Pics of the beast
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890 Posts
Nice pics.
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7,625 Posts
NIce Dak man...I wouldn't mind a QC for the winter. rep'd ya
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3,174 Posts
sexy!
Honestly, the bed rails need to be replaced (I finally yanked them off). I'm thinking either polished or black diamondplate, though honestly plastic is probably best (just not my favorite).
The grill needs to be replaced too. I had been thinking of pulling it off and painting it black, but with black grilles only costing about $20, I may just buy one.
I'd honestly thought about ditching the brush guard, but... I guess I may as well keep it. I suppose it can't hurt when I'm pushing through light brush, but I suspect it is more of a decoration than anything, and it doesn't protect the lights much.
I'd really like to get a nice fiberglass top on it, then mount a top rack to that to carry my kayaks; so long as it can be easily removed.
Beyond that, I probably won't do much to it at all. I like the trucks stock. In fact, if I could find a stock exhaust to swap with my Flowmaster, I sure would. While it does sound nice, I put too many miles on it every day to have it growl at me all the time; and I'm sure my neighbors don't appreciate it in the early morning hours. Anyone wanna swap?
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571 Posts
Truck looks good. I would definitely crank the t-bars. It was one of the best things I did to my truck. Also tint the tail lights if you are going with a green and black theme like you said about your grille. Other than that, I really like it. Don't see too many green quad cabs.
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10,668 Posts
sweet ride
Interesting developments...
I warned the dealer that the title would be an issue with my bank if they weren't snappy about getting it processed. As of today, the truck still wears paper plates; the dealer kept telling me it was just because they failed to send the payoff to the previous owner's bank in a timely manner. I became suspicious...
Sure enough, I got word just this morning that the vehicle is carrying a salvage title. This was question number 1 before I even drove the truck and was assured that this company didn't deal in salvaged title vehicles. Now, before anyone thinks that the dealer tried to intentionally screw me, I'm quite certain they didn't. The truck sat on the lot for about 22 hours before I signed papers on it, and the title was sitting with the PO's bank awaiting funding to release. Now I do think the POS PO was fully aware of this, but I'll let that be what it is for the moment.
Aaaaaanyway... The dealer gives me the option to walk away and take a refund of the $1,200 I just spent on the new tires (which are most fantastic) if I chose. He also says we can put me in a similar vehicle if I want (they don't have anything on the lot similar at the moment though), or I can continue with the sale but they'll reduce the price by $2k (putting the truck's final price at $4,500).
Some background on the truck: The salvage title happened with just 1,200 miles on the odometer. It was purchased by the second owner at just over 80K, and I picked it up at just a hair over 101K. Aside from what I presume is a set of badly warped rotors, the truck drives and feels solid with no weird pulls or behaviors. Everything about the truck is quite good. I did notice that there is some not-so-fantastic bodywork done to the tip of the hood, and just discovered a little crease at the lower rocker portion of the passenger-side front fender. It clearly ran into something, as the repairs seem to be even across the whole front, although minor.
The guys at the dealer were openly embarrassed with the situation, and so we pulled it in to have the mechanics go over it and take a good hard look at the truck. The lead mech is actually best friends with one of my co-workers (who is a good friend of mine) and is looking out for me. When we pulled the truck up on the lift and poked around, there was absolutely zero frame damage; no cuts/welds, no cracks, no buckles or folds... nothing. All indications point to a sheet-metal total of the vehicle (I suspect the newness of the truck caused the replacement parts to cross the insurance company's threshold to total). EVERYTHING aside from the crease in the fender (that you honestly have to look hard for) and the not-so-great bodywork on the very tip of the hood looks to be perfect.
They're keeping it overnight to do a thorough check (and gave me this absurd Cadillac to drive in the mean time.. forgive me, but I feel like such a pussy in this thing). Nice gesture though. Tomorrow morning I'll unload this... car, thing... and get my truck back. I think I honestly got the deal of the century on this thing. Yeah, it'll carry a salvage title, but it's a beautiful truck that's otherwise totally solid; and for $4500 it's nearly a throw-away price for transportation.
So, a quick recap shows this:
A) Sold beloved '97 Toyota 4x4 with 140K for higher than market value $6700 in 2009
B) Got an '02 with 101K Dakota that the whole family fits in and is better to drive for 90% of the time for $4500
C) Can't expect to sell the Dakota for squat, but who's sellin'? And besides, if I have it for 4 years and sell it for $1k (which would be reasonable, even if just as a farm truck) then I've actually used the truck for 4 years and only paid $1200.
Hopefully it'll all work out just like that
I warned the dealer that the title would be an issue with my bank if they weren't snappy about getting it processed. As of today, the truck still wears paper plates; the dealer kept telling me it was just because they failed to send the payoff to the previous owner's bank in a timely manner. I became suspicious...
Sure enough, I got word just this morning that the vehicle is carrying a salvage title. This was question number 1 before I even drove the truck and was assured that this company didn't deal in salvaged title vehicles. Now, before anyone thinks that the dealer tried to intentionally screw me, I'm quite certain they didn't. The truck sat on the lot for about 22 hours before I signed papers on it, and the title was sitting with the PO's bank awaiting funding to release. Now I do think the POS PO was fully aware of this, but I'll let that be what it is for the moment.
Aaaaaanyway... The dealer gives me the option to walk away and take a refund of the $1,200 I just spent on the new tires (which are most fantastic) if I chose. He also says we can put me in a similar vehicle if I want (they don't have anything on the lot similar at the moment though), or I can continue with the sale but they'll reduce the price by $2k (putting the truck's final price at $4,500).
Some background on the truck: The salvage title happened with just 1,200 miles on the odometer. It was purchased by the second owner at just over 80K, and I picked it up at just a hair over 101K. Aside from what I presume is a set of badly warped rotors, the truck drives and feels solid with no weird pulls or behaviors. Everything about the truck is quite good. I did notice that there is some not-so-fantastic bodywork done to the tip of the hood, and just discovered a little crease at the lower rocker portion of the passenger-side front fender. It clearly ran into something, as the repairs seem to be even across the whole front, although minor.
The guys at the dealer were openly embarrassed with the situation, and so we pulled it in to have the mechanics go over it and take a good hard look at the truck. The lead mech is actually best friends with one of my co-workers (who is a good friend of mine) and is looking out for me. When we pulled the truck up on the lift and poked around, there was absolutely zero frame damage; no cuts/welds, no cracks, no buckles or folds... nothing. All indications point to a sheet-metal total of the vehicle (I suspect the newness of the truck caused the replacement parts to cross the insurance company's threshold to total). EVERYTHING aside from the crease in the fender (that you honestly have to look hard for) and the not-so-great bodywork on the very tip of the hood looks to be perfect.
They're keeping it overnight to do a thorough check (and gave me this absurd Cadillac to drive in the mean time.. forgive me, but I feel like such a pussy in this thing). Nice gesture though. Tomorrow morning I'll unload this... car, thing... and get my truck back. I think I honestly got the deal of the century on this thing. Yeah, it'll carry a salvage title, but it's a beautiful truck that's otherwise totally solid; and for $4500 it's nearly a throw-away price for transportation.
So, a quick recap shows this:
A) Sold beloved '97 Toyota 4x4 with 140K for higher than market value $6700 in 2009
B) Got an '02 with 101K Dakota that the whole family fits in and is better to drive for 90% of the time for $4500
C) Can't expect to sell the Dakota for squat, but who's sellin'? And besides, if I have it for 4 years and sell it for $1k (which would be reasonable, even if just as a farm truck) then I've actually used the truck for 4 years and only paid $1200.
Hopefully it'll all work out just like that
Wow, your lucky on the salvage title coming up, though I wonder how prices are on quad cab Dak's in your area. My area, QC Dak's sell from your first price all the way to $12K. I suspect the ones with the lowest miles (and possible leftover warranty) are the ones with the higher price tags. Plus, these trucks don't stay on dealer's lots here for more than a week on average.
At least you didn't get a new "racing" Tacoma. :funny: (Get it?)
At least you didn't get a new "racing" Tacoma. :funny: (Get it?)
My Dak books for a little over 10K per condition, so I got a good deal to start with. It just got better with the title issue.
The title is really a give and take thing though. I wouldn't ever advise getting a vehicle with a salvage title unless you truly knew you were going to keep it for a good while, or were comfortable knowing you'd practically have to give it away when you wanted to move it. There is certainly a situation where you win (in my particular instance where the sheet-metal was the only issue) but if anything had affected the frame at all, I'd have walked.
As it is, I have a scarlet letter painted on this machine, but it's a good truck for hauling the family around and less extreme-adventure offroading. For getting where I used to go with the Tacoma... well... it's hikin' time I guess, because the Dakota just isn't anywhere near as good offroad. With that said, I'm not even sure the larger, newer Tacomas are as good as the older smaller ones either, though they're certainly lighter than the Dakota and have a higher ground clearance.
I'm not gonna knock Toyota. I mean, they've had one major recall in the last... well... forever really. I can remember at least 3 major accelerator related incidents with GM vehicles, and those were responsible for several deaths of both vehicle occupants, as well as pedestrians; and GM was a LOT longer responding. Worse, GM initially tried to sue the victims for slander. Those were much darker days for GM.
On the other end of the spectrum is Range Rover though. Crappy vehicles with a dedicated history of unreliability for a premium price. Jaguar seems to have stood by this motto as well; though I don't ever recall either of those companies having a throttle control problem. I guess that's one thing the Brits got right.
The title is really a give and take thing though. I wouldn't ever advise getting a vehicle with a salvage title unless you truly knew you were going to keep it for a good while, or were comfortable knowing you'd practically have to give it away when you wanted to move it. There is certainly a situation where you win (in my particular instance where the sheet-metal was the only issue) but if anything had affected the frame at all, I'd have walked.
As it is, I have a scarlet letter painted on this machine, but it's a good truck for hauling the family around and less extreme-adventure offroading. For getting where I used to go with the Tacoma... well... it's hikin' time I guess, because the Dakota just isn't anywhere near as good offroad. With that said, I'm not even sure the larger, newer Tacomas are as good as the older smaller ones either, though they're certainly lighter than the Dakota and have a higher ground clearance.
I'm not gonna knock Toyota. I mean, they've had one major recall in the last... well... forever really. I can remember at least 3 major accelerator related incidents with GM vehicles, and those were responsible for several deaths of both vehicle occupants, as well as pedestrians; and GM was a LOT longer responding. Worse, GM initially tried to sue the victims for slander. Those were much darker days for GM.
On the other end of the spectrum is Range Rover though. Crappy vehicles with a dedicated history of unreliability for a premium price. Jaguar seems to have stood by this motto as well; though I don't ever recall either of those companies having a throttle control problem. I guess that's one thing the Brits got right.
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483 Posts
In recent years Jags had transmission and cam chain tensioner issues that they finally sorted out in '03.I'm not gonna knock Toyota. I mean, they've had one major recall in the last... well... forever really. I can remember at least 3 major accelerator related incidents with GM vehicles, and those were responsible for several deaths of both vehicle occupants, as well as pedestrians; and GM was a LOT longer responding. Worse, GM initially tried to sue the victims for slander. Those were much darker days for GM.
On the other end of the spectrum is Range Rover though. Crappy vehicles with a dedicated history of unreliability for a premium price. Jaguar seems to have stood by this motto as well; though I don't ever recall either of those companies having a throttle control problem. I guess that's one thing the Brits got right.
My '02 S-Type Sport 4.0 I sold prior to buying my Dakota. Loved the car..despised the transmission.
That's a FordIn recent years Jags had transmission and cam chain tensioner issues that they finally sorted out in '03.
My '02 S-Type Sport 4.0 I sold prior to buying my Dakota. Loved the car..despised the transmission.
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And I'm not kidding. That car got major press in Europe for essentially being a stylized Ford.
I think I'd rather have a Ford than a Jag though. At least they're cheaper to repair. Not near as pretty though. I do love some old Jags though. I had a friend who had a '68 white Saloon with red leather interior with white piping. Wood dash and passenger trays; chrome wire wheels with knockoffs... Gorgeous and sounded mean. Beautiful machine. Was plagued by the Prince of Darkness though... LOL
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483 Posts
That's a Ford
And I'm not kidding. That car got major press in Europe for essentially being a stylized Ford.
I think I'd rather have a Ford than a Jag though. At least they're cheaper to repair. Not near as pretty though. I do love some old Jags though. I had a friend who had a '68 white Saloon with red leather interior with white piping. Wood dash and passenger trays; chrome wire wheels with knockoffs... Gorgeous and sounded mean. Beautiful machine. Was plagued by the Prince of Darkness though... LOL
Yeah, there were a few Ford components shared on the S-Type but it is/was primarily a Jaguar despite being owned by Ford Motor Company at the time. Jag is owned by Tata Motors now so that makes them ahhhh...I best not go there lol!
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