midsize repo through pace ace vs new on the lot: the financing question and what the 6 month warranty covers

financing, since i just did it. the bank in Hondo did mine as a private party used auto loan, the same product they use when you buy a truck from a guy on marketplace. they did not need a dealer. they needed the VIN, the win email with the price on it, and a bill of sale naming the seller, which is the lender, with the broker named on it. i emailed the broker's office for the bill of sale before any money moved and had it the same afternoon, they have done this with banks before. the bank wired the broker on day three, the bank's lien went on the title when i registered it, done. my payment on 29,300 at the credit union rate is well under what the ford store wanted on a new one at 1.9, because the truck cost 10 grand less.

tell your credit union lady it is a private party purchase through a broker, the seller is a bank, and you will have a bill of sale and a lien release letter. if she still wants a dealer, try another credit union, there are three in Seguin.

the warranty question, from somebody who fixes both.

a 2021 Tacoma 3.5 with 41k in the next six months: nothing, statistically. the things that go on 3rd gens are the rear leaf squeak, which is a warranty item and cibolo just got it covered, the front lower ball joints past 80k, and the occasional AC compressor. none of that is happening at 41k in six months.

a 2021 Ranger 2.3 with 38k in six months: also probably nothing. what i see is the harsh 10 speed downshift, which is a calibration and no warranty company pays for shift feel, a coolant weep at the turbo lines on the higher mileage ones, and the odd blend door actuator. a turbo line weeping at 40k was already weeping when they sold it, and i would expect the broker's warranty to pay it, that is what it is written for.

what does not count under any 6 month warranty i have read, theirs included: tires, brakes, wipers, oil changes, carbon on the intake valves, the shift feel, anything the last owner broke by lifting it. it covers a mechanical part that failed. it does not cover the truck being a used truck.

so the real question is not the six months. it is whether you want 3 years of factory warranty and a truck nobody has touched for 10 to 12 thousand dollars more, when the used trucks in front of you will most likely need nothing but tires in that same window. that is a savings question, not a mechanical one. if a 1,500 surprise would wreck your month, buy the new one. if it would only make you mad, buy the repo.

on the 30 days, since it was my cover. the way it was explained to me, materially misrepresented is the truck being different from the listing in a way that changes what it is worth. miles that do not match, a title problem, a trim it is not, damage that was not in the photos, an engine that is not right. a 300 dollar accessory in a photo did not clear that bar. i still think that was a stretch on their part, but the truck itself was exactly what they said. i would read the 30 days as: the truck has to be the truck. and the six months paid my 812 dollar leaf springs after three emails, which is more than the last dealer i bought from ever did.

buy the 2WD Tacoma. you live in Seguin and drive to a hospital, you will never put it in 4x4, and the 2WD is 300 pounds lighter and gets 21. the 3.5 with the 6 speed will do 250k on oil changes. a 2021 SR5 is worth 24 in three years while the new SR is worth 26 and you still owe 20 on it. the numbers only go one way. and do not bid the starting number. bid what the truck is worth to you and then stop thinking about it, you will not find out what second place was and that is fine.