“People are shady.”
A Toyota salesman has had enough with Tundra, Tacoma, and 4Runner drivers and their aftermarket modifications. So he’s calling them out.
In a TikTok that’s generated over 3,600 views as of this writing, creator @tatdadbod gives a public service announcement to Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner drivers. In the post, he urges them to stop doing one thing.
“For all you Toyota guys, you guys buying 4Runners, Tacomas, and Tundras: please, I’m gonna show you something, please stop doing this. Please stop doing this” he begins.
He says that people are ruining their Toyotas with custom modifications. As an example, he points to a Tacoma that was traded in.
“This is an SR5 two-wheel-drive with TRD rims on it. It looks good. I love it,” he says.
“Here’s the problem, you see this,” he says, then reads the sticker on the rims, which says, “TRD off road.”
Most might not think much of a sticker claiming the Tacoma is suitable for off-roading. But he claims the sticker is misleading.
“A TRD off-road can come in a two wheel drive or four wheel drive, but the one telltale factor on the inside of a Tacoma if it’s TRD off-road is that it has a locking rear differential,” he explains.
He then examines the vehicle to see if it’s actually a TRD off-road.
“Let me tell you what this vehicle does not have. There is no locking rear differential up here and not four wheel drive. It is an SR5,” he says.
What Drivers Are Saying
While the SR5 does have the XP package, the person that traded in the Tacoma added the TDR off-road sticker even though it isn’t one.
“It is not that. Stop doing this,” he says.
@tatdadbod told Motor1, “Customization is great! But don’t add a sticker to make it seem like it’s something it’s not.”
While it can be fun to customize your vehicle, it may hurt the resale value and even put your safety at risk.
“The more outlandish modifications you add to your car, the less it’s worth if and when you try to sell it,” Yahoo Finance reports.
This is because custom modifications can diminish the mass appeal of the car and require a niche buyer who likes the modification. Examples include serious modifications like getting a new engine or lowering the lift or even relatively minor ones like new rims or stickers.
Having stickers anywhere on the car, especially the paint, can create issues if left on for an extended period of time, River North Collision Repair reports. The adhesive residue can potentially strip the paint and may require intensive cleaning to get the residue off. Stripped paint will impact the resale value and may require a professional fix.
Viewers had strong opinions about mislabeling vehicles.
“A guy on Marketplace had a Tacoma for sale with a TRD sport sticker and said it was 4wd. He even installed a fake 4wd engage knob that did nothing. It wasn’t until I crawled under the truck that I noticed it was a 2wd. People are shady,” one said.
“Can I have that sticker for my Corolla,” another joked
“Also…..leave the LEDs in the grills to the trucks that actually require them,” a third said.
Others offered advice on spotting inaccurate stickers before buying a vehicle.
“Tacoma SR5 usually has a gray headliner. Higher trims have black headliner,” one said.
“Ok the information is all on the title. Just look,” a second suggested.
Motor1 has contacted @tatdadbod via direct message. This story will be updated if he replies.
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