Long: but should be interesting for anyone about to purchase a new, used vehicle. Especially part two of my story.
After 20 years of driving Jeeps as daily drivers combined with the hobby of building and using them as trail rigs, my recent loss has made me decide to take a break. I decided after years of complaining "If I only had a truck." I would purchase a used Toyota Tacoma, preferably the extended cab as I didn't want the bigger size of the crew cab but wanted some 'indoor' storage for groceries, purchases, dogs, etc.
I'm trying to stay very close to the dollar figure returned from the Jeep's insurance settlement so I'm looking for a used truck in extremely good shape. There are many out trucks out there, but few that are in exceptionally good shape for the year and miles.
Recently, I found a gem. It was an 01 that first had me worried but had little mileage (for a Toyota,) original paint was unblemished and underneath was completely clean, new tires and to top it off, it had a whole new frame, new springs, new exhaust and new suspension totally reinstalled by Toyota just this March as part of it's frame replacement/rustproofing "campaign" for trucks in those years.
After agreeing on a price and arranging a day to come back and get it, (he was waiting for a new truck himself) the owner called and very humbly said he decided he was going to keep it as his lease deal for a new, special order Tundra got messed up. When it arrived, the leasing company would not honor the rate the dealer promised him.
While disappointing, the seller proved his honor by sending me a cheque for $100 to cover my 3 hour trip, including a $40.00 bridge toll, to go see the truck. He felt double bad as he had forgotten to tell me prior to my visit that I couldn't take it home that day if I wanted it, which I did!
After much more searching, I found an 04 in great shape. Not pristine like the first but very, very solid where it counts. Also in New Brunswick so again a bit of a trip for view. It came from New Hampshire so my first thought was OMG!! Mark could have owned this truck! It could be a celebrity vehicle!
Never having purchased an imported vehicle, I believed the the private dealer when he told me I would have to go get an RVI (Federal inspection) done and sent it back to him before he could complete the registration sign over. Seemed odd but I said, OK, well if we can't finalize today, would you mind not cashing my cheque until the registration work is done as it will give me a chance to get my mechanic to look at it and I could do a Carfax to check out his "absolutely no accidents" claim. He agreed to this.
My mechanic loved the truck, the frame, everything underneath was extremely solid. So, off I went to try and get the RVI done, I quickly discovered that it was really his responsibility as the importer to have this task done. Also, it was not free as he suggested, it was 193 dollars.
Worse yet, they could not complete this task as the VIN plate was missing from the door frame. The other 'VIN only' plate was intact by the front window but not the door one with the extra info. This was my first clue that I really had to do that Carfax as it indicated major replacement parts on that side, something my mechanic would not have noticed if there was no structural damage signs. The local Toyota dealership was extremely helpful with my resulting questions and were willing to work with Toyota US to get me the VIN plate if, big IF, all was legitimate.
I also decided to call Motor Vehicles Dept. in NB to get the scoop of how the deal was really supposed to go down. I described my situation and I gave them the VIN and they told me that THE SELLER HAD NO RIGHT TO SELL ME THIS TRUCK BECAUSE HE HAD NOT YET REGISTERED IT TO HIMSELF. If he didn't pay it at the border the GST (federal tax) wasn't even paid.
Now he was a younger guy, late 20s earlier 30s, but he had claimed to have been partners in a dealership prior just going with his own private sales, so he definitely knew better. Also, the Carfax report showed not zero accidents but THREE accidents.
Put that all together and I called him up and said that I was returning the truck. He argued for some time, telling me that the Service Center I contacted was wrong, he could get the VIN plate in a couple of weeks, etc. I simply did not want it anymore so I told him that according to the DMV, the Bill of Sale we signed was worthless and that he had to come pick up "His" truck as I wasn't going to endure any more expense on it. Again, he argued, saying I must return it to him. I settled that by telling him what the DMV told me. They advised me against driving the truck any further as the ownership was in question and they could not tell me how insurance would go if I had an accident. Also if pulled over by police for some reason, it might be a long time before they could verify the story I would be telling when they run the temporary plate number and can't find any registered owner.
Last night, the seller's much more pleasant father arrived at my doorstep to pick up the vehicle and we both just chatted a bit and avoided any discussion over the reasons for return. He seemed like a great guy, I wish I could say he raised an equal son.
On the plus side, I may still get the original Pristine Tacoma. I called that seller back to thank him for the $100 dollars and asked if he had considered replacing the truck again because I recalled him mentioning that the Tacoma really wasn't big enough for his work purposes. Sure enough, he is looking and if he found one soon, he had intentions to call me back to give me first dibs on it. He is going to let me know Friday how his hunt is faring out.
If not, my hunt continues.
Perhaps I should just go back to my trusty Jeeps. At least my network of Jeep club friends spanning three provinces gives me instant histories on any vehicle or their sellers. There are a lot advantages to Jeeps and other "Specialty" vehicles. There is generally a social network that has developed to readily gain advice and parts, etc and also every time I had to pull over on the side of the road for some reason, you will never see a fellow Jeep owner (Wranglers and offroaded Cherokees anyways) drive by without stopping to see if you need a hand. I once got frustrated changing a tire because I was delayed by 5 fellow Jeep owners who stopped to see what was wrong.
