Would you buy a vehicle that was a commercial vehicle?

A 2nd gen Tacoma has popped up for sale. It's 4x4, 4.0 base model, (which I like). Checked the carfax and it was previously a commercial vehicle. I would usually shy away from a fleet/commercial vehicle, but those are usually f150s, rangers, or the equivalent in Chevy/Dodge, driven by people who don't care at all about the vehicle's "health".

I don't see a tacoma being in a fleet. More so some dude who runs his own business and registers it as commercial for tax breaks. I also don't know the rules/law about getting a vehicle registered as commercial.

With that being said, would you buy a tacoma that was previously a "commercial vehicle" or would you pass for fear of the unknown?

 

There are some companies that do use Tacoma trucks as fleet vehicles. I can think of a large facility maintenance contractor, a meat distributer and a pest control company off hand that use them, some are base reg. cabs and others are v6 4x4s.

I might consider buying a commercial vehicle if I knew for sure what the exact vehicle history was, but would probably pass on an unknown one because I myself drive a fleet truck (Dodge Ram) and while I don't abuse it, I do drive it hard, all day long, every day. Personally, seeing what I've seen happen to fleet vehicles, I'd steer clear of used commercial trucks.

 

Previously a commercial vehicle shouldn't deter you from buying it. Age, mileage, and condition should be more of a concern.

It could be a leased vehicle, so the business owner could write it off, or if they bought it outright, they probably bought it and kept it under dealer warranty so it should be dealer serviced and maintained. A lot of business don't have their own fleet services so they have the dealer take care of everything for them. So all the maintenance schedules would be followed to keep it under warranty.

A used vehicle is just a used vehicle, commercial or privately owned. Just make sure the price is right for what you're getting. I wouldn't even let a salvaged title deter me from a good purchase.

 

While I would also be hesitant to buy a "fleet" vehicle, commercial doesn't always mean fleet. Lots of folks will register a truck as commercial for their business or personal use for tax purposes. Take a look at how worn the pedals are, the carpet, the floor mat...are they new? Are they beat up? Red flag. I'd rather see age/mileage appropriate wear. Look closely at the paint finish...Almost anything can shine up with that cheap dealer prep wax junk, but scratches and abuse are hard to hide. Feel the driver's door handles for slop and wear too.

 

eff that you dont know if they abused the piss out of the truck or not

 

I wouldn't, and like another said, they are used for fleets. Local CarQuest has one they use for deliveries, it's a 5 lug reg cab. They used to have 2 Chevy Colorados and probably realized how much crap the were, I figured they had 2 because they could never keep one running and so needed backup! Now they are down to one truck, a Tacoma that will probably never give them any serious issues.

 

So I guess you'll never purchase a used car from anyone, because how would you be able to tell that they didn't abuse the piss out of it?
And what do you think the lot techs at the dealerships do? Baby the cars?

 

I've owned a ton of former fleet vehicles and never had any issues out of the ordinary. If anything, those people take better care of the car in a way b/c they don't have to pay to get them maintained so they're more apt to keep up on it.

I've heard of trucks being used by DEA and Secret Service for example, doesn't mean it's gonna be hauling stuff. For instance, my 84 Camaro was a DEA car..that car flew.

 

Mine apparently was.
Bought it with 53k on it, so the PO had it from 2008 until some time in 2011 (likely a 36 month lease) and put on about 17k/year.
I've had ZERO issues with it. The oil is very clean even after 5k, it runs great, tires are in great shape, brakes made it to 93k, brake fluid and coolant are clean.
I have over 98k on it now.

I didn't even realize the history until walking up to it one afternoon with the setting sun reflecting off of the rear.
I could see the faded outline where a phone number or vehicle number had been stickered on the bumper.

 

My dad's Suburban showed up as a "previous government lease" that was registered in Washington DC . It had random holes drilled all over the interior that the dealer had fixed before we bought it. It also had terrible average fuel mileage values stored in the computer thing in the dash and the engine hours were really high for how low the mileage was. It was probably some kind of surveillance truck, but I like to think Obama was riding around in it before we were.

Hasn't given us any trouble yet, but I doubt he'll keep it long enough for any long term longevity issues to show up

 

I would buy it only if it were in good condition and I could see the maintenance history of the vehicle. Some fleet vehicles are better maintained than most people's personal vehicles, some are run hard and put away wet and never receive their scheduled maintenance because 'it's not their vehicle'.

 

Depends too on how much you pay.

In 2001 I bought a 1997 Olds Achieva in mint shape, just turned 40k. Paid about $4800 for it, book was a little over $8k. Mine was actually high mileage by comparison to a lot of the others there that day. Dealers invade that sale, they leave with car carriers full.

Back in 1992, I bought my 84 Camaro with the 305, 104k, for $700. Same day I got another with 125k for $500, sold it a month later for $1800.

 

what's the difference between a 4x4 and a Commercial vehicle?

answer: there are some places you wont take a 4x4.