hstexan
New member
How I bought it:
How it sits now:
The Story
Going to apologize now for the length of this first post. The last four days going to get the truck were simply put--an "ordeal." Posts after this I'm going to set aside and reserve for the build
I've been driving a 2002 Ford Explorer for the past 8 or so months and recently the transmission has started to fail. My wife and I had planned on looking for a 4th gen to replace it, but originally were going to wait until this fall to start looking. With the unreliable Explorer we were forced to move up our time table.
Since this will be primarily my truck I had a very specific color/trim combo I wanted. First, the exterior had to be Shadow Mica. After seeing it in person one time I was instantly in love. So much metallic flake and it can seem to be one of any four or five colors depending on the light. I also wanted the taupe interior, but was willing to compromise with the stone. The second was that I wanted a Limited trim--I had become spoiled having previously been driving my IS350. I wanted the leather, the heated/power/memory seats (yes occasionally it gets cold enough to use those in Texas), the homelink garage door opener...I wanted all the creature comforts I could get. Third it had to be a 4WD model since we like to go camping and I also bird hunt. I also have been kicking around the idea of exploring the trail side of things. Lastly I wanted the V6 engine--I know most people go after the V8 since it's the end of the era with the big displacement in the 4R. I, however, wanted a timing chain and seeing as it's really going to be 90% a daily driver I like that I can run it in RWD.
I started looking and after a week or so I found one up in Minnesota. I posted a thread on here about it actually and got quite a few responses. In the end what happened is while I was waiting for the money to transfer to my bank we went on vacation out of the country. Because of this I was unable to put a deposit on the vehicle and as such they sold it the day we got back.
I spent this past Saturday browsing Autotrader, Craigslist, Cars.com, etc. trying to find another potential vehicle. Funny enough I found a listing mid-afternoon that was most definitely not there that morning. The listing was vague--the only information it had was year, make, model, mileage, and VIN. I knew that I could go to the Toyota owners website and input the VIN and it would tell me the specs and show the color. It popped up as Shadow Mica/Taupe. Another VIN checker website showed me the rest--Limited 4x4 V6. I immediately called and was told they'd get more information and get back to me that evening. Of course I never heard back from them and had to wait anxiously Sunday until they reopened at 9AM Memorial Day.
Of course I called them bright and early when they opened to get more info and started getting some more details and pictures as well as a Carfax. By 5PM that afternoon I had a deposit down for an agreed upon price if everything checked out and bought a flight for Wednesday to go inspect it and pick it up and drive it the 500 miles home.
I flew out early at 7AM so I headed the two hours to Dallas to stay the night with my folks on Tuesday. Early Wednesday morning things started out absolutely perfect. My first flight of two ended up delayed and I missed my connection. This is my second plane about to pull away from the gate as I was taxiing in on my first flight.
I got the next flight out and only got pushed back about an hour so I arrived at the dealership around noon. Immediately went out and inspected the car--tested all the switches and the 4WD system and locker. All seemed great--got under the hood and didn't see any sort of leaks or hear any funny noises. Had them rev it for me while I stood at the rear and didn't smell anything suspicious or see any smoke. After that was a test drive that went well so we went back to the dealership to sign the papers and hand over the check.
My plan that evening was to do 200 miles of the drive and stop at a hotel for the evening and then get up early and do the last 300 miles the next day. About an hour into my drive I notice the battery light come on and the A/C stops blowing cold air. As you could imagine I'm totally excited about this. I knew I was buying a 10 year old, nearly 150K mile car, but I also know if you take care of these vehicles they can last you forever. The car still seems to be driving ok, so I start looking for an exit to get off and pull into a gas station so I can see what's wrong. Before I can even do that the dash lights up like a Christmas tree. I call my salesman less than pleased and ask him WTF is going on and did they decide to not disclose any mechanical issues. He insists they didn't and at this point the traffic starts to slow due to an accident. I realize I also have no power steering and the engine temp is rising quickly. I get off to the side of the highway and pull over and pop the hood. Coolant is boiling in the overflow tank and the serpentine belt is just absolutely shredded to pieces. I had more than a few choice four letter words I said to myself as traffic slowly crept by. Called the salesman back and told them they needed to get a flatbed to get the car and come pick me up. Ended up standing out by the car for about an hour and a half in 92 degree heat.
Almost a totally silent hour ride back to the dealership and upon arrival I broach the subject of a full reversal. Take the truck back and give me my money and I'll eat the cost of the flights and catch the next plane home. I call my wife and see what she wants to do. They ask me to please let them diagnose the problem and fix the issues and they will put me up in a hotel for the night and then after the truck is fixed if I don't like it they'll reverse the sale. Originally they seemed to just want to do the serpentine belt, which I feel like is less likely to have failed on it's own than fail because one of the other items caused it to fail. My wife and I agreed that was a fair option. I also asked they do a compression test on the engine as I had no idea if the overheating caused any problems. At this point I was also dealing with the used car manager who also explained that they want to help me out, but by law I signed the papers and drove it off the lot so if they wanted they could in theory wash their hands of it and tell me it's my problem. It's hard to explain his tone--it wasn't an accusatory or aggressive comment, it was more just him also trying to assure me that they were trying to do the right thing. I had thought this could be the case legally, but his concern was that I was going to demand every little thing be fixed, when in reality I just wanted the working vehicle I was sold.
After a stressful day I took a shower and turned on the TV after talking to my wife and tried to not think about the 4R at all. I was 90% sure I was flying home the next day, but I decided sticking it out to at least see it after they do the repairs was worth the time. Got checked in around 7PM and realized I hadn't eaten a single thing all day so ordered a pizza and turned off my brain for a bit. Hotel was literally right next to the dealership so in the morning before I checked out I could watch them.
Upon checkout I moved to the showroom and found a comfortable chair and posted up next to a charger with my phone making various phone calls to my wife and father--updating them both and getting their opinions and advice as I got updates from the dealership. I ended up spending about 6 hours with this as my view.
However, I was able to talk to them and find out the extent of the repairs. Apparently the power steering pump had failed which caused the belt failure. They were going to replace the pump, belt, and the front crankshaft gasket because they noticed a bit of a leak there as well. They had to source parts so it was taking awhile to get them to the dealership. I was also able to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together as to how this happened--more on that at the end.
Around 5:00PM the sales floor manager came out and told me he was brought up to speed on my situation. He wanted to put me up for another night because the tech didn't think he'd be done until the following morning. They were going to get me a loaner car to drive around if I wanted and by about 5:30 I was in a car headed to get food (did I mention I hadn't eaten all day again). About 10 minutes away my sales guy called me to tell me to come back to the dealership. I had a feeling the 4R was done, but wasn't sure so I turned around and booked it back. Sure enough the truck was repaired the the tech was currently out test driving it as well. Once back my sales guy and I went through it with a fine tooth comb. Popped hood revving, watching for leaks or squeaks. Smoke, drips, the slightest clicking sound. Nothing. Took it for a test drive. Babied it, gunned it, made it downshift aggressively--listened with the windows down and there was nothing. The car felt and sounded solid. I'm 99.9% sure it's mental, but from what I remembered it felt better than the day before. Called my wife and we agreed to give it a chance.
I'd like to think I got a good deal and there was plenty of money left over in the budget to do repairs if needed (which I openly expected on a vehicle this old with this mileage). I fully intended to take it first thing once home to my local Toyota dealership and have them do an inspection and fix any critical pieces they recommended--however, I expected to at least make it home first. I thanked both my salesman and the manager I had been dealing with and decided to head out at about 6:30PM last night to get at least 120 miles done before stopping at a hotel. This would allow me to at least get a bit of driving done as a small test.
Of course my palms were sweating as I passed mile marker 60. Just 24 hours before this I was on the side of the road with my hood propped up. As I drove by I could even see the dark spot where the coolant had stained the asphalt.
Sure enough I made it just fine to the hotel. Had a mediocre nights sleep, but at least the truck was right outside my window.
Woke up bright and early and for the first time in a couple days actually felt pretty damn good. Got a bit of the excited jitters walking out this morning and seeing it sitting in the parking lot in all it's glory.
The rest of the 380 miles this morning were 100% uneventful--just the way I had hoped. The repairs they did were solid and the truck seems mechanically sound. I still intend to make an appointment with Toyota here to have them take a look at it next week, but I am very happy now that it's home.
So now as to why this all happened. The reason this truck wasn't on Autotrader in the morning, but was in the afternoon was because I literally found the listing within a couple hours of them taking the 4R in on trade in. When they take in a vehicle they get the VIN, the make, model, year, and input it into their system. Their system is set that no matter what it automatically puts an ad up on various listing websites. However, some trade ins get marked as wholesale and some as resale. Their system doesn't know the difference between the two though and both vehicles get listed. I happened to catch the 4Runner before someone could pull the ad. The wholesale vehicles are older vehicles with more mileage that there really isn't a market for on the lot. They take them on the condition they run and drive and send them to auction as-is. The resale vehicles are vehicles that are much newer with lower mileage that they want to put on their lot to sell. Wholesale vehicles get a basic inspection to make sure they drive, resale vehicles get a thorough technical inspection and service before being put out on the lot. A 10 year old, 150K miles 4Runner? Yeah that's a wholesale vehicle. See where I'm going with this?
Apparently it slipped through the cracks and even once I put a deposit it was supposed to be marked for resale and have the rigorous inspection where they would have found the faulty power steering pump. The used car manager had been away for the weekend and usually would be the one to structure the deal. Ideally he would have sent the car for the inspection and then come to me with a list of things that should be fixed and from there we would agree on a price and repair if desired. Instead, the salesman sold me the car thinking it had already been looked over and had a clean bill of health when in reality, it had basically been driven around the back of the lot and parked. I'm not familiar with law in Alabama, so I'm not entirely sure how free and clear they were, but they absolutely did the right thing fixing their mistake. In the end I got the car for the agreed upon price, they paid for my hotel, they spent around $1000 on parts and labor to fix the problem that should have been found before I took delivery. Had the truck made it back to Texas I would have been footing this bill.
Sitting here now I'm thrilled with the truck. I know a lot of people would have walked away and never looked back. I'm glad I didn't. If my local Toyota dealership confirms there is nothing else that needs to be done (as I expect they will), then the selling dealership just did the maintenance I thought I was going to have to do and now I have a great, solid truck at a great price. Shit happens in life and no matter how hard you try sometimes honest mistakes still happen. I feel their actions and the way they treated me more than made up for their mistake. Their attitude from the second they found out about the belt to when I left was extremely apologetic and they wanted to make it right. Even last night and today my salesman called me to check up on me and see how the truck was doing and how my drive was going to make sure I was ok.
That flake....
How it sits now:
The Story
Going to apologize now for the length of this first post. The last four days going to get the truck were simply put--an "ordeal." Posts after this I'm going to set aside and reserve for the build
I've been driving a 2002 Ford Explorer for the past 8 or so months and recently the transmission has started to fail. My wife and I had planned on looking for a 4th gen to replace it, but originally were going to wait until this fall to start looking. With the unreliable Explorer we were forced to move up our time table.
Since this will be primarily my truck I had a very specific color/trim combo I wanted. First, the exterior had to be Shadow Mica. After seeing it in person one time I was instantly in love. So much metallic flake and it can seem to be one of any four or five colors depending on the light. I also wanted the taupe interior, but was willing to compromise with the stone. The second was that I wanted a Limited trim--I had become spoiled having previously been driving my IS350. I wanted the leather, the heated/power/memory seats (yes occasionally it gets cold enough to use those in Texas), the homelink garage door opener...I wanted all the creature comforts I could get. Third it had to be a 4WD model since we like to go camping and I also bird hunt. I also have been kicking around the idea of exploring the trail side of things. Lastly I wanted the V6 engine--I know most people go after the V8 since it's the end of the era with the big displacement in the 4R. I, however, wanted a timing chain and seeing as it's really going to be 90% a daily driver I like that I can run it in RWD.
I started looking and after a week or so I found one up in Minnesota. I posted a thread on here about it actually and got quite a few responses. In the end what happened is while I was waiting for the money to transfer to my bank we went on vacation out of the country. Because of this I was unable to put a deposit on the vehicle and as such they sold it the day we got back.
I spent this past Saturday browsing Autotrader, Craigslist, Cars.com, etc. trying to find another potential vehicle. Funny enough I found a listing mid-afternoon that was most definitely not there that morning. The listing was vague--the only information it had was year, make, model, mileage, and VIN. I knew that I could go to the Toyota owners website and input the VIN and it would tell me the specs and show the color. It popped up as Shadow Mica/Taupe. Another VIN checker website showed me the rest--Limited 4x4 V6. I immediately called and was told they'd get more information and get back to me that evening. Of course I never heard back from them and had to wait anxiously Sunday until they reopened at 9AM Memorial Day.
Of course I called them bright and early when they opened to get more info and started getting some more details and pictures as well as a Carfax. By 5PM that afternoon I had a deposit down for an agreed upon price if everything checked out and bought a flight for Wednesday to go inspect it and pick it up and drive it the 500 miles home.
I flew out early at 7AM so I headed the two hours to Dallas to stay the night with my folks on Tuesday. Early Wednesday morning things started out absolutely perfect. My first flight of two ended up delayed and I missed my connection. This is my second plane about to pull away from the gate as I was taxiing in on my first flight.
I got the next flight out and only got pushed back about an hour so I arrived at the dealership around noon. Immediately went out and inspected the car--tested all the switches and the 4WD system and locker. All seemed great--got under the hood and didn't see any sort of leaks or hear any funny noises. Had them rev it for me while I stood at the rear and didn't smell anything suspicious or see any smoke. After that was a test drive that went well so we went back to the dealership to sign the papers and hand over the check.
My plan that evening was to do 200 miles of the drive and stop at a hotel for the evening and then get up early and do the last 300 miles the next day. About an hour into my drive I notice the battery light come on and the A/C stops blowing cold air. As you could imagine I'm totally excited about this. I knew I was buying a 10 year old, nearly 150K mile car, but I also know if you take care of these vehicles they can last you forever. The car still seems to be driving ok, so I start looking for an exit to get off and pull into a gas station so I can see what's wrong. Before I can even do that the dash lights up like a Christmas tree. I call my salesman less than pleased and ask him WTF is going on and did they decide to not disclose any mechanical issues. He insists they didn't and at this point the traffic starts to slow due to an accident. I realize I also have no power steering and the engine temp is rising quickly. I get off to the side of the highway and pull over and pop the hood. Coolant is boiling in the overflow tank and the serpentine belt is just absolutely shredded to pieces. I had more than a few choice four letter words I said to myself as traffic slowly crept by. Called the salesman back and told them they needed to get a flatbed to get the car and come pick me up. Ended up standing out by the car for about an hour and a half in 92 degree heat.
Almost a totally silent hour ride back to the dealership and upon arrival I broach the subject of a full reversal. Take the truck back and give me my money and I'll eat the cost of the flights and catch the next plane home. I call my wife and see what she wants to do. They ask me to please let them diagnose the problem and fix the issues and they will put me up in a hotel for the night and then after the truck is fixed if I don't like it they'll reverse the sale. Originally they seemed to just want to do the serpentine belt, which I feel like is less likely to have failed on it's own than fail because one of the other items caused it to fail. My wife and I agreed that was a fair option. I also asked they do a compression test on the engine as I had no idea if the overheating caused any problems. At this point I was also dealing with the used car manager who also explained that they want to help me out, but by law I signed the papers and drove it off the lot so if they wanted they could in theory wash their hands of it and tell me it's my problem. It's hard to explain his tone--it wasn't an accusatory or aggressive comment, it was more just him also trying to assure me that they were trying to do the right thing. I had thought this could be the case legally, but his concern was that I was going to demand every little thing be fixed, when in reality I just wanted the working vehicle I was sold.
After a stressful day I took a shower and turned on the TV after talking to my wife and tried to not think about the 4R at all. I was 90% sure I was flying home the next day, but I decided sticking it out to at least see it after they do the repairs was worth the time. Got checked in around 7PM and realized I hadn't eaten a single thing all day so ordered a pizza and turned off my brain for a bit. Hotel was literally right next to the dealership so in the morning before I checked out I could watch them.
Upon checkout I moved to the showroom and found a comfortable chair and posted up next to a charger with my phone making various phone calls to my wife and father--updating them both and getting their opinions and advice as I got updates from the dealership. I ended up spending about 6 hours with this as my view.
However, I was able to talk to them and find out the extent of the repairs. Apparently the power steering pump had failed which caused the belt failure. They were going to replace the pump, belt, and the front crankshaft gasket because they noticed a bit of a leak there as well. They had to source parts so it was taking awhile to get them to the dealership. I was also able to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together as to how this happened--more on that at the end.
Around 5:00PM the sales floor manager came out and told me he was brought up to speed on my situation. He wanted to put me up for another night because the tech didn't think he'd be done until the following morning. They were going to get me a loaner car to drive around if I wanted and by about 5:30 I was in a car headed to get food (did I mention I hadn't eaten all day again). About 10 minutes away my sales guy called me to tell me to come back to the dealership. I had a feeling the 4R was done, but wasn't sure so I turned around and booked it back. Sure enough the truck was repaired the the tech was currently out test driving it as well. Once back my sales guy and I went through it with a fine tooth comb. Popped hood revving, watching for leaks or squeaks. Smoke, drips, the slightest clicking sound. Nothing. Took it for a test drive. Babied it, gunned it, made it downshift aggressively--listened with the windows down and there was nothing. The car felt and sounded solid. I'm 99.9% sure it's mental, but from what I remembered it felt better than the day before. Called my wife and we agreed to give it a chance.
I'd like to think I got a good deal and there was plenty of money left over in the budget to do repairs if needed (which I openly expected on a vehicle this old with this mileage). I fully intended to take it first thing once home to my local Toyota dealership and have them do an inspection and fix any critical pieces they recommended--however, I expected to at least make it home first. I thanked both my salesman and the manager I had been dealing with and decided to head out at about 6:30PM last night to get at least 120 miles done before stopping at a hotel. This would allow me to at least get a bit of driving done as a small test.
Of course my palms were sweating as I passed mile marker 60. Just 24 hours before this I was on the side of the road with my hood propped up. As I drove by I could even see the dark spot where the coolant had stained the asphalt.
Sure enough I made it just fine to the hotel. Had a mediocre nights sleep, but at least the truck was right outside my window.
Woke up bright and early and for the first time in a couple days actually felt pretty damn good. Got a bit of the excited jitters walking out this morning and seeing it sitting in the parking lot in all it's glory.
The rest of the 380 miles this morning were 100% uneventful--just the way I had hoped. The repairs they did were solid and the truck seems mechanically sound. I still intend to make an appointment with Toyota here to have them take a look at it next week, but I am very happy now that it's home.
So now as to why this all happened. The reason this truck wasn't on Autotrader in the morning, but was in the afternoon was because I literally found the listing within a couple hours of them taking the 4R in on trade in. When they take in a vehicle they get the VIN, the make, model, year, and input it into their system. Their system is set that no matter what it automatically puts an ad up on various listing websites. However, some trade ins get marked as wholesale and some as resale. Their system doesn't know the difference between the two though and both vehicles get listed. I happened to catch the 4Runner before someone could pull the ad. The wholesale vehicles are older vehicles with more mileage that there really isn't a market for on the lot. They take them on the condition they run and drive and send them to auction as-is. The resale vehicles are vehicles that are much newer with lower mileage that they want to put on their lot to sell. Wholesale vehicles get a basic inspection to make sure they drive, resale vehicles get a thorough technical inspection and service before being put out on the lot. A 10 year old, 150K miles 4Runner? Yeah that's a wholesale vehicle. See where I'm going with this?
Apparently it slipped through the cracks and even once I put a deposit it was supposed to be marked for resale and have the rigorous inspection where they would have found the faulty power steering pump. The used car manager had been away for the weekend and usually would be the one to structure the deal. Ideally he would have sent the car for the inspection and then come to me with a list of things that should be fixed and from there we would agree on a price and repair if desired. Instead, the salesman sold me the car thinking it had already been looked over and had a clean bill of health when in reality, it had basically been driven around the back of the lot and parked. I'm not familiar with law in Alabama, so I'm not entirely sure how free and clear they were, but they absolutely did the right thing fixing their mistake. In the end I got the car for the agreed upon price, they paid for my hotel, they spent around $1000 on parts and labor to fix the problem that should have been found before I took delivery. Had the truck made it back to Texas I would have been footing this bill.
Sitting here now I'm thrilled with the truck. I know a lot of people would have walked away and never looked back. I'm glad I didn't. If my local Toyota dealership confirms there is nothing else that needs to be done (as I expect they will), then the selling dealership just did the maintenance I thought I was going to have to do and now I have a great, solid truck at a great price. Shit happens in life and no matter how hard you try sometimes honest mistakes still happen. I feel their actions and the way they treated me more than made up for their mistake. Their attitude from the second they found out about the belt to when I left was extremely apologetic and they wanted to make it right. Even last night and today my salesman called me to check up on me and see how the truck was doing and how my drive was going to make sure I was ok.
That flake....
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