows the budget here.
Nathan has an eye on a Land Cruiser, but these are way too expensive. He focuses on a Toyota Sequoia 4×4 with over 210,000 miles on the odometer. It looks pretty good at first, and it drives smoothly. He is able to purchase it at $8,500 with Brendan’s help. Yes, auction fees also apply to this one.
Lastly, the team finds a problem. Nathan’s Sequoia has lots of rust on the underbody at the pinch weld. Is it a major problem? This was not disclosed by the seller (another dealership). Stay tuned for much more. There are five episodes in this series.
