Exodus of the California Toyota pickup truck (Phoenix, Tucson: buyers, auctions)

[tumamoc]

Just some random questions. What's with all of the Toyota trucks with CA plates towing older Toyota pickup trucks eastbound along Interstate 10? Sometimes I spot 20 or more in a day rolling past Tucson. I never see them going westbound. I drive a Tacoma myself, so I notice these things. Is it just me? Where are they going? Do they come through Phoenix, or are they coming off of I-8?

[corydon]

More than likely to Mexico, see them al over the USA.

[tumamoc]

That makes sense .

[recycled]

These older pickups are purchased in the Los Angeles area from private owners, auctions and sometimes from used car dealers who might think the trucks are too junky for their lot. Here in southern cal, car capital of the universe, it is easy to find older model trucks where the body and interior are fine, they just have high miles and need mechanical work. The 1980s and 1990s pickups were not as computerized as current models, so they can usually be restored by a good mechanic with basic tools and reasonably priced parts. Nissan pickups are popular also because the same models of Nissan compact pickups that were sold in the US were also sold and made in Mexico.

There are buyers in LA who will accumulate a bunch of vehicles for a client in Mexico who is typically a used truck dealer. The buyer in LA will make arrangements to have a crew of driver-mechanics from LA take the vehicles in a convoy to meet their customer from Mexico at one of the main border crossings like Tijuana, Nogales or El Paso. The drivers usually have enough tools and collective skills to fix something if one of the trucks breaks down on the convoy trip. After they hand off the vehicles to the customer at TJ, Nogales or El Paso the drivers simply take a bus back to LA.

Sometimes I see convoys of used vehicles headed for the port of Long Beach, where they are loaded into containers and shipped to Central or South America. It is usually totally legal and legit - many of these would otherwise end up in the junk yard and sold as scrap metal to Asia and come back here as a shiny new Kia or Hyundai.