Should I buy this Truck?

Dealer sent me pics of the underside od the 2002 Tacoma I am considering buying. What do you think? Is this what the underside of a 12 year old truck should look like? I want to avoid a frame replacement. Thanks.

 

Only way you're going to know for sure is to check it out yourself. Bring a hammer so you can whack the frame as described in the Toyota TSB. It looks ok, looks like it may have been painted. By that I mean I don't see anything to run from - but I'm no expert and I still wouldn't make a decision until you or someone qualified checks it out in person. Salesmen will tell you anything

 

agreed, its not easy to see in the pictures but in that first picture it almost looks like it was undercoated. if so why? to hide rust issues?

so as stated go there with a hammer and whack everything one the sides and under the frame and listen for "thin" spots (just sounds different) or if you hear stuff inside the frame like gravel, indicating internal metal falling off.

have the dealer run the vin history info and if Toyota undercoated it then you have a 15 year extended frame rust warranty from when they sprayed it. if it wasn't Toyota that sprayed it I don't think you can expect the frame rust warranty to apply.

 

How much??? "Value" is in direct relation to price! If the dealer is offering to sell the truck for $1...it's probably worth it. If they want $20K for it...probably not.

So how much are they trying to sell it for? We can probably offer you a better opinion if we know how much $$$.

Ed

 

PM me so I can scoop it up instead.

 

The price is $8300. It has 148,000 on it. Pics are attached.

 

Man, Id like to see you get it for around 6.5 but $ for $ and if you're smart you could get 10 more years out of it. I say go for it but figure at least 1k and it could turn into 3-4k rather quickly to really fix what's wrong with it. IMO try and get a little better deal if you can say 7.2k to take some of the hurt out of the purchase. Good luck!

 

I have on 02 that has spent its life in Vermont and NY. Frame was replaced a few years ago. The rear axel housing is rusted through on the back cover (patched with jbweld in a couple places - seeping gear oil) I have seen a few like this. If its really too far to travel to see this truck without more confidence, ask for a well lit pic of rear diff. I feel like its a good indicator of rust, and its not typically undercoated.

 

Looks really good, better than mine and I still bought mine. But the frames on these rust from the inside out so yes, like LocknLoad said, bring a hammer and tap on it around the front section of the frame where the A arms come out, and then back by the spare tire carrier, those are the two spots where they will rust the most. If it's rusting bad inside, you will be able to hear rust flakes jumping around in there.

 

It is a Prerunner. $8300 isn't too bad. I know of a 4x4 with 220k-ish for about $10k...frame intact.

 

OP i have the undercoating from toyota and a completely rust free frame and thats what mine looks like unless im missing anything. Now that being said i would make sure to check it anyways.

seriously...that sounds like my truck and i wouldnt value it at 10k wow

 

Man, I'm new to the whole ins and outs of first gen tacomas, but that thing looks great for a 13 year old truck.

 

Looks like you have the 2WD version of my truck essentially. Hey, wanna trade seats? Your front seats look way more appealing than mine haha.

 

he's looking at a trd.

 

After spending 6 months looking for a Tacoma I have concluded TRD is over rated for such an old truck. Basically you get this with TRD, bilstein (or tokico for DB), Rear-locker, and sticker. All this for a permium of about 2k on average.

For such an old truck, the only value is the rear-locker. Shocks are probably worn, sticker(hmmm is that really worth 1k premium).

 

Looks like steering rack is leaking on pass side and plan on timing belt and water pump if you cant confirm its been done. Plus diff lubes and coolant flush.

 

I bought the truck. I took my creeper and a hammer and roller around and tested the entire frame. It was rock solid. Looked to be factory undercoated. It looked better than the pictures showed too. Somebody took really good care of it. The inside is almost like new. On the way home a check engine light came on. Im taking it to Toyota tomorrow and will have them check the light and run the service records. Its the 2.7L auto version of the SR5 TRD. Got about 22 mpg on the way home. Drove it about 350 miles. It ran perfect. Liked the stiff ride.The seats are in good shape but offer very little support. On Tuesday I'm ordering Corbeau sport seats! Thanks to everyone who gave me the information to check the truck. I will be on this site often.

 

It's missing the front differential!!!

 

4 banger DC? Good news is no timing belt!

 

I just got a copy of my service records from toyota. On 10/2/2010 the truck was undercoated by Toyota with 103,000 miles on it. It reads:"Customer says inspect frame for rust perforation - inspected frame no perforation found" "Rust proofing has been applied - 90D Limited Service Campaign Corrosion preventative compound has been applied to both the inside and outside of your vehicles frame. You may experience a dripping from the frame for several days." That explains why it looked to be undercoated in the pictures. The rest of the records looked good. Nothing but routine maint. They also said that they would perform an outstanding recall - replace the spare tire carrier flange. Taking it in tonite.