Isaac-1
Well-known member
I just saw the thread about someone failing at Van life, and I feel like a bit like I am going through the same sort of thing, for the last few months, maybe longer, I have been shopping for a cheap, light TOAD to drag around on solo trips, or when we just did not want to take our current TOAD, my wife's 2017 Jeep Cherokee. Anyway a potential TOAD showed up for sale on facebook classifieds about 60 miles away,a 2007 Toyota Yaris Hatchback setup with Roadmaster base plate installed, 1 owner, bought for TOAD duty in 2006, with a bit over 215,000 miles, after things came up forcing me to reschedule having my son drive me down to take a look at it twice, the 3rd time being the charm, some how it not having sold in over 2 weeks being listed for sale at what seemed a fair price, I made it down to look at it a week ago. Did the cursory kick the tires, look under the hood at nothing in particular, asked the seller about the history of the car (1 owner, always maintained a the local Toyota dealer, stack of receipts in the glove box, new tires last year, ...), took it on a short 1-2 mile test drive, made an offer which they accepted, without inspecting things to nearly the level I knew I should, maybe I was overly impressed by the immaculate condition of the interior, other than slight sun fade, and the carpet being a bit worn it was in near perfect shape...
Rushed over to a nearby notary do a bill of sale (it was 4:00 pm at this point, and they closed at 4:30), and off I went driving home in a $2,400 car whose condition appeared great at first glance, except for a few little blemishes, damage to the front bumper cover, etc. Only after getting home did I really take time to see what I had bought, the first thing I discovered was that the brake lights did not work, (quick reminder for future reference when buying a used car make sure the turn signals, headlights, brake lights, and windshield wipers work), the second thing I discovered was the wiper blades were shot, glad it did not rain on me on the way home (the car had been sitting in a metal carport a lot since 2019 due to covid). $50 later I had new wiper blades, and working brake lights thanks to a new brake stop switch. So far, so good since then, I have spent much of my free time the last week fixing similar cheap to fix stuff, removing the old bubbling window tint, installing new gas springs on the hatchback, replacing cracked tail lights, getting inspection sticker, insurance, registration, ... But I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting to find that floor board is rusted out, or that the engine is shot..... Over the next couple of days I plan to pull the front wheels off and inspect the front brakes, there was a receipt for a rear wheel hub and rear brakes in the glove compartment dated 2019, probably pull the front bumper cover off and inspect the bolts on the base plate before I tow it since I doubt they have been inspected since it was installed in 2006. I may get a new front bumper cover to replace the damaged one, but I am not sure how much money I should invest in what is intended to be a cheap TOAD. It is all to easy to spend too much I am already at over $500 and several hours of my time spent on this little $2,400 car, mostly $10-$20 here and there, the biggest items for far being, $178 for a Roadmaster Even Brake 2nd vehicle kit (break away switch, ICX transmitter, etc.), $80 for a Roadmaster to Blue Ox Adapter, $90 replacement rear tail lights, ...
This went on longer than I had planned when I started typing, so I will close here with a couple of photos
p.s. amazing how much better it looks just replacing the missing $15 hood emblem
Rushed over to a nearby notary do a bill of sale (it was 4:00 pm at this point, and they closed at 4:30), and off I went driving home in a $2,400 car whose condition appeared great at first glance, except for a few little blemishes, damage to the front bumper cover, etc. Only after getting home did I really take time to see what I had bought, the first thing I discovered was that the brake lights did not work, (quick reminder for future reference when buying a used car make sure the turn signals, headlights, brake lights, and windshield wipers work), the second thing I discovered was the wiper blades were shot, glad it did not rain on me on the way home (the car had been sitting in a metal carport a lot since 2019 due to covid). $50 later I had new wiper blades, and working brake lights thanks to a new brake stop switch. So far, so good since then, I have spent much of my free time the last week fixing similar cheap to fix stuff, removing the old bubbling window tint, installing new gas springs on the hatchback, replacing cracked tail lights, getting inspection sticker, insurance, registration, ... But I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting to find that floor board is rusted out, or that the engine is shot..... Over the next couple of days I plan to pull the front wheels off and inspect the front brakes, there was a receipt for a rear wheel hub and rear brakes in the glove compartment dated 2019, probably pull the front bumper cover off and inspect the bolts on the base plate before I tow it since I doubt they have been inspected since it was installed in 2006. I may get a new front bumper cover to replace the damaged one, but I am not sure how much money I should invest in what is intended to be a cheap TOAD. It is all to easy to spend too much I am already at over $500 and several hours of my time spent on this little $2,400 car, mostly $10-$20 here and there, the biggest items for far being, $178 for a Roadmaster Even Brake 2nd vehicle kit (break away switch, ICX transmitter, etc.), $80 for a Roadmaster to Blue Ox Adapter, $90 replacement rear tail lights, ...
This went on longer than I had planned when I started typing, so I will close here with a couple of photos
p.s. amazing how much better it looks just replacing the missing $15 hood emblem
