Thoughts on buying a "commercial" used truck?

Looking to buy a Tundra, but I'm not familiar with these vehicles. All I've ever owned were Toyota's and Lexus' and I've always had good experiences with them, but I've never owned a truck before. What should I look for and what should I look out for? I've seen these babies hit 500K so the mileage doesn't really worry me, but I've never bought a vehicle from a dealer before and I've always heard of the nightmares. This truck wouldn't count under the Lemon Law, so once I buy it I'm stuck with it. Also have a baby on the way which is one of the reasons I want something bigger, and safer.


https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/5TFUY5F13BX179720


That's the truck. Now it was a "commercial" truck so I'm not really sure if that's something to stay away from or not. Everything looks great in the pics, and the price, but I've been going back and forth for 3 weeks with this dealer over getting more pictures and a video tour, and they keep blowing smoke up my...

I've spoken to them 5 times now, and two emails, and they say they sent the pics, and video, but nothing. Called again this morning and he confirmed he would send it, and again nothing. If I was local I would just stop by, but it's a 3 hour drive for me.

 

That seems like a good price, but it could also be that they are trying to dump it off. I know my coworkers and I drive the crap out of our work trucks. Drive it like you rented it if you don’t own it or pay for maintenance.

Id definitely want to see it in person and get a mechanic to look it over before buying it.

 

Yea that's a good point. The body and interior looks so clean I wonder what kind of work it was used for.

 

Not sure what makes it a commercial vehicle. Maybe it was owned by a small corporation previously or was titled that way for some reason. It doesn't appear to be a base model fleet truck that's been flogged 6 days a week by daryl and bubba. The condition of the inside of the bed will tell you how it's been used.

Biggest thing is going to be rust in that part of the country. If you are driving north to buy this, forget it. Drive south.

Do you need to finance this purchase?

 

I'm looking for private party sales too in the same range, but yes I was going to finance it.

 

My Tundra is a commercial vehicle in Kali has never been in any type of business. I'm the original owner and my point of view is some states can tax the shit out these vehicles on a yearly basis for "road improvement projects" just by labeling them commercial vehicles... registration for mine has been about 450 the last decade. Last year it dropped to 350..

 

Not to put too fine a point on this but what does the dealer have to do for you to decide to find another dealer?
They seem unresponsive from what yo say and I would never consider a truck like this that I can not drive first no matter how much I think I like it.

I dont think the Commercial designation necessarily means anything in particular to worry about though it depends on the state that calls it that and exactly why they do too?
Might just be a Licensing thing,in my state the tax payments are just different and insurance rates too but it hardly means that it was sentenced to hard,rusty labor but it also might mean that again depending on where it is from.

There are plenty of trucks out there so I would keep searching for something Local myself.

 

Just because a truck was registered as "commercial" doesn't mean it was dogged. LOL. It does help to have comprehensive service history like my previously commercially registered 14 has. My 14 owners manual had the previous owners registrations from day one. He had a business in ND and registered it commercial to save some DMV $ and on taxes. All service was recorded on the MyToyota.com site. For crying out loud, we have members here who dog the shit out of their Tundras. SMH

SALT changes everything........................in this instance......PASS

 

If it's a small dealer they will have limited finance options. It's also an older vehicle with higher miles. That means higher interest rates. Consider going to your bank and getting a loan.

A used tundra isn't a vehicle that I would worry about too much from a used car dealer. If it was a more problematic car than I would be more cautious.

Like I said, rust is going to be your biggest issue. Looks like it was in upstate NY. You need to crawl under that thing and really look it over. Brake lines, brake rotors, calipers, exhaust, catalytic converters, clamps, fuel tank straps, trailer hitch, bumper brackets, bed crossmembers, frame especially the rear half, radiator core support, skidplates. Check for leaks and seeps too.

No accidents reported, but check the gap of the body lines and fit of the panels to see if it's been wrecked. Check the paint transitioning between the outside and inside into the door jams for mismatched color. Pop the hood and look at the fender bolts for paint flaking to see if they have ever been removed. Feel and look at the paint in the sun around the fenders and rockers to see if it's been hacked and packed by a body shop to cover up rust. The rockers though will have a bumpy undercoating from toyota. That isn't a sign it's been repaired, but rather that it hasn't.

If you can, look at it when the engine is cold. Check air filter, oil and other fluids. Check to make sure all the dash lights work when you turn the key on. Cold start it and see how it high idles and then drops to a low idle as it warms up, see how fast it warms to temp and if its running smooth. See if it has a belt squeal on a cold start. The air pumps will run for a short time after start up, but shouldnt be absurdly loud. Let it run for a while when you look it over to make sure it doesnt get hot. Try to run the A/C if it's warm enough. If not see if the compressor cycles on. Check every button and feature to make sure it works properly. Check tires for abnormal, uneven wear, or mismatched brands. Remove oil fill cap while running to check for blow by. Stomp on the gas and make sure the transmission doesnt shift weird. Test the brakes and all gears. Drive with radio off and windows up and listen for noises, then with windows down. See if the exhaust and heat shields start rattling when it gets hot.

 

I agree. It looks by the carfax it's always been a NY vehicle and that can't be good. It's also had more than 2 owners than their ad says.

 

I really appreciate that. Sometimes it's hard to check everything sometimes you forget one or two things. Thanks for all the info.

And to bleach, how do you know it's had more than 2 owners?

 

A couple of observations..... (there is NO substitute for an inspection!) As referenced earlier, rust on the hitch receiver is a likely indicator of rust on the undercarriage / frame - a showstopper. The pic of the driver side, left seat bolster shows LOTS of wear. Possibly indicating lots of "ins and outs", which might be due to lots of "stop and go" or short trips.

 

If you look at the Carfax, it shows it's been sold a few times.

 

Pass on any commercial used vehicles, same for anything that was a rental. No way those vehicles are treated right by those that use them.

 

I agree on the possible rust issue. Another thing that would put me off is the fact that it's a Flex Fuel vehicle. I will never own one of those.

 

Being Titles as Commercial does not mean it was used only as a Commercial vehicle.

 

I've been looking for a Tundra for about 3 months straight now, and I think my search is coming to an end. I think I'm going to look for a Tacoma or 4Runner instead. I check carfax, craigs, facebook, auto tempest, etc... every day and in my price range there really isn't a whole lot of good deals for a clean Tundra. The entire process has me down.

 

Where are you?
When I get as looking last year CarGuru was the one I liked the most.
Better searches than the rest to me.

 

I agree. The undercarriage has to have cancer, and it was bought at auction by a used car dealer that's looking for a sucker... at least that's my opinion.

 

If $14K is your budget, you might need to rethink how much you are willing to spend for a nice clean Tundra or Tacoma. Or, be patient. Or, look at another make.

 

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions. Some states make selling a used vehicle harder than it has to be. Small used car dealers have to jump through the hoops but the large new car dealers will only sell low mileage perfect vehicles. Even then they may not want them. For example I traded in a 3 year old Honda with under 50k on it. The Subaru dealer didn't even want it. They were on the phone with a used dealer in another state (maybe 50 miles away) making a deal with them at the same time as I was making a deal to get rid of it. Once they got the other dealer high enough so they could make my number I wanted in my head the deal was made. I had the title so as I was finishing up the paperwork they had already loaded the Honda up and it was leaving the lot.

I wouldn't be too worried about commercial either. Any business can register a vehicle. From the vehicle the owner drives down to one a worker will use. If there's signs the bed was used (hard) or it had a rack mounted on it then I would be a little more cautions. If it has marks from where a sign was stuck to it then I might look a little harder. Even the receiver hitch isn't something I would base an opinion on. The one on my wife's 16 Rav4 looks worse than that but everything under the car has very little rust. Unless you can see a picture (which will most likely be a frame covered with undercoating) it's just a guess.

The dealer not wanting to spend anytime trying to sell it to you would be a red flag. Either you said something or asked a question they didn't like. Most dealers I know would do anything they could to get you in the door. Unless sales are so good they can ignore customers why wouldn't they try to sell you something.

 

Well the truck sold, and after talking to the dealer two more times since my last post I still didn't get any pics or videos as promised. What a bummer.

My budget can go higher for the right truck, but I would like to spend around 14K to keep payments down. I drive 60 miles a day and I know the 5.7 is a hog. Throw in the additional time I'm sitting in traffic and not moving I might be spending $250 a month just on gas.

Thanks for mentioning CarGuru's found quite a few trucks that weren't elsewhere.

 

Where are you located and what are you looking for? I assume a 4 door cab and 4wd. Under $14k.

 

Located at Long Island, New York, but willing to travel. Looking for a Double Cab with 4WD. Not opposed to Crewmax at all, but I think I would prefer the bigger bed. I think the baby and 7 year old will be fine in the double cab. I'd prefer 2010+ just because all the 2010's and newer have timing chains. I've found a lot of 2007-09 models that look great only to find out it has the timing belt. It's just a big job that I'm looking to avoid, did it twice on a Lexus SC400(1UZFE engine) and it's a pain in the ass. Looking for a good looking truck, clean body, frame and interior. 5.7 preferred, but not against a 4.6 other then the fact the earlier models had timing belts.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the 4.6 has a chain, the engine is very similar to the 5.7. The older 4.7 had a belt.

 

If you fly down to Florida, you can buy this '07 Limited 5.7 4x4 for $13500. 210k miles.
https://orlando.craigslist.org/ctd/d/longwood-2007-toyota-tundra-limited-4x4/7299227955.html

No rust that I can see in the shitty craigslist pictures. Looks like aftermarket exhaust too, you'll have to check that it still has catalytic converters if you take it back to NY.