Jun 24, 2008 6:38 pm US/Eastern
Toyota Announces Buyback Program For Tacoma Trucks
MANCHESTER, N.H. (WBZ) ―
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Toyota Tacoma (File Image)
CBS
Toyota is buying back one of its most popular vehicles -- Toyota Tacoma pickups made from 1995 to 2000. The problem: Rusting frames.
In some cases Toyota is buying back these trucks for even more than they're worth.
Just off East Hollis Street in Nashua, N.H. is a Toyota Tacoma graveyard.
Tacomas built between 1995 and 2000 are coming in on a daily basis to lots around the country. Toyota's buying them back from their owners because of erosion problems on the frame.
Kevin Milligan's been in the auto business for 27 years and is letting the local Toyota dealership store the trucks on his lot. "We have at any one time 150 to 200 (trucks) and there are constantly tractor trailer trucks coming in and taking them out… It's uninspectable if the frame rusts right through and it's not safe for the road."
Toyota says this isn't a recall -- they're calling it a customer support program. But the bottom line is if you own a Tacoma with model years 1995 to 2000, you're supposed to bring it into a dealerships to get it checked.
According to Toyota, 813,000 Tacomas involved in the buyback may have excessive corrosion on the frame.
In a statement, Toyota said "No matter the vehicle's actual condition, it will be valued as a vehicle in excellent condition."
Milligan wants to make sure drivers get the message. "You're talking billions and billions of dollars."
According to Toyota, the corrosion is happening most frequently in areas like the northeast, where there is a lot of road salt.
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