What should I look for? And what should I pay?

I found a fantastic 2000 Tacoma at a dealer. Everything I want: v6, 5 speed, 4x4, ext. cab, TRD, SR5, 118k miles. Might be 'Limited', not sure.

Asking $7000, but I got them down to $5800, or $6500 out the door with taxes, fees, etc.
Here's the deal though. It's in their "fixer-upper" category. Which means that it didn't pass their "138 point inspection" in certain ways, and they don't want to put the money in to get it up to standards.
I went to look at it and test drive it. It definitely needs a few things, but man I wanted to take it home with me.
In order to pass their inspection, and get a MD State Inspection certificate, they estimate it to be $2500. I do all my own work, so that number is irrelevant, but it still needs a good bit.

It needs: with their price estimate in brackets
Tires all around. [$110 Labor, $550 parts] Hope to find a used set for ~$250 on CL to get me through the season
Alignment. Needs it pretty bad [$75] Pulls to the right and is loose. May be tie rods?
both rear axle seals. [$150l, $50p] I heard this is a very dirty job. Might just let them do it
Brake shoes. I assume axle seals leaked into the rear drums [$150L, $58P]
They say it needs front pads and rotors [$125L, $210P]
Sway Bar end link bushings [$125:$45] Labor seems high for that? Simple job
"Left side power steering rack boot" [$63:$21] Not sure what part this is. Is this for the bellows/steering absorber?
Center bearing for the rear driveshaft [$150:$190] Found on Rockauto for $70. Odd this part would fail
Right headlamp [$50:$150]

Some prices are exaggerated, but some are accurate. Alignment is pretty accurate, as are the price of tires. The headlight was working, so IDK. I can do all the work myself, but I figured it came out to be about $350 if I buy all the parts off Rockauto.com. Including alignment, but not tires.

Here's the kicker. The carfax, and the dealer, informed me that it was in a front-left collision in 2010. It's all be fixed up [hopefully], and has since been driven for 3 years. Also, it's had 4 owners...so may be a lemon? People don't usually get rid of Tacomas, especially 4 people on the same truck.
CEL is also on, but the saleman didn't know the code. I assume O2 sensor lol

I'm going back tomorrow since the dealer will put it up on a lift for me and look around. I can also talk to the mechanic who performed the inspection.

I'm here to ask you guys what you think? What should I look for tomorrow (especially regarding accident damage)? I'd like to get out the door @ $5500 with all taxes and fees included, since they offered to do it for $6500.
My brother traded in his '96 Taco with 283k on it. I asked him for advice, when I mentioned "front collision damage" and "alignment" he flipped out and started saying frame damage. What do you think on that?

 

Check for frame rust.

Bring a ball peen hammer with you and hit the frame. If you put a hole in it, walk away.

 

X2

Your brother may be correct. Front end collision + out of alignment = Red Flag
Problems with it look like neglect, and maintenance issues.
Other than that it looks like a nice truck

 

The price is good, but yeah - definitely look at the frame and any underlying collision damage.

I paid $4500 for my 99 with 263k needing tires, alignment, tie rod ends and rack bushings.. 5500-6500 for less than half the miles doesn't sound bad.

 

A 2000 is within the 15 year frame replacement warranty. Ask if it has been replaced. They will be able to tell you. If the frame is rusted and it is replaced, your alignment issue should also be fixed. Mine came with new upper control arms and new rear springs. I'm not sure if the salvage title takes it out of contention for frame replacement though. Someone else here may be able to answer that.

 

It's salvage titled? I missed that.

 

I'm not sure it is either, but that would be a question to ask since there was a collision and it was 10 years old at the time. If not, I would think it would qualify for the new frame, wouldn't it?

 

If it was undercoated by the deadline, I would think so? Mine was bought back over 4 years ago, so I'm not sure what they were doing with 2000 trucks (I had a 98).

 

2000s would get bought back. You're probably SOL there though, if it wasn't entered into the inspection program in time you're fucked.

But the bad alignment and wreck would make me leary... try to have someone follow you down the highway and see if it's crab-walking. Or drive through a puddle that will get all 4 tires wet and then drive in a straight line. If you see 2 tire tracks you're good, if you see 4 walk away from it

 

AHHH!


Thanks guys. This forum is very friendly. I appreciate all the friendly tips and advice.

I had them put it up on a lift and that thing looked GOOD. The frame had a nice layer of black (underspray I would think?) stuff on it. I couldn't see a single bit of rust or anything. It has a rear trailer hitch, a Reese style, and that's showing some rust but I don't care about that.

Yes, it does have a salvage/rebuilt title. And I didn't even think about that regarding the Toyota new frame business, but I don't think I'll be needing one anyway.
Just for giggles, I went to the Toyota.com owners club thingy. I entered the VIN and come pleasant results came up. Apparently, it's been serviced at Toyota dealerships for the majority of its life. Every other little service report went along the lines of "inspected frame. Good condition".
In 2011, it did have the rear axle seals and shoes replaced...I guess it's that dang diff vent striking again. Oh well, should be a fun learning experience replacing it.

I'm going in today with a check. But before I do, I will do that wet puddle test. I got them down to $6300 out the door. That breaks down to $5633 for the actual truck, plus their $200 "document fee". I couldn't get them to waive it, so I consider the truck to be $5833. Then it's $120 for title fee, and $350 in taxes.

 

I understand that my excitement is probably blinding me a little bit, but you gotta admit, this thing is freaking steal. On CL, nothing can even come close. If you want a Taco with ~100k, it's $10k. If you want a Taco for $~6000, it's 200k miles. You just cant have both, but I found it. On top of that, this dealer did a MD state inspection for me. And gave me a list of issues. You ain't gonna get that with a private sale. It's all a surprise when you take it in for inspection.
So I really appreciate that. The frame looked really really good on the lift, but I completely understand that frame damage subtle enough to affect alignment is going to be really hard to see with the naked eye.
They did a top-notch job on the accident repair though. Can't even tell. The only give away is a fresh headlight compared to the slightly faded one on the pass. side. Can't even tell a different in color matching or body panel gaps. Wheels look really straight. So I would assume they would have fixed everything else properly and used a frame puller to fix the frame [if it even needed that]. I suspect this "accident" might have been one of those 10-15mph 'oopsies' in a parking lot or side street.

As far as accidents go, the front-end collisions are cake to fix. It's the rear-end stuff you don't want to deal with. Front end= new grille, hood, headlight, fender, core support and you're done.

 

If it wasn't a salvage title, it'd be a steal. That absolutely crushes value.

 

Yeah, it does. The books say take 40-60 percent off for salvage title. NADA clean retail on it as near as I can tell is $9675, so less 40-60% is between $3900 and $5800 somewhere. Then you say there are still some issues you will have to deal with. It's not so much of a steal from that perspective. Remember, you will have to take that 40-60% hit when you sell or trade it as well. It's not a horrible deal, and you also have to consider, we are not standing there looking at it as you are, just giving you some objective ideas to consider.

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

With the amount of work needed and now that we know that its salvaged, I wouldnt give anymore than about 4000 for with because once you put all of that money in it you will never get it out of it when you go to sell it later

 

Will a bank even give a person a loan on a vehicle with a salvage title?
Can you get Collision insurance on a salvage vehicle?
Just ask'n.

 

Salvage title. I would walk away.

 

I would pass on it....keep looking.

 

Sorry to say….but I really think you aren't seeing this for what it is.
You want a Taco, bad.
Your budget is limited.
Choices are limited.
You find this truck and have got your hopes up that it will be fine. No matter what we say, it seems you have already decided to take the risk.

My recommendation: keep looking. The right one will come along. You will be able to save up a bit more and find a great truck. This will take patience and constant searching. It can be discouraging…..I just went through the same earlier this year. I desperately wanted 4x4 and <150k but my budget wouldn't allow it. I kept looking and lowered my expectations a bit. I ended up finding an 03 DC Prerunner with 160k for $8k. It's a great truck and had an excellent CarFax history.

If you don't take the advice, I wish you good luck!

 

It took me a month and a half to find my truck. I must have looked at 20 before buying mine. Carfax is your friend. You dont know how many times it made my decision for me.

 

If you do decide to buy it (which I don't recommend), make the dealer get it aligned and look at the before/after printouts. The last thing you want is to go for an alignment and find that the frame is tweaked and it won't align without frame repair.