I have been looking around the last month and I have recently noticed through cars.com that I can get a V6, Access cab, '07ish, 30,000ish miles on the East Coast for around $17,000. Here in Oregon the price is around $22,000. The cost is not for just one truck. This seems to be the going rates in these areas. Do you have any knowledge on why this might be?
Also, are there any tips you have on buying a vehicle from a destination that would not allow you to actually see the car before purchase? Would a 3rd party mech be willing to check the car out for a fee and if yes, about how much would one expect to pay?
Variation in vehicle pricing due to locale is normal and simply a fact of life. Some vehicles are more popular in one area as compared to another so supply and demand take over. This applies to many vehicles; not just Tacomas.
Yes, an independent inspection can be done and the price can vary widely. It may be 50 bucks or it may be 500. A lot depends on just how detailed and thorough an inspection you want. The inexpensive may be a general lookover and a pricy one can involve a leakdown test on the engine, oil pressure test, transmission pressure tests, disassembly of certain things for inspection, etc.
You should also keep in mind that no matter how thorough the inspection there is no guarantee of a problem-free vehicle. It’s used and used parts will fail at any time.
Personally, I would be very antsy about buying a vehicle from across the country. The East Coast, like the Midwest, will have a tendency to rust vehicles faster than the West Coast, SW, and the southern plains.
Factor in inspection fees, transportation charges, and the unknown factor which may be the uneasiness of a sight unseen Tacoma being unloaded from the transport truck and discovering that it’s not quite as nice as advertised or the inspection was not as thorough as it should have been and the cheaper truck may wind up not being the best deal.
It is entirely possible that you have higher demand for certain vehicle types, but it is more likely that in Oregon the supply of high value used cars is lower than on the east coast. The population difference alone explains why, as does the difference in average income, the willingness of car owners to repair vs. replace.
As a resident of MA, I can tell you that most people here keep a car a few years at most a few years and trade it in. The result is a glut of pre-owned (the euphanism for used) cars and trucks.
While I doubt you could arrange to get a reliable local mechanic to go ahead and pick up a vehicle, test drive it and inspect it, you do have an option that is popular here. Dealers of new cars often offer as well “certified” used cars, which are advertised as having undergone scrupulous inspection by the dealership, and determined to be in excellent condition. Some new car dealers have even opened separate yards to market these low mileage, excellent condition cars. Typically, the cars in question are high end brands such as Acura and Mercedes and BMW, which enjoy in a healthy economy a quick turnover of cars from their relatively wealthy and status-conscious customers. The economy here is growing but still struggling, but there are an awful lot of people who would not be caught dead in a two-year old vehicle.
You will pay more for a vehicle that is certified by a dealer, of course, and if the difference is worth a long plane ride and a very long road trip back, you might enter negotiations online with a certified pre-owned dealer for the car you want. There is always a glut, and they certainly want to move them.
You can get a month-long deal with Carfax online to get the history of as many cars as you want to research by VIN number in that period, if you want to explore the possibility of getting a car from more discounted sources. I don’t recommend buying a car three thousand miles away from a dealer who is mandated by state law to guarantee it for only sixty days.
If you go the pre-owned certified route, make sure the full warranty remains in force, and that the price is worth the trip.
Hope this helps. I’ll check your posts if you have any questions.
To add to what the others have said, vehicles here on the east coast are subjected to conditions much more abusive than those on most of the west coast…so they’ll probably be more beat up. The salt, snow, rain, potholes, bad roads, and general bad conditions age a vehicle quickly.
And I too would never buy a used car intended as a daily driver over the internet. I’d never ever buy a used car that I couldn’t test drive on the highway. Lots of serious problems can show up there that won’t show up even on an in-town drive.
Due to the salt used on the winter roads back east I suggest you get a west coast model.